by A head-to-head game might have been the only finish he could have. Chaos as late as the 101st minute, and pure spectacle. It might end up being Erik ten Hag at Manchester United.
Cole Palmer rose to the occasion to score a 98th minute penalty and then follow it up to deflect that late winner. It summed up the situation so much that the comeback – after the only period of the game in which Chelsea were somewhat equal – came from a moment of great distress. Poor Diogo Dalot slipped, and the referee felt he had no choice but to point. Of course Palmer scored.
Of course Ten Hag will now face unsustainable pressure. The worst part was that you couldn’t even tell his team had the same thing. Except, for the second game in a row, they conceded so late. They have now given up five points in five days thanks to three goals after the 97th minute.
Not only that should be happening two years into his reign. For Mauricio Pochettino, suddenly happy as he and his team run on the pitch, there is still so much confusion.
In the apparent chaos of this game, there was one discernible pattern. This was the sixth game in a row that Chelsea conceded at least twice.
That made a lot of this unpredictable but also completely unpredictable. The way both teams have played recently there was no surprise that it was open or that there was a comeback. You could have been told almost any score here without seeing the game and believed it – bar maybe 0-0. That was impossible after only four minutes.
Chelsea have just gone through United against Malo Gusto to tackle Conor Gallagher. The midfielder shot first time, but it still shouldn’t have been enough to beat Andre Onana the way he did. It was hardly a strong hand. A strong touch from Antony barely came when Marc Cucurella went over 15 minutes later, but a penalty was still awarded. Cole Palmer took the opportunity, as he was always going to do.
Chelsea, you could say the same, was always going to surrender.
It could not have been as smooth as the opening 20 minutes suggested. United have a lot of issues but they also have a lot of key individual quality, which is another contrast to this Chelsea. Instead Pochettino’s team made some all-too-typical individual errors.
On 34 minutes, Moises Caicedo played a ball across his own half, which was quite long for a Chelsea player. It’s just inviting problems against a pace as electric as Alejandro Garnacho’s.
He was more alert than any Chelsea defender, he picked up the ball, and just went up. Argentina finished of course. Of course Chelsea didn’t learn the lesson.
It’s one of the structural flaws in Pochettino’s side that reminds you of the days of Frank Lampard. When they are solid in defense, they are prosaic in attack. When they are floundering under attack, they are porous in defense. So it was here.
When he overcame, Chelsea was always on the prognostication. It was as all declarations went. It took just five minutes for United to level, Diogo Dalot sending in the most beautiful cross. That was matched by the quality of Bruno Fernandes’ header, which was almost like Eric Cantona. That’s not the first time it’s been said.
This is not the last time there was a great openness in either half, or back.
This could easily be 5-5. There was a period of the game when both sides seemed to only be exchanging hard shots on the break that the defenders were getting rid of. Onana at least made up for his previous error with some very strong hands.
Antony then made up for his earlier lie – very harsh as it was to be punished – with another moment of inspiration.
With Chelsea again pushing forward, and United again seeing how much space there was to exploit, the ball came to the Brazilian on the right. He knocked over an inspired ball for Garnacho to run in and force Djordje Petrovic.
Pochettino could only sit there – and then bring on Alfie Gilchrist and Trevoh Chalobah to win the game.
Meanwhile United brought on Mason Mount, to the boos of the home crowd. That feels very tough given that he is a player who scored the goals that took them to one of the two Champions League finals, and then set up the winner in that game. It’s not like he was that keen on leaving Chelsea, either, because there were so many circumstances surrounding his departure.
Mount performed well when he came on. It was more than could be said for his team in general. Those bos soon became an introspective horror.
It was almost out of nothing, from a game that was everything but real quality. It could mean Ten Hag no longer has a United job.
