Chelsea defeated Manchester United 4:3 at home in a clash of the 31st round of the English Premier League. At Stamford Bridge, the two teams played out a great encounter that went through many twists and turns and ended with a triumph for the Blues after a drama at the end.
In one of the contenders for the Match of the Season, Chelsea started very strongly and were 2-0 up by the 20th minute. Conor Gallagher opened the scoring in the 4th and Cole Palmer doubled the lead for the Londoners from the penalty spot in the 19th minute. Before the break, however, the Red Devils responded appropriately to the challenge, restoring parity through Alejandro Garnacho and Bruno Fernandes. In the 67th minute, Garnacho was again in the arms of his teammates, forming the complete turnaround, but the hosts had the last word. In the 10th minute of added time, Palmer equalized from the penalty spot, and almost immediately after that, the former Manchester City player knocked out the opponent, completing his hat-trick for the final 4:3.
Chelsea are in tenth position with 43 points, while United have five more in sixth place. The loss left Erik ten Hag's men a full 11 points clear of the top four, albeit with a game in hand over Aston Villa. In the next round, Chelsea visit Sheffield United and the Red Devils will host Liverpool.
The Merseysiders regained their top position in the table after a tough 3-1 home win over Sheffield United.
At Anfield, the match started with a missed opportunity for the Blades. James McAtee missed from a good position to beat Caoimhin Kelleher. The hosts rallied and took the lead after a blunder by visiting goalkeeper Ivo Grbic who allowed Darwin Nunes to block his attempt to clear the ball from his penalty area and the ball flew into the net. However, Sheffield United waited for their moment early in the second half when Gustavo Hamer's header was deflected by Connor Bradley and it went between Kelleher's legs.
Liverpool piled on the pressure and eventually greeted themselves with the valuable three points. First, Alexis McAllister blew up the stands with a top corner strike that left Grbic no chance to react and reserve Cody Gakpo put an end to the dispute after heading in a cross from another of Jurgen Klopp's substitutes, Andy Robertson.
The Reds are back at the top of the table with 70 points, two clear of second-placed Arsenal and three ahead of champions Manchester City, with eight rounds to go in the season. Sheffield United are at the bottom with 15 points, ten off safety and a game in hand over Nottingham, edging ever closer to relegation. /BGNES
