Chelsea and Manchester City played out a dramatic eight-goal thriller at Stamford Bridge, seeing the points shared in one of the games of the season.
After a solid start, Chelsea appeared to be losing steam as City began to control possession and probe the home side.
The game came alive in the 20th minute when Marc Cucurella brought down Erling Haaland in the Chelsea penalty area, forcing the referee to award a free-kick.
Haaland coolly whistled the penalty and after a period of dominance, City took the lead.
However, Chelsea responded perfectly as Thiago Silva raced through the City defense from a corner to head home to equalize just four minutes later.
The turnaround was completed when Raheem Sterling ran in behind the City backline to tap home from close range to fire Chelsea into the lead before the break.
However, the drama did not end there as Manuel Akanji headed in from a corner in first-half stoppage time to pull the champions level again.
It didn’t take long for City to take the lead in the second half through Erling Haaland, who headed the ball home after a pass into the box.
The twists and turns just kept coming at Stamford Bridge. Just after the hour, Nicolas Jackson pounced on a saved shot to tap home from close range to restore parity for the Blues.
While the chaos appeared to have subsided, Rodri appeared to provide some last minute magic in the closing minutes when he fired past a Chelsea defender to take the lead late on.
However, the drama continued until the break and came to a head when Rubén Dias fouled Armando Broja in the box as Chelsea took a penalty.
The free kick was taken by an ice-cold Cole Palmer, who grabbed a point for his former team in the fifth minute of stoppage time.
Chelsea player ratings
Robert Sanchez: 7 – Made a fine stop to deny Haaland in the first half and was solid.
Reece James: 7 – Great assist for Sterling’s goal and was excellent in the first half. Tired in the second.
Axel Disasi: 6 – A little shaky on the ball and had a tough time tracking Haaland.
Thiago Silva: 7 – Scored a lovely header to equalize and did his best to calm things down.
Marc Cucurella: 6 – Recovered well after giving away a penalty for hauling Haaland down. Hung in there but wasn’t easy against Foden, Walker and Alvarez who kept drifting out to his side.
Moises Caicedo: 7 – Won the ball back on plenty of occasions and helped Chelsea wrestle back spells of control. He’s really settling in well.
Enzo Fernandez: 6 – Didn’t really impact the game and lost Akanji for City’s second as he charged out. Subbed off early in the second half and wasn’t happy about it.
Cole Palmer: 8 – Another fine display. Great pass ahead of the second goal and almost scored after a wonderful mazy run.
Conor Gallagher: 8 – All-action display as always and his thunderous strike led to Chelsea’s third goal. Always wants the ball and always keen to play forward.
Raheem Sterling: 8 – Got his goal against City and was a constant threat as he cut inside and created chances galore.
Nicolas Jackson: 7 – Scored his goal and although he struggled on the ball a little, he never stopped working the channels.
Manc City player ratings
Ederson: 6 – Made a great stop to deny James’ free kick in the first half but an uncharacteristic error to spill a shot which led to Chelsea’s third. He had received some treatment just before that.
Kyle Walker: 7 – His pace bailed out City on multiple occasions in the first half as Chelsea looked to get in-behind. What a great defender he is.
Ruben Dias: 6 – A really tough outing for him with Sterling and Palmer cutting inside and making direct runs. Gave away the 92nd minute penalty kick which proved pivotal.
Manuel Akanji: 7 – Got his goal just before half time and was kept busy by Chelsea’s rotating forward line.
Josko Gvardiol: 5 – Really struggled against James and Palmer in the first half and still getting up to the speed of the Premier League. Tough for him out of position slightly at left back.
Rodri: 7 – His deflected effort won it for City and he loved the battle in midfield against Gallagher, and came out on top.
Bernardo Silva: 7 – So silky on the ball and always had City moving on the front foot.
Phil Foden: 7 – Great first half as he went close with a curler and then heavily involved in Haaland’s second goal.
Julian Alvarez: 7 – Set up Haaland’s second and buzzed around in little pockets of space.
Jeremy Doku: 6 – A few good runs in the first half. Booked for diving in the second and then subbed off.
Erling Haaland: 7 – Got two goals and caused a nuisance of himself but switched off on Thiago Silva’s goal.