LONDON (Reuters) – Chelsea’s exhilarating 4-4 draw with Premier League champions Manchester City on Sunday showed that Mauricio Pochettino’s rejuvenated team is starting to find their stride after a slow start to the season.
The Blues fought back three times at Stamford Bridge, and their never-give-up attitude paid off when Ruben Dias fouled substitute Armando Broja, leading to former City striker Cole Palmer scoring a penalty in the 94th minute.
The dramatic equalizer was a well-deserved result for the hosts, who saw City take the lead with an Erling Haaland penalty before Chelsea went 2-1 up with goals from Thiago Silva and Raheem Sterling, only for Manuel Akanji to level the score at 2-2 before halftime.
Haaland put City ahead again just a minute into the second half, but 20 minutes later, Nicolas Jackson scored to make it 3-3. Rodri then appeared to secure all three points for City with a deflected 86th-minute shot, only for Palmer’s late penalty to level the match.
Stamford Bridge erupted in celebration at the final whistle, even though the point left the Londoners in 10th place in the table. However, they have only won once in their last 14 home league games, a run that extends back to their disastrous 2022-23 campaign.
But these statistics reflect the Blues’ recent struggles, including home defeats to Nottingham Forest and Brentford. On Sunday, the focus was on what the future might hold, following their 4-1 win at Tottenham Hotspur the previous Monday, although it was against a nine-man Spurs team.
Pochettino stated that his “project from zero” with Chelsea’s newly rebuilt and expensive squad was making progress, and he hoped the draw against City marked a significant step forward after a hesitant start to the season.
“This type of performance, I think we need to use for the future,” the Argentine manager said.
City coach Pep Guardiola lavished praise on his opponents, who had failed to even score against City in their previous six league and cup encounters, all of which were won by City. The last time Chelsea beat City was in the 2021 Champions League final. Since then, City has won the Premier League twice and the Champions League this year, while Chelsea’s form was so poor last season that they fired coaches Thomas Tuchel and Graham Potter.
“They are a fantastic team with an experienced manager, a traditional club with a lot of titles in the last 20 years,” Guardiola told BBC radio. “They are starting to build something new from now on.”
(Reporting by William Schomberg; Editing by Toby Davis)
