 |
| Chelsea players celebrate after Cole Palmer scored the winner at the death against Manchester United at the Stamford Bridge on Thursday. (Photo credit: ESPN) |
Hail Mary! It’s indeed time to press the panic button at Manchester United's back-to-back last-minute collapse, Champions League football wheeling away from them, and is this the beginning of the end for Erik Ten Hag?
Speaking of the manager, he was fuming at the post-match conference, heaping all the blame on the players and asking them to find ways to close out games without conceding at the death to drop points. When does he start looking into the mirror?
Chelsea raced into a two-goal lead early in the game through a neat Connor Gallagher finish and an ice-cold penalty from you know who, Cole Cold Palmer, giving the Stamford Bridge rare joy in the derby of two fallen giants.
Manchester United saw Aston Villa and Tottenham drop points in the race for the top four and needed a win to close the gap, hoping to springboard from there. Alejandro Garnacho forced one in from a Moises Caicedo error, and Bruno Fernandes levelled matters with a clean header before halftime.
Chelsea huffed and puffed in the opening stages of the second half, but it was Manchester United that went into the lead. It felt like the Red Devils had turned things around and were going to record their great comeback yet again.
Antony, the player who conceded the penalty for Chelsea’s second goal, launched a delightful assist to Garnacho, who made no mistake with a simple but precise header. The goal took United to just within six points of Spurs, and belief grew among the visitors.
Chelsea turned things around in the closing stages, with just two minutes left in added time. First, Diogo Dalot’s unfortunate slip brought down Noni Madueke in the Chelsea area, and referee Jarred Gillet pointed to the spot. Palmer sent Andre Onana the wrong way, and a point looked like the fair result at the time.
Just one minute later, a seemingly tame Palmer effort was deflected past Onana by substitute Scott McTominay to send the home crowd into bedlam. "It was an amazing game for the neutral," Ten Hag told BBC Sport after the match. "A fantastic football game with a lot of quality.
"Manchester United dominated the game, but we made individual errors that cost us the game. We have to learn from it. When you are a Manchester United player, you should already know how to deal with this circumstance."