Manchester United

Manchester United manager Erik ten Hag feels his side's decision-making let them down at Stamford Bridge.

Contrasting opinions on Cole Palmer here. So where do you stand? Hit thumbs up if you think he really is all that, thumbs down if you think don't believe the hype!

BBC Radio 5 Live

Manchester United supporter Kim Burdett, who watched last night's game from home: “I think it probably follows on from what happened at Brentford. Before the international break, we had the opposite happen with us with Liverpool in the FA Cup and we got that last-minute dramatic winner.

“Since the international break, our game management, it looks like we’ve been on the cusp of two wins. We should have had six points in the last two games. Somehow we’ve only managed to come out of it with one and we’ve thrown two victories away.

“With game management, we sort of had a kamikaze kind of play when we were 3-2 up going into injury time. We were managing the ball, we were controlling it, then we do these kamikaze moves with Diogo Dalot, with that unnecessary foul in the box.

“And somehow we seem to contrive to throw these games away. I think the substitutions towards the end of the game were a bit questionable… I’m not sure the majority of United fans would have made the same substitutions. I think game management is a big issue but the players seem to lack control. Part of that comes from the players but part of that also comes from the coaching teams and the management.”

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BBC Radio 5 Live

Speaking on the BBC's Euro Leagues show as the game entered its final stages, Julien Laurens was oddly prescient in his summation of Chelsea's performance.

"Cole Palmer is the only good thing about this Chelsea team," the French football expert said. "I cannot believe you can go into a game like this with no structure - it's like an NBA game."

Former Premier League striker Glenn Murray added on BBC Radio 5 Live: "We said it was season-defining and a hat-trick for Cole Palmer, boy can they build a team around him. We have just seen something very special here at Stamford Bridge."

Emma Smith
BBC Sport

No team has ever won a Premier League match later than this. No team has ever been leading at such an advanced stage, only to lose the game.

Drama unfolded in historic proportions on Thursday as Chelsea beat Manchester United 4-3, Cole Palmer scoring twice deep into stoppage time to seal a remarkable win.

Palmer had put Chelsea 2-0 up inside 20 minutes from the penalty spot following Conor Gallagher's opener - only for Manchester United to come from behind.

Goals from Alejandro Garnacho and Bruno Fernandes had United level by half-time, and Garnacho grabbed a second on 67 minutes to put the visitors in front at Stamford Bridge.

Eight minutes of stoppage time were added, and United seemed to be seeing them out comfortably and condemning Chelsea to yet another disappointing defeat in a vastly underwhelming season.

Click here for more on Thursday's late drama.

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Martin: Really hard to say a 4-3 game is papering over the cracks, but 4-3 and how chaotic it was to reach that score, says everything that's wrong with both teams. Chelsea have better players but play as individuals mainly, and Manchester United face a huge task turning over ageing players in decline and others who are not consistent to make team a top-four team again. Just a flash of skill occasionally is not enough. The young players are their best [hope]. With PSR, United will need a minimum of three A+ transfer years to be challenging again.

Tom Overend, Chelsea fan:

"It’s impossible to judge it because I was convinced Mauricio Pochettino's time was coming to an end yesterday because from 2-0 to 3-2, knowing how poor Chelsea have been in the second half of games this season, I couldn’t see a way back, I really couldn’t.

"Poch hadn’t connected with our fanbase at that point. It was really looking dire. I’ll be honest, I didn’t think that was going to happen last night. But then to see the remarkable scenes and Poch clearly emotional, clearly finally connecting a bit with some of the fans. Maybe this could be a turning point. I’m really hoping that it is."

*This entry has had the name of the contributor corrected

Image source, Getty Images

Chelsea manager Mauricio Pochettino described Thursday night's dramatic win over Manchester United at Stamford Bridge as an "important day" for the club.

Boos rang out at the end of their previous home match - a 2-2 draw against strugglers Burnley - but they were replaced by jubilant scenes against United.

The victory - snatched from the jaws of defeat with two stoppage-time goals from Cole Palmer - made it six league games unbeaten for Chelsea, moving them up two places to 10th in the table.

“It was amazing. We deserved it, we were the better team," said Pochettino. "It was a fair result. If you see everything we started the game in control and we made a mistake. We suffered an emotional impact.

“In the second half again we controlled the game again. We suffered in transition. In these situations we should have been better.

“In the end, it was a fair result. For the connection with the fans it is an important day. It should be a turning point."

BBC Radio 5 Live

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Chelsea's late show at home to Manchester United will have caught out many fans, says former Blues midfielder Boudewijn Zenden.

Cole Palmer scored twice - in the 10th and 11th minute of stoppage time - to secure a 4-3 win for the home side when it had looked like United were heading for all three points.

"Sometimes you see people leave a game a bit early to stay away from traffic," Zenden told BBC Radio 5 Live. "This shows again you should never leave the game too early because there is always something happening towards the end.

"It's amazing to see. This is why we love football. You have got many goals and to get it [the equaliser and winner] in stoppage time it's crazy, it's nice to watch. Even the neutral would have been happy."

Chelsea

On Chelsea's stunning late fightback to beat Manchester United on Thursday, manager Mauricio Pochettino said: "The team needs to show passion with 11 players on the pitch running, desperate to get the ball back and score goals. That's the passion our fans need to see.

"I need to be calm, I need to be very clinical and analytic watching the game, trying to help them in every single aspect of the game. I need to be concentrated and focused.

"At the end of the game, of course, you show your passion like I did today. Fantastic. But this is not a circus where you need a clown to do things on the touchline. I am not a clown, I'm a head coach."

Alex Howell
BBC football news reporter at Stamford Bridge

Mauricio Pochettino believes Cole Palmer has proved he is a "top player" after his hat-trick helped Chelsea secure a dramatic win against Manchester United.

The 21-year-old's last two goals came in stoppage time, with the winner the latest scored in Premier League history, coming at 100 minutes 39 seconds.

Palmer is now one of four players on 16 goals in the Premier League this season and just two behind Erling Haaland in the race for the Golden Boot.

When he signed for Chelsea on deadline day for a deal worth £42.5m some eyebrows were raised at the fee, however that now looks like a bargain.

"One of the best skills is his mentality and his capacity to deal with the pressure." Pochettino said. "He's young and I think it's his first season playing very consistently.

"I think it's amazing how he is dealing with the pressure. That is all that can be a very good player. With the performance today it's impossible to say that he's not a top player."

Chelsea

Eyebrows were raised in the summer when Chelsea spent £42.5 m on Manchester City youngster Cole Palmer, but he has more than proven his worth.

Chelsea sit 10th in the Premier League on 43 points. Palmer is their leading scorer - only Erling Haaland has scored more in the Premier League - and if it wasn't for his goals, the Blues would be 14 points worse off and even further down the table.

Here's where Palmer has rescued Chelsea:

• One in a 2-2 draw against Arsenal (+1 point)
• One in a 4-4 draw against Man City (+1 point)
• Two in a 3-2 win at Luton (+3 points)
• One in a 1-0 win against Fulham (+3 points)
• One in a 3-2 win against Newcastle (+2 points)
• One in a 2-2 draw against Burnley (+1 point)
• Three in a 4-3 win against Man Utd (+3 points)

Total points gained directly from his goals: 14

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Chelsea

Two goals from Cole Palmer's hat-trick in the dramatic win over Manchester United last night came from penalties and he has a pretty formidable record from the spot.

Of the 16 Premier League goals the 21-year-old winger has scored this season, eight of them have been penalties - and he's yet to miss one.

In Premier League history, only two players have taken more penalties while converting 100% of them - Yaya Toure (11) and Dimitar Berbatov (nine).

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Chelsea

Chelsea's hat-trick hero Cole Palmer said: "[It was a] crazy game. When we scored in the 98th minute I thought 'let's go for it'. Madness.

"I didn't know what to do. I was running round when I scored. A hat-trick is a hat-trick. It was my first one, I'm really happy about it.

"I had a few penalties this season. I'm just going to continue to try to score them. If I get penalties, I'm going to try to score, I'm not going to try to miss.

"When we scored [manager Mauricio Pochettino] said 'two minutes, come on'. He's always trying to drive us on. We went for it and thankfully we scored.

"It's a big winner. It's a massive momentum booster. It puts everyone in a good mood. Hopefully we can kick on."

DSSBrooks: ETH is a dead man walking after last night. This United team will get punched from game to game before an absolute smashing in the Cup final by City - if they can get past Coventry, which is not a given with this bunch.

West Ham United

A final word from West Ham manager David Moyes on opposite number Gary O'Neil: "Gary has done a really good job, and we're up against a difficult opponent. He's a young manager but he's come in and steadied Wolves. I've been very impressed with him."

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West Ham United

West Ham boss David Moyes said that goalkeeper Alphonse Areola was not available for Saturday's match after tweaking his groin in last weekend's 4-3 defeat at Newcastle.

He added that centre-back Nayef Aguerd was also a doubt but will be "monitored" in training today before a final decision is made.

On the possibility of rotating his squad, Moyes said: "I've not even thought about that. It's difficult and there are teams around us, but we just need to take each game as it comes."

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West Ham United

West Ham manager David Moyes on the form of England forward Jarrod Bowen, who has scored 19 goals in all competitions this season and weighed in with eight assists: "If he got 20 that'd be great. In my head, if he got 20 Premier League goals that'd be amazing, especially for a player who doesn't always play up front. He's been brilliant, and he's got lots of assists as well."

Bowen has 15 goals in the Premier League this season - just three behind leading scorer Erling Haaland.

Check out the league's top scorers here.

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