In a fiercely contested match, Chelsea somehow ended victorious despite trailing in the 99th minute. Palmer then intervened, first equalising from the penalty spot after Noni Madueke had been felled by Diogo Dalot, before giving us the win with a deflected shot one minute later in an unbelievable turnaround.

The Blues had taken a two-goal lead in the first half, which seemed long ago when Palmer completed his hat-trick in the 11th added minute.

Conor Gallagher had swept in our first inside five minutes before Palmer doubled the advantage from the spot when Marc Cucurella was fouled, Antony the culprit this time.

However, Alejandro Garnacho and Bruno Fernandes struck to make it 2-2 by half-time and Manchester United then took the lead themselves through Garnacho’s second after the break.

It was Chelsea and Palmer who had the final say, though, on an incredible night at Stamford Bridge which won’t be forgotten in a hurry.

Flying out of the blocks

It was a high-tempo start to the game, which Chelsea just about edged thanks to the industry in our midfield, and that would pay off with the opening goal inside the first five minutes.

It was perhaps inevitable that the scorer would be Conor Gallagher, our skipper for the evening responding the way he does best, after being targeted with disgraceful online abuse this week.

The move started with a lovely outside-of-the-boot pass by Enzo Fernandez, splitting the Manchester United defence to release Malo Gusto down the right. Raphael Varane got a toe on his low cross, but only diverted it towards Gallagher. Conor made no mistake, his first-time low shot having too much power for Andre Onana to keep out, despite getting a hand to it.

It was clear how much that moment meant to Gallagher, as he rushed to celebrate with the Chelsea supporters in the corner of the Shed End and West Stand, after netting his fifth goal of the season and third in the Premier League, matching his tally in this competition from last season already.

United tried to hit straight back, but Djordje Petrovic was more than a match for Antony’s curling effort, positioning himself well to gather comfortably before Mykhailo Mudryk had us back on the attack with a shot from range which was deflected wide.

The visitors had arguably the best of the spell that followed, at least in terms of possession, but it was the Blues who carried the most threat, and we had the chance to extend our lead before long. Mudryk exchanged passes with the overlapping Marc Cucurella and, when the Spaniard attempted to latch on in the box, he went down under an awkward challenge from Antony.

The outcome? A penalty to Chelsea, and who else to step up but Cole Palmer? Having been taunted by the United fans for his history with Manchester City, Palmer showed no hint of nerves, sending Onana the wrong way and slotting the kick into the bottom-right corner.

It was his second goal from the spot in the space of six days, following his delightful Panenka against Burnley, and his sixth penalty scored this season.

Palmer seemed to be enjoying himself, with plenty of skill on show up against Diogo Dalot, while Axel Disasi wasn’t far away from scoring a third when he headed narrowly over, found at the back post by a Gallagher free-kick.

Game turned on its head

Shortly after the half-hour mark, United pulled a goal back, though, and it came out of nowhere. The ball was kept in play wide on the right and fell to Moises Caicedo. With the option of going back to Petrovic or inside to Benoit Badiashile, he opted for the latter, but it was intercepted by Alejandro Garnacho, who raced clear to score.

The setback soon became a turnaround, as the visitors levelled the scores before half-time. This time it came when they spread the play with crossfield passes, allowing Dalot to find Bruno Fernandes at the back post with a deep delivery, with space to head past Petrovic.

We set about the task of regaining our lead immediately and were a whisker away from retaking the lead in first-half stoppage time. Gallagher smashed a shot goalwards after being found by a Palmer reverse pass, but it came back off the right-hand post and we went in for the break at 2-2.

Just like when this tie had begun an hour earlier, there was a fierce pace to the game when the second half kicked off. This time, though, some strong defensive blocks denied a clear sight of goal for some time, until first Nicolas Jackson drew a save from Onana with a strong shot from the right, and Fernandes fired over from a good position on the edge of our box.

Blues down but never out

The game was finely poised and it felt like the next goal could be important. Unfortunately it fell Man Utd’s way on the counter. Antony was able to break down the right wing and his cross left Petrovic stranded, allowing Garnacho to nod a finish into the back of the net and give the away team the lead for the first time in the game.

We tried to fight back and before long Onana was fisting the ball out from under his crossbar, when Palmer tried to catch the keeper out with a free-kick from a tight angle.

From that point on, the game was played almost exclusively in the Manchester United half, as the Blues pushed for an equaliser. For a long time it looked like it wouldn’t arrive, but then deep into added time Noni Madueke’s heels were clipped by the stumbling Dalot and for the second time in the game the referee gave a penalty against the United full-back.

Palmer went the same way again to level the scores right at the end and secure a late draw. Or so it seemed! Amazingly, Cole wasn’t finished yet and less than a minute later Chelsea were celebrating wildly after snatching victory from the jaws of defeat.

Enzo cleverly played short to Palmer from a corner and our No20 fired low into the crowd. It took a big deflection of Scott McTominay, but no-one was taking Palmer’s first Chelsea hat-trick away from him, as Blues rushed off the bench to join the incredible scenes of celebration on the pitch.

What it means

Chelsea move up to 10th place in the Premier League table, but more importantly just two points behind West Ham United in what is currently the final European qualification spot, with two games in hand over the Hammers. Tonight’s opponents Manchester United are now five points ahead in sixth, having played one game more than the Blues.

What is next

We are back in Premier League action on Sunday 7 April, but this time on the road. We travel north to take on Sheffield United, with kick-off at 5.30pm.

The teams

Chelsea (4-2-3-1): Petrovic; Gusto (Gilchrist 75), Disasi (Chalobah 75), Badiashile, Cucurella; Enzo, Caicedo (Chukwuemeka 71); Mudryk (Sterling 71), Gallagher (c) (Madueke 89), Palmer; Jackson
Unused subs: Bettinelli, Thiago Silva, Casadei, Tauriainen
Scorers: Gallagher 4, Palmer pen 19, 90+10, 90+11
Booked: Gusto 31, Enzo 35, Caicedo 90+12

Manchester United (4-2-3-1): Onana; Wan-Bissaka, Maguire, Varane (Evans h-t) (Kambwala 65), Dalot; Mainoo, Casemiro (McTominay 75); Antony, Fernandes (c), Garnacho (Mount 85); Hojlund (Rashford 65)
Unused subs: Heaton, Amrabat, Eriksen, Mount, Diallo
Scorers: Garnacho 34, Fernandes 38, Garnacho 67

Referee: Jarred Gillett

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