Chelsea ratings: Cole Palmer the leading light yet again with hat-trick but Caicedo’s sloppy error sparked comeback

CHELSEA put in a Jekyll & Hyde performance against Manchester United as they blew a 2-0 lead before coming back to win.

The Blues ran their opponents ragged inside the opening 20 minutes and were soon two goals to the good.

PACole Palmer scored his 17th and 18th Chelsea goals of the season[/caption]

PAConor Gallagher opened the scoring[/caption]

GettyMarc Cucurella won the penalty for the second goal[/caption]

Cole Palmer was at his skilfully best and scored again from the penalty spot, after Conor Gallagher had smashed in the opener.

Enzo Fernandez got forward well and even Marc Cucurella looked invigorated – the Spaniard winning the penalty for the second goal.

But in the 34th minute Chelsea shot themselves in the foot yet again as Moises Caicedo gifted Alejandro Garnacho possession to score.

Prior to that the visitors were not in the game but the goal appeared to inspire Erik ten Hag’s side, who were level moments later through Bruno Fernandes’ back post header.

The score was level at the break and the game could have swung in either direction.

As it was, a rare moment of magic from Antony as his cross with the outside of his boot was met by Garnacho, who nodded the ball past Djordje Petrovic to put United in front.

But there would be a final twist as Palmer struck twice in stoppage time to seal his hat-trick and a dramatic 4-3 victory.

Here is how SunSport’s Andy Dillon rated the Chelsea display in an exhilarating match.

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Djordje Petrovic – 5

Stranded for Man United’s equaliser. Came out too far and was caught cold for United’s third goal. A rare but costly rush of blood.

Malo Gusto – 6

Steadily improving member of an erratic squad. Was out of position when the visitors pulled level though. But still growing in influence and proved it with the cut back for goal number one.

Axel Disasi – 5

Solid but sometimes prone to an error as shown with Hojlund in the second half. But also capable of titanic tackles as shown against Hojlund in the second half.

Benoit Badiashile – 4

Committed himself to step forward and claim the ball from a throw but was clumsy and gave it away, leading to Man United’s third goal. Awful control.

Marc Cucurella – 6

Sent one shot into the top tier of The Shed but then won the penalty that should have put Chelsea well on top.

Enzo Fernandez – 5

Cute pass with the outside his right boot set up Chelsea’s first. A moment of class but he should be producing them more regularly.

Moises Caicedo – 5

Head in hands moment when his sloppy sideways pass to Benoit Badiashile fell way short, allowing Man United to equalise and fight their way back.

Cole Palmer – 9

The leading light in this Chelsea team. Nimble and tricky. A Man United fan as a kid and answered the taunts from visiting fans with a hat trick that will be immortalised. Balls of steel. 9

Conor Gallagher – 6

From the back foot to the front. Answered the online trolls in the best way with a goal after four minutes and leads by example as captain.

Mykhailo Mudryk – 6

Another slowly but surely growing in confidence. A neat ball down the left channel forced Antony into giving away a penalty.

Nicolas Jackson – 5

If the shock of dyed blue hair was supposed to intimidate it didn’t work. It looked like it had gone wrong on a hot wash. Ran his legs off but could not make much headway.

Subs

Raheem Sterling (Mudryk, 70 mins) – 6

Up against it coming on with Chelsea trailing and at a low ebb.

Carney Chukwuemeka (Caicedo 70 mins) – 6

Adds drive from midfield but has missed far too many games to be in any sort of rhythm.

Alfie Gilchrist (Gusto 75 mins) – 6

Added pace to Chelsea on the counter attack but should have done better from one corner with his head.

Trevoh Chalobah (Disasi 75 mins) – 6

As replacement for heavyweight Disasi he was more pressing going forwards at least. 6

Noi Madueke (Gallagher 87 mins) – 7

Not much such a raw kid can do with three minutes of normal time remaining. Still managed to win a penalty though.