Latest goal in PL history
Chelsea wins thanks to madness in the 100th and 101st minutes of the game
April 5, 2024, 9:40 a.m
It looks like a win for Manchester United until well into stoppage time. But then Cole Palmer escalated the celebrations at Stamford Bridge, scoring the victory for Chelsea in the 100th and 101st minutes. Two goals that will go down in history.
“It was amazing. There’s nothing better than winning like that.” Cole Palmer had every reason to be happy late Thursday evening. The 21-year-old scored his Chelsea FC to a 4:3 (2:2) win against Manchester United. And that despite the fact that his team still looked like certain losers after 99 minutes and 17 seconds when the score was 2:3. But then Palmer turned it up again, no, twice.
Palmer’s goal after 100 minutes and 39 seconds of playing time will go down in history as the latest winning goal in the Premier League. After a corner he had plenty of space for his shot on the edge of the penalty area, the ball deflected off Scott McTominay on the way to the United goal, making it unstoppable for keeper André Onana. The completely unexpected goal to make the final score 4-3 caused tumultuous scenes of celebration in the stands at Stamford Bridge and among Mauricio Pochettino’s coaching team.
Pochettino gives free rein to his feelings.
(Photo: REUTERS)
United coach Erik Ten Hag is horrified that it could even come to this. “We made individual mistakes that cost us the game. We have to learn from that,” he complained after what was believed to be a certain victory. “If you’re a Man United player, you should know how to deal with such circumstances. We’ve lost five points in five days. That’s unacceptable. We’ve wasted a game that we should have won.”
Palmer turns it on late
The game got off to a furious start, captain Conor Gallagher had already given Chelsea the lead in the 4th minute, and a quarter of an hour later Palmer added his first penalty goal of the evening. Antony had lightly touched Marc Cucurella in the penalty area, causing a penalty. Palmer made it 2-0.
But then the game turned in favor of Manchester United, Alejandro Garnacho made it 2-1 in the 34th minute, and Bruno Fernandes equalized just five minutes later to make the score 2-2 at halftime. And that wasn’t it for United, Garnacho got on the scoresheet with a brace (67th) and thus took the lead, which lasted well into stoppage time. “We started badly, but I had the feeling that we dominated the game. We put ourselves in a good position, with brilliant football and great goals,” said Ten Hag. With the big but: “We didn’t manage to win the game in stoppage time.”
Because then Palmer struck again. Eight minutes of added time were called for, and in the 97th minute referee Jarred Gillett again awarded a penalty. Diogo Dalot hit Chelsea joker Noni Madueke lightly on the foot and then fell on him. The VAR check took a long time, and in the 100th minute Palmer finally went to the penalty spot again – and scored for the second time that evening. The madness began.
“I saw the coach say there were two minutes left and luckily I scored,” Palmer said of his historic minutes. Because just shortly after the penalty, Palmer was pretty much alone on the edge of the penalty area and was lucky that McTominay deflected the ball decisively. 4:3 win instead of 2:3 defeat.
Second best scorer in the league
By Palmer, of all people, the offensive man who moved to London from United’s city rivals Manchester City in September 2023. The English international has already scored 16 goals and 8 assists in 26 league games – in the top scorers list he is tied for second place behind Erling Haaland (18) and three other players. He has scored seven times in the last four games alone, making him one of the best in Pochettino’s team.
Chelsea have been unbeaten in the league since mid-February, but this is only their third win, plus two draws and two postponed games. Chelsea are now tenth in the table – with catch-up games in hand. So still far away from your own demands. Things are only gradually getting better for Manchester United, but in sixth place they are at least closer to the European places than the Blues. No reason to be happy for Ten Hag: “You have to do your job,” he said angrily after the game.