Chelsea's rip-roaring 4-4 draw with English Premier League champions Manchester City has sent a resounding signal that Mauricio Pochettino's newlook side are finally finding their feet, after a faltering start to the season.
The Blues came from behind three times at Stamford Bridge and their never-say-die spirit was rewarded, when Ruben Dias slid into substitute Armando Broja and former City striker Cole Palmer thumped home the penalty in the 94th minute.
That last-gasp leveller was nothing less than the hosts deserved from a game that saw City take the lead via an Erling Haaland penalty, before Chelsea went 2-1 up, with goals from Thiago Silva and Raheem Sterling, only for Manuel Akanji to make it 2-2, all before halftime.
Haaland restored City's lead a minute into the second half, but 20 minutes later Nicolas Jackson pounced to make it 3-3. Rodri seemed to have won all three points for City, with a deflected 86th-minute shot, before Palmer's late penalty.
Stamford Bridge erupted in celebration under a downpour at the final whistle, even if the point left the Londoners in 10th place on the table.
They have now only won once in their last 14 home league games, a run stretching back into their disastrous 2022/23 campaign.
Those statistics speak of the Blues recent past - including home defeats to Nottingham Forest and Brentford - whereas the talk is now of what might lies ahead, coming on the heels of a 4-1 win at Tottenham Hotspur, albeit against a nine-man Spurs.
Pochettino says his "project from zero" with Chelsea's newly and expensively rebuilt squad was progressing and he hopes the draw against City represents two steps forward, after more hesitant progress earlier in the season.
"This type of performance I think we need to use for the future," the Argentine said.
City coach Pep Guardiola is effusive in his praise of his opponents, who failed to even score against City in their previous six league and Cup encounters, all of which were won by the Sky Blues.
The last time Chelsea beat City was in the 2021 Champions League final. Their fortunes have diverged sharply since then, with City winning the Premier League twice and the Champions League this year, while Chelsea's form was so bad last campaign, they fired coaches Thomas Tuchel and Graham Potter.
"They are a fantastic team with an experienced manager with a traditional club with a lot of titles in the last 20 years," City coach Pep Guardiola told BBC radio.
"They are starting to build something new from now on."
Reuters
