Chelsea forward Cole Palmer stuns Manchester United with injury time winner at Stamford Bridge

Chelsea 4, Manchester United 3

Cole Palmer scored twice after the 100 minute mark to complete a hat trick as Chelsea stunned Manchester United to win at Stamford Bridge.

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His hat trick goal sealed the win for the Blues after United remarkably led the game in the 99th minute before a penalty in the 100th minute and a deflected strike in the 101st minute – timed at 100 minutes and 39 seconds – left the Reds empty handed.

Palmer, an ex-Manchester City player and boyhood United fan, once again sparkled for the Blues in a game where his hat trick may have decided the fate of United manager Erik Ten Hag in the eyes of many fans.

Defeat leaves the Reds in 6th place, 9 points behind Tottenham in 5th with 8 games to go but more importantly West Ham, Newcastle United, Brighton, and Chelsea are now within striking distance of the inconsistent Reds who now face a daunting visit from league leaders Liverpool at the weekend.

With neither side capable of defending well the expectation was for a glut of shots, and maybe a handful of goals and the not entirely unexpected booing of ex-Chelsea player Mason Mount when he came on as a substitute for the Reds.

And with 28 shots conceded by United and 19 by Chelsea it wasn’t hard to predict a very watchable game which Chelsea dominated most metrics but both sides scored freely.

The stage was set for another breathless all time classic game after Conor Gallagher opened the scoring after just 4 minutes.

Antony fouled Marc Cucurella to concede a penalty which Palmer tucked away after 19 minutes to double their lead.

But United hit back to level the game at half time with a 34th minute strike by Alejandro Garnacho after he pounced on an error by Moises Caicedo, followed by Bruno Fernandes who headed home Diogo Dalot’s cross in the 39th minute to bring the Reds back to parity.

Garnacho then put the Reds into the lead in the 67th minute when he met Antony’s outrageous out of the boot cross to send the travelling fans wild.

United looked to be holding on for the win – leading the game until the 9th minute of added time – until substitute Noni Madueke was brought down by Dalot in the area.

Palmer coolly stepped up to level the scores again from the spot in the 100th minute before his shot was deflected past Andre Onana in the 101st minute to send the home fans crazy.