There’s so much to reflect on after Chelsea’s chaotic 4-3 victory on Thursday at home to Manchester United.
A rollercoaster match in the Premier League finished with the Blues securing a last-minute win at Stamford Bridge, with Cole Palmer scoring two goals deep into stoppage time to snatch three points.
Mauricio Pochettino’s side looked down and out, but hat-trick hero Palmer spared their blushes with more heroics this season.
Interestingly, presenter John Southall told BBC Radio 5 Live last night that he saw Pochettino celebrating and be more animated than ever before after the dramatic win.
The Chelsea Chronicle has now reflected on five things we learned from the victory over Man United.
CB partnership is all wrong
Despite it being a night to celebrate for Chelsea, as the dust settles you can’t help but avoid a tough conversation about the state of the defending in recent weeks.
We’re really not liking the make up of the backline right now, especially the centre-back partnership of Axel Disasi and Benoit Badiashile that started the Man United win.
Both Disasi and Badiashile made individual errors yesterday, so we’d question if either should start this weekend at Sheffield United.
There’s plenty of alternative options on the bench to make wholesale defensive changes.
Noni Madueke is a real spark
Noni Madueke impacts games when he’s on a football pitch. It’s that simple!
We accept the right-winger is incredibly raw and can let you down at times with his final ball, but he’s a real spark we want to see play more.
He made a positive impact off the bench on Thursday when he was fouled late on for the Palmer spot-kick that made it 3-3.
If you play Madueke more on the right, it gives Palmer even more licence to move centrally and dictate play like he can as well.
Mauricio Pochettino owes Cole Palmer big time
The Chelsea head coach is so lucky he’s got a talisman like Palmer in his XI to constantly bail him out of trouble.
It’s quite phenomenal what the 21-year-old attacker is doing on a game-to-game basis.
Speaking via the Premier League’s official website, Owen Hargreaves raved about Palmer’s latest display in the league.
We’ve learned that he’s very much a Blues player carrying the pressure of the whole team on his shoulders right now.
Mason Mount exit not forgiven by plenty
Mason Mount, sold by Chelsea to Man United last summer, didn’t get a warm reception from the home fans inside Stamford Bridge yesterday.
We’re not overly surprised given football tribalism that the former star, who produced magic for the Blues, was jeered loudly by some sections.
Journalist Nizaar Kinsella shared via X that some Chelsea fans were chanting towards Mount throughout the game teasing him about the score.
European spots are still within reach
Yes, Chelsea can still somehow salvage this league season if they settle down and finish strongly.
If you look at the league table now, the Blues are within touching distance of the European positions.
Chelsea now sit 10th in the division table with 43 points from 29 games played , but they can jump as high as seventh if they win matches in hand.