Cole Palmer refutes Manchester City's perspective in a classic Premier League match, proving that Pep Guardiola is mistaken

It had everything. Absolutely everything. Aside from the winning goal, when Chelsea showcased their best performance of the season in a Premier League showdown that has become an all-time classic, ultimately securing victory over Manchester City.

While much of the post-match analysis will revolve around the heated VAR debate and City's penalty, which opened the chaotic scoring, the most significant takeaway is whether Pep Guardiola made a mistake by letting Cole Palmer go.

Teaming up with his former City teammate Raheem Sterling, who also had an outstanding game, Palmer returned to haunt Guardiola. It was fitting that the duo combined to earn and convert a penalty in the 95th minute after a foul on substitute Armando Broja, leading to City dropping points.

Notably, for the first time in Guardiola's coaching career (all 882 games), his team scored four goals and conceded four. "Good advertisement for the Premier League," said Guardiola, before adding, "Did you enjoy it?" Yes, we did.

This result sets the stage for City's home clash with Liverpool, who, like Arsenal, currently trail the leaders by just one point after the international break. Unfortunately, the early kick-off at 12:30 means that intercontinental flights could be as crucial as tactics.

With only three points separating the top five clubs nearly a third of the way through the campaign, there is hope for a wide-open title race.

However, at times during this intense encounter, it seemed like City was mocking that statement, especially as Erling Haaland scored twice, taking his Premier League tally to 47 goals in just 49 matches. The Norwegian is on track to break the record for the fastest to 50 goals, currently held by Andy Cole, who achieved the feat in 65 games. It's a safe bet that Haaland might do it against Liverpool. He makes the extraordinary almost routine.

But this time, Haaland wasn't the main story. Earlier this week, Guardiola revealed that after Riyad Mahrez's departure, Palmer turned down his offer of more playing time at City and instead opted to join Chelsea for £42.5 million. The signing of City's Jeremy Doku also played a role.

Guardiola has a notable policy: he doesn't try to keep players who don't want to stay, even if they intend to join an obvious competitor, considering it a "small club" mentality. However, in this case, it undoubtedly came at a cost. Chelsea was undoubtedly surprised by City's willingness to do business.

Palmer is evidently a player of Guardiola's mold. The 21-year-old academy product is skillful, sharp in passing, and moves excellently. He proves to be a huge asset for Chelsea – and for England – and has become the best acquisition since Todd Boehly and company took over the club, spending £1 billion. Sterling was one of the star signings, hoping he would also show leadership, but he hasn't played such a game since moving to Stamford Bridge.

English midfielder Cole Palmer (number 80) of Manchester City breaks through City's defense during the English Premier League football match between Chelsea and Manchester City at Stamford Bridge in London on November 12, 2023. Cole Palmer broke through City's defense but failed to finish what should have been one of the goals of the season. Photo: AFP/Adrian Dennis.

His motivation, possibly fueled by continued exclusion from the England national team, was crystal clear. Even in the final minutes, he raced back to challenge Phil Foden and stop a dangerous City counterattack. It earned him a yellow card, but he was inspired, and it showed.

His coach Mauricio Pochettino also received a warning and was furious after the final whistle, entering the field, believing his young team was denied a chance to attack one last time and secure a famous victory.

But after the 4-1 win against nine-man Tottenham last Monday, it cannot be denied that Chelsea seems to be moving in the right direction, even if they have just entered the top 10.

They have also avoided defeat against Arsenal and Liverpool, so Pochettino's task is to assess whether his players are motivated enough against clearly lesser teams or smart enough against those expecting Chelsea to take the initiative.

As always, there were controversies. As always these days, everything focused on VAR, and referee Anthony Taylor – not a favorite among Chelsea fans – awarded a penalty when Mark Cucurella clearly pulled Haaland's shirt.

The dispute was whether Haaland was the first to tug on the Chelsea defender's shirt, but VAR, Jared Gillett, did not ask Taylor to check the pitchside monitor and made the decision on the field, apparently because it was not a "clear and obvious" error. Chelsea was furious about this.