To Jurgen Klopp's chagrin, Liverpool occupy a spot in the Saturday lunchtime Premier League kickoff following the international break, as the Reds take on Manchester City in a top-of-the-table spectacular at the Etihad.
Pep Guardiola's treble winners are only one point clear of their Merseyside counterparts heading into the weekend's headline fixture, although the hosts' winning streak came to an end in phenomenal circumstances two weekends ago.
While Sterling did haunt his old club with Chelsea's second goal on the evening, it was Palmer who drove the dagger deeper into the hearts of the Citizens faithful, keeping his composure from the penalty spot in the fifth minute of second-half injury time to conclude an eight-goal extravaganza.
Despite netting four times through an Erling Haaland brace, Manuel Akanji header and deflected Rodri strike, Guardiola's men lost their five-game victorious sequence in that mesmerising 4-4 stalemate, one which saw them enter the third hiatus of the season just one point clear at the summit.
Both upcoming opponents Liverpool and Arsenal are on the coat-tails of the reigning champions, who could also be caught by Tottenham Hotspur or Aston Villa depending on the result of their intriguing battle on Sunday, but bagging a quartet of strikes at Stamford Bridge at least means that the Citizens have scored at least three times in each of their last five contests.
0 Comments