(Video: Chelsea fans can’t believe what Enzo Fernandez did to Mason Mount in 4-3 win over Man Utd
Cole Palmer may have been the match-winner, but it was Enzo Fernandez who earned the plaudits from Chelsea fans after the dramatic win over Manchester United.
Palmer scored twice in injury time to earn a remarkable 4-3 victory at Stamford Bridge on Thursday night. Chelsea raced into a 2-0 lead through Conor Gallagher ’s early strike and Palmer’s penalty, but allowed United back into it.
Moises Caicedo’s mistake was pounced upon by Alejandro Garnacho, Bruno Fernandes headed in at the back post and Garnacho nodded Antony’s cross past Djordje Petrovic to put United 3-2 up. United appeared to be holding on for a famous comeback win until Diogo Dalot fouled Noni Madueke, allowing Palmer to score his second penalty of the night for 3-3.
That was dramatic enough, but it didn’t end there, with Fernandez’s quick corner allowing Palmer the space to smash in a deflected winner. That assist earned the Argentina World Cup winner some praise – but it was his confrontations with Mount that really got the home fans going.
Mount left Chelsea for United in a £55million transfer in the summer, which saw him turn from homegrown hero to villain in the eyes of many supporters. After coming on as an 86th-minute substitute for Garnacho, Mount was subjected to booing, while one of his old No19 Chelsea shirts was held up with ‘Judas’ written on the back.
And after blocking Fernandez’s attempt to kick the ball back to United to take a throw-in, Mount went head to head with his former team-mate before pushing him away. After the full-time whistle, Fernandez could be seen beating his chest in front of the crestfallen Mount, rubbing salt into the wounds and delighting his supporters.
“Enzo fighting Mount then later assisting Palmer right in front of Mount to score the winner is my highlight!” one Chelsea fan tweeted. Another simply added: “Enzo is proper Chels”.
There was plenty of agreement that Fernandez embodies the club’s ethos. “Inject it. Proper Chels. Long may he stay,” one fan wrote. Another wrote: “I love Enzo! He has that proper Chels with charisma and doings!” Another concluded: “That win was for Enzo man”.
Palmer’s last-minute strike sparked wild celebrations on the touchline from Mauricio Pochettino and his staff, with Fernandez knee-sliding in to join them. Moments like that have been in short supply this season and the Blues boss explained: “It was unfair [if Chelsea lost]. The feeling was not so good, because I thought why are we losing the game? But it happened because in football it is like this. In the end, I was keeping believing. We were talking to our players, ‘there’s still two minutes’. We believed we could score the winning goal.
“Yes, so happy because in the end it was emotional. Win the game like this, three points and for us it was a must-win game to reduce the gap to the teams ahead of us. It was so, so, so important, the three points today.”