What the papers say

Reece James is wanted by Manchester City, according to the Independent. City are said to see the 23-year-old from Chelsea as a possible replacement for his fellow England right-back Kyle Walker, who is 10 years his senior.

Mason Greenwood’s time in Spain could be set to continue. The Sun reports Getafe are looking to extend the 22-year-old striker’s loan deal from Manchester United.

Borussia Dortmund’s Julian Brandt is catching the eye of Premier League clubs, according to the Mirror. The paper reports that Arsenal and Newcastle are both keen on the 27-year-old Germany midfielder.

Arsenal are also said to be keen on adding Douglas Luiz to their midfield options. The Mirror reports Aston Villa’s 25-year-old Brazilian has emerged as the top January target at the Emirates.

Social media round-upPlayers to watch

Wilfred Ndidi: Barcelona are keen on the Nigerian midfielder, 26, whose contract at Leicester is up at the end of the season.

Archie Gray: Liverpool are reportedly watching the 17-year-old Leeds midfielder.

Desert Orchid, one of the most successful steeplechasers of all time, died at the age of 27 on this day in 2006.

The dashing grey achieved greatness within the National Hunt arena and was much-loved by racing enthusiasts for his iron will and extreme adaptability.

Affectionately known as ‘Dessie’, he won 34 races in total, including the 1989 Cheltenham Gold Cup and seven at his beloved Kempton Park, where four victories in the King George VI Steeple Chase underlined his immense talent.

Following his retirement in 1991, he remained popular with fans, making public appearances at charity events.

In a statement, his former trainer David Elsworth said: “Desert Orchid died peacefully in his stable at 6.05 this morning. There was no stress, he departed from this world with dignity and no fuss.

“He did his dying in the same individual way that he did his living. It was time to go.

“Dessie had not been well for the past week and was losing his co-ordination. He was 27 years old and we had been involved with this wonderful horse for
a quarter of a century both in his racing days and retirement.”

Desert Orchid’s ashes were buried at his stomping ground of Kempton, where a statue was also erected.

Sam Reinhart had two goals and two assists and the Florida Panthers withstood another standout performance by rookie sensation Connor Bedard in Sunday's 4-3 win over the Chicago Blackhawks.

Reinhart assisted on Carter Verhaeghe's power-play goal that snapped a 3-3 tie early in the third period, and Sergei Bobrovsky made 13 of his 23 saves in the final frame to help seal Florida's fourth straight win.

Bedard followed up Thursday's two-goal, two-assist effort at Tampa Bay with two more goals, giving the 2023 No. 1 overall draft pick seven in his last six games. 

Reinhart's second goal of the night gave Florida a 3-2 lead seven minutes into the second period, but Bedard answered just 1:18 later and the game remained deadlocked at 3-3 into the second intermission.

Verhaeghe put the Panthers up for good 2:44 into the third period, and Bobrovsky made the lead hold up despite the Panthers being outshot by a 13-6 margin in the final 20 minutes.

Reinhart and Oliver Ekman-Larsson had first-period goals for Florida, while Bedard and Jason Dickinson both scored for Chicago in the opening session.

Arvid Soderblom finished with 28 saves for the Blackhawks.

Stars score five power-play goals in 8-3 rout of Wild

Jason Robertson had two of five Dallas power-play goals as the Stars rolled to an 8-3 victory over the Minnesota Wild to complete a perfect three-game road trip.

Wyatt Johnston also scored twice, including a short-handed goal in the final minutes, in Dallas' first meeting with Minnesota since ousting the Wild in six games in the first round of last season's playoffs.

Both Robertson and Johnston added an assist for the Stars, whose five power-play goals tied a franchise single-game record. Dallas also received goals from Joe Pavelski, Radek Faksa, Matt Duchene and Evgenii Dadonov, while Miro Heiskanen finished with three assists to back Jake Oettinger's 23 saves.

Dallas took a 3-2 lead after one period, highlighted by Pavelski's power-play goal just 57 seconds in and a short-handed tally by Faksa, and both Johnston and Dadonov scored on the power play in the second to extend the margin to three.

Robertson's two goals came just 2:07 apart and gave Dallas a 7-3 advantage early in the third.

Brandon Duhaime, Vinni Lettieri and Mats Zuccarello had goals in the Wild's third straight loss. Marc Andre-Fleury surrendered all eight Dallas goals on 37 shots. 

Lafreniere stars in Rangers' shootout win over Blue Jackets

Alexis Lafreniere scored twice in regulation before recording the deciding goal in the shootout as the New York Rangers rallied for a 4-3 win over the Columbus Blue Jackets.

Lafreniere's second goal of the game came with just 11 seconds left in regulation and forged a 3-3 tie. The former No. 1 overall pick then registered the lone goal during the shootout phase to extend the Rangers' point streak to 10 games, a stretch in which they've gone 9-0-1.

Chris Kreider delivered his 10th goal of the season and added an assist for New York, while Jonathan Quick made 25 saves before stopping all three Columbus skaters in the shootout.

Lafreniere's first of the night gave the Rangers a 2-1 lead with 8:43 left in the second period, but Adam Fantilli and Sean Kuraly scored 19 seconds apart later in the period to put the Blue Jackets back ahead.

Justin Danforth put Columbus up 1-0 with 3:34 remaining in the first period before Kreider answered less than 2 1/2 minutes later.

Elvis Merzlikins finished with 37 saves for Columbus, which fell to 0-3-2 over its last five games.

San Francisco got back to winning ways after three successive defeats with a convincing 34-3 win at Jacksonville on Sunday.

Brock Purdy threw for three touchdowns as the 49ers made an impressive return to form against a Jaguars side that had won their previous five games.

Jaguars quarterback Trevor Lawrence was sacked five times as the visitors dominated in all departments. Both teams ended the day with 6-3 records.

The Minnesota Vikings held off a New Orleans fightback to improve to 6-4 with a 27-19 win over the Saints.

Josh Dobbs ran in a touchdown and threw for another as the Vikings opened up a 24-3 lead in the first half but the Saints set up a tight finish as back-up quarterback Jameis Winston threw for two touchdowns.

Jonathan Taylor’s first-half touchdown proved crucial as the Indianapolis Colts overcame the New England Patriots 10-6 in Frankfurt.

Mac Jones’ hopes of leading a late Patriots rally ended when he threw an interception in the fourth quarter and was benched by head coach Bill Belichick. The loss left the Patriots on 2-8.

The Dallas Cowboys cruised to a 49-17 win over the New York Giants – the second time this season they have thrashed their NFC East rivals after a 40-0 success in their opening game.

Dak Prescott threw for four touchdowns and ran for another as the Cowboys moved to six wins and three losses.

Jason Myers kicked his fifth field goal of the game as time ran out to give the Seattle Seahawks a 29-26 win over the Washington Commanders, keeping them tied at the top of the NFC West with the 49ers.

The Detroit Lions stretched their lead at the top of the NFC North as Riley Patterson’s last-ditch field goal gave them a 41-38 win over the Los Angeles Chargers.

Kyler Murray’s return from injury inspired the Arizona Cardinals to a 25-23 win against the  Atlanta Falcons, Matt Prater’s field goal in the dying seconds ending a run of six-straight losses.

Murray, who has been out for 11 months with a knee injury, threw for 249 yards and ran for a touchdown on his return.

The Pittsburgh Steelers beat the Green Bay Packers 23-19, despite losing linebacker Kwon Alexander to a leg injury, while the Tampa Bay Buccaneers won for the first time in five attempts with a 20-6 victory over the Tennessee Titans.

Replacement kicker Matt Ammendola kicked a field goal on the final play as the Houston Texans dramatically beat the Cincinnati Bengals 30-27 while the Cleveland Browns claimed a similarly nailbiting 33-31 win over the Baltimore Ravens.

Dustin Hopkins, who had earlier missed an extra-point attempt that could have tied the game, kicked the decisive points for the Browns, who had trailed 17-3 after the first quarter.

Novak Djokovic ensured he will finish the year ranked world number one for an eighth time after battling to a late-night victory over Holger Rune in his opening match at the ATP Finals.

Djokovic is chasing a record seventh title but again found 20-year-old Rune, who is making his debut at the eight-man event, a troublesome opponent before pulling off a third win in five meetings.

It was past midnight in Turin when Djokovic completed a 7-6 (4) 6-7 (1) 6-3 victory after three hours and four minutes on court.

Rune has fared much better against Djokovic than most of his rivals over the last couple of years, beating him in Paris last autumn and Rome in the spring before a narrow defeat in the French capital a week-and-a-half ago.

The Serbian went on to claim the Masters series title, maintaining his record of not having lost a match since the Wimbledon final.

It was Rune who struck first with a break to lead 3-2 but Djokovic hit straight back and the high-class set went all the way to a tie-break, which the top seed took with a forehand smashed cross-court past his helpless opponent.

Rune reacted well, breaking again to lead 2-0 in the second set, but once more Djokovic found the immediate response, and a strong serve foiled the young Dane when he forced a set point at 4-5.

Rune slumped after reaching the Wimbledon quarter-finals prior to hiring Djokovic’s former coach Boris Becker last month, but there were plenty of moments here to demonstrate his huge talent and fearsome ball-striking.

He has won at least a set against Djokovic in every match they have played, but he had a helping hand in setting up a decider, his rival playing a highly unusual lacklustre tie-break.

Djokovic broke straight away to start the deciding set, only for this time Rune to recover the deficit immediately, prompting a frustrated Djokovic to stamp on two rackets, snapping the frames.

But he broke again to lead 4-2 and this time there was no way back for Rune.

Djokovic told Prime Video: “It took everything. I saw in the first game when he fired shots from the baseline, I knew it was going to be a tough night for me. I thought he played great. I played great in some moments.

“Overall a win is a win. It was a very emotional win and a tough win knowing the significance of tonight’s match. After a really terrible second-set tie-break I think I played a really solid third set.”

Earlier, Italian Jannik Sinner delighted the crowd by defeating Stefanos Tsitsipas in the opening singles match.

Sinner, 22, played as an alternate two years ago but qualified for the first time this season after claiming four ATP Tour titles and rising to world number four. He is one of the favourites to lift the trophy this week, which would be the dream scenario for the home fans, and a 6-4 6-4 victory over Tsitsipas is a big step towards the semi-finals.

Joe Espada will reportedly become the next manager of the Houston Astros.

Multiple news outlets reported the hiring on Sunday and the Astros have a news conference scheduled for Monday, and Espada will be introduced then.

The 48-year-old Espada spent the last six seasons as Houston's bench coach and this will be his first managerial position.

Many had considered Espada to be the favourite to become the Astros' manager after the 74-year-old Dusty Baker retired last month.

Baker had managed the Astros since 2020, and led Houston to the 2022 World Series title. He retired last month after the team was eliminated by the Texas Rangers in the American League championship series - Houston's seventh straight trip to the ALCS.

Espada played nine seasons of minor league baseball from 1996-2006, before pursuing a career in coaching.

After retiring as a player, he worked as a coach for the Miami Marlins and New York Yankees before joining the Astros' staff.

Last season, Espada was reportedly a finalist for Miami's open managerial job - a position that went to Skip Schumaker.

Mauricio Pochettino said Chelsea will approach the rest of the season confident in the knowledge they can compete with the best teams after dramatically drawing 4-4 with Manchester City at Stamford Bridge.

Cole Palmer struck a penalty in the fifth minute of stoppage time to deny the club with whom he won the Premier League title in May and snatch a sensational point at the death in west London.

City thought they had won it via Rodri’s deflected strike four minutes from the end, his effort spinning into the goal past the wrongfooted Robert Sanchez off Thiago Silva’s outstretched foot.

Earlier, the lead had been passed back and forth on a topsy-turvy afternoon, Erling Haaland opening the scoring from the spot after 25 minutes before Silva nodded his team level from a corner.

Raheem Sterling scored against his old team to give Chelsea the lead from Josko Gvardiol’s mistake, but they could not hold on until half-time as Manuel Akanji was afforded space from a corner routine to equalise on the stroke of the interval.

Haaland struck again to make it 3-2 moments after the restart, Nicolas Jackson thumped home on the rebound when Ederson failed to hold on to Conor Gallagher’s drive from outside the box for 3-3, before the late drama for which a stunning match will be best remembered.

And Pochettino predicted the performance and the result would have a transformational effect on his young side as they continue their recovery from an indifferent start to his tenure.

“I’m very proud,” he said. “I’m so happy. The players deserve credit, the performance this evening was amazing, against for me the best team in the world.

“Many circumstances that happened during the game that made me proud, the way that we managed the game was really, really good.

“There are things to improve, but it’s the process. When you want to build a project from zero, this type of thing is really good.

“These types of experiences will improve a lot out play and our team. But now we need to translate in the future.

“I am so tired, after Monday (the 4-1 win against Tottenham) and Sunday. I don’t want to be wrong when I assess, but if I go back, we were very disappointed (in earlier) results but this is a process. It’s a young team, you feel the pressure to win.

“This type of performance will build belief and confidence. (But) we have to have patience in some games.”

Having struggled for goals during August and September, Chelsea have now netted eight times in their last two matches following Monday’s frenetic win at Spurs.

It is the third time this season they have scored four times in a league game. By contrast, the team did not manage to do so throughout the whole of the last campaign.

“It showed the character, showed the mentality, showed that we can go for the goal against a team like Man City and to dominate and have the capacity to create chances,” said Pochettino. “I think it’s really important today to build our confidence and to believe more in the way we are working.

“We’re still far away. But that’s the process. It’s a different moment, this period. But of course this type of performance we need to use for the future.

“We go step by step, maybe we can jump two steps. But caution. Today was a massive motivation.”

City boss Pep Guardiola reflected on a fair result as his team moved a point clear of Arsenal at the top of the Premier League table.

“It was a good advert and entertaining game for the Premier League and both teams wanted to win,” he said. “I wouldn’t have expected differently. Chelsea have a fantastic team and players.

“We had momentum, two or three transitions one-on-one which we could not finish. But the game was in the moment at the end.

“A tight game, but a fair result. I congratulate the team, we go into the break and we qualify for the Champions League and we come back (after international break) and go.”

Mauricio Pochettino said Chelsea will approach the rest of the season confident in the knowledge they can compete with the best teams after dramatically drawing 4-4 with Manchester City at Stamford Bridge.

Cole Palmer struck a penalty in the fifth minute of stoppage time to deny the club with whom he won the Premier League title in May and snatch a sensational point at the death in west London.

City thought they had won it via Rodri’s deflected strike four minutes from the end, his effort spinning into the goal past the wrongfooted Robert Sanchez off Thiago Silva’s outstretched foot.

Earlier, the lead had been passed back and forth on a topsy-turvy afternoon, Erling Haaland opening the scoring from the spot after 25 minutes before Silva nodded his team level from a corner.

Raheem Sterling scored against his old team to give Chelsea the lead from Josko Gvardiol’s mistake, but they could not hold on until half-time as Manuel Akanji was afforded space from a corner routine to equalise on the stroke of the interval.

Haaland struck again to make it 3-2 moments after the restart, Nicolas Jackson thumped home on the rebound when Ederson failed to hold on to Conor Gallagher’s drive from outside the box for 3-3, before the late drama for which a stunning match will be best remembered.

And Pochettino predicted the performance and the result would have a transformational effect on his young side as they continue their recovery from an indifferent start to his tenure.

“I’m very proud,” he said. “I’m so happy. The players deserve credit, the performance this evening was amazing, against for me the best team in the world.

“Many circumstances that happened during the game that made me proud, the way that we managed the game was really, really good.

“There are things to improve, but it’s the process. When you want to build a project from zero, this type of thing is really good.

“These types of experiences will improve a lot out play and our team. But now we need to translate in the future.

“I am so tired, after Monday (the 4-1 win against Tottenham) and Sunday. I don’t want to be wrong when I assess, but if I go back, we were very disappointed (in earlier) results but this is a process. It’s a young team, you feel the pressure to win.

“This type of performance will build belief and confidence. (But) we have to have patience in some games.”

Having struggled for goals during August and September, Chelsea have now netted eight times in their last two matches following Monday’s frenetic win at Spurs.

It is the third time this season they have scored four times in a league game. By contrast, the team did not manage to do so throughout the whole of the last campaign.

“It showed the character, showed the mentality, showed that we can go for the goal against a team like Man City and to dominate and have the capacity to create chances,” said Pochettino. “I think it’s really important today to build our confidence and to believe more in the way we are working.

“We’re still far away. But that’s the process. It’s a different moment, this period. But of course this type of performance we need to use for the future.

“We go step by step, maybe we can jump two steps. But caution. Today was a massive motivation.”

City boss Pep Guardiola reflected on a fair result as his team moved a point clear of Arsenal at the top of the Premier League table.

“It was a good advert and entertaining game for the Premier League and both teams wanted to win,” he said. “I wouldn’t have expected differently. Chelsea have a fantastic team and players.

“We had momentum, two or three transitions one-on-one which we could not finish. But the game was in the moment at the end.

“A tight game, but a fair result. I congratulate the team, we go into the break and we qualify for the Champions League and we come back (after international break) and go.”

Graham Lee has been diagnosed with an unstable cervical fracture and remains in intensive care following a serious incident at Newcastle on Friday.

The 47-year-old was unseated from his mount Ben Macdui as the stalls opened and he was taken to Royal Victoria Infirmary in Newcastle.

Lee has damage to his spinal cord and other complications and at this stage his condition has been described as “very serious”.

A statement from the Injured Jockeys Fund said: “Jockey Graham Lee’s MRI scan has shown that he has suffered an unstable cervical fracture causing damage to the spinal cord, as well as damage to blood vessels in the mid-cervical region.

“He remains in ITU with respiratory support at the Royal Victoria Infirmary Hospital in Newcastle, but it has been possible to reduce his sedation.

“This is a very serious injury and at this early time, it is not possible to predict the extent of long term recovery.

“Graham’s family are very grateful for the many messages of support that they have had.”

Chelsea and Manchester City played out an enthralling 4-4 draw on Sunday – the second brilliant match Mauricio Pochettino’s men have been involved in over the past week.

Pep Guardiola’s champions led three times at Stamford Bridge only to be pegged back on each occasion, with former City man Cole Palmer holding his nerve to grab his new team a point with a stoppage-time penalty.

The Blues on Monday evening ended Tottenham’s unbeaten start to the Premier League season with an extraordinary 4-1 win over their nine-man London rivals.

A hat-trick from Nicolas Jackson helped Blues head coach Pochettino enjoy a successful return to his former club, but only after a pulsating contest with two red cards – for Spurs defenders Cristian Romero and Destiny Udogie – and five disallowed goals.

Here, the PA news agency looks at seven other outstanding games in the Premier League era.

Manchester City 3 QPR 2 (May 2012)

Perhaps the most significant of all. City started this game knowing a win would earn them a first Premier League title but when they went 2-1 down – even against 10 men – it looked as though rivals Manchester United would take the trophy. However, Edin Dzeko scored in the second minute of time added on to level and Sergio Aguero (or, to quote Sky commentator Martin Tyler, “Agueroooooooooo”) won both the match and the title with 93:20 on the clock.

Arsenal 4 Tottenham 4 (October 2008)

Best remembered for David Bentley’s stunning opener for Tottenham against his former club, this game saw Spurs come back from 4-2 down to earn a point. Trailing to Bentley’s amazing volley, the Gunners exposed Spurs’ weakness at defending set-pieces to lead through Mikael Silvestre and William Gallas. Emmanuel Adebayor added a third for the hosts before Darren Bent pulled one back. When Robin van Persie restored Arsenal’s two-goal cushion it had looked all over, but Harry Redknapp’s men showed a new resilience and Jermaine Jenas’ late strike gave them hope before Aaron Lennon equalised at the death.

Liverpool 4 Newcastle 3 (April 1996)

Sure to feature on everyone’s classic list, this was the game which saw Newcastle boss Kevin Keegan slump over the front of the dugout as his side’s title chances went up in smoke. Liverpool came back from 2-0 down to level, only to see Faustino Asprilla make it 3-2 seconds later. Stan Collymore soon levelled and then won it two minutes into added time, with Tyler again taking over with his line of “Collymore closing in”.

Newcastle 4 Arsenal 4 (February 2011)

The game that demonstrated why supporters should never leave early. When Theo Walcott scored for Arsenal 44 seconds into this game it set the tone for a blistering period of away play, with Johan Djourou and Van Persie, who netted twice, putting Arsenal 4-0 up. However, the game turned as Abou Diaby saw red for Arsenal and Newcastle mounted a stellar comeback. Two penalties from Joey Barton and a Leon Best goal gave them a foothold, but they still needed a brilliant 87th-minute volley from Cheick Tiote to get a point.

Norwich 4 Liverpool 5 (January 2016)

Reds boss Jurgen Klopp lost his glasses amid wild celebrations on the touchline after Adam Lallana’s last-minute strike gave Liverpool an astonishing first Premier League win of 2016. Klopp’s men had trailed 3-1 with under 30 minutes to go, then led 4-3 before Sebastien Bassong’s stoppage-time goal levelled matters. But there was still time for substitute Lallana to mis-hit a shot into the ground and secure a 5-4 victory.

Tottenham 4 Arsenal 5 (November 2004)

Four years before the 4-4 thriller at the Emirates, White Hart Lane hosted a similarly high-scoring affair between the two local rivals. The home side took the lead through Noureddine Naybet, but Arsenal equalised through Thierry Henry and then went 3-1 ahead thanks to Lauren, who converted a penalty won by Freddie Ljungberg, and Patrick Vieira. Jermain Defoe pulled one back almost immediately before Ljungberg and Ledley King traded goals and, although Robert Pires added Arsenal’s fifth nine minutes from time, Freddie Kanoute’s goal made for a frantic finish.

West Ham 5 Bradford 4 (February 2000)

West Ham goalkeeper Shaka Hislop suffered a broken leg just minutes into the game to hand a debut to 18-year-old Stephen Bywater, who conceded four goals but still ended up on the winning side. The comeback from 4-2 down started with 25 minutes left when Frank Lampard and Paolo Di Canio argued over who would take a penalty, Di Canio eventually winning the tussle and converting from the spot. Joe Cole soon equalised and Lampard scored the winner from the edge of the box with seven minutes remaining.

Cole Palmer struck a last-gasp penalty against his former club Manchester City in the fourth minute of stoppage time to snatch a sensational 4-4 draw for Chelsea at the end of a superb, battling encounter at Stamford Bridge.

The Premier League champions thought they had won it through Rodri’s goal, deflected in off the unfortunate Thiago Silva four minutes from time, but were left stunned in the dying seconds when substitute Armando Broja burst into the box and drew a foul from Ruben Dias, with Palmer dispatching his spot-kick under pressure to send home fans into raptures.

Earlier, Erling Haaland had scored to twice give City the lead, first from the penalty spot before Chelsea turned the game on its head with goals from Silva and Raheem Sterling.

Manuel Akanji headed an equaliser on the stroke of half-time before Haaland’s second made it 3-2 minutes after the restart, but still Chelsea were not done, hitting back to make it 3-3 through Nicolas Jackson.

Then came what looked the winner from Rodri, before Palmer’s late, late intervention served to hurt the side he left for west London in September.

It had all begun with a controversial penalty award for City after 21 minutes. Marc Cucurella and Haaland appeared to be engaged in an even tussle as the ball was floated in to the six-yard box but, as the pair went to ground, the defender was penalised for having hauled Haaland down.

VAR checked and found no reason to overturn referee Anthony Taylor’s decision, and after a lengthy delay Haaland kept his cool to beat Robert Sanchez from the spot.

Chelsea had made the brighter start and now they sought an instant reply. Reece James forced Ederson into an athletic fingertip save from a well-struck free-kick just outside the box.

It was to be a momentary reprieve. From the resulting corner swung in by the right foot of Conor Gallagher, Silva slipped his man and with a glancing header that zipped across the face of the goal and in he drew his side level.

City almost hit back instantly through Haaland, but Phil Foden’s cross was fractionally too deep and the striker could only turn it into the side netting. Minutes later, Foden tried to do it himself with a wicked drive with his left foot that bent inches past a post.

Chelsea’s second came from a mistake by Josko Gvardiol. Moises Caicedo collected the ball deep in midfield and moved it on to Gallagher. Overlapping on the right he found James, whose pressure caused the City defender to mis-control, leaving James to cross for the unmarked Sterling to tap it home.

Sanchez preserved his side’s lead with a sensational stop low to his left after Haaland had squeezed between Chelsea’s central defenders.

Yet he could do nothing moments before half-time to prevent Akanji levelling. From a City corner, Chelsea switched off. Foden played the ball back to Bernardo Silva near the edge of the box, and neither James nor Silva went with Akanji as he ghosted into space to head in for 2-2.

The second half was barely two minutes in when the game took another twist and it was Haaland restoring City’s lead.

Julian Alvarez began the move in midfield, releasing Foden who carried it deep into the Chelsea half before returning it to the galloping Argentinian. With the defence stretched he crossed for Haaland, who evaded the attentions of James to bundle the ball over the line.

Jeremy Doku almost increased his side’s lead after a rampaging run down the left created space for a shot. Cutting inside and striking low, his effort was well saved by Sanchez.

Palmer, established now as a pivotal figure in Pochettino’s attack, cut through the heart of City with dazzling balance and control, denied a memorable goal by Ederson.

In the 65th minute, Chelsea levelled for a second time and it was no more than a fighting performance warranted.

The ball was switched to the substitute Mykhailo Mudryk charging up the left. He worked it infield to Caicedo, who set up Gallagher to strike at goal from 25 yards. Ederson parried, but could only turn it into the path of Jackson, fresh from his hat-trick against Tottenham, who took a touch and thumped it in.

Substitute Malo Gusto blazed over the bar after getting in down the right, wasting good, battling work from Sterling who fought to work the ball through to him. It was a moment Chelsea would come to rue.

The game had seemed destined to have a winner throughout, and with four minutes to go City looked finally to have nicked it through Rodri.

His drive from outside the box as the ball broke looked to be heading wide, until a wicked deflection off the unfortunate Silva sent it spinning beyond the wrongfooted Sanchez to seemingly break Chelsea hearts.

Then when City thought they had won it came Broja’s late dart into the box, Dias’s hasty challenge, and the final word by Palmer to cap a memorable encounter in west London.

Giannis Antetokounmpo hit out at the Milwaukee Bucks' defensive efforts after they slipped to back-to-back defeats on Saturday, going down 112-97 on the road against the Orlando Magic.

The Bucks were viewed as one of the pre-season favourites in the Eastern Conference after their blockbuster trade for point guard Damian Lillard.

However, with Lillard missing Milwaukee's last two games with a sore calf, successive defeats on the road against the Indiana Pacers and Orlando have seen them slip to 5-4 for the season. 

Having recorded 54 points in vain against Indiana, Antetokounmpo finished Saturday's defeat with 35 points, 10 rebounds and seven assists, and the teams' defensive shortcomings left the two-time NBA MVP frustrated.

"I think the individual pride is there," Antetokounmpo said on Saturday. "The team defense is not there. 

"We're not helping each other as much as we should. The gaps are so… I feel like the gaps are wide open. 

"I feel like guys feel comfortable to be able to come down, attack, go downhill, get an angle, make a play for themselves or for their team-mate. Like, I wish we were being guarded that way!

"We have to take it up a notch. This is not who we are. This is not the Milwaukee Bucks. We've got to guard people and it starts with me. 

"It starts with the leader of the team. I've got to be better. But again, it's not one person that can do it alone. Defensively, we've got to show more.

"Sometimes you have to put your body on the line, take that hit, to make it easier for our defense. The last two games, we haven't done it.

"Right now, I feel like we're just being stagnant. We're going back on defense and not showing a lot of help. 

"We're not protecting one another as much as we should and sometimes when we turn the ball over, we sit and complain. We've got to get out of that mentality and stop feeling sorry for ourselves."

Milwaukee return to action on Monday as the Chicago Bulls visit Fiserv Forum.