BATTLING BLUES SHOW THEY HAVE TURNED THE CORNER UNDER POCH

FOR the first time in a while, Chelsea players were not in a rush to get away from Stamford Bridge yesterday.

- Nizaar Kinsella 

They soaked up appreciation from home fans at the end of a week in which the Mauricio Pochettino project took off.

Things were threatening to get sticky for Pochettino seven days ago, with Chelsea in the bottom half of the table ahead of games against Tottenham and Manchester City.

But after their 4-1 win at Spurs on Monday, Cole Palmer rescued a thrilling 4-4 draw against champions City yesterday and suddenly there is now real optimism around the club.

Chelsea were full value for their point, having produced their best performance of the season and gone toe-to-toe with City in another all-time Premier League classic. It is still early days, but there are now clear signs that Pochettino is putting his stamp on the team.

Chelsea caused real problems for City, who were unable to exert their usual control, as they fought back to equalise three times.

Palmer was ice-cold from the spot, as he came back to haunt his former club and do enough to convince Gareth Southgate to hand him his first England call-up this morning.