Four-goal comeback lifts Man City over Chelsea

ST. LOUIS, Missouri (AFP) –

This file photo shows Manchester City’s Micah Richards, pictured during an English Premier League match in Manchester, north-west England, on November 19, 2011. Richards on Thursday scored in the 90th minute to complete a stunning comeback from a three-goal deficit and give Man City a 4-3 victory over Chelsea in an exhibition thriller in St. Louis, Missouri.

Micah Richards scored in the 90th minute to complete a stunning comeback from a three-goal deficit and give Manchester City a 4-3 victory over Chelsea in an exhibition thriller.

The English Premier League sides, both bound for next year’s European Champions League after top-three finishes behind league winner Manchester United, on Thursday attracted 48,263 to the home of baseball’s St. Louis Cardinals.

Demba Ba’s header in the 15th minute gave Chelsea the lead and Cesar Azpilicueta netted his first goal for the Blues on a penalty kick in the 44th minute.

Oscar made the lead 3-0 nine minutes into the second half and Rafael Benitez’s side appeared on the way to victory.

But Javier Garcia put City on the scoreboard in the 61st minute and Edin Dzeko followed in the 64th to breathe a spark into City.

Dzeko then netted the equalizer in the 85th minute, setting the stage for Richards to convert the winner off a Garcia cross in the dying seconds.

Both teams wore black armbands as a mark of respect for those who lost their lives in the tornado tragedy earlier in the week in nearby Oklahoma.

Players unfurled a banner that expressed support for the Oklahoma victims and the teams donated some of the ticket sales revenue to funding the recovery effort.

The clubs play again Saturday at New York’s Yankee Stadium in the second and final match of their American tour.