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Manchester City secured a straightforward 1-0 win over Chelsea in the Premier League on Sunday, May 21.
City entered this game on the back of a scintillating run of form. They won five and drew one of their last five games, scoring 15 goals in the process. Their last game was a 4-0 demolition of defending champions Real Madrid in the Champions League semi-final second leg.
Having already secured the title mathematically, Pep Guardiola fielded a lineup with youngsters and fringe players.
The Blues, on the other hand, have endured a topsy-turvy start to life under caretaker manager Frank Lampard. They won just one of their last six games - a 3-1 win over Bournemouth and looked restless for the season to end.
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Lampard fielded a strong lineup for this game. They also duly gave the Sky Blues a guard of honor as they walked onto the pitch.
Manchester City made a positive start and looked to grab proceedings by the scruff of the neck early on. They put Chelsea on the backfoot with their direct and precise passing, allowing them to create early chances. Julian Alvarez put the hosts in front with a clinical finish following an assist from Cole Palmer, who had a great game himself.
Phil Foden and Co. then stepped up as they took the game away from Chelsea. Raheem Sterling and Lewis Hall had a few opportunities to test Stefan Ortega but fired tame efforts at the City custodian. Both managers turned to their respective benches in the second half as they looked to alter the course of the game, but Manchester City held on to secure a 1-0 win over Chelsea.
On that note, here are the five talking points from the game.
#5 Pep Guardiola made nine changes to his last XI
Having secured the Premier League title following Arsenal's 1-0 loss against Nottingham Forest, Guardiola took the liberty of giving game-time to youngsters and fringe players. He made nine changes to the team that defeated Everton 3-0 in their last league outing.
Youngsters Cole Palmer, Rico Lewis and goalkeeper Stefan Ortega had great games as they helped Manchester City secure all three points. Ortega made six saves, while Palmer assisted Alvarez's goal that proved to be the winner. Lewis, meanwhile, has been a regular in the first team this season and has previously featured in cup games.
#4 Chelsea missed an opportunity to take the game to Manchester City
Despite Pep Guardiola choosing to go with a relatively weakened side with youngsters and fringe players, Frank Lampard did not take the chance to field his strongest side and try and take the game to the hosts. Instead, he stuck with his regular group and even made the same substitutions he usually does.
Had they gone all out, it would have been a good boost of confidence if they could secure a positive result. On the other hand, it would also have provided a strong test for City's youngsters who will look to make the step up to the first team in the coming years.
#3 Pep Guardiola lifts his fifth Premier League title in six years
Since arriving in England in 2016, Pep Guardiola has taken the Premier League by storm. He failed to win the league in his first two seasons, and those were the only two times Manchester City were not even close to the eventual champions. However, come 2018, everything changed and a new juggernaut rolled on.
That City team achieved 100 points in a season and with largely the same core group of players, they have now won five titles in the last six seasons, with Liverpool in 2020 being the only other winner.
#2 Chelsea set to finish 10th or below for the first time since 2016
Following Jose Mourinho's second spell in charge at Stamford Bridge, the Blues had one of their worst slumps in recent times. Having won the league the previous year, they slipped all the way down to 10th place the following season.
This year is a similar story for the west Londoners. Having finished third with 74 points last year, Chelsea have stumbled all the way down to 12th place this season. They are nine points adrift of 10th-placed Fulham with two games left to play, meaning they won't catch them irrespective of the results.
#1 Can Manchester City go on and win the treble?
Following their title triumph which secured the three-peat, the question on everybody's minds is whether Manchester City can now go on and complete the treble.
Guardiola's men face Inter Milan in the Champions League final and will take on crosstown rivals Manchester United in the FA Cup final. Should they win both finals, they would be the first English team to achieve the feat since Sir Alex Ferguson's Manchester United of 1999.
