Manchester City 0-1 Chelsea: Five talking points

Where do City go from here?

Until the game against Chelsea, City looked as though they were unassailable at home.

They were scoring goals for fun, didn’t concede too many and ensured that any side that came in, went away with nothing less than a harrowing defeat. They had scored four goals or more on 14 different occasions already this season and had a perfect home record.

But, all of that counted for nothing, as Chelsea came in and not stifled City effectively, but also created plenty of chances on their own.

By the end of the game, City looked as though, they had forgotten how to create chances and lost at home in the Premier League for the first time since a narrow defeat to Norwich last May.

They say, it is not about falling, but getting back up again. It remains to be seen, how City react to this disappointing loss.

Pellegrini got it wrong at the start

A muscle injury to Fernandinho suffered in training meant that Pellegrini had to start one of his most important matches, without a player who has grown in importance as the season has wore on. And whilst that was a blow, the litany of stars at his disposal meant that he could have chosen any one of Jack Rodwell or James Milner.

Instead, the Chilean went for a 33-year-old center half, who has looked far from convincing this far to stifle Hazard.

In the 31^st minute, the center back misjudged a ball played to Hazard, allowed him move infield, pass it to Ramires and let Branislav Ivanovic open the scoring.

At the top, where there is so little margin for error, Pellegrini had made a big mistake, in not just starting with Demichelis, but also persisting with him in the second half, when all evidence pointed towards showing him the door.

Mourinho got the better of Pellegrini

Before the start of the game, there were those who questioned whether Mourinho would approach the game with caution or with adventure.

Yet, amidst cries of “he’s parking the bus” in the opening minutes, the truth was that Chelsea were going to be far from conservative. In a game between the team with the best attack and one with the best defense, it was won by the team with the tactically superior manager.

And for all the fans chants, Mourinho’s team displayed tremendous grit, courage and tenacity to be the first team this season to emerge out of the Etihad with all three points.

Not only did Chelsea defend with tremendous organisation and togetherness, they also counter-attacked with great precision and were unlucky not to score a few more, at the end of the game.

Matic made all the difference

This was precisely the sort of game in which Nemanja Matic was expected to make all the difference and the Serbian didn’t disappoint.

Whilst Demichelis was proving to be inadequate in the center of City’s midfield, it was Matic and David Luiz who won the midfield battle that won the game for Chelsea.

The Serbian was influential in midfield and showed precisely why Chelsea spent so much money to bring him back from Benfica.

The Serbian was sharp in the tackle, brought the ball out with finesse and also got forward and belted a 30-yard shot against the joint of crossbar and post.

He marshalled the midfield with great composure and ensured that City didn’t score at home for the first time since November 2010, a run stretching back 62 games.

Hart was the sole silver lining

The last time Joe Hart played against Chelsea, he misjudged a long ball, conceded the winner and went onto miss seven League games in October.

The game against Chelsea was the one that broke the camel’s back for Pellegrini, who was getting sick at the sight of Hart.

But, Monday night proved to be a catharsis for Hart as he completely moved away from that nadir and re-established himself as the Number One.

For much of the first half, Hart was virtually a spectator as City dominated. But thereafter, a regulation gather from a Samuel Eto’o shot showed that Hart was back to his confident self.

But it was a save from Ramires that was Hart’s redemption, as he flung himself to save a certain goal.

On a day, when few players played with any distinction, Hart was one of the few that showed the assurance of old and laid to rest the ghost of his traumatic encounter with Chelsea, last time out.