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After a shocking 1-2 defeat away at Wolverhampton Wanderers in the midweek, Chelsea were hoping to get back their early season form with a win. There is a chance, however, that the Londoners would be forced to wait a bit longer for their next league win as they now faced Manchester City, the English top division's best team and perhaps one of the best in Europe.
The two clubs, sharing the last two Premier League titles between them first met in the early season glorified friendly- The Community Shield. The defending champions humbled the Blues 2-0 with Argentine striker Sergio Aguero scoring a brace.
Going into the game, Chelsea's current league form featured two losses in their last three outings which was a small warning sign ahead of their clash against the league leaders. The "Sarri-ball" which wowed everyone at the beginning of the season now featured lack of ideas with the ball and frailty without it. Eden Hazard, who enjoyed a splendid start to the season looks slowed down due to injury he endured last month. Jorginho would like to forget his outing against Spurs as soon as possible.
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The Chelsea which looked invincible at the start of the season have suddenly hit a roadblock. In all fairness, this was expected as a new manager coming in with a completely new philosophy would take time to settle. But it was the early season form which raised expectations so much that the current slump has seen plenty of overreaction from the fans across the social media spectrum resulting in plenty of negativity going into the match.
Manchester City, on the other hand, are the team that the hosts are aiming to be- fluid in possession, comfortable at the back, scoring for fun and winning games left, right and center. Pep Guardiola's men were second in the table going into the game having played one match less than Liverpool, the table toppers at the time. The citizens have by far been the best team in the Premier League-similar to last season. Raheem Sterling has been absolutely sensational to watch, Bernardo Silva has built on his debut season in England and the scariest part is that the team has not had the luxury of fielding their best player- Kevin De Bruyne who is out due to injury.
A win for Manchester City was widely anticipated as Maurizio Sarri continues to implement his system, five months into his new job and looking to iron out the deficiencies in his team. A Manchester City win would see them get back to the top of the table with 44 points, 2 more than Liverpool while a Chelsea win would see them leapfrog Arsenal into the third position, leading them on goal difference with Tottenham breathing down their neck with one point less (33 points) and a game in hand.
Starting Lineups:
Alvaro Morata missed the matchday squad as Brazilian left-back Emerson got a place on the bench. Olivier Giroud started on the bench with Eden Hazard starting as a false nine, flanked by Willian and Pedro.
Manchester City missed Sergio Aguero and Kevin De Bruyne due to injury while Raheem Sterling was looking like he would play through the middle as Gabriel Jesus was dropped to the bench
Chelsea:
Kepa Arrizabalaga, Cesar Azplicueta (c), Antonio Rudiger, David Luiz, Marcos Alonso, N'Golo Kanté, Jorginho, Mateo Kovacic, Pedro, Eden Hazard, Willian
Subs: Willy Caballero, Andreas Christensen, Emerson, Cesc Fàbregas, Ruben Loftus-Cheek, Ross Barkley, Olivier Giroud
Manchester City:
Ederson | Fabian Delph, Aymeric Laporte, John Stones, Kyle Walker | Riyad Mahrez, Fernandinho, David Silva (c) | Leroy Sané, Bernardi Silva, Raheem Sterling
Subs: Arijanet Muric, Danilo, Vincent Kompany, Ilkay Gundogan, Nicholas Otamendi, Gabriel Jesus, Phil Foden.
First Half: As it happened
The visitors dominated the possession in the early stages as they looked to stretch Chelsea's backline and open up gaps. Eden Hazard, starting upfront for Chelsea won the first foul of the match against Fabian Delph.
Manchester City created the first clear-cut chance at the eighth minute. Jorginho was robbed off the ball by Fernandinho and Raheem Sterling was fed from out wide but the Englishman turned in a tamed shot. Soon after, the visitors again got into promising positions but failed to make the most of it.
Leroy Sane waltzed into the Chelsea at the quarter of an hour mark but David Luiz held him off. This was the result of the press of Manchester City which dispossessed Hazard in his own half down the right-hand side.
Marcos Alonso was guilty of tripping Raheem Sterling near the edge of his own box and the resultant delivery was unattacked by his teammates.
In fairness, the first half hour was dominated by the visitors as they robbed the hosts off the ball with Chelsea's front three getting minimal service from the midfield.
Leroy Sane was at the receiving end of another goalscoring opportunity from a Raheem Sterling cross after he overcame Marcos Alonso with ease, only to be blocked valiantly by Chelsea's skipper Cesar Azplicueta.
The match's overarching theme till then was bordering on Manchester City's dominance and the hosts often playing within their shells. Chelsea's attacks often lacked the crucial final intervention or one of the midfielders was constantly getting caught out in possession. Echoes of last season's defeat at the Etihad under Antonio Conte started to ring in the ears of Chelsea's supporters.
One man who turned a deaf ear to them was N'Golo Kanté after he became the unlikely player from the unlikelier team to score the opener. David Luiz played an exquisite ball to Pedro who then switched the play feeding Willian and catching City's backline by surprise. Willian then played a hopeful ball which was headed away and found its way to Alonso. The Spaniard then fed Eden Hazard who squared it down the center only to find the diminutive Frenchman to blast home his second goal of the season.
Anti-Climactic, this was the turn match took right near halftime. Suddenly the home team looked more confident as they strolled around the ball confidently to see out the first half. Maurizio Sarri's men finally redeemed themselves by taking their chance right at the crucial moment and immediately turned the rhythm of the match. All in all, the match was set up for an exciting second half where the defending champions would look to avoid their first loss of the season.
Second Half: As it happened
Chelsea picked up from where they left off in the first half and continued to grow into the match. Manchester City did enjoy some initial possession but it ended up being mostly sterile. Tired of seeing little or no improvement from his team, Pep Guardiola put on Gabriel Jesus who replaced Leroy Sane.
The hosts again made a big chance through a blistering run by N'golo Kante who set up Willian who turned in a tame shot. This was followed by the first yellow card of the game to Jorginho for a foul on Kyle Walker which was succeeded by a mild confrontation between the two teams.
Mateo Kovacic, who did a good job of providing support to Marcos Alonso on the left-hand side so far, went down in the same 65th minute due to injury and the Croatian was replaced by Ross Barkley. Also, David Silva also underwent a Hamstring injury and got replaced by Ilkay Gundogan.
Manchester City soon after enjoyed a spell of possession and earned a freekick near Chelsea box which was easily saved by Kepa Arrizabalaga. This came in period where Pep Guardiola's team managed to put the Chelsea backline under pressure and also earned multiple corners but were unable to convert their brief dominance into something substantial.
As the game progressed, Eden Hazard who continued to find space down the channels was fed by Cesar Azplicueta and the Belgian won another freekick near their goal. Willian took the responsibility for the set-piece but his effort was tame and easily cleared. The Brazilian was soon replaced by Ruben Loftus-Cheek in the 75th minute.
David Luiz inflicted further misery in Manchester City by scoring a looping header over Ederson via a corner in the 78th minute. The Brazilian center-back was at the heart of his side's first goal as well and he responded to Maurizio Sarri's search for "leadership" within the squad as the 31-year-old who scored his first goal in 14 months capped off his impressive performance at the heart of Chelsea's defense.
There was some controversy regarding the award of the corner on which Chelsea scored as the Manchester City boss complained to the fourth official but the replays showed there was some contact from the boot of Mahrez as he attempted to block Ross Barkley's shot.
Pep Guardiola responded by putting on Phil Foden on for Riyad Mahrez in search his side's first goal. Raheem Sterling, forced out wide after Jesus arrived on the pitch continued to tease the opposition defenders but to no avail. Fernandinho came close with a well-hit volley but failed to hit the target much to the frustration of the visitors. This was succeeded by Olivier Giroud soon after replacing Eden Hazard
Kepa rounded off the evening with a top class save which was his moment of redemption after cheaply giving away possession near his own box moments earlier. This was the last notable event in the match as the referee Michael Oliver whistled full time.
Chelsea are a team known for producing some of the most iconic anti-climactic moments in recent football history. The Londoners produced another one as they earned an unlikely three points against the defending champions who were in imperious form until they ran into their opponents on Saturday.
Maurizio Sarri should go home a happy man because his side showed everything in the match that he could have asked for- defensively stubborn and lethal in attack. Pep Guardiola on other hand went home empty-handed and lost out the first place to Liverpool who now sit one point ahead of the Manchester blues.
Key Takeaways from the match:
#1 The race to the premier league
The weekend also saw Liverpool cruising to a 4-0 victory at Bournemouth courtesy of a Mohammad Salah hattrick. The Reds are now sitting top of the table with a point advantage over the defending champions Manchester City. It was widely predicted that the two teams would go head to head in the race for the premier league this season and so far that has been the case.
The margin for error for both the team is now as thin as it has ever been and with Chelsea, Arsenal, and Tottenham lurking behind, the race to the Premier League title and top four positions is getting tighter. Add to the fact that the busy Christmas period is just around the corner and it's likely that the teams may drop some points largely due to the squad rotation due to fatigue. Come January, we could either get a clearer picture with regard to the most likely title contender or some further chaos at the top of the table. The fun has just started.
#2 Chelsea desperately need attacking options
Chelsea currently have two starting wingers who are 30 (Willian) and 31 (Pedro) years of age. There are no ready-made replacements for the pair. Callum Hudson-Odoi is immensely talented but there is little evidence that Maurizio Sarri trusts him with a regular squad role as of now. As of now, the Blues may need to splurge in the transfer market to get additional options for the wings as even Eden Hazard has not committed his long-term future for Chelsea yet.
Add to the fact that the two strikers Alvaro Morata and Olivier Giroud were not trusted by Sarri in the crunch match against Manchester City shows their less than impressive form shown in the season so far. The club's complete forward line barring Eden Hazard is replaceable as things stand. The club needs to solve this muddle as soon as possible in order to avoid a possible crisis.
#3 David Luiz
The Brazilian centre-back's career has been a rollercoaster ride, to say the least. From winning the ultimate prize in club football (The Uefa Champions League-2012) to the heartbreaking in 2014 world cup semi-final where he was ridiculed in the embarrassing 7-1 loss against Germany the 31-year-old has seen it all.
After returning to Chelsea in 2016 and being the lynchpin of Chelsea's 2016-17 title win, he lost his place in the subsequent season. He returned to the starting lineup under Maurizio Sarri yet again and with Antonio Rudiger, he has formed a formidable partnership at the heart of Chelsea's defense this season. He has somewhat redeemed himself after his performance against Tottenham but even then the whole team was shambolic that evening. Nobody is immune to errors and the former PSG star still remains one of the best ball-playing defenders in Europe.
David Luiz is also a fan favorite and a popular presence in the dressing room. Fans should pray that he extends his stay with the Blues sooner rather than later as he gives much needed veteran leadership to the young Chelsea squad. The man truly deserves all the plaudits he's getting after his performance against the defending champions.
