Chelsea 2-0 Manchester City: Match Review

Second Half: As it happened

Second half substitute Ross Barkley vies for the ball with Fernandinho

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.

The Croatian put in a good shift for his team before he was replaced by Ross Barkley due to injury

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.

Chelsea FC v Manchester City - Premier League

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.