FA Community Shield: 3 reasons why Chelsea lost 0-2 to Manchester City

Reigning Premier League Champions, Manchester City, secured a 2-0 victory over FA Cup holders, Chelsea, at the FA Community Shield on Sunday (August 5).

The annual football match, which acts as an appetizer to the Premier League every season, was contested at the Wembley Stadium in London.

Both teams played with depleted sides, as City missed the likes of Kevin De Bruyne, David Silva, and Ederson in their first team, while Chelsea lacked the services of Eden Hazard, Thibaut Courtois, N'Golo Kante, and Olivier Giroud, among others.

It was Sergio Aguero's brace that sealed the win for Pep Guardiola's team, though, as they put up a strong performance against Maurizio Sarri's lumbering unit. The 30-year-old now has 201 goals for Manchester City, making him the only striker to cross 200 goals for the Manchester club.

The side in the lighter shade of blue looked sharper in attack, and more importantly, were more composed at the back. It helped them keep a clean sheet, as they also clinched a two-goal lead.

Listed below are three reasons why Chelsea lost the Community Shield to Manchester City:

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#3 Jorginho overwhelmed in midfield

Jorginho, one of Chelsea's premier signings of the summer, looked uncertain and ruffled against City. The central midfielder seemed perturbed by the imposing figures of Bernando Silva and Phil Foden, getting caught in possession by the City stalwarts.

He seemed to be unsure of his positioning and looked slow on the ball through the game. The Italian also ended up giving the ball away a couple of times, making life difficult for the Blues' defensive line.

His partnership with Cesc Fabregas looked neither seamless nor serendipitous, as both the players struggled to exude assurance in the midfield. Guardiola's plan to put consistent pressure on the 26-year-old seemed to work, as the Blues seemed to miss the services of World Cup winner, N'Golo Kante.

Jorginho did look better off the ball, but his movements on the ball look too sluggish for the fast-paced game in English football for now.

#2 Off-colour centre-halves

Both Antonio Rudiger and David Luiz were off their game at Wembley

Antonio Rudiger and David Luiz, Chelsea's centre-backs against City, were blameable for conceding the first and the second goal of the game respectively. While Rudiger positioned wrongly for Aguero's opener, Luiz's lack of awareness let the Argentinian run in behind him to score the brace.

In fact, City cut through Chelsea's defence multiple times through the game, looking perilous on the counter and pacey on the wings.

The Blues' backline looked unprepared to handle the onslaught from the PL Champions, looking increasingly out of their depth as the game progressed. They let Aguero make inch-perfect runs from onside positions on numerous occasions, making it all too easy for the clinical forward.

10 - 10 of Sergio Aguero's 201 @ManCity goals have come against Chelsea - only against Newcastle (14) has he scored more for the Citizens. Favourites.

— OptaJoe (@OptaJoe) August 5, 2018

#3 Lack of product in the final third

Alvaro Morata looked underwhelming yet again

While the game was dominated by City's offensive gameplay, Chelsea still had a couple of half-chances. The Blues, however, could not capitalize on attacking opportunities and fell short in the final third.

Indecision, lack of coordination, and insipid shotmaking plagued the Blues' attack.

Alvaro Morata seemed unthreatening upfront, Pedro looked off-colour, while Willian's introduction in the 59th minute had no effect on the proceedings. Youngster Callum Hudson-Odoi showed flashes of brilliance on the left flank but went for glory instead of making the more prudent choices in crunch moments.

All in all, the Chelsea boss has a lot of problems to take back to the drawing board and find solutions to before the Premier League begins next week.