Manchester City 1-0 Chelsea: 5 talking points as De Bruyne solo-goal sinks lackluster Chelsea | Premier League 2021-22

#3 Manchester City stake early title claim with a statement win over Chelsea

Manchester City v Chelsea - Premier League

Manchester City eased past Chelsea in a top-of-the-table clash, with Guardiola completely outplaying Tuchel. Watching City's dominance in this game, it was easy to forget that it was a key fixture in this season's Premier League title race.

It was the 12th win in a row for the reigning champions. They dominated the Champions League 2020-21 winners in almost every aspect of the game. They mustered more shots on target (6), had more possession (56%) and pass success rate (86%) and even managed to get through the game without any bookings.

It became evident with this win that City have operated on a different level than their title-rivals this season. They have Brentford, Norwich City, Tottenham Hotspur and Everton as their opponents in league fixtures next month. Their winning streak is only expected to be extended even further.

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#2 Romelu Lukaku fails to impress Thomas Tuchel

Lukaku was at the receiving end of some harsh words from Tuchel after the game

Romelu Lukaku joined Chelsea last summer on the back of a 24-goal haul with Inter Milan in the previous campaign. But the goals have dried up for the Belgian in his second spell with the Blues.

The player found himself in hot water over some comments regarding his situation at west London club and Tuchel earlier this month.

Well, as he failed to provide much of a threat in the final third against Manchester City, it was the German coach's turn to blast the striker. Tuchel rightly singled him out for losing possession quite often.

Lukaku had just one shot on target and it was his left-footed shot that was saved comfortably by Ederson.

He played the full 90 minutes but had just seven accurate passes and lost all of his duels against the City defenders. As things stand, he is still without a goal against any of the Premier League's big six clubs.

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#1 Chelsea losing steam in their title-challenge

Chelsea have just one win in their last four Premier League games

Chelsea's great run of form in the early stages of the 2021-22 campaign seems to have ebbed halfway through the season. While facing City at the Etihad is a daunting affair for any team, the visitors looked exhausted and ran out of ideas by the half-time whistle.

They struggled to contain Raheem Sterling on the left flank, as most of City's attacks initiated from the flank in the first half. City dominated in the air and moved the ball around with ease.

The Blues have just two wins from their last eight Premier League outings. Tuchel needs to implement some changes to his squad and tactics to keep their slim title chances alive.