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Manchester City welcomed Chelsea to the Etihad Stadium on Sunday night for a blockbuster end to the weekend. The game was vital for both Pep Guardiola and Maurizio Sarri for entirely different reasons.
A Man City win would mean that the current champions would go top of the table, even though Liverpool have a game in hand. A loss would render them further behind in the race to retain their title. For Sarri, the stakes were a lot different. Manchester United had closed the gap in the last few weeks and were currently sitting above the blues at fourth.
Kyle Walker, John Stones, Aymeric Laporte, and Zinchenko making up the back four. He put De Bruyne and Gundogan alongside Fernandinho in the middle while Bernardo Silva and Raheem Sterling joined Aguero in the attack.
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Sarri continued with Kepa in goal with Alonso, Luiz, Rudiger, and Azpilicueta making up the back four. In the midfield, Jorginho was joined by Kante and Barkley, while Hazard, Higuain, and Pedro made up the front three.
City started the brighter of the two sides and were ahead as early as the 4th minute through Sterling. In the 13th minute, Aguero doubled the lead and in the 19th minute, made it 3-0. Gundogan put City 4-0 in the 25th minute as City ran rampant in the first half.
After the break, Aguero scored from the spot in the 56th minute and then Sterling added his second of the night in the 80th minute. In the end, Guardiola's City was too strong for Sarri's Chelsea.
While Pep Guardiola got his tactics right, he has these 5 men to thank for a blistering win over Chelsea.
#5 Ikay Gundogan
The German International had an important duty on the night as he was asked to keep an eye on Jorginho. Gundogan carried out his responsibility with aplomb, ensuring that Sarri's midfield general was largely a spectator in the first half.
Gundogan was also tasked with aiding his attackers, helping them inflict wave after wave of attack on the Chelsea defense. He was always around the box to pick up the pieces and keep the ball moving. However, his telling contribution to the game came in the 25th minute, when he got to the end of a loose ball outside the box and directed a wonderful volley into the far post.
Gundogan ensured that the Chelsea midfield never took off and helped his team win 3 important points on the night.
#4 Fernandinho
The Brazilian rarely takes the accolades but is perhaps City's most crucial player. Guardiola demands a lot from his midfield general, constantly partnering him with attack-minded players, yet Fernandinho manages to do the job for his Boss again, and again, and again.
Against Chelsea, Guardiola put De Bruyne and Gundogan alongside the Brazilian to face a stellar opposition midfield comprising of Kante, Jorginho, and Barkley. While De Bruyne and Gundogan helped him out quite often, the Brazilian made little work of the Chelsea midfield.
Fernandinho won the midfield battle early and never let go of the reins. He dropped down when required and controlled the game from deep. He always had an eye on Kante, who failed to influence the game and as such, Chelsea were shut out. Even though Chelsea had some great talents in their team, the Brazilian broke up the Chelsea attacks with ease and always looked in control.
In the second half, the Brazilian had restricted the Chelsea midfield to a role of spectators and as such, Guardiola correctly decided to give him a deserved rest. David Silva was brought on to see out the rest of the game, as the Brazilian had taken the teeth out of the Blues.
Against Chelsea, Fernandinho dictated the midfield and was instrumental in a memorable win.
#3 Bernardo Silva
The Portuguese has improved by leaps and bounds this season and was selected to start in the front right position against Chelsea. Guardiola knew what Silva brought into the game; his qualities were for all to see, but he also had certain steel to his game which was essential on the night.
Silva set the mood of the night, by taking up a delightful position in the wide right after City had won a free kick outside the Chelsea box. De Bruyne found the Portuguese, who powered into the box and his cut-back found Sterling, abet with a little deflection, and the Englishman scored.
His movement throughout the game was special and his touch, his skills and his reading of the game were exceptional. But Silva did not just spend his time in the opposition half, he regularly tracked back and ensured that Marcos Alonso found no joy going forward.
When Guardiola took off De Bruyne and brought on Mahrez, Silva dropped down into the midfield and ensured that City never took the foot off the pedal. The Portuguese is a vital component in this City team and his brilliance against Chelsea helped City win the game.
#2 Raheem Sterling
The Englishman started on the left of the front three and his speed and trickery gave Chelsea a constant headache. Sterling gave his team the perfect start when he arrives late into the box and got to the end of a deflected Bernardo Silva pass. The Englishman unleashed a ferocious volley that shocked Chelsea and gave City an early lead. It was a sign of things to come and laid down a marker for City's intent.
Sterling continued his running and pressing and did not give the Chelsea back four a moment's respite. He constantly harrowed and harassed Azpilicueta, and Rudiger had to cover for the Spaniard on more than one occasions. It opened up a lot of spaces in the middle, which City took due advantage of.
The Englishman was a constant threat with his trickery and he continued to run at the defense, almost always beating his marker and trying to set up his teammates. The trend continued in the second half as well and in the 55th minute, he won City a penalty as he was fouled by Azpilicueta.
He continued to strive and was rewarded in the 80th minute when he scored his second from an easy finish after some brilliant work by David Silva and Zinchenko.
#1 Sergio Aguero
Aguero marked the start of the game with an unimaginable miss from close quarters. It was an uncharacteristic finish from the Argentinean who failed to hit the target from 2 yards out, with an open goal in front of him. Even though City were leading 1-0 at that time, there were growing concerns that the miss could come back to haunt the home team. However, it was not to be.
The Argentinean made up for his miss in the early stages, by conjuring up a moment of brilliance in the 13th minute. He picked up the ball from way out of the Chelsea box and after brushing away a couple of challenges, unleashed a beautiful volley that found its way into the top right corner. But he was not done yet.
In the 19th minute, Aguero capitalized on a disastrous back header from Barkley and scored his second on the night. In the second half, he hit the crossbar with a thunderous header that had Kepa defeated. But his moment was about to arrive.
Sterling won a penalty in the 56th minute and Aguero converted from the spot to put City 3-0 up and also registered his 11th hattrick in the Premier League, equaling the record of most Premier League Hattricks, set by Alan Shearer.
By the time he was replaced by Jesus, Aguero had ensured that City had won all three points.
