Manchester City closed the five-point gap on Premier League leaders Arsenal with victory over injury-hit Chelsea at Stamford Bridge.
Reigning Pep Guardiola’s substitutes struggled in the first half to break the deadlock after 63 minutes, Riyad Mahrez turning Jack Grealish’s low cross at the far post.
Chelsea enjoyed a comfortable first half despite former City forwards Raheem Sterling and Christian Pulisic both on the long injury list, with substitute Carney Chukwuemeka hitting the post from the edge of the area.
Graham Potter will justify Chelsea’s bad luck with the absentees but the bottom line is that the defeat leaves them in an unusual position of 10th, 10 points off the Champions League places.
City, meanwhile, will be delighted to pick up three points despite not being anywhere near their best and a rare night when scoring machine Erling Holland failed to hit the target.
Man City dig for victory.
City were nowhere near their best but the celebration at the final whistle was a sign that this was a battle for victory which is the trademark of the champions.
Guardiola’s side struggled in the first half with three in central defense but the manager switched to four in the second half in what was a poor display of strength from his substitutes’ bench.
And it served to settle the tight contest as Chelsea keeper Kepa Arrizabalaga failed to cut out Grealish’s cross and Mahrez got past Marc Cucurella to make the decisive contribution.
John Stones was singled out for a standing ovation from the city’s traveling fans at the final whistle and rightly so after another brilliant performance, the game highlighted by a brilliantly timed tackle on Pulisic in the six-yard box. is in balance.
City will have better days and nights but the main objective here against a tough opponent was to make up for a disappointing home draw against Everton, and that was very much mission accomplished.
Chelsea fight back but the struggle continues.
Despite this damaging defeat, Chelsea fans put aside their disappointment to applaud their players at the final whistle and understand the current situation facing manager Potter.
It’s a club in transition under new owner Todd Buhly, with Chelsea’s hierarchy running a somewhat scattergun transfer policy, and a new manager in Potter trying to put his stamp on the team. .
Chelsea currently look far from contenders for a Champions League place, certainly a minimum requirement given their spending and ambition on the day they made another arrival in £35m defender Benoit Badechile from Monaco. Confirmed.
They never lacked heart or drive but struggled in moments when they lost Sterling and Pulisic to injury, eating further into Potter’s squad.
Potter’s plight was evident when he sent on 19-year-old Chukwuemeka for Pulisic and was joined by young trio Conor Gallagher, Lewis Hall and Omari Hutchinson as they tried to save the game after City took the lead. of
Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang was Sterling’s early replacement but suffered the infamy of being a late substitute. He could have no complaints after a poor performance in which he looked a thoroughly expendable force.
It was more of a disappointment for Chelsea, who now face an uphill battle to get close to the clubs they consider their traditional Premier League rivals.
