Chelsea came very close to a valuable win against Manchester City, after putting in a very good display against the current Premier League Champions and last season's Treble winners. A first-half goal from former City player Raheem Sterling was cancelled out late on by Rodri. The blues may feel that they could and should have won the game, especially with some of the clear chances created, but City rallied in the second half and in particular the last 30 minutes. This made it quite difficult to maintain the lead. Rodri eventually blasted in an equaliser, but Chelsea held on for a deserved point.
There were two changes to the team that beat Crystal Palace in midweek, with Levi Colwill coming in for the injured Thiago Silva and Raheem Sterling in for Noni Madueke. Chelsea seemed to line up in the usual 4-2-3-1 shape but Nicolas Jackson was upfront, with Cole Palmer and Sterling on either side.
Manchester City had 31 shots in the game overall, but only 5 of them were on target. Some were good chances that were missed especially a couple of free headers by Erling Haaland. They had a high level of possession in the game (70%). Chelsea were dangerous on the counter attack and created a number of clear chances, especially in the first half.
Nicolas Jackson had the first of these, as he was put through on goal after a cross from Gusto but the ball was slightly behind him, and he took a first touch to control it, which allowed Ederson in the City goal to smother the shot. The balls in behind and over the top of the Manchester City defence were causing them problems.
Eventually, just before half-time another move that started down the right hand side was finished off well by Raheem Sterling. Jackson played a one two with Palmer before crossing the ball to Raheem Sterling. Kyle Walker had been dragged over to the right side but recovered to cover Sterling. Despite this, Sterling cut inside Walker and produced a great finish to make it 1-0 before half-time.
In the second-half Chelsea brought on Christopher Nkunku for Sterling after 64 minutes. Nicolas Jackson went to the left side, and Nkunku went upfront. Jackson was probably able to help Chilwell out defensively a bit more than Nkunku could so this was probably why Nkunku went up top.
Trevoh Chalobah came on for Cole Palmer after this as Chelsea went to 5 at the back as they tried to hang on. They also brought on Cesare Casedai for Jackson as they put more bodies in midfield.
Eventually City found an equaliser through Rodri, who found space just inside the box and struck the ball past Djordje Petrovic in goal. Casedai could possibly have closed Rodri down quicker, but it was a good strike with a slight deflection. The game ended 1-1.
Chelsea tactically were able to exploit the left side of Manchester City (their right). Nathan Ake was sometimes left isolated for them as Gusto went wide and Palmer came into the right half space. Palmer was not always covered, and this was a source of joy when counter attacking. This led to the Jackson chance which could and probably should have been scored.
Palmer in the right half space with Gusto out wide
Gusto crossed to Jackson but he was not able to take the chance
Palmer operating again in the right half space on the counter in the second half with Gusto out wide
The move that eventually led to the Sterling goal
Chelsea also did a bit of a man-marking job on Rodri with Gallagher covering him for alot of the game. Eventually he found a way through, but this was mainly due to the fact that Chelsea sat so deep in the end and the team ran out of legs trying to protect the lead.
Axel Disasi was given the man of the match award at the end of the game as he produced a colossal display at the heart of the defence. He was attracted to the ball like a magnet, as he produced a number of blocks and clearances as well as accurate passes. He and Colwill formed a good partnership.
Axel Disasi v Manchester City :
25/29 passes completed (86% accuracy)
2 passes into final third
2 accurate long balls
4/4 aerial duels won
3 blocks
16 clearances (11 headed clearances)
5 ball recoveries
Disasi with his player of the match award
Malo Gusto was once again excellent and kept Jeremy Doku quiet throughout the game. He was also able to get forward from the right side. His passing was also accurate (25/29 at 86%), and he also won 9 duels.
Overall it was a very good performance from the team. Some may say that Chelsea could have gone for the win and not gone so defensive but in my opinion the team had lost energy and were showing signs of fatigue. Manchester City dominated possession and Chelsea were chasing the ball for long periods. The substitutions were to help in that regard and also maybe with an eye on the Cup Final next week. Palmer had picked up a yellow card for example.
The problem with the team is the lack of consistency at the moment. The last three results are encouraging and they will look to build on them. They seem to find it especially difficult to break teams down that sit deep. This is an issue that still has to be solved by the manager. However today the performance can be praised quite highly.
Maurico Pochettino was proud of the performance despite the late equaliser.
"Today was a great performance. We scored first and the first half was a very good game. I’m so pleased and I told the players this and congratulate them because the effort was massive.
The spirit we showed today is the way we want to compete. With the talent we have in all the areas, we will reach the level we expect. I’m so pleased because to play a team that is the best in the world is never easy, and today the character and personality the team showed made me very happy."
He also praised goal scorer Raheem Sterling.
"His experience is important and an offensive player always needs to score to feel confident. He was working really hard for the team, defending well, he was always in the position to help the team and making the effort to be in a position to help the defensive line and Chilwell on the side."
He also praised the players and team in general.
"They showed character today. All the coaching staff work to prepare the plan for the game, sometimes it works sometimes it doesn’t work, but always football is a game that belongs to the players and today the execution and of course the performance was down to them."
Chelsea's next game is the Carabao Cup final against Liverpool next Sunday. Pochettinho also looked forward to this game and said that the team needs to show belief.
“We need to feel that it's possible to beat Liverpool in the Cup final.
We are going to play the second best team in the world. I think belief is the most important thing."
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