A Blue Up North reviews Chelsea’s outstanding victory over Manchester City.
Saturday teatime’s Premier League match this weekend saw the reigning champions and current leaders Manchester City travel to Chelsea. The Citizens brought their 21 game unbeaten league run that stretches back to April with them, while The Blues had lost 2 of their last 3 league matches including a humiliating loss at Wolves on Wednesday evening.
Even with Pep Guardiola missing Sergio Aguero and Kevin De Bruyne, his Manchester City side went into this match as huge favourites. They weren’t at their imperious best on Tuesday but still registered a relatively comfortable 2-1 away win over a battling Watford.
Meanwhile, Chelsea may have lost at Wolves on Wednesday but The Blues had played well for the most part and manager Maurizio Sarri would have mostly focused on this in his preparations for the visit of the champions.
David Luiz, Jorginho and Mateo Kovacic all returned to a fully fit first team, but Sarri decided to go without a recognised striker by playing Eden Hazard ahead of Pedro and Willian. With Guardiola using Raheem Sterling for the same tactic, the match was to have a very continental feel to it.
The first half was a very tight affair. The visitors played their usual high pressing style and stifled all of Chelsea’s possession. This led to City creating the few chances that became available but both Sterling and Leroy Sane were hesitant and wasteful in front of goal while the Chelsea defenders were colossal in their attempts to block their path.
But not only were City showing why they were both the defending champions and league leaders, but they were being extremely robust in the challenges. It was clear for all to see why they were on such a long unbeaten run.
However, Chelsea are not like most teams. They happily stood toe to toe with their opponents and soaked up all that was aimed at them. The grit and determination shown by every Chelsea player was immense and was only matched by their ability to channel their aggression into standing up against the onslaught.
Despite enjoying the majority of the possession and being in attacking positions far more than their hosts, Manchester City did not come that close to scoring. However, on 44 minutes, the home side showed how it should be done.
A terrific long pass from David Luiz found Pedro on the right wing. The Spaniard showed great vision to find space for Willian to run in to on the left. Almost immediately support was there, including a marauding Marcos Alonso up from left back. As Chelsea kept possession, Hazard crossed the ball into the danger zone and N’Golo Kante charged into the penalty box to finish the move off with an arrowed shot up into the roof of the net.
The tone was set. No matter what Manchester City could muster, The Blues showed the strength of character and resilience to not only hold out but actually take the lead.
In the second half, the visitors changed from believing that they were the all conquering footballing force to questioning their status within the match. As their high press became less influential, The Blues took the upper hand.
Then as time wore on, both managers started to flex their subs bench’s muscles. Gabriel Jesus and Gündogan made little difference for the visitors, while Ross Barkley and Ruben Loftus-Cheek gave the home side more impetus as soon as they arrived on the pitch.
As The Blues gained confidence and momentum they took control of the match and Luiz’s flicked header with 12 minutes to go confirmed their victory. Where The Citizens were missing a killer touch, Sarri’s side showed them how it should be done. The last chance of the match fell to Gabriel Jesus but Kepa Arrizabalaga made up for his missed pass with a flying save and so went City’s best chance of the match. But even if it had been converted, it still would have been too little too late.
This was a victory created out of a team showing an incredible level of application. Every Chelsea player showed immense determination and the right level of aggression in the face of an incredibly powerful display of top level football from City’s multi talented squad.
Sarri’s tactics were spot on. His decision to leave out either main striker, to target balls deep down either wing and deploy N’Golo Kante in a more advanced central midfield role were all executed superbly by a tireless and resolute team.
Stamford Bridge was rocking as their beloved team followed up 2 defeats in their last 3 matches with a masterclass in how to overpower a real powerhouse. To use a perfectly coined phrase regarding following The Blues, this was a perfect example of “glorious unpredictability”. Long may that continue.
Written by Jon Ellis, home and away season ticket holder. Follow him on Twitter @ClitheroeBlue
