Chelsea vs Man City: Match Report
An 8-goal thriller at Stamford Bridge saw the Champions of England held to a draw, the first in Guardiola's managerial career.
Man City likes to control the middle of the pitch by overloading the midfield. In this game, Akanji was the centre-back tasked with playing that hybrid role that we were so accustomed to seeing Stones excel in towards the back end of last season. Gvardiol and Walker, despite playing as fullbacks found themselves very high and narrow to strengthen their stability in the centre on the pitch. They set up with Alvarez off Haaland, accompanied by Silva and Rodri with Gvardiol and Akanji slightly deeper than them. The aim is to draw bodies into the centre of the pitch leaving space out wide for Doku and Foden to work their magic against their counterparts and provide a final ball for Haaland who will inevitably be waiting in the box.
However, Pochettino knew that this was how Man City had been playing their football. As they advanced the ball they very rarely tried to play through the midfield and utilised the spaces out wide. Palmer and Sterling were often the recipients linking up with James and Cucarella. In deep areas, Enzo was key in the build-up for Chelsea and as they went forward, Gallagher was impressive working hard on and off the ball. They kept Man City to just 55% possession and made it an end-to-end game by working the ball up the pitch swiftly.
The opening half of the game was a thrilling spectacle, with Haaland expertly slotting home a penalty to kick-start the action. It was another call where the opposing player had held onto a Man City player for too long, but it seemed like both players were fouling each other.
Chelsea responded within minutes. James’ curling freekick was well saved by Ederson leading to a corner. The delivery from Gallagher was perfect, 39-year-old Silva manoeuvred himself to the front post and glanced a header across Ederson's goal and past his fellow Brazilian to bring the Blues back into it.
Their confidence grew and before you knew it they were in the lead. Palmer came inside and played a marginally overhit ball to James on the overlap. Gvardiol couldn’t sort his feet out to deal with it and James pinched it off him and put in a killer ball to Sterling on the edge of the 6-yard box to tap it in for the lead.
Unfortunately, their lead did not last long. Man City had a corner and reworked the angle for Silva to float the ball into a dangerous area. Akanji who found space, launched himself into the air and his header left Sanchez with no chance. They went into the break level.
Following a half of football that entertaining was going to be hard to follow, but it wasn’t long after the restart that the action began. Only 90 seconds after the whistle, Haaland had produced his second of the evening. Foden was driving at Cucarella and was patiently waiting for Alvarez on the overlap. The World Cup winner received it and hit the ball across the face of the goal, evading Sanchez, Cucarella and Disasi for Haaland to put City back in the lead.
In an attempt to get themselves level, Chelsea were throwing bodies forward and keeping them there which stretched the game with the teams going blow for blow. Eventually, it paid off. Gallagher’s touch into space set him up for a powerful strike that Ederson could have dealt with better. He palmed it into the path of Jackson who poked it over the line resulting in a deafening cheer from the home supporters.
The game was starting to peter out with the champions slowing it down and playing at their tempo. As I was watching, I thought there would only be one winner if Man City could keep that kind of control. Rodri, who is beginning to build up a small collection of late winners, smacked the ball goal-bound. The experienced Silva attempted to block the shot but inadvertently redirected it to the far corner of his own goal. Late on, City reclaimed their lead and looked set to leave the Bridge with all 3 points.
Fortunately for Chelsea, there was one final unexpected turn in this enchanting tale. Sterling chipped a gorgeous ball to Broja in the box, he faked the shot and Dias was sold and took out the Armenian’s standing leg in the 96th minute of the game. Undoubtedly, the penalty was awarded and who stepped up? None other than Cole Palmer, who joined Man City whilst playing under 8’s football. He moved on the last day of the summer transfer window to the capital for £42.5m and has been one of Chelsea’s brightest stars this season. In a herculean moment for him, he had the composure to beat Ederson and earn his team a point.
There will be many positives that Chelsea can take from this game and their attack is definitely one of them. Pochettino carved out a great way for his team to bypass the City midfield, playing direct football and having the confidence in his players to play in the tight areas. Reece James will be key to Chelsea’s success and they will be praying he can keep fit. Doku had no impact on the game and couldn’t get past the Chelsea captain, who also provided an attacking threat in addition to defensive solidarity – despite conceding 4. Sterling and Palmer played really well and enabled those around them with their selfishness.
Foden had a great game on the right and was a problem for Cucarella all evening. Haaland did his part but could have added more goals to his 13 already this season. Walker kept Sterling as quiet as he could have done, but none of their defenders had particularly strong games. Their midfield wasn’t great off the ball and offered no protection for the back 4, but on the ball Silva was exceptional as he often is. Both teams will feel hard done by, having scored 4 goals and only coming away with a point, but it was a hard-fought battle where the spoils were deservedly shared.
