Despite facing a series of setbacks due to a number of absences from the line-up owing to Covid-19, Manchester City managed to trump Chelsea last Sunday at Stamford Bridge with a dominant performance. By winning the match against Chelsea with a score of 3-1, City has moved closer to the Premier League title.
The Sky Blues were up 3-0 by the time the game approached half-time, thanks to goals from Ilkay Gundogan, Phil Foden and Kevin De Bruyne. The win against Chelsea has decreased the margin of points between Manchester City and points table toppers Liverpool and Manchester United, bringing it within a four-point distance from the two.
Chelsea was also perceived as a challenger for the Premier League title, but securing only one win in six games has made The Blues fall behind in the title race. The dismal performance from Chelsea has brought it down to the eighth position.
Many Chelsea managers have been easily dismissed after a dismal performance from the team and a perceived failure on their part to manage the team. The club’s present manager, Frank Lampard, has to prove his mettle by managing the team in a way that they become – and look like – a collective team of talented individuals capable of playing at the level of The Reds and City.
Manchester City was competing without players such as Ederson, Ferran Torres, Gabriel Jesus and Kyle Walker due to the pandemic outbreak. The recent wave also resulted in their match with Everton, originally scheduled on January 4, to be postponed to a later date after the Covid-19 scare reduces. City did not have enough players on the bench in the recently concluded match but it played Benjamin Mendy as a substitute, despite an ongoing probe into his alleged flouting of Covid-19 safety protocol.
City goalkeeper Zack Steffen made his debut in the match against Chelsea. He was, however, not tested often enough by Chelsea attack despite the presence of Christian Pulisic, Timo Werner and Hakim Ziyech together for the first time.
City faced some initial jitters as players struggled on the coordination front thanks to an unlikely line-up. However, once City’s players found their groove and established their feet on field, they tore apart Chelsea’s weak defence.
Gundogan scored the first goal for City 18 minutes into the game. Three minutes after Gundogan, Foden scored the second, giving City a two-goal lead, before De Bruyne added to the tally with a third goal.
The only saving grace for Chelsea was a goal from Callum Hudson-Odoi scored during the second half stoppage time.
Pep Guardiola’s winning streak at Stamford bridge has been only five wins so far, but the match against Chelsea was a piece of cake for the City players where the depleted side was clearly leading the game by the 35th minute of the game.
While City players were clinical in scoring goals in the first half of the game, Chelsea would have suffered a wider margin of defeat had City maintained its attacking performance in the final hour of the game.
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