Manchester City defeated Chelsea 1–0 at Stamford Bridge on January 5th, reducing their point gap with Premier League leader Arsenal to only five. Chelsea’s hopes of climbing the point table got crushed again, breaking their 9 games league streak, and dropping them to 10th place.
Chelsea faced some early setbacks as they lost 2 midfielders to injury in the first 20 minutes of the game, muddling any game plan that they had. Their manager, Potter, had to make some quick and hard decisions to fight back.
Meanwhile, the odds of Chelsea losing changed fast, breaking the hearts of fans and punters alike. However, if you want to play safe, you should opt for well renowned betting operators to get live match updates and reliable odds and avoid situations like this. For those not interested in betting but yet wish to increase their fan engagement – casinos such as Mr Vegas Casino offer multiple other games related to football.
Nevertheless, let’s take a look at the match and look for the key events and their consequences. See how they might affect the point table and the possible course of this season.
Injured Sterling and Perisic, John Stones’ Decisive Tackles Cost Chelsea the Match
Rahim Sterling’s first game against his former club, City, didn’t last long. 3 minutes after kick-off, he was tackled by English centre-back Stones. It was apparently a hamstring injury, which makes it uncertain if Sterling will be able to continue playing any time soon.
Potter put the newly signed Aubameyang in his place, changed the tactics by playing him a more offensive role and they almost got the lead. John Stones intercepted with a strong and well-executed tackle that put Perisic out of play in 19 minutes.
Two players subbed, both midfielders with offensive roles, took Chelsea’s sharpness away in the final third of the field. Their only notable threat was Chukwuemeca’s shot that took a deflection and hit the woodwork in the 44th minute. The second half was mostly in City’s control.
Super Subs and the Genius of Guardiola
City had difficulty breaking through in the first half, playing in an unfamiliar formation. But substitutes Jack Grealish and Riyad Mahrez teamed up in the 63rd minute for the decisive goal that secured a crucial victory for City.
Pep first brought on Rico Lewis and Manuel Akanji, changing to their usual formation. Taking off Kyle Walker and the unusual starter Joao Cancelo. Then he brought on Grealish and Mahrez on the hour mark, to face two tiring centre-backs of Chelsea.
The new tactics proved effective right away. After a shaky first half, City started looking more in control. Cucurella was having a hard time keeping up with Mahrez’s speed, and Azpilicueta wasn’t in the position to intercept the cross from Grealish.
Here’s a link for the head-to-head stats of City and Chelsea.
What to Expect in the Remaining Season?
With this loss and the uncertainties around the injuries of important players, Chelsea looked dangerously close to the relegation zone with a meagre 25 points in 17 games. While Potter had a hard time finding a solution, Pep’s bench was full of them.
With a mere five-point gap with Arsenal, the defending champions remained the hot favourites of the league with 21 games left in their hands. And their confidence was apparent as they faced Chelsea again in 2 days and beat them 4–0 in the third round of the FA cup.
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