If it seemed Chelsea wanted a stalemate, perhaps Manchester City instead made it checkmate. As they did a double of 1-0 wins over Thomas Tuchel’s team, they registered a 12th straight Premier League victory.
“Thirty six points from 36, hats off,” said City manager Pep Guardiola. City's lead in the title race is now 13 points. They look uncatchable, though Guardiola predictably disagreed. “In January no one is champion,” he said.
But, as Tuchel argued: “We won't give up, but if City keep on winning every game, nobody can catch them.” The Champions League winners have been distanced. Chelsea fans, waving plastic trophies, chorused “Where’s your European Cup?”. Memories of City’s defeat in Porto last summer remain fresh but a fourth Premier League crown in five seasons beckons, courtesy in part of one who acted as though he had unfinished business with Chelsea. This had the air of a revenge mission.
Kevin de Bruyne’s Champions League final was abruptly ended by a fearsome challenge by Antonio Rudiger. In a rematch, and not for the first time, Chelsea could lament Jose Mourinho’s reluctance to pick a young De Bruyne. A player who made two Premier League starts for them now has five goals against them, some decisive, some brilliant. This was both.
De Bruyne raced on to Joao Cancelo’s pass, shrugged off N’Golo Kante, the Champions League final man of the match who is often City’s nemesis, and whipped a shot in from 20 yards. “The goal is typical of him,” said Guardiola. Tuchel rued: “The individual quality of Kevin de Bruyne made the difference.”
In a tight, tactical affair, De Bruyne had looked as dangerous as anyone, arrowing one shot over and curling in a free kick that Kepa Arrizabalaga parried. “We were so patient,” said Guardiola and opportunities were scarce but, after De Bruyne scored, Phil Foden fired over and, just before, Raheem Sterling, who had dominated his duel with a toiling Marcos Alonso, shot just wide.
Yet the two golden chances fell to the two most expensive signings in the history of English football. Arguably misses summed up their lives at new clubs, though each was denied by a fine save and Jack Grealish troubled Chelsea on a series of solo runs while Romelu Lukaku had moments of menace on the counter-attack.
When Mateo Kovacic’s attempted pass was intercepted by De Bruyne and fell obligingly for an unmarked Grealish, Arrizabalaga was swift to react, emerging from his line to push the winger’s shot wide.
The two opportunities bookended half-time and each involved Kovacic, who released Lukaku with a defence-splitting pass. The Belgian aimed to bend his shot around Ederson but was denied by a stunning save. “He had many ball losses and a huge chance,” said an unsympathetic Tuchel. “In 180 minutes against the European champions, we concede one shot on target,” noted Guardiola.
Man City v Chelsea player ratings
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MANCHESTER CITY PLAYER RATINGS: Ederson – 7. Rarely called into action but pulled off a strong save to deny Lukaku early in the second half. Getty Images -
Kyle Walker – 7. A solid display from the England full-back who carried out his defensive duties and offered another outlet on the right flank. EPA -
Joao Cancelo – 7. Played a lovely pass to De Bruyne to set up City’s opener and was solid in defence and helped keep Pulisic quiet. EPA -
Aymeric Laporte – 7. Marshalled his defence well to help limit Chelsea to just one shot on target. Produced a point-blank block on Werner soon after De Bruyne’s goal. EPA -
John Stones – 7. Slotted in seamlessly on just his seventh league start of the season, helping Laporte to nullify Lukaku’s threat. EPA -
Rodri – 7. Spaniard had a comfortable outing in the anchor role as City dominated possession and seemed to outnumber the Chelsea midfield. EPA -
Bernardo Silva – 7. A trademark all-action display from the Portugal international, and while he may not have dominated the game, there were a few flicks and touches that displayed his class. Reuters -
Kevin De Bruyne – 8. Broke the deadlock with an absolute worldie, curling a shot from outside the area and leaving Kepa no chance. His fifth goal against Chelsea to deepen the regret his former club must be feeling for letting him leave. AFP -
Phil Foden – 7. Lively all afternoon, drifting across the attacking line as City continue to operate with a fluid front three. Snatched at a chance to make it 2-0. Getty Images -
Raheem Sterling – 8. Posed a constant threat and bullied Alonso all game. The England forward, recently named Premier League player of the month, continues his fine form. EPA -
Jack Grealish – 6. The least dangerous of City’s front three, the £100m man had a couple of decent chances to score but was unable to convert. PA -
SUBS: Ilkay Gundogan (On for De Bruyne 85’) – N/A. Brought on to provide fresh legs in the final few minutes. AP -
Gabriel Jesus (On for Foden 88’) – N/A. Reuters -
CHELSEA PLAYER RATINGS: Kepa Arrizabalaga – 7. Produced a big save with his leg to deflect a Grealish effort wide in the first half but had no hope with De Bruyne’s goal. The Spaniard is looking more assured these days. PA -
Malang Sarr – 7. Good performance from the Frenchman who had to deal with his share of attacks thanks to his flank being regularly targeted by City. Getty Images -
Antonio Rudiger – 8. Read the game superbly – cutting off City attacks, sticking in challenges, and intercepting crosses. Chelsea really need him to sign a new deal. PA -
Thiago Silva – 6. Usually the epitome of composure, the Brazilian never quite looked at his comfortable best at the Etihad. Probably could have closed De Bruyne down sooner for the Belgian's goal. EPA -
Cesar Azipilicueta – 6. Had his hands full against City’s attack and had few chances to venture forward. On the rare occasion he did, his crossing only found City heads. Reuters -
Marcos Alonso – 5. Run ragged by Sterling during the first half and never looked comfortable defensively. Had few chances to get forward, with City controlling so much of the ball. Subbed for last 10 minutes. AP -
N’Golo Kante – 6. The Frenchman’s positioning, tackling, and energy were vital to Chelsea containing City for much of the match, but he was too easily shrugged off by De Bruyne for the goal. AP -
Mateo Kovacic – 7. Once again the pick of the Chelsea midfielders, the Croatian was the most likely to make something happen – if only his team had more of the ball. Reuters -
Hakim Ziyech – 5. Rarely got on the ball and provided little threat in attack. Replaced in a double substitution with Pulisic. Reuters -
Christian Pulisic – 5. An anonymous display from the American forward as City dominated possession. Swapped with just over 20 minutes to play. Getty Images -
Romelu Lukaku – 5. Starved of service in the first half but had a great chance early in the second, which Ederson palmed away. Kept quiet for most of the game Getty Images -
SUBS: Timo Werner (On for Pulisic 69’) – 6. Had a good chance to pull Chelsea level swiftly after conceding but shot straight at Laporte. Reuters -
Callum Hudson-Odoi (On for Ziyech 69’) – 5. Opened up space on the left wing but was too wasteful in his final delivery. Reuters -
Mason Mount (On for Alonso 81’) – N/A. Not given enough time to effect the game. EPA
It was more important because of Chelsea’s negativity and mediocrity. “We deserved a draw,” said Tuchel; it was not his most credible comment although, as he argued, his side defended very well. It was another matter in attack. “It was about individual quality, and we lacked quality up front,” Tuchel said.
For the first time since May 2018, Chelsea reached half-time in the Premier League without registering a shot of any description. Too often they resorted to long balls. It seemed a defensive gameplan straight out of Mourinho’s handbook but, as City used their wingers high and wide to mean Chelsea’s wing-backs in effect completed a five-man rearguard, Tuchel was irritated and animated on the touchline, frustrated by his side’s inability to keep the ball or get out of their own half.
The City fans chorused “boring, boring Chelsea” but Tuchel’s antics suggested he had greater ambitions. “We could have had much more chances,” he said. “The ball losses were too early and too poor. The decision-making was not on the level we need.” Perhaps, however, that includes his own choices, too.
