For once, Jose Mourinho loses his battle of one-upmanship with Manuel Pellegrini

Richard Jolly dissects Manchester City's resounding victory over Chelsea, a result that puts Manuel Pellegrini's side five points clear of the reigning champions, and Jose Mourinho playing catch-up.

Chelsea manager Jose Mourinho, left, shakes hands with Manchester City manager Manuel Pellegrini. Oli Scarff / AFP

MANCHESTER // It felt all too typical when, on the day Manuel Pellegrini signed a new contract, so did Jose Mourinho.

Ever engaged in a game of one-upmanship, his was twice as long. Mourinho made the headlines. Pellegrini faded into the background.

The Special One had upstaged the Forgotten One again. The temptation is to portray them as Machiavellian mastermind and bland, naive nice guy.

Mourinho has shaped perceptions of Pellegrini. He may upstage him again on this occasion, but only because inquests about Chelsea’s problems may be more gory. Manchester City’s excellence amounted to a resounding endorsement of Pellegrini, of his principles and his persona. This was his biggest win over Mourinho. It was the Portuguese’s joint heaviest defeat as Chelsea manager.

It was achieved Pellegrini’s way. It was the sort of triumph he relishes. The Chilean likes to position himself on the moral high ground. The ends do not justify the means, he argues. Winning is less satisfying, he says, if his side have not excelled. “Never change the style,” he argued. City didn’t.

The defending champions looked the lesser side. City were the more positive and the more progressive. They passed the ball better. They produced a statement of ambition, attacking from the off. They did not change their side to counter Chelsea. Sergio Aguero had more shots on target himself than Chelsea managed as a team.

Contrasting No. 10s summed up the difference in ethos. David Silva was the purist’s choice, Willian the pragmatist’s pick. City had their technician, Chelsea their athlete. Willian ran. Silva ran the game. Chelsea’s endeavour was fruitless, City’s class ominous.

Silva passed and probed. He split the Chelsea defence inside 20 seconds. He often tends to provide the assist to the assist, the pass before the pass that leads to a goal. So it was when City scored the crucial first goal. Close-range one-twos are a City speciality. This was another. Sergio Aguero and Yaya Toure were separated by only a few yards. They converged to create. The Argentine spun away from Gary Cahill and slid his shot past Asmir Begovic.

It was a reward for resolve. Aguero, making his first start for six weeks, is not at his sharpest, but even semi-fit, his tenacity stood out. His goal came from his fifth shot, all within the first 31 minutes. Four were on target, and he remains among the most accurate finishers around. Three were saved by Begovic, the first inside 20 seconds. The stand-in goalkeeper stood tall. Would the same could be said for Chelsea’s first-choice outfield players.

John Terry was substituted, with Mourinho dismissing suggestions his totemic captain was injured. Kurt Zouma’s extra pace was wanted. Terry was less than delighted. “He was not dancing in the dressing room,” said the Portuguese. With or without Terry, Chelsea were run ragged at the back. Branislav Ivanovic was unusually slow, Cahill error-prone. A midfield that seemed to contain more graft than craft was nonetheless overrun. Mourinho retains an ability to come up with a memorable quote. He dismissed this as a “fake” scoreline. Pellegrini’s verdict rang truer. “In the first 45 minutes, we deserved at least three goals,” he said.

Sometimes in such season-defining fixtures, the City defence is faulted. Not so far this season. “We have more concentration in defending,” argued Pellegrini. Centre-backs are judged on their efforts in their own box yet but their prowess in the other penalty area can have a symbolic value. Vincent Kompany endured a troubled season last year. He has begun the current campaign with goals in as many games. He seems resurgent. Chelsea seem to be relapsing.

They were top, either on their own or with others, for 274 days last season. They are five points behind City already. Mourinho is unaccustomed to playing catch-up, just as his players are not used to chasing shadows when they face City. He can still overshadow Pellegrini, but, for once, he did not outwit him.

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