Man City Win Over Chelsea Ominous for the Premier League
1218
There was a big game on the weekend in the English Premier League as league leaders and defending champions, Manchester City, welcomed second place and Champions League holders, Chelsea, to the Etihad Stadium.
First versus second in any league is always a special occasion but this had the makings of being a title decider, even at this stage of the season.
Chelsea were missing some key players from their starting XI, especially in the wing-back position but they still had more than enough quality to take something from the match. Thomas Tuchel set up his team to make life difficult for Manchester City and so it proved to be in the first half.
Chelsea even had an opportunity on the break through Romelu Lukaku but the Belgian international should have done better as he attempted to find a teammate instead of going alone.
Chelsea did not sit back and looked to defend on the front foot, putting Manchester City under pressure in their own half of the pitch. Mateo Kovacic and N’Golo Kante worked hard to try and shut down Rodri and Bernardo Silva in central midfield and that is why the duo were selected ahead of Jorginho.
However, when Chelsea did try and pin Manchester City inside their own half, the hosts played the ball long and used the space behind the Chelsea defence.
Manchester City were happy to both keep possession for periods of the game and play a direct ball if necessary. They slowly took control of proceedings and it was only a misplaced pass or poor finishing that was going to see them fail to take maximum points.
The goal came in the 70th minute and it was a great strike from Kevin De Bruyne, who received the ball from Joao Cancelo and ran at Chelsea before bending a shot into the far corner.
It was what Manchester City deserved and despite the quality of the opposition, both individually and as a team, Pep Guardiola’s side were superior and that is a worry as far as a title race is concerned.
There is still a long way to go this season in the Premier League but Manchester City are now the clear favourites to win the title and it would take a brave person to bet against them lifting the trophy in May.
In truth, Manchester City were not at their best against Chelsea yet still deserved to come away with 3 points. If you look at the fixture list, Manchester City have already played Tottenham Hotspur, Liverpool, Manchester United, Chelsea, Arsenal and Leicester City away from home. Manchester City do not have to play Chelsea, Arsenal and Leicester City in the Premier League again this season.
The title is there for Manchester City to lose and that is extremely unlikely to happen.
Home
Football 
Basketball
Hockey
American Football
Baseball
Rugby
Volleyball
Handball
Esoccer
