LONDON — Riyad Mahrez came on from the bench to score the decisive goal in the 63rd minute City of Manchester beat Chelsea 1-0 at Stamford Bridge on Thursday to close the gap on Premier League leadership weapon to five points
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To replace Carney Chukwuemeka The shot hit the post at the end of the first half due to the act of scoring. Shortly after the one-hour mark, a smooth turn of events ended with City’s two substitutes combining as Jack GrealishThe horizontal stretch goes to the Chelsea goalkeeper Kepa Arrizabalaga but still found Mahrez for a touchdown at the far post.
The result sends Graham Potter’s men down to 10th place in the standings before the two sides meet again in Sunday’s FA Cup third round match at Etihad Stadium.
JUMP TO: Player Rating | Best/worst performer | Highlights and remarkable moments | Quotes after the game | main statistics | upcoming match schedule
rapid response
1. The city isn’t perfect, but it’s good enough as Potter’s problems grow
Pep Guardiola claimed Manchester City would have to be “almost perfect” to catch Arsenal at the top of the table, but they were nowhere near that on Thursday, but still cut the gap to five points. City looked unusually disjointed in the first half, taking more than half an hour to score the first goal of the game – their longest wait in a Premier League game since October 2018. Yes Odds probably play a role, or the sheer volume of football since the domestic league resumes after the World Cup, but Man City rarely take the lead and can still claim their fifth defeat in the Premier League. eight games in all competitions against their hosts.
Potter is not under any imminent threat of his job, but Chelsea remain in 10th place, 10 points behind 4th. Manchester United. The club’s new owners, Todd Boehly and Clearlake Capital, were adamant that Potter would have time to stamp his authority on the team, which was only appointed in September, but the club has already spent over £270m for the summer transfer, and as they prepare to invest heavily again, expect a higher return on that spending. Chelsea only won 3 points against teams in the top half of the rankings.
2. Injury problem on the rise for Chelsea…
Mount Mason was absent from the starting line-up after suffering an injury in training, and within the first 22 minutes there, Chelsea had to face two more injuries. Raheem Sterling and Christian Pulisic Limp. Potter has always been able to rotate for Sunday’s FA Cup game against the same opponent, but the need for the players to rest for the extra Premier League game they have to contend with Fulham Next Thursday will be enhanced by the overall injury picture.
Wesley Fofana, Armando Broja, Reece James, Ben Chilwell and N’Golo Kante all are missing, but at least Benoit Badiashile was in the stands next to Boehly here, just since completed a move worth 37 million euros are from AS Monaco earlier in the day. He could be needed sooner than ideal at this rate.
Chelsea are actively looking to strengthen their forces in the January transfer window, keep talking with Benfica on midfield Enzo Fernandezand Negotiations are expected to take place with Shakhtar Donetsk Football director Darijo Srna on a deal for the winger Mykhailo Mudryk. The team’s current predicament, combined with the number of absentees, will only increase the pressure on the club to act decisively in the market.
3. … Man City’s bench makes the difference
There is a fleeting resemblance to 2021 championship the last game of the first half when Guardiola threatened to overcomplicate the squad as happened that night in Porto. The city operates with three defenders possessing such as Joao Cancelo was used in an advanced right role. Bernardo Silva and Kevin De Bruyne often spilled over to that wing to try to overload Chelsea, but more than anything, the players couldn’t seem to find space in the way that City often managed better than anyone else.
In the end, Guardiola’s adjustments made the prophecy Manuel Akanji and Rico Lewis came on at that time to give City more balance before Grealish and Mahrez were brought on in stoppage time, combining to score the winning goal just three minutes later. There was even time for a £45m signing Kalvin Phillips to be sure of the late things.
In contrast, Potter chose Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang when Sterling was forced off the pitch. Chelsea have privately insisted that Aubameyang is always a preferred target regardless of coach (he comes less than a week ahead of Thomas Tuchel, with whom he has thrived at Borussia Dortmund, sacked) but the 33-year-old was just a peripheral figure and was substituted when Chelsea needed a goal. Potter introduced Chukwuemeka, a highly regarded but inexperienced teenager, Conor Gallagher and two more young men in Omari Hutchinson (who debuted his sunbae) and Lewis Hall.
The contrast between City’s firepower and Chelsea’s reliance on youth is clearly marked.
Player Rating
Chelsea: Kepa Arrizabalaga 6, Cesar Azpilicueta 6, Thiago Silva 6, Kalidou Koulibaly 7, Marc Cucurella 6, Denis Zakaria 7, Mateo Kovacic 7, Hakim Ziyech 6, Christian Pulisic 6, Raheem Sterling 5, Kai Havertz 6
Prep: Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang 5, Carney Chukwuemeka 7, Omari Hutchinson 6, Lewis Hall 6, Conor Gallagher 6
City of Manchester: Ederson 6, Kyle Walker 5, John Stones 8, Nathan Ake 7, Joao Cancelo 6, Ilkay Gundogan 7, Rodri 6, Kevin De Bruyne 7, Bernardo Silva 6, Phil Foden 5, Erling Haaland 6
Prep: Manuel Akanji 6, Rico Lewis 6, Riyad Mahrez 7, Jack Grealish 7, Kalvin Phillips 6
Best and worst performers
Player of the Year: John Stones, Manchester City. As a commanding presence at the back, produced an excellent early tackle to deny Pulisic. Won seven of his eight duels.
Worst player: Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, Chelsea. Fifth minute substitution, 68th minute substitution after 14 touches, no shots and therefore personal xG at 0.00.
Highlights and remarkable moments
Chelsea’s attack is starting to look quite thin.
Chelsea’s injury scourge continues pic.twitter.com/7tc4KGtaP9
– FC GAME (@ESPNFC) January 5, 2023
After the game: What the player/manager said
Guardiola: “We didn’t play well in the first half. I said thank you to Cancelo for his effort, he’s not playing in the usual position, but we decided to use the formation that our players have. we can adapt on the pitch if they decide to play with five people behind. In the second half we went a lot further in every department. It was a big result for us.”
Potter about the pressure on him: “You always have to take responsibility, but you expect people to look at the whole scene and see where we are and what we’ve had to deal with, but at the same time the emotions are high and you have to try. try to weather any storm and try to stay level. The crowd is at the back of the team and can see them doing everything.”
Key stats (powered by ESPN Stats & Information research)
– Man City took 32 minutes and 3 seconds to score their first shot, the longest time it took the club to score a shot in a match under Guardiola since 7 October 2018, in a match in Barcelona. Premier League with Liverpool (38 minutes).
– Before Thursday, the last time Mahrez scored in the Premier League away from Etihad was January 1, 2022, against Arsenal.
Next
Chelsea and Manchester City won’t have to wait long for a rematch, as they will start in less than 72 hours. The sides will meet in the third round of the FA Cup at the Etihad on Sunday (11:30 a.m. ET, broadcast live on ESPN+).
