In their inaugural title defence match, Manchester City convincingly overpowered Chelsea in the Premier League with a solid 2-0 victory, featuring goals from Erling Haaland and Mateo Kovacic. This match signified Diet Pep’s failure to outperform the original version when they met at Stamford Bridge, the outcome was expected. Chelsea, under the fresh leadership of Enzo Maresca, displayed traces of potential but clearly lagged behind City’s talent and experience, even with the recovery of Cole Palmer’s edge. Their significant spending seemed ineffective against Pep Guardiola’s adept management as City’s former assistant.
Facing City might be easier when they are still getting their main players back in shape post any big tournament. Their line-up did have a few gaps, especially since Rodri is yet to fully heal from the thigh injury he suffered during the Euro 2024 final. However, Chelsea didn’t appear to seize the opportunity to capitalise on any of City’s weakness initially.
There’s been some discontent amongst the Chelsea fans regarding Maresca’s slow approach in the game. This comes after he took over the reins from Mauricio Pochettino with the aim to introduce a more measured game style. But it’s not been a rosy phase for Chelsea. Despite showing potential under Pochettino, they separated from the Argentinian post finishing sixth last season which has left a taste of restlessness in the arena.
The first goal, assisted by Bernardo Silva and executed by Haaland in the 18th minute, was followed by passionate chants supporting Conor Gallagher, on the brink of moving to Atletico Madrid, from the stands. The fans felt Gallagher’s dynamism could have unsettled City and hindered Kovacic’s command over the game from midfield. But Chelsea seems to be sticking to their unique agenda.
Maresca has ruled out Gallagher along with Trevoh Chalobah and Armando Broja as they await potential transfer deals. He has clearly decided that Djordje Petrovic will not meet his requirements for a goalkeeper adept at handling the ball. Furthermore, he has suggested that Ben Chilwell should find a new home before the transfer window closes and has insinuated the shortening tenure of former City winger, Raheem Sterling, at Stamford Bridge by not placing him on the bench.
Prior to the match, Sterling’s intermediaries had disclosed that he would be seeking clarity on his impending fate within days. On the other hand, Maresca will need to critically analyse the defence that allowed City to hold sway. A few early warning signs were observed from the visitors, especially when Savinho’s pass cleaved Chelsea and compelled Wesley Fofana to steer Silva’s shot. Jérémy Doku being permitted to veer in from the left side seemed far too effortless.
Unfavourable amounts of time and space were handed over to Doku to transition the ball inward and in front of Chelsea’s defensive foursome. Either Moisés Caicedo or Roméo Lavia should have been polling closer to Silva when the ball was dispatched to him. Instead, the Portuguese exploited Chelsea’s imbalance with a nifty flick to Haaland, who nimbly arranged his footing before skillfully looping the ball over Robert Sánchez.
Once in motion, City came close to dominating the match by half-time. Kevin de Brune, exhibiting seamless elegance, barely missed a goal while Silva and Doku’s attempts were fended off by Sánchez. Savinho, showcasing potential on his debut after being signed from Troyes, made some thrilling attempts down the right. Despite some murmurs following three stray passes from the newly appointed captain, Enzo Fernandez, in the aftermath of his participation in a racism scandal that caused a brief tumult in Maresca’s squad.
A keen observation was the improvement of Chelsea’s performance as they showed increased intensity and attacked City’s aggressive front line. Christopher Nkunku launched a few threatening runs down the left of the pitch, though none of these intimidated the superb Rico Lewis. While Nicolas Jackson’s offside goal was dismissed, causing some respite for goalkeeper Ederson who was faltering against Palmer’s low shot.
As the first half of the game was coming to an end, signs of nervous tension were noticeably apparent in the demeanour of City’s coach, Guardiola. Swiftly responding, Phil Foden was substituted on for Savinho, enabling City to commence the second half efficiently. Haaland narrowly missed a chance to mark his second goal, with Sánchez stepping up to make another commendable save.
Chelsea had to up their game in the final third, and Maresca hoping for some fresh strategy, replaced Pedro Neto with the somewhat ineffective Nkunku. The pressure was steadily building up, with Lewis performing a commendable clearance to deny Neto his initial goal, and Jackson nearly sneaking a loose ball past Ederson. However, another goal by City was nullified due to foul play by Haaland on Levi Colwill.
Struggling to ensure a second goal, City chose to play defensively after entering the second hour and trusted their firm defensive line-up of Rubén Dias, Manuel Akanji and Josko Gvardiol. Chelsea were evidently short on creative tactics with Palmer not being quite up to par.
In the final stages, Chelsea brought on Marc Guiu, a newcomer with only seven senior appearances under his belt, who took Jackson’s spot. Maresca also introduced trusted player Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall. These changes signalled to many that it was likely City would emerge victorious. In the end, Kovacic, who had been previously seen as unfit for a place in Chelsea’s ambitious rebuild, retrieved a loose ball, breezing past both Caicedo and Fernandez, scoring a goal that Sánchez could arguably have done better to prevent.
Post spending more than £1 billion on new recruits, Chelsea’s co-owner Todd Boehly was seen leaving his seat, showing that despite significant investment Chelsea are still trying to match the prowess of their rivals.
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