Thursday’s Chelsea vs Man City clash has been one of the most highly anticipated matches since the league resumed after the international break. For any football lover, the names of both these clubs should be really well known. However, for those who do not know let me inform you that both these clubs are footballing giants in their own right. Both have a large collection of silverware in their trophy gallery. Therefore, when two such giants lock horns, it is sure to be an entertaining game of football.
However, this clash between the two occurred in a slightly altered situation. Manchester City is very well placed on the league table. In fact, they are one of the strongest contenders for this year’s league title. Since Pep Guardiola took over as a manager, it has been a dream run for the City. Chelsea, on the other hand, is having a season that they would wish to forget soon enough. They are currency placed at the tenth position and are really struggling to get back to their winning ways. However, the earlier season was a great one for them and they finished third in the league. Therefore, at the beginning of the new year, the fans were all eager to see if Chelsea can get back on track. On the other hand, the fans were also eager to see how City would perform after the break.
Therefore, if you wish to know more about this Thursday’s big match, then this article is the perfect stop for you. Keep reading this article to know all about this interesting game of football.
The Match
The match began on a low note as both teams struggled to find the nets. In fact, City never succeeded to impress in the first half with a poor display of football. At their home ground, Stamford Bridge, Chelsea started in a great manner. However, early in the game, they lost both Sterling and Pulisic due to injuries. Sterling seemed to have suffered a hamstring injury. On the other hand, Pulisic fell prey to a robust challenge from John Stones, while the former was going to have an open shot at the goal. Yet after all these, Chelsea seemed really threatening, with Carney Chukwuemeka almost scoring the opening goal for them. But unfortunately, his shot only rattled the left post.
However, after the game resumed in the second half, Guardiola made some alterations to his starting eleven. In the 46th minute of the game, he injected Rico Lewis and Manuel Akanji in places of Kyle Walker and Joao Cancelo. Again around the 59th minute, Guardiola made further changes to City as he substituted Jack Grealish and Riyad Mahrez for Phil Foden and Bernardo. These alterations, along with a slight change to the tactics worked like magic and City started to gain control over the game.
In fact, the effect was immediate, as Mahrez tapped in a low cross from Grealish. Therefore, both the substitutes combined to give City a slender lead over their rivals. After this goal, though Chelsea tried to pull one back, it was never to happen. City took full control of the game and the likes of Haaland started to threaten the Chelsea box more often. Therefore, even after 4 minutes past 90 minutes, the scoreline remained unchanged.
Concluding Lines
City, with a well-fought 1-0 win over Chelsea is now second on the league table. They are 4 points ahead with one less game from the third place Newcastle. On the otherhand, they are 5 points behind the first-placed Arsenal. But, with the loss, Chelsea stayed in the tenth spot. Though there are still a lot of games in the league, their chances of a top-four finish seem very low. However, this is the game of football and you can never predict anything earlier.
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