Chelsea 2-1 Manchester City – Chelsea beat Manchester City to get a vital 3 points in the race for top 4 as Liverpool are now confirmed as Premier League champions after this Manchester City defeat at Stamford Bridge.
First half:
It was the visitors Manchester City who saw most of the ball early on as expected and it was the visitors who had the first big opportunity when the Brazilian Fernandinho headed on a Riyad Mahrez free kick which was well tipped the crossbarover by goalkeeper Kepa Arrizabalaga to keep the score goalless.
Despite Manchester City largely having the better of the opening 36 minutes it was Chelsea who took the lead when City left back Benjamin Mendy inexcusably gave the ball away on the half way line which allowed winger Christian Pulisic to run through and slot the ball past Ederson and put Chelsea a goal up in a vital game.
The goal appeared to give Chelsea some confidence for the rest of the half the Blues managed to see it through rather comfortably till half time and be a goal up going in to the break, a lead that was popular at both Stamford Bridge and Anfield as Liverpool were 45 minutes away from the Premier League title.
Second half:
Manchester City knew it was going to take a special performance in the second half to come away from Stamford Bridge with all 3 points and just 10 minutes in to the second half former Chelsea midfielder Kevin De Bruyne returned to Stamford Bridge and scored a spectacular free kick to bring Manchester City level to scored his second goal in two starts since the restart of the Premier League.
A couple minutes later and Manchester City missed a massive opportunity to take the lead when Riyad Mahrez put through fellow winger Raheem Sterling who unfortunately for the visitors went on to hit the post as Sterling failed to end his record of never scoring a goal at Stamford Bridge.
Chelsea had a chance to retake the lead when Christian Pulisic went through and took the ball round Ederson, however, Pulisic saw his finish amazingly blocked on the line by Kyle Walker in what was one of the best goal line clearances you are ever likely to see by the Manchester City and England right back to deny Chelsea what looked a certain goal.
The biggest moment of the game came in the 77th minute when in a mighty scramble in the Manchester City box ended with Fernandinho handling the ball to stop Tammy Abraham from scoring, the referee didn’t give the penalty but VAR did and not only was it a penalty for Chelsea, it was a red card for Fernandinho also to give Chelsea a massive opportunity to win the game. Willian stepped up for the penalty and made no mistake to give Chelsea a 2-1 lead as the Blues were on course to go 5 points clear in the top 4 race and perhaps hand Liverpool the title in the process.
Manchester City had no answers for the remainder of the game as Chelsea held on for a vital 2-1 win as Chelsea went 5 points clear of 5th place and this Manchester City defeat meant their two year grip on the Premier League trophy was now relinquished and Liverpool were now Premier League champions for the first time in 30 years.
Full time
Man of the match:
Christian Pulisic – The Chelsea winger was a constant threat to the Manchester City defence all game by worked tirelessly, and then topping off his performance with a fine finish to open the scoring in what might have been Christian Pulisic’s most important Chelsea goal to date.
Fascinating facts:
Pep Guardiola has now lost 3 out of his 4 meetings at Stamford Bridge in the Premier League.
This was only Christian Pulisic’s second goal at Stamford Bridge.
Kevin De Bruyne has now scored in his last two appearances at Stamford Bridge with both goals coming outside to penalty area.
This was the first time Willian has scored a penalty at Stamford Bridge since in the Premier League since December 2017 when he scored in a 5-0 home win against Stoke City.
Manchester City have lost 8 Premier League games this season which is the most ever under Pep Guardiola.
This was the first time Frank Lampard has defeated Pep Guardiola in his managerial career.
A Chelsea result has now officially decided where the Premier League title ends up in 4 of the last 6 Premier League seasons.
Talking points:
Liverpool are Premier League champions – Yes, Liverpool did not even kick a ball in this match, however, how can this not be the main talking point? Liverpool for the first time in 30 years have won the top flight of English football thanks to this Chelsea victory at Stamford Bridge.
Huge victory for Chelsea in the race for Champions League places – Chelsea regained their 5 point gap ahead of Manchester United and Wolverhampton Wanderers in the race for 4th place with this victory and Lampard may look back on this victory at the end of the season as a massive moment of significance.
Huge Benjamin Mendy mistake the key moment to setChelsea on their way to victory – Manchester City’s left back Benjamin Mendy has struggled defensively at times this season and this trip to Stamford Bridge was no different with the Frenchmen needlessly giving the ball away to allow Christian Pulisic to open the scoring in what was a massive turning point of this game.
Kevin De Bruyne special free kick – The Belgian midfielder may have been on the losing side but that didn’t stop him producing one of the best free kicks of the season to equalise for Manchester City in a goal that deserves to be replayed many times in the future.
Raheem Sterling miss at 1-1 a huge missed chance for Man City – Raheem Sterling went one on one with Kepa just after the equaliser and the Englishmen unfortunately for the visitors hit the post and had this gone in it might well have given Manchester City the confidence to go on and win the match.
VAR 100% correct to award Chelsea a penalty and send off Fernandinho – Referee Stuart Attwell originally never noticed a blatant Fernandinho hand ball which stopped a certain Tammy Abraham goal, however, with VAR introduced looking at the replays it seemed very obvious that it was a penalty and a red card for Fernandinho which VAR correctly gave which Willian then converted and gave Chelsea the win. Manchester City relinquish their Premier League crown – Manchester City have been the champions of England for the last two seasons accumulating a record total of 198 points in two seasons, however this was the day where Pep Guardiola and Manchester City said goodbye to the Premier League title for a year at least even if it was a case of when not if this season.
Sam’s match reports 