Manchester City’s champagne is still on ice as Chelsea snatched a late winner in the “Champion’s League final dress rehearsal”. Sergio Aguero missed a first half penalty and City were denied one in the second half, while Chelsea had three goals ruled out due to offside. Chelsea climbed up to third with the win, while Man City missed the chance to wrap up the title.
Team News
Manchester City
Pep Guardiola made as many as nine changes from the midweek Champion’s League win. Only Ederson and Ruben Dias retained their places, while star man Kevin De Bruyne was left out of the squad.
Chelsea
Like his counterpart, Thomas Tuchel also decided to make several changes, though his number was lower than Pep. Like Man City, Chelsea also decided to give rest to their star man, with Mason Mount left out.
Have Chelsea gained edge over City for the CL Final?
Whether it was midweek exertions or just tactical mind-games, both teams had much changed line-ups. The opening 40 minutes were low on goal-mouth action with both managers opting for a cautious approach. Raheem Sterling was the first to have an attempt on target, forcing Eduoard Mendy into a comfortable save, before Timo Werner had the ball in the net but was found offside. Hakim Ziyech’s long range effort was also a routine save for Ederson.
The match then sprung into life after 40 minutes. A long ball was misjudged by Andreas Christensen, and it allowed Gabriel Jesus all the time in the world. He squared it for Aguero but his poor first touch allowed Sterling to end his goal drought. Christensen had injured his hamstring during the goal, and was off the field when just moments later, Gilmour fouled Jesus in the box. Aguero stepped up to take it but an uncharacteristic Panenka attempt was saved with embarrassing ease by Mendy.
Chelsea responded well in the second half, as they sought an equalizer. Their endeavors were soon rewarded with a low driven shot from Ziyech nestling into the bottom corner. The game started to open up more, with both teams going for the win. Zouma’s challenge late in the game looked a clear penalty, but neither the referee nor the VAR saw it that way. For Chelsea, Werner and substitute Callum Hudson-Odoi both had goals disallowed due to offside.
But with just one minute of stoppage time to play, Marcos Alonso popped up with the winner to compound Pep’s fury. The Spaniard’s effort almost seemed to defy logic as it looped over Ederson into the net. The Blues were perhaps fortunate to get away with that penalty incident, and Tuchel was the first to acknowledge that.
What does it mean for the league table?
Man City of course remain first, and will eventually be crowned champions. Man Utd play thrice before City next take the field, and will have to win all three to delay the confetti further. It is highly likely that City will be champions before they play next.
After Leicester’s shock loss to Newcastle a day before, third place was up for grabs for Chelsea. And they seized the opportunity, leapfrogging the Foxes and further consolidating their top-four berth. With tough fixtures coming up for Leicester, Tuchel’s side will fancy their chances to finish in the top-three.
Manchester City 1-2 Chelsea: Opta Stats
- Manchester City have dropped eight points from winning positions in home Premier League games this season, last dropping more at home in the competition in 2008-09 (12).
- After losing his first three managerial meetings with Pep Guardiola in all competitions, Chelsea boss Thomas Tuchel is unbeaten in his last four encounters with the Spaniard (W2 D2).
- Man City’s Pep Guardiola has lost four home league games this season, twice as many as he’d lost in any other campaign in his managerial career.
- Manchester City have lost consecutive Premier League home games thanks to a goal scored in the 90th minute – as many as they had in their previous 235 Premier League games at the Etihad Stadium.
- At 91 minutes and 54 seconds, Marcos Alonso’s winner was the latest winning goal scored in an away Premier League game against Manchester City since Paul Scholes for Man Utd in April 2010 (92:41).
Up Next
Man City travel to Newcastle United in the Premier League on Friday, 14th May.
Chelsea have a London derby at home to Arsenal in the Premier League on Wednesday, 12th May.