When Michael Oliver blew the final whistle at Stamford Bridge, it defined a moment that many fans might have feared won’t even come this season. Yes, it was the moment when Manchester City’s unbeaten run in the Premier League came to an end.
Manchester City’s juggernaut was halted by Chelsea at Stamford Bridge on Saturday as the Blues upset the odds to romp home with a 2-0 scoreline, courtesy of goals from N’Golo Kante and David Luiz.
The Citizens enjoyed most of the possession in the first half and started off as the brighter of the two sides. Leroy Sane had a couple of chances inside the box but Cesar Azpilicueta literally sold himself to make a fantastic block to deny the German.
The league-leaders kept probing away with short passes in the centre of the park but they missed the presence of a specialist centre-forward in the eleven. With Sergio Aguero injured and Gabriel Jesus out of touch, Pep Guardiola fielded Raheem Sterling as the spearhead of the attack alongside Riyad Mahrez and Leroy Sane in the front three, a ploy that proved to be costly as the Citizens failed to make the most of numerous half-chances that came their way.
Chelsea were equal to the task and kept the Citizens at bay with some solid defending at the back. The Blues cut the passing lanes and closed down the spaces very effectively in the midfield, not allowing Manchester City to create openings and penetrate inside the box. N’Golo Kante, in particular, was really impressive as he proved to be a handful for the attackers with his lively presence and tenacity.
Maurizio Sarri’s men did not create too many chances in the first half but they made it count when they got one. It all started with a delightful cross-field pass from David Luiz to the right flank and even though Willian looked as if he had made a hash of the attack, Eden Hazard’s wonderful pull-back found the run of N’Golo Kante who thumped it into the net just at the stroke of halftime to put Chelsea in the driver’s seat.
With momentum on their side, the Blues made a bright start to the second half. N’Golo Kante drove forward with pace and teed up Willian with an intelligent pass but the Brazilian fired his effort straight at Ederson. Willian had another chance to double the lead but his curling free-kick was parried away by the goalkeeper.
With Chelsea on the front foot, Manchester City seemed to run out of ideas. Kyle Walker’s free-kick forced a decent save from Kepa Arrizabalaga but apart from that, the Citizens rarely made the Spaniard work.
The Blues needed to put the game to bed and they did so in style, David Luiz heading it in from Chelsea’s first corner of the game to make it 2-0 for the home side with just 12 minutes remaining.
The 2-0 victory will mean a lot to Maurizio Sarri, especially after that 2-1 humbling at the hands of Wolves in the mid-week game. Chelsea moved up to 3rd in the Premier League standings, reducing the deficit to 8 points at the top of the table but it will be the Liverpool fans who sign off the weekend on a high after moving to the top of the table with a 4-0 thrashing of Bournemouth.