It was a quick one-two that befitted this sometimes cagey but continuously intriguing contest. As is his wont, Pep Guardiola served up a tactical gambit in an attempt to give Manchester City an advantage against out-of-form Chelsea, but it came down to a simple move from two of his second-half substitutes.
Jack Grealish provided the assist for Riyad Mahrez to score the only goal of this tight Premier League match and his first for the campaign. The breakthrough in the 63rd minute came with City in the ascendency, and both players new to the game, but followed a tight and tactical first half which saw Guardiola’s ruse fail to materialise as he might have envisaged.
Nevertheless, this was a successful trip to the capital for City. Their third successive league victory at Stamford Bridge saw them close down the gap to leaders Arsenal to five points, with the pair due to meet next month. This also came after City had already shooed Chelsea out of the League Cup and before the two meet in Sunday’s FA Cup third-round tie at the Etihad Stadium.
Chelsea, sat in tenth position, were looking for a response after Sunday’s muted 1-1 draw at Nottingham Forest but were left to rue a sixth defeat of the season, which is as many as their total last term. Graham Potter has now only seen his team win one of their last seven games and they remain not only as the fifth-placed team from the capital but the third from west London — behind Fulham and Brentford.
Potter says that nobody wants to hear excuses but his ever-lengthening injury list does feel like one. Benoît Badiashile, the centre back signed from Monaco on a seven-and-a-half year deal, was in the stands and can’t be at Potter’s disposal soon enough as far as the Chelsea manager is concerned.
Story of the game
The number of stricken Chelsea players increased into double figures after only 20 minutes here. Mason Mount was absent because of a training ground knock and Raheem Sterling, making his first start against the club with whom he won 10 major trophies, went off within 120 seconds with a hamstring tweak after coming off worse when John Stones collided with him.
It would get even worse with Christian Pulisic only lasting the opening quarter. The US international was hurt after Stones stretched into a saving block challenge on him.
Even by that stage most were still trying to decipher City’s formation. Guardiola chose this game as the right time to bring back those players he had afforded a longer break after the World Cup; in came Kyle Walker for his first appearance since a leg fracture suffered on October 2, Phil Foden made only his second league start in six, and Joao Cancelo also returned.
However, it was how they lined up that caused intrigue. It was a 4-3-3/3-2-4-1 mix with Rodri performing a hybrid role, shifting from central midfield into defence. Walker was on the right of a back three, Cancelo high up on the right, Foden the same on the left. It was certainly unique and took a while for even the City players to get to grips with where they were meant to be.
Perhaps a shake-up was needed after drawing with troubled Everton at the weekend but there was a sense of over-complication on Guardiola’s part. City struggled to assert any control in the opening half-hour and it was Chelsea who were brighter, winning the duels.
City needed a Bernardo Silva tackle to snuff out the substitute Carney Chukwuemeka after a Kai Havertz pull back. And it was Chukwuemeka who so nearly broke the deadlock just before the interval. Following another Havertz pass, he cut inside from the right and watched his shot beat Ederson, via a slight deflection, and rebound off the post as the home team started to work their opponents.
Haaland, rationing touches, got a quick shot away on 38 minutes after being fed by Ilkay Gundogan and escaping Kalidou Koulibaly but it rose over the crossbar. That was a rare moment of City cut and thrust in a cagey half that Chelsea edged.
Whatever Guardiola had hoped to see clearly had not been evident. He hooked Walker and Cancelo and sent on Rico Lewis and Manuel Akanji at half time as the visitors searched for their usual attacking rhythm. There was a slight reshuffle and they came on stronger in the new half.
Ake headed Kevin De Bruyne’s cross against Kepa Arrizabalaga’s left hand post and the Belgium playmaker also bent a shot wide minutes later. At the other end, Thiago Silva flashed an effort wide after Havertz miscued his touch at the far post. Suddenly the game had life. And chances. Sensing the upper hand being gained, Guardiola deployed Grealish and Mahrez to devastating effect.
In the 63rd minute, and with zip returning to their play, City switched the ball from right to left through Gundogan and De Bruyne and on to Grealish just inside the Chelsea area. His low first-time cross travelled through the corridor of uncertainty, bypassing Kepa and was met by Mahrez, who was too quick for Marc Cucurella at the back post to tap into an empty net.
A second almost followed when a sliding Haaland stretched to reach De Bruyne’s pull back but was inches short. Potter made a triple change in an attempt to re-energise Chelsea, taking off Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang who had earlier come on for Sterling. Conor Gallagher, Lewis Hall and Omari Giraud-Hutchinson all provided impetus from the bench.
Gallagher, in particular, caused the City backline concern with his all-out running and harrying as Chelsea aimed for a late crescendo. Yet, chances were still difficult for the home team to come by as they were left bamboozled by Guardiola’s tactics and City’s second-half sucker-punch.
Player of the match: Riyad Mahrez
He came off the substitute's bench and scored the winning goal with a finish at the back post. But it was his overall impact on City’s performance in the second half that made him stand out. Whereas City had lacked energy in the first half, the Algerian international supplied impetus down the right and scored the goal his cameo deserved.