Manchester City 3-0 Chelsea: Premier League

    


Premier League champions put to the sword by title rivals

Manchester City have added to Jose Mourinho’s woes as they beat the reigning Premier League champions 3-0 at the upgraded Etihad Stadium.

It had looked like just a solitary Sergio Aguero goal after half an hour would separate the two sides but eventually Manuel Pellegrini’s men made their dominance tell and, with 11 minutes remaining, Vincent Kompany and Fernandinho added to the scoreline, leaving those wearing light blue jubilant.

Even the most unctuous of Mourinho’s supporters had to admit the Portuguese’s fiery temper had caused the Blues unneeded tumult this week after a troubling 2-2 draw with Swansea Cityand the ensuing issues surrounding his medical staff, and now questions will be asked of his acumen after such a capitulation late on.

The writing seemed to be on the wall just seconds into the match as Asmir Begovic’s legs denied Sergio Aguero who had been sent through on goal by a superb David Silva pass, while Jesus Navas’ follow up skittered across goal.

And moments later another Silva pass saw Cesar Azpilicueta boot the ball over his own bar to clear the immediate danger as Chelsea looked nervous.

Aguero, starting his first game of the season, looked bright and was just a fraction away from opening the scoring again as he skidded in to meet Aleksandar Kolarov’s free-kick, but the Argentine couldn’t quite connect.

Begovic then twice brilliantly denied the striker, leaving Aguero to applaud his opponent and offer the shot-stopper a frustrated fist-bump to acknowledge his excellent saves.

A near-post Nemanja Matic header was the closest Chelsea came to opening the scoring in the first 20 minutes and then, somehow, as it looked like Aguero would finally nudge the ball beyond his nemesis, he could only scuff Kolarov’s cross wide from three yards.

Chelsea’s early frustrations eventually manifested themselves into three blocked long shots but it couldn’t stop the inevitable.

A one-two on the edge of the area with Yaya Toure set Aguero away and the skilful star twisted and turned, sending Gary Cahill flying the wrong way and he was able to roll a curling left-shot into the bottom corner, beyond Begovic’s reach.

Man City dropped back after taking the lead but were never really punished as Chelsea sloppily gave away possession and Cesc Fabregas wasted a well-placed free-kick, while Ramires took too long to get a shot away inside the box and was dispossessed.

Perhaps the loudest cheer of the afternoon came from the home support when, two minutes before the break, Gary Cahill, floored by a stray Begovic punch, received treatment from Chelsea’s newly-promoted medical staff.

Meanwhile, Diego Costa looked furious going in at half time, barging his way into the tunnel after being clattered by a Fernandinho elbow, which saw the Brazil booked and the Spaniard bandaged.

As Jose Mourinho looked to turn the tide in the second period, he swapped John Terry for Kurt Zouma, but it was Branislav Ivanovic who was next targeted as Raheem Sterling drew a foul and a caution from the Serbian, while the resulting free-kick saw a Kolarov cross pinball about the six-yard box before being cleared.

Ramires thought he’d got Chelsea level when he flicked home a lobbed through-ball by Eden Hazard but he was embarrassed by the linesman, who had raised his flag for offside as the Brazilian ran to celebrate with the away fans.

As the match finally began to settle, around the hour-mark, the sides looked equal, cancelling each other out but Aguero and Costa remained dangerous, missing good chances at opposite ends of the pitch.

But with 12 minutes remaining Manchester City were able to add to their tally as Kompany jumped highest to guide home a Silva corner.

And with five minutes to go, Fernandinho completed the scoring as he slammed home a strike on the diagonal after the normally reliable Ivanovic had lost the ball perilously close to his own box.

Manchester City vs. Chelsea: Score and Reaction from 2015 Premier League Match

Manchester City sent out a strong message to their Premier League rivals, as they ran out comfortable 3-0 winners over Chelsea on Sunday.

Sergio Aguero had the Citizens up 1-0 at half-time before Vincent Kompany and Fernandinho killed off the game deep into the second half.

The Citizens dominated the match for large periods, as the Blues defence struggled throughout to cope with City's potent attacking threat.

City made just one change from the side that beat West Bromwich Albion 3-0 Monday, with Aguero starting ahead of Wilfried Bony, while Ramires replaced the injured Oscar in Chelsea's lineup.

The home side began with intent as Aguero raced through on goal inside the first minute, but Asmir Begovic was on hand to save the Argentinian's tepid finish with ease.

With the help of Aleksandar Kolarov, the ever-involved Aguero continued to test Begovic, forcing two more excellent saves from the Bosnian stopper.

Alex Livesey/Getty Images

The sustained pressure on Chelsea's goal deservedly resulted in the home side taking the lead.

Exchanging passes with Yaya Toure on the edge of the area, Aguero danced past Chelsea's defence thanks to his notoriously quick feet and tucked the ball into the bottom left corner.

OptaJoe noted his incredible record since joining City, while football journalist Gabriele Marcotti was full of praise for the striker:

City threatened to double their lead for the remainder of the half, with Eliaquim Mangala and Kolarov both coming close.

For Chelsea, the only noteworthy action was Gary Cahill and Diego Costa requiring treatment, prompting jeers from the crowd as their medical staff—minus Eva Carneiro—tended to the players.

Eden Hazard was particularly anonymous for the visitors, as Squawka demonstrated:

The Blues improved slightly after half-time and even had the ball in the net five minutes after the restart.

Hazard showed a brief glimpse of his quality in crossing the ball to Ramires for the Brazilian to duly finish, but the midfielder was correctly adjudged to be offside.

The second half was somewhat end-to-end, with both teams countering at pace, but neither could quite create the clear-cut chances City enjoyed earlier in the game.

After being run ragged by Swansea City's Jefferson Montero in Week 1, Branislav Ivanovic again looked unusually vulnerable, with Raheem Sterling causing him some problems, as former footballer Gary Lineker noted:

Things went from bad to worse for the Serbian with just over 10 minutes of normal time remaining when he allowed Kompany to get the better of him at a corner and double City's lead.

Fernandinho completed the rout six minutes later when he capitalised on some sloppy defending to arrow a low, well-struck effort into the bottom corner from the edge of the area.

Former Premier League defender Rio Ferdinand gave his take on Chelsea's struggles:

Despite what the scoreline might suggest, one thing Chelsea can take encouragement from is Begovic's excellent performance. The stopper was steady throughout and arguably the only reason City didn't score more.

Chelsea visit West Bromwich Albion in Week 3. While one would expect the Blues to find their feet in that game and record their first win, they will need to improve markedly to replicate the stunning performances they produced last season.

Meanwhile, City face a trip to Goodison Park, taking on Everton in what's sure to be a thrilling encounter, and with Aguero looking in such red-hot form, they'll likely make it three wins out of three.

Post-Match Reaction

Chelsea boss Jose Mourinho was in a defiant mood after the game, claiming his team were City's equals over 90 minutes. "The best team in the first half won the game," he said, per BBC Sport. "The best team in the second half was Chelsea for sure. We had a difficult first half, we didn't create a lot and our goalkeeper made a few important saves.

"Second half everything was different. If the 1-0 was a doubtful result at minute 70, 3-0 is completely fake. At 1-0 Chelsea were the best team for the whole second half."

Mourinho wasn't the only manager to make a bold claim.

According to BBC Sport, City coach Manuel Pellegrini said, "We always dominate Chelsea. Maybe we draw against them last year and before we lost but always we dominate Chelsea. Today we made the complete work."