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Talking Points: Chelsea Vs Manchester City, As Sarri’s Side Ends “Invincible” Dreams

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December 9, 2018
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Maurizio Sarri’s side welcomed the champions of England, Manchester City to Stamford Bridge, as they looked to catch up with the Citizens at the top of the Premier League table. The Blues came into the game at the back of a loss and were keen on beating their rivals on the night and taking back all three points from the game in hand. On the other hand, it was Pep Guardiola’s side that wanted to continue winning and keep their undefeated streak going.

However, things did not go as per plan, as it was the home side that scored twice in the game, while their fierce rivals failed to make any sort of impact pushing forward. It was Kante and David Luiz who scored in either half to put their team in the driving seat in the fixture, with Eden Hazard claiming a couple of assists to his name.

The Frenchman opened the scoring with a cool and calm finish, just on the brink of half-time, while the Brazilian added a second from a corner in the 78th minute. Despite pushing forward, City were poor in the final third and there just wasn’t enough fire-power in their attack to help them secure a win.

Talking points of the game

Aguero and De Bruyne big misses for City

There is no doubt that the City attack lacked the composure in the final third. There were some really good chances that were created, which could have been capitalized on and the link-up play was not the best at times too. There is no doubt that both Sergio Aguero and Kevin de Bruyne were missed up front and the likes of Gabriel Jesus failed to fill that void in their absence.

Solid defending by Chelsea

Though the west London side had been really poor in terms of defending in the last couple of games in the top flight of English football, they were much better in this one. Chelsea managed to not just score twice in the game, but also kept a clean sheet, against one of the fiercest attacks in the Premier League. This is something that the team and the fans will brag about for a long long time. Azpilicueta and Alonso on the wings and Luiz and Rudiger at the center ensured that the City attack couldn’t get through and score. It was good defending overall, and Sarri will be proud of his team’s performance in this department as well.

The Hazard factor

Has there been a big game in recent times where the Londoners’ talisman Eden Hazard hasn’t shown up or contributed to their success in one way or the other? Guess not. Though the Belgian international failed to get on the score-sheet for this one, he still managed to influence the game in a big way by claiming a couple of assists instead. The first one was a penetrating pass for Kante’s finish, while the second one was a superbly taken corner.

The David Silva injury

Another factor that lead to City’s downfall was the injury to David Silva, which forced him off the pitch. It was probably just a muscle strain or cramp, though the play-maker was needed in the game. He is one of the best creative players in the Premier League at present and with him still on the pitch, the home side did feel quite threatened, as the game drew to its end.

However, with the Spaniard forced off the pitch, Sarri and co. would have felt a bit relaxed and eventually managed to hold on to the rather comfortable win.

Fortune favors the BRAVE

There were moments in the game when the visitors could have made it back into the match, though they were just not able to make the most of those chances. Also, the second goal that Luiz scored could have gone anywhere on another day and would have possibly yielded nothing. However, on this night, it ended up right in the corner, and there was nothing that Ederson could do about it. Lastly, Kepa gave away a silly ball towards the end of the match, which Gabriel Jesus should score from. Despite that, he once again proved that he is only human (pun intended) and the chance was wasted.

 

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