Sergio Aguero scored three times to end Guus Hiddink’s unbeaten home run in the Premier League on a day when counter-attacking play did the damage.
There were chances at both ends and they were evenly spread before the visitors took the lead a third of the way through the game. Both goalkeepers had made impressive saves before then but Manchester City’s strong running had suggested the Blues would not stem a sequence of nine home league games without a clean sheet and so it proved.
The visitors’ second goal scored early in the second half came on the break, as had the first, and the third was netted late in the game from the penalty spot. The foul for that spot-kick resulted in a red card for Thibaut Courtois who will now serve a two-match ban for his second dismissal of the campaign.
Guus Hiddink was able to welcome back three of his senior players for this game – Diego Costa up front following suspension and Willian and Gary Cahill who had recovered from injury.
Matt Miazga made way for the England vice-captain with Branislav Ivanovic continuing to captain Chelsea from central defence. Eden Hazard was not ready for a return so and Willian flanked Ruben Loftus-Cheek with Cesc Fabregas and John Mikel Obi making up the central defence.
Manchester City too picked a largely experienced line-up. Any suggestions that Aguero would not recover from the heavy knock he took in midweek Champions League action were unfounded although as announced yesterday, there was no David Silva. Kevin De Bruyne returned to Stamford Bridge for the first time since leaving in January 2014.
The Chelsea players today wore black armbands in memory of another former Blue, Ian Britton, the popular midfielder who played for a decade with the club and was part of the homegrown promotion side of 1976/77. This was the first home game since his passing.
De Bruyne was the first to cause problems in the game when he was allowed to run in behindIvanovic and crossed towards Aguero. Cahill made an important block to send the Argentinean’s shot wide.
Chelsea responded by forcing a stop on the line by Nicholas Otamendi with Joe Hart stranded when Pedro followed up a Diego Costa attack with a shot. A ball over the top of a square City defence had begun the danger.
Diego Costa would have scored on nine minutes but for a questionable offside flag after Baba Rahman had won the ball deep inside the City half with a sliding tackle. This was already showing signs of being a much more open game than many of the recent league encounters between these sides.
Loftus-Cheek was involved in a lot in the opening quarter of the game and his angled low shot was kept out by Hart at full-stretch. For some reason the officials denied the Blues a corner.
This was good pressure from the home side at the mid-point of the half with a succession of threatening shots deflected or blocked, but then Man City sent De Bruyne through on goal all too easily – with a straight-forward long pass down the middle. Fortunately in the battle of the Belgians, Courtois came out on top with an admirable save.
Our goalie was also in the right place to deny Samir Nasri before Chelsea’s next attack. With that foray forward, Willian running into space did not find any of his team-mates with his ball into the danger zone.
The first yellow card came just before the half-hour – Pablo Zabaleta sliding into Fabregas and upending our midfielder.
Chelsea’s apparent vulnerability to Man City breaking quickly from their half was finally exposed on 33 minutes when they took the lead following our corner. De Bruyne ran down the right and his centre took a touch off Azpilicueta on its way to Aguero, whose shot once again hit Cahill, but unlike the early one, the deflection only helped the ball beat Courtois.
With that the opportunities dried up for the rest of the half until Diego Costa took the ball on a stoppage-time surge towards the penalty area. Otamendi was booked for chopping down our centre-forward but from the free-kick, Willian cleared the City crossbar by an uncharacteristic distance.
A third City player was cautioned within seconds of the restart. It was Nasri for following through onto Cahill‘s foot. The ball remained down the visitors’ end of the stadium and a Pedro cross sought out Loftus-Cheek but on the stretch, the youngster’s attempt at a strike more resembled a centre-back’s near-post block.
City’s second goal was very reminiscent of their first. This time a Diego Costa attack broke down in the penalty area and once De Bruyne had slipped the ball past the advanced Azpilicueta we were struggling for numbers back. Nasri was the player who supplied the pass through our rearguard to Aguero who had timed his run and never looked likely to miss the target.
Azpilicueta was booked for handball just past the hour but the wall jumped to stop Yaya Toure’s free-kick. Courtois then saved from Nasri with our defence very stretched.
With Chelsea’s Under-19 squad away in Switzerland and preparing to defend the UEFA Youth League title, today’s bench was more mature than the one at Swansea last weekend but when he did make a double switch, Hiddink brought on the youthful pair of Bertrand Traore and Kenedy.
Mikel was booked for a foul on Nasri who soon after limped off with an unrelated injury.
City’s third goal and Chelsea’s reduction in personnel came with 10 minutes to go. Fernandinho, charging down the middle, won a race to the ball with Cahill which left him one-on-one withCourtois. The keeper collided with his opponent as he raced forward and the red card was inevitable.
Asmir Begovic came on but could not prevent Aguero, who missed a penalty midweek, from firing into the bottom corner to complete a well-deserved victory for Manual Pellegrini’s team.
- Match stats:
Chelsea (4-2-3-1): Courtois; Azpilicueta, Cahill, Ivanovic (c), Baba; Mikel, Fabregas; Willian (Traore70), Loftus-Cheek, Pedro (Kenedy 70); Diego Costa.
Unused subs Begovic, Miazga, Matic, Pato, Falcao.
Sent-off Courtois 79
Booked Azpilicueta 62, Mikel 72
Man City (4-2-3-1): Hart; Zabaleta (Sagna 66), Otamendi, Mangala, Kolarov; Fernandinho, Toure (c); Navas (Delph 75), De Bruyne, Nasri; Aguero (Iheanacho 85).
Unused subs Caballero, Demichelis, Fernando, Bony.
Scorer Aguero 33, 55, 81
Booked Zabaleta 29, Otamendi 45+1, Nasri 47.
Referee Mike Dean
Crowd 41,212
- Match report by chelseafc.com
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