Man City 3-1 Chelsea PLAYER RATINGS: Which surprise star was the biggest attacking threat? Who was ‘shambolic’ for the visitors? And who rarely lives up to their price tag?
Manchester City showed signs of being back to their best with an important 3-1 victory against Chelsea on Saturday night.
Pep Guardiola’s side came into the clash fresh off a humbling at the hands of PSG in the Champions League on Wednesday, and things got off to the worst possible start at the Etihad.
Abdukodir Khusanov made a disastrous mistake just minutes into his debut, with Noni Madueke pouncing on the £33.5million defender’s blunder to put Chelsea ahead.
City fought back and levelled through Josko Gvardiol, before Erling Haaland gave them a second half lead following a huge error from Blues keeper Robert Sanchez.
Phil Foden added the gloss on the victory late on following good work from Haaland as City shot back up to fourth in the table.
Mail Sport’s JACK GAUGHAN and AADAM PATEL were at the Etihad and they have rated both sets of players below…
Manchester City came from behind to beat Chelsea 3-1 in the Premier League on Saturday
Noni Madueke gave Chelsea an early lead but Enzo Maresca’s side were well-beaten in the end
The result saw Pep Guardiola’s side return to the top four, while Chelsea drop to sixth place
MANCHESTER CITY (4-3-2-1)
Ederson – 7.5
Really strong performance by the goalkeeper. Calm under pressure on the ball and a trademark assist for Erling Haaland.
Matheus Nunes – 6.5
Super run for Josko Gvardiol’s equaliser and best with space to run into. Defensive side still needs some work.
Abdukodir Khusanov – 4
Did improve significantly after a horror opening few minutes on debut – one big block, two strong challenges – but the damage was done.
Manuel Akanji – 5.5
Doesn’t look himself at the moment and it was another uncertain display. His languid style doesn’t help perceptions.
Josko Gvardiol – 7.5
City’s best attacking threat for much of the evening and largely did a decent job of keeping Noni Madueke quiet, only done once late on.
Abdukodir Khusanov suffered a nightmare start to his Premier League career for Man City
Josko Gvardiol showed all of his attacking quality yet again as he popped up with a goal
Bernardo Silva – 6
Pep Guardiola wants City to slow things down and that is Silva’s primary job. Remained a little in and out.
Mateo Kovacic – 5
Another below-par display. Struggling to pick the right moments to play forward passes and sluggish going the other way.
Ilkay Gundogan – 7
Lovely clip for Gvardiol’s goal to open the game up and generally sprightlier than he has appeared in recent weeks.
Omar Marmoush – 7
Encouraging signs on a positive debut. Let himself down by running offside on three occasions but posed a real threat.
Omar Marmoush showed positive signs on his debut and had a goal disallowed in the first half
Mateo Kovacic put in another below-par display and was sluggish in defensive situations
Phil Foden – 7.5
Didn’t feel like a true 90-minute performance until linking with Haaland and sliding in the important third goal.
Erling Haaland – 8
Top finish for his goal – 18 in the league now – and generally did well up against two markers. Nice work to play in Foden.
Substitutes
John Stones (for Khusanov, 54) – 7
Kevin De Bruyne (for Marmoush, 74) – 6
Manager
Pep Guardiola – 7
Played a flat three in midfield which seemed to offer City a little bit more protection.
BY JACK GAUGHAN
Erling Haaland was extremely impressive up front and scored his 18th goal of the season
CHELSEA (4-2-3-1):
Robert Sanchez – 4
Lucky to get away with a poor save in the first half as Omar Marmoush was offside off the rebound. Can’t really blame the Chelsea keeper for Man City’s equaliser but he was in no man’s land for Erling Haaland’s goal. Shambolic decision to come out and gift City the three points.
Reece James – 5
Battled well against the debutant Marmoush but failed to do much attackingly as City dominated possession. Taken off for Malo Gusto in the 73rd minute.
Trevoh Chalobah – 6
Was solid until Haaland beat him in the build up to City’s second. Played a lovely through ball to Palmer in the first half, who should have put Chelsea two up.
Levi Colwill – 5.5
One of three Chelsea changes from their win against Wolves. Booked for time wasting in the 25th minute but put in a decent shift otherwise. Undone by Haaland’s class late on.
Marc Cucurella – 5.5
A typically all-action display though will be kicking himself at the way City equalised, as he failed to get the ball away from danger. Can’t fault his workrate.
Robert Sanchez’s decision to come out for Man City’s second goal was a shambolic one
Trevoh Chalobah was generally solid, but Erling Haaland beat him in the air for the striker’s goal
Moises Caicedo – 5
Had a quiet afternoon and didn’t get on the ball anywhere near as much as he’d have liked. Booked just before the hour mark for repeated infringements, which summed up just how off the pace he was.
Enzo Fernandez – 5.5
Back in the side and didn’t do much wrong but failed to take advantage of some dangerous attacking situations when he got the ball. Rarely lives up to his price tag.
Noni Madueke – 6.5
Only eight touches in the first half but in the right place at the right time to give Chelsea an early lead with a simple finish. Came close to getting another just before the break.
Cole Palmer – 6
Didn’t score on his return to Etihad last season and should have scored here but chose to square and got it all wrong when Chelsea were ahead. Had much better games.
Cole Palmer was quiet on his return to the Etihad and has definitely had much better games
Enzo Fernandez didn’t do much wrong, but the Argentine star rarely lives up to his price tag
Jadon Sancho – 5
Tidy on the ball but did nothing of note and was taken off by Maresca as Chelsea hunted an equaliser. Has to stop going missing.
Nicolas Jackson – 6
Did superbly to get the assist for Chelsea’s opener, pressuring Khusanov but missed a glorious chance after. Caused a nuisance but was wasteful, before he was subbed on the hour mark.
Substitutes
Christopher Nkunku – 5
Came on for Jackson in the 61st minute but failed to have the desired impact and caused nowhere near as many problems as Jackson did.
Malo Gusto – 5
On for Reece James in the 73rd minute but never really got in the game.
Pedro Neto was bright off the bench when he replaced the anonymous Jadon Sancho
Enzo Maresca has overseen just one win in Chelsea’s last seven games and they were naive
Pedro Neto – 6
Replaced Jadon Sancho in the 73rd minute and looked dangerous. Arguably should have started.
Manager
Enzo Maresca – 5
Ultimately, his side only had their own errors to blame. From the moment they took an early lead, they should have at least got something out of this game but their naivety was exposed by Man City. Now just one win in their last seven Premier League games.
BY AADAM PATEL
