Photo credit: Sports Vision
In a match full of variables, Chelsea suffered a heavy blow, not only full of injuries, but also players suffered accidental injuries on the field. Had it not been for City's poor form, Chelsea might have equalized.
(Starting lineups for both teams)
City boss Pep Guardiola made a bold change for this game, adopting a 3241 formation, with Walker and Cancelo partnering on the right, and Cancelo even pushed to the wing, while B.Silva held down the back. De Bruyne, Gündo?an, Foden and Cancelo formed the core of the attack with the intention of delivering shells to Haaland.
However, this formation didn't work as expected in the first half. although Cancelo had a breakthrough and a pass on the right side, his position should have been in the right back and the right side of the road, Chelsea's Cacurella was close to the defense, which made it difficult for him to perform. the overall formation of City was too far forward, and Chelsea retreated to form a counter-attack, which made the space disappeared, and the space of Foden's sprinting was limited.
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Chelsea's side is also not good, Sterling soon after the start of the game was injured and left the field, Aubameyang came on as a substitute, and soon after Pulisic was kicked by Stones, Porter had to replace the youngster Chukwuemeka. Chelsea's ability to break through the game is therefore reduced, the midfield Kovacic and Zakaria performance is still good, but the overall lack of the front line But the overall lack of front line, the speed of the midfield counter can not support the front line, the side of the stalemate with Manchester City, can only rely on counterattacks, but the three center backs of Manchester City solid performance, Aubameyang forced to the side, Havertz was intercepted by the back of the Chelsea can only rely on counterattacks, but it is difficult to threaten the penalty area of the Manchester City.
In the second half, Guardiola made decisive substitutions, replacing the underperforming Cancelo and Walker with Akanji and RicoLewis to return to a 4-back formation, which gradually regained possession. Chelsea's Cucurella also slipped in the second half and was unable to counterattack effectively, while RicoLewis pressed forward successfully and strung things together up front.
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Another reason for City's poor play was the poor form of DeBruyne, who has been in poor form since his return from the World Cup, missing many passes. When DeBruyne was unable to be the link man up front, Haaland was able to get to the ball much less, Gündo?an played well but City as a whole lost their destructive power on the wings and the center forwards lacked chances to get the ball.
In the 59th minute of the match, Pep Guardiola made another substitution, replacing Foden and B.Silva with Grealish and Mahrez, in a game where he was much quicker than in the previous match. Chelsea's side, on the other hand, lacked replaceable players in their defense and finally broke through after sustained pressure from City.
In the 63rd minute, City caught Chelsea on the counterattack, Gündo?an played a quick pass to DeBruyne, who in turn passed directly to Grealish on the left, who was clearly out of pace with Azpilicueta, and who crossed directly into the box, where the freshly-introduced Mahrez came up with all his strength to block the shot. Cucurella pushed a shot from outside the box on the right.
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In fact the goal was entirely a result of substitutions, not a tactical success, as Grealish and Mahrez weren't in the best of shape, but the two Chelsea wingbacks on their side were overworked, Azpilicueta and Cucurella had been playing all-out defense for a long time, and the two couldn't hold it up on this counterattack as long as the backs couldn't get back in the game.
Aubameyang came on rather invisible, and finally was also replaced, Chelsea later could only replace the young Hall, Gallagher and Hutchinson, the three came on Chelsea strengthened a lot in the middle of the road, but obviously the front of the field is difficult to form a threat, although there is a steal and impact, but can not be converted into the front of the penalty box shot, Manchester City is gradually stabilized the rhythm, and finally 1-0 win! Chelsea.
After this win, City's points are back up again, with a five-point gap to Arsenal at the top of the table, and there is still a possibility of catching up.
