Manchester City 1-1 Chelsea: Enzo Fernandes scored a 94th-minute equalizer to seal a dramatic draw with Manchester City and cancel out Tijani Lijnders’ opener.
Chelsea handed Arsenal a huge boost in the Premier League title race by snatching a 1-1 draw against a futile Manchester City side. Chelsea scored in the 94th minute with Enzo Fernandes, while City took the lead with a goal from Tijani Lijnders.
The contest was set to be another master-versus-pupil match between Guardiola and former assistant Enzo Maresca. That was until Chelsea sacked the Italian on New Year’s Day following poor results and a souring relationship behind the scenes.
Chelsea caretaker manager Callum Macfarlane made five changes to the starting XI that started 2-2 at home against Bournemouth, Maresca’s final game as manager. For one, Moises Caicedo received a one-match suspension, and Filip Jorgensen scored in place of the absent Roberto Sanchez.
City’s Rodri made his first Premier League start in three months after impressing as a half-time substitute in Thursday’s 0-0 draw with Sunderland. Nico O’Reilly was forced off at the Stadium of Light, but was fit enough to play.
Here are five talking points from Etihad Airways.
read more: Liam Rosenier flies to London, one step closer to becoming Chelsea manager
1. Chelsea’s new manager – for now
MacFarlane had barely taken his seat at the Etihad when news broke that Liam Rosenior had crossed the Channel to sign a contract with Chelsea. Rosernior, the manager of Chelsea’s sister club Strasbourg, was emerged as a favorite to win the title shortly after Enzo Maresca was sacked as manager on Thursday.
Despite this, Macfarlane has been appointed caretaker manager and could remain in charge for Wednesday’s trip to London to face Fulham. The Blues Under-21 head coach probably had to pinch himself as he shook Guardiola’s hand before kick-off, but he got right to work as soon as the whistle blew.
2. Reinders returns to the forest
After registering a goal and an assist on his Premier League debut, Reinders became a consistent goal threat for City and looked set to become a must-have for any fantasy football team. However, from mid-August to early December, the midfielder was able to score only one more goal.
Reinders has now started the last three Premier League games, scoring against West Ham and Nottingham Forest. This time, City finally broke the deadlock after dominating the first half as the Dutch international made a fine shimmy with his left foot inside the box, giving him space to fire a powerful shot past Jorgensen.
3. City suffer from injury to Gvardiol
Unlike the Ruben Amorims around town, Guardiola doesn’t like to change centre-backs during a match. However, the City manager was forced to substitute Josko Gvardiol after the Croatian suffered an injury early in the second half.
As Chelsea broke through with a rare advance, Gvardiol tried to strip Maro Gusto, but the challenge failed and he ended up hurting himself. Although the visitors were unable to gain any attacking advantage against 10 men, the move left lasting damage for City as Gvardiol’s night came to an early end and Abdukkodir Kusanov was brought on.
4. Rodri effect
Returned to the starting lineup like he never left. Rodri returned to City’s starting eleven and gave solid performances, anchoring the midfield and allowing creative players to flourish.
Rodri would have had an easier job if his teammates hadn’t been so sloppy in front of goal. A one-goal advantage always gives Chelsea hope of a draw. The Spaniard has created more chances (4) than any other player on the pitch and won more duels (7) than any other player, statistics that testify to his immense influence.
Can Manchester City win the Premier League title? Let us know your predictions in the comments section.
5. Fernandes attacks with intent to die
As long as the score was 1-0, there was hope for Chelsea. City were uncharacteristically sloppy up front and erratic at the back, and they became even more vulnerable after Guardiola substituted Ruben Dias, who had received a yellow card.
Four minutes into stoppage time, Gust got past O’Reilly and delivered a low cross, but Nathan Ake was unable to clear it. Fernandes ducked at the back post and his first shot was saved by Gianluigi Donnarumma, but he headed home.
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