Chelsea 0-3 Manchester City: Josep Guardiola’s side are just six points behind league leaders Arsenal ahead of a showdown at the Etihad next Sunday.
City struggled to get past Chelsea (Image: CameraSport via Getty Images)
They are coming at such a pace that it feels almost inevitable. Manchester City are in a difficult situation and it’s no wonder Arsenal are nervous.
City fans on the move erupted into a chorus of “Are you watching Arsenal?” Because North London can once again feel the title collapse.
City have already won the Carabao Cup, reached the FA Cup semi-finals and are trailing Arsenal in the title race.
Manager Pep Guardiola is targeting yet another trophy treble as City look unstoppable and it feels like it is only a matter of time before they knock Arsenal off the top of the table. With this win, City reduced the gap to six points and the match was decided.
In fact, City can achieve that in the next two games. If they defeat Arsenal in next Sunday’s title clash and then beat Burnley in the rescheduled game, they could take the lead on goal difference.
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No wonder Mikel Arteta’s men are looking nervously over their shoulders. It would be a hell of a collapse, but this City side will make everything look easy.
Nico O’Reilly opened the scoring and has been sensational in recent weeks, scoring six goals and providing a wealth of assists in his last 11 appearances.
Rayan Cherki was a lot of fun to watch and Marc Guehi and Jeremy Doku also scored with some light goals for Chelsea.
Little did anyone know that Chelsea were in desperate need of points as they chase Champions League qualification.
Liam Rosenior watched his team meekly capitulate in the second half as Guardiola outmaneuvered Chelsea’s new manager. Chelsea have lost three games in a row in the Premier League without scoring and are on the verge of collapsing their season.
Guardiola has been there before, watching games and winning, but he looks cooler than ever. It’s a stark contrast to Arsenal manager Arteta, who officially handed control of the title to City after Saturday’s loss to Bournemouth.
City have dominated this game, having won four of their last five visits to Stamford Bridge, but they still had to work hard to prepare for this game.
Manchester City close the gap on Arsenal (Image: Ryan Pierse, Getty Images)
Chelsea did well in the first half. Marc Cucurella put the ball into the net, but it was ruled out for offside by VAR. Pedro Neto made a smart save from City keeper Gianluigi Donnarumma.
Incredibly, Erling Haaland had no touches or shots inside the opposition penalty area throughout the first half, but to be fair to the City striker, he tracked back a number of times to win the ball back.
But that soon changed. City looked like a changed team in the second half. Haaland was dominant in the box. City nailed Chelsea and destroyed Chelsea.
City’s mercurial number 10, street footballer Cherki, created space and sent a cross to the back post, where O’Reilly headed home. What a second half of the season he’s having.
After 57 minutes, it was 2-0. Cherki’s wonderful through ball found Guehi, and the England defender had great composure to force the ball into the goal. City’s signing of him and Antoine Semenyo in January changed the course of the season, with a combined transfer fee of less than £100m for both players.
It was 3-0 at the 68th minute. Doc outmuscled Moises Caicedo, no easy feat, but jinked his way through before firing a low shot into the bottom corner.
City are playing their best football, are in form at the right time and another title is within reach. Chelsea, by contrast, are being booed and the wheels are coming off.
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