Led at the break by Chelsea, Manchester City finally conceded a draw at home and slipped to third place in the Premier League.
After the victories of Liverpool (4-1 at Brentford) and Arsenal (5-0 at Burnley), Manchester City needed to assert themselves to maintain the pressure of being able to regain the lead after their late matches. Opposed to a team of Chelsea who is trying to move back towards the European places, the Cityzens did not show their best face.
The Blues are recooking
In the first half, the Cityzens, as is often the case, have a monopoly on the ball and even more chances than their opponents but just miss. For their part, the Blues offer good opposition and are more impactful in the duels. And it will ultimately take them very few opportunities to find the fault. After a huge miss, Nicolas Jackson concludes a nice counter by serving Raheem Sterlingwho plays Walker before deceiving Ederson and crucifying his former club (0-1, 42nd).
In the second period, City pushed to equalize and finally showed themselves to be really dangerous, notably with a big opportunity from Haaland repelled by Colwill (61st), but Pep Guardiola’s men left more space for the Blues, very close to hitting the nail on the head. by Sterling, but Ederson kept his team alive with a superb reflex save.
Rodri as savior
Very united, the Chelsea players resisted the waves of the Skyblues and were even touched by the success of a completely missed header from Haaland, although alone just in front of Petrovic’s goal in the 78th minute. And as is often the case, the savior of Manchester City is called Rodri. After a shot was pushed back by Walker, the Spanish midfielder also saw his powerful shot from the left blocked by Chalobah before finishing his run into the back of the net. After 27 attempts, Pep Guardiola’s men finally found the fault and came back to the score (1-1, 83rd).
Held in check at the end of a match almost as hectic as the first leg (4-4), the Cityzens are four points behind Liverpool and two behind Arsenal with a game in hand. For their part, the Blues remain stuck in the middle of the table but can be satisfied with having shown a very good face this Saturday.
