Chelsea produced a guard of honour for the champions Manchester City before being beaten by a Julian Alvarez goal in a title procession at the Etihad Stadium.
The Blues were defeated by a Pep Guardiola side that made nine changes after they had already claimed the Premier League crown following Arsenal’s defeat away at Nottingham Forest on Saturday evening.
The champions were worthy winners against a flat performance by the west Londoners, who seemingly want the season to end.
Cesar Azpilicueta missed a late chance to equalise and Conor Gallagher hit the post at the end of the first half but Frank Lampard’s side simply didn’t do enough to earn a point.
Nizaar Kinsella was at the Etihad Stadium to dish out his Chelsea player ratings...
Kepa Arrizabalaga - 5
Kepa produced some good distribution and wasn’t at fault for Alvarez’s goal. Ended the match with just two saves as City’s shooting was wayward.
Trevoh Chalobah - 5
Cleared a Phil Foden shot off the line but struggled in terms of his organisation amongst the three-man defence. Headed a late effort over.
Thiago Silva - 5
Not at his usual best in a shaky backline that struggled through the first 20 minutes.
Wesley Fofana - 4
Dreadfully passed it straight to Cole Palmer for Alvarez’s opening goal as part of an iffy display.
Julián Álvarez fires Man City ahead 🎯
— Sky Sports Premier League (@SkySportsPL) May 21, 2023
Different City team, but it's the same old story so far... 👏 pic.twitter.com/W9ONam0hpN
Cesar Azpilicueta - 4
Beaten time and again by the trickery and pace of youngster Palmer’s first league start on his right-hand side. Almost equalised with the last kick of the game.
Enzo Fernandez - 6
Produced a wonderful lofted ball for Raheem Sterling in the first chance of the first half. He was tidy in possession if a little safe.
Ruben Loftus-Cheek - 4
The seemingly AC Milan-bound midfielder barely got a touch in the first half and let the game pass him by.
Conor Gallagher - 5
Headed a Lewis Hall cross against the post towards the end of the first half with Ortega beaten. Battled well but lacked end product.
OFF THE POST 🚨
— Sky Sports Premier League (@SkySportsPL) May 21, 2023
Conor Gallagher's header rattles off the post to deny Chelsea an equaliser pic.twitter.com/lHTtTYEp45
Lewis Hall - 7
Faced arguably the toughest task on the pitch up against Riyad Mahrez but acquitted himself well defensively. He produced an increasingly trademark cross for Gallagher, and his powerful low shot needed a good save from Stefan Ortega early in the second half.
Raheem Stering - 5
The former Man City forward suffered the indignity of performing a guard of honour for his old teammates and wasted his chances to score. He tried to pass one opening to Kai Havertz instead of shooting and saw another effort saved by Ortega.
Kai Havertz - 4
Produced a nice through ball to Sterling but played below his level, committing more fouls than he had touches in the opposition box during the first half.
Substitutes
Mykhailo Mudryk - 5
Didn’t offer much in his cameo on the pitch, shooting high and wide with a late chance.
Noni Madueke - 6
Looked sharp in his 22-minute spell on the pitch, producing a good cross after a rapid counter attack.
Carney Chukwuemeka - 6
He created a chance in a short 10-minute cameo which wasn’t enough to justify withdrawing him from the Under-20s World Cup with England.
Christian Pulisic - N/A
