Jamie Jackson was at the Etihad tonight. His report has landed. Thanks for reading this MBM. Nighty night.
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Kalvin Phillips speaks to Sky. “It was an amazing feeling. It’s been a long time but I’m just glad to get back out there. It felt good, and that was made easier with two quick goals. I’ve worked hard, I’m always positive, and I’m back fit now, and hopefully I’ve got a chance [to make the England World Cup squad]. I feel good now. Anything can happen. I’m optimistic, but with the amount of game time I’ve had, there’s always doubt.” Then he cracks a huge smile. He’s just glad to be back and in with a shout of making it to the World Cup!
FULL TIME: Manchester City 2-0 Chelsea
City were the better side, and their Mahrez-inspired double whammy at the start of the second half proved the difference. But Chelsea played well too, and had their chances. On another night, etc. But it’s the eight-time winners who go through to the fourth round!
90 min +2: On Sky, Andy Hinchcliffe names Jack Grealish as his player of the match.
90 min: An absurd game of pinball in the City six-yard box. Ortega nearly spills a Havertz cross into his own net, the ball squirting through his hands. Gomez, head addled, heads powerfully against his own right-hand post. Sterling tries to send the rebound goalwards. Ortega kicks away. The ball breaks back to Havertz, who drives back into the mixer, the ball eventually ending in the City net off Ake. But the flag goes up for offside. It really isn’t Chelsea’s night.
89 min: Grealish and Azpilicueta go nipple to nipple, chests sticking out, after the Chelsea captain barges through the back of the City midfielder. Both are booked.
88 min: Corner for Chelsea out on the right. Pulisic takes. City half clear. Gallagher fresh-air swipes on the edge of the box. The ball breaks to Mount, who swivels and sends a low drive inches wide of the left-hand post. Chelsea are giving this a go, but nothing’s quite coming off.
86 min: Cucurella strips Lewis out on the left, and for a second it looks as though City are caught light at the back. But Cucurella doesn’t back himself to either shoot or find a killer pass, and instead cuts back for Pulisic, who further turns tail. It’s not as though Chelsea haven’t had their chances to do something tonight.
84 min: Azpilicueta moves down the right and cuts back for Sterling. Ironic cheers as Sterling’s shot is blocked. Azpilicueta tries again, crossing this time. Pulisic meets at the far stick, but can only defect harmlessly out for a goal kick.
83 min: Chelsea had enjoyed 65 percent possession during the immediate period after all their changes, but City appear to have ridden out that storm. And so, having just typed that, Havertz breezes clear of Phillips down the left and sends a dangerous ball across the face of the City goal. Once again, Sterling can’t get there to poke home.
81 min: City swap out Laporte for Ake.
80 min: Pulisic dribbles with purpose down the inside left, but can’t decide whether to shoot or pass. He eventually slips a diagonal ball towards Mount, but there’s not enough juice on the pass and Dias intercepts. A big chance spurned there.
78 min: Havertz spins into some space down the inside-left channel before dragging a cross-cum-shot across the face of goal and out for a goal kick. Sterling was sniffing around but couldn’t quite get there to poke home.
77 min: A smattering of boos the last time Sterling got the ball, by the way. Nothing as loud as the warm ovation he received earlier, but still. I guess panto season is coming up.
76 min: Havertz, who did for City in the Champions League final last year, comes on for the unfortunate yet impressive Hall.
75 min: Sterling feeds Hall down the left. Hall crosses. The ball loops. Ortega has to backtrack to claim on his line. He’s not in the mood to be beaten.
73 min: Loftus-Cheek dribbles down the right before cutting infield. He curls in low for Pulisic, who tries to curl one into the bottom right from ten yards. Ortega denies him spectacularly. Then the flag goes up for offside. Take nothing away from the save, because Ortega didn’t know that.
71 min: No instant injection of energy as Mount miscontrols the ball out of play.
69 min: Chelsea make a quadruple change. Broja, Ziyech, Zakaria and Chalobah make way for Sterling, Mount, Gallagher and Azpilicueta. Sterling gets a very warm reception upon his return to his old stomping ground.
67 min: Grealish dribbles in the George Best style, left to right, leaving Chalobah, Cucurella and Koulibaly in his wake. He enters the box and shoots, but Cucurella and Koulibaly haven’t given up, and get back up to block. Fine football all round.
66 min: City take the sting out of the game with some sterile possession in the midfield. That’s smart game management after Chelsea threatened to hit back.
64 min: Nothing comes of the resulting corner, and once again poor young Hall has his head in his hands. So close to scoring two goals, but it wasn’t to be. Once the pain and irritation subsides, he’ll realise he’s played extremely well this evening. Also, neither chance ended in an egregious miss. He forced Ortega into action on both occasions.
63 min: Chelsea are this close to getting back into it. Ziyech, tight on the byline to the right of goal, spins along the tightrope to send Gomez off to the shops. Stunning skill! He pulls back for Hall, who from, 12 yards aims for the bottom left only to be denied by Ortega, who palms around the post. Tight in the corner, and that would have been in.
62 min: Chelsea have had more possession since the restart! It’s 52 to 48. But here we are.
61 min: Chelsea are seriously rattled. Palmer aims a shot towards the bottom left. It’s blocked. The ball’s gifted back to Grealish, who can’t do anything meaningful with it this time. That celebration will have to wait.
60 min: That was one hell of a crossfield pass by Alvarez. It feels almost as though he should get a share of the assist as well. He’s some player.
GOAL! Manchester City 2-0 Chelsea (Alvarez 58)
Mahrez causes Chelsea all sorts of bother again! Alvarez, out on the left touchline, creams a diagonal pass towards Mahrez, who dribbles into the box from the right. Mahrez makes room to send a curling shot across Mendy, hoping to find the bottom left. Mendy parries, but Alvarez hasn’t waited on the wing to admire his crossfield pass, and races in to tap home. What a goal! Mahrez has done a number on Chelsea in double-quick time!
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56 min: Chelsea try to respond immediately. Chalobah sends Ziyech into space down the right. His looping, inswinging cross nearly flies over Ortega and into the top left, but the keeper claws out for a corner. And from that set piece, the ball breaks back to Ziyech, who aims a rising diagonal shot towards the top left, but it’s always too wide and high.
54 min: Looking again, that free kick wasn’t quite in the top bin. Had Koulibaly bothered to jump – and he didn’t, at all – the wall might have stopped that.
GOAL! Manchester City 1-0 Chelsea (Mahrez 53)
Mahrez earned the free kick, and with it the right to take it. He whips it into the top right, and City lead!
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52 min: Chelsea only half-clear the corner. Mahrez comes tearing in from the right and is scythed down by Chalobah, who can’t complain as he goes into the book. Free kick just to the right of the D.
51 min: Grealish dribbles in hard from the left. He opens his body and looks for the bottom right. Mendy sees it late but turns it around the post. City take the corner quickly, and Grealish has another dig from the edge of the box. The ball bagatelles its way through a crowded box. Mendy stops it squeaking into the bottom left. Another corner.
50 min: City make a double change. Rodri and Gundogan make way for Bernardo Silva and the returning Kalvin Phillips. A big cheer in the Etihad, and round Gareth Southgate’s way too, I’ll be bound.
48 min: Kovacic gifts possession to Alvarez, 30 yards from his own goal. Alvarez advances on the box and slips a pass to Mahrez on his right. Mahrez cuts into the box but has the ball stolen back by Cucurella, coming in from behind. Mahrez goes over, and the crowd want a penalty, but the City players don’t bother claiming for one.
46 min: Rodri tap-dances his way through the centre circle and very nearly releases Alvarez down the middle. But the pass is overhit. Rodri’s skill got the crowd going again for the second half, though.
Chelsea get the second half underway. No changes.
More half-time entertainment … and you’d need a heart of stone not to be rooting for Jack Grealish to score tonight. Not when you’ve watched this genuinely uplifting video from 3 min 45 secs on. (Chelsea fans are granted exemptions, that’s only fair.)
"It is my dream to meet you in real life. Imagine meeting your idol."@ManCity mad Finlay wrote an emotional letter to his favourite player and hero, @JackGrealish. What followed was a moment he'll never forget. pic.twitter.com/qpdPnrMNLD
— Premier League (@premierleague) November 9, 2022
Half-time entertainment … and the action never stops.
HALF TIME: Manchester City 0-0 Chelsea
No goals, but that was a lot of fun. City did most of the attacking, and played some very pretty stuff, but on the occasions Chelsea beat their press, they also carried a threat. Second half should be a lot of fun. Go nowhere!
45 min +1: Grealish drives down the left, suddenly stops, and buys a cheap free kick from Loftus-Cheek. It’s basically a corner, and nothing comes of it.
45 min: Hall has arguably been Chelsea’s best player in this first half. That would have capped it off all right. There will be one added minute.
44 min: Chelsea should be leading. A sweeping pitch-length move, Ziyech and Pulisic shuttling the ball right to left. Hall strides into the box! He’s only got Ortega to beat. He drops a shoulder to see off Lewis, lunging across in desperation, then attempts to pass the ball into the bottom left. Ortega guesses correctly and sticks out a leg to block.
43 min: Kovacic is this close to releasing Broja down the middle, but the accuracy isn’t quite there. He puts his head in his hands.
42 min: The resulting intricate corner ends with Mahrez floating a cross in from the right. An easy claim for Mendy.
41 min: Grealish and Gundogan exchange passes down the inside left. Grealish drops a shoulder and sends a power curler towards the bottom right. Mendy extends fully to tip around the post.
39 min: City’s press continues to cause Chelsea trouble. Alvarez very nearly closes down Mendy again.
37 min: Pulisic and Broja combine crisply down the inside-left channel. Broja steams into the box and gets past Laporte, but can’t squeeze the ball past the sliding Dias. Dias gets up and clears. Did the ball hit Dias on the arm? VAR almost certainly wouldn’t have been interested, so no drama here.
35 min: Hall drives down the middle and is unceremoniously dragged back by Palmer, who is fortunate to receive nothing more than a ticking off.
34 min: Ziyech nearly gets in down the right again, chasing after a raking diagonal pass from the impressively lively Hall. But just as it looks like he’ll control and stride into the box, Laporte arrives just in time to execute a perfect slide tackle.
33 min: Ziyech tears clear down the right. The flag goes up for offside. Immediately. No VAR, you see. It’s not too late to take the plug out of the wall and pop the whole thing back in the box.
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32 min: Free kick for City out on the left. Mahrez swings it in. Laporte competes for a header but Loftus-Cheek gets there first to clear. Meanwhile erstwhile City winger Raheem Sterling warms up on the touchline, and gets a warm ovation from his former fans. A lovely moment.
31 min: Grealish and Rodri exchange passes, 30 yards from goal. Rodri shapes to shoot but instead throws a dummy and slips a pass down the right for Lewis, who screams a cross through the Chelsea six-yard box. Nobody in sky blue to trundle home.
29 min: City are so close to opening the scoring with a lovely move. Mahrez sashays in from the right. He rolls across to Gundogan, who threads a first-time ball down the middle and into the box. Alvarez spins and sends a low shot inches wide of the left-hand post. The ball took a nick, and there’s a corner to follow, but nothing comes of that.
27 min: City continue to press ferociously. Chelsea are struggling to get out of their final third right now.
25 min: Grealish slide Gomez into space down the left. Gomez fires a low cross through the Chelsea six-yard box. Palmer can’t quite connect, but he wasn’t far away from forcing that goalwards.
24 min: Ortega punches the corner clear, then, when a garryowen is sent back in, plucks from the sky under intense pressure from Koulibaly. Throw in the save from Pulisic, and that’s a decent 60 seconds for Ortega’s showreel.
23 min: Pulisic drives down the inside left and drifts infield. Hall makes a run on the overlap and offers himself. Pulisic could slide Hall clear, but opts to take another touch inside. He sends a curler towards the bottom right. On target, but Ortega was behind it all the way, and turns around the post for a corner.
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21 min: Ziyech wins a corner down the right. From the set piece, the same man swings in a dangerous cross … but there’s nobody in royal blue making a run. Oretega claims.
20 min: The City press causes Chelsea problems again. The ball’s worked to Gundogan, 25 yards out. He tries to forensically thread a shot into the bottom right. A deflection nearly wrong-foots Mendy, but the keeper adjusts in time to claim.
19 min: Gundogan aims the free kick for the top left. The ball flicks off a Chelsea head and out for a corner, from which nowt develops.
18 min: Grealish is sent scampering down the inside left by Palmer. Koulibaly comes sliding in and cleans him out. A booking and a free kick just to the side of the D, but that could have been worse for Chelsea. Was Kouliably the last man? Probably, though the counter argument would question whether Grealish had the ball under control, or was heading in the exact direction of goal. Whichever way you see it, there’s no VAR tonight, and the referee’s decision is final.
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16 min: Palmer sends a weak shot straight at Mendy. Chelsea counter, Broja overpowering Lewis down the left. But just as the striker prepares to tear clear towards goal, the whistle goes for a slightly generous free kick.
15 min: … so after City’s whirlwind start, it’s Chelsea who have come closest to opening the scoring. Football is a funny old game, as Chelsea’s best-ever striker was mighty fond of saying.
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13 min: Comedy’s all about timing, so put your hands together for Julian Menz (12 min). Ziyech dribbles hard down the right and very nearly chalks up an assist, rolling across the face of the six-yard box for Pulisic, who surely must score, but a poor connection, plus an intervention from Lewis, snapping at his heel, allows Ortega to kick away.
12 min: Pulisic scampers down the left after a long ball, but Dias comes across quickly to blooter clear. “Ziyech is gone, out the transfer window marked not-so-fairytale exits. Why play him?” asks Julian Menz. “Potter has Cobham to choose from, the future to think about, so why play someone who is already thinking about his post-Chelsea future (saying that, he’ll probably score the winner).”
10 min: Chelsea struggle to clear the corner and Grealish, from the left of the D, attempts to power home. Always sailing wide. Chelsea aren’t quite hanging on … but they’re sort of hanging on.
9 min: Grealish again tears at warp speed down the inside left. He reaches the box but this time, instead of shooting – and he’d be within his right – slips Alvarez in down the wing. Alvarez takes a shot from a tight angle that’s deflected behind by Koulibaly.
8 min: Broja nips the ball away from Gundogan’s toe and advances towards the City box. He sends a shot deep into the stand behind the goal. Wild and wayward, but it’s a start for Chelsea.
6 min: Grealish plays an outrageously good reverse pass down the left to release Gomez into some space. His first-time low cross is almost turned into his own net by Koulibaly. Just a corner, from which nothing comes. City look well up for this.
5 min: Palmer recycles possession and wins the first corner of the game for City down the right. Mahrez’s delivery is no good. But this is a fast start by the hosts. Chelsea have barely touched the ball.
4 min: Grealish absolutely steams his way down the inside-left channel, entering the box and having a pop. The shot’s blocked, and he looks to be feeling a twinge in his hip. Hopefully nothing serious, with You Know What coming up in less than a fortnight.
2 min: Mendy receives a backpass. He’s got plenty of time to deal with it, but faffs around, letting Alvarez close him down. His attempted kick upfield rebounds off the City striker and out harmlessly for a goal kick, but that’ll give him a shiver given the clanger he dropped earlier this season at Leeds.
The stand-in captains Gundogan and Kovacic exchange pleasantries … then City get the ball rolling. A huge roar at the Etihad. Who says the League Cup means nothing? Not the eight-time winners.
The teams are out! Right here, right now. Manchester City wear their storied sky blue, while Chelsea sport their equally famous royal version. We’ll be off after a couple of minutes of na na na na hey Jude. All the hits.
Punditry Corner. “Thoughts on tonight, Scott?” asks John Ryan. “Goals galore or are we heading for penos?” Absolutely no idea, John. Tell you what, though: if you’re jonesing for goals, there are seven other Carabao Cup games going on tonight, and Clockwatch almost certainly guarantees them. Let Daniel Harris be your pusherman.
Pep talks to Sky. “It is not like other competitions but it is prestigious. Every game we play to do a good performance and win. I always say be yourself. The worst thing that can happen that is you lose one football game, and this is not the end of the world. Just go out and do your job.” He also reports that Kalvin Phillips is “completely fully recovered” from shoulder and calf issues and will hopefully see some action tonight.
Reece James will be missing the World Cup, but England hopeful Kalvin Phillips looks to be timing his run back from injury just in the nick of time. He’s on the Manchester City bench tonight alongside Erling Haaland, Kevin De Bruyne, Phil Foden and Bernardo Silva. That is one hell of a subs’ bench. It’s a big night meanwhile for 17-year-old Rico Lewis, fresh from scoring that absolute screamer against Sevilla and in the City first XI.
It’ll also be a big evening for 18-year-old Lewis Hall, who makes his first start in Chelsea’s midfield this season. Meanwhile Denis Zakaria is another player coming off the back of Champions League goalscoring heroics; the 25-year-old Swiss international notched against Dinamo Zagreb last week, and he’s in the Chelsea starting XI tonight. Their bench isn’t too shabby either, featuring the likes of Thiago Silva, Mason Mount, Raheem Sterling and, last but not least, Kai Havertz, who scored the decisive goal when these teams met in the 2021 Champions League final.
Graham Potter speaks to Sky Sports. “We’ve had a six-week period where we’ll have 13 matches, eight away, in all competitions, so that’s the challenge of the job. Not easy, but we have to be competitive, we want to win. Performances haven’t been as good as we’d like, but that’s what the challenge is, football at the highest level. We have to improve, and that’s where the work is.”
He also reports that he’s been trying to lift the stricken Reece James’s mood. “We try to give him perspective that he has a long career ahead, a big career, but there’s nothing you can say at the moment, it’s a World Cup and he wants to play.”
The teams
Manchester City: Ortega Moreno, Lewis, Dias, Laporte, Gomez, Rodrigo, Gundogan, Palmer, Mahrez, Grealish, Alvarez.
Subs: Ederson, Phillips, Stones, Ake, Haaland, De Bruyne, Bernardo, Akanji, Foden.
Chelsea: Mendy, Chalobah, Koulibaly, Cucurella, Loftus-Cheek, Kovacic, Zakaria, Hall, Ziyech, Broja, Pulisic.
Subs: Bettinelli, Azpilicueta, Thiago Silva, Gallagher, Mount, Hutchinson, Sterling, Aubameyang, Havertz.
Preamble
Welcome to a repeat of the 2021 Champions League final 1986 Full Members’ Cup final.
Team news – and there will be plenty of team news – when we have it. Kick off is at 8pm GMT. It’s on!
