Jamie Jackson was at the Etihad this evening. Here’s his report. Thanks for reading this MBM.
Enzo Maresca talks to Sky. “The game started very well for us … we scored the first one and could have scored the second goal two or three times … the game would have completely changed … we missed … the second goal changed the game … [Robert Sanchez] knows he has to do better … we are making progress … we are better than one or two months ago … these moments will make us better.”
Pep Guardiola talks to Sky Sports. “It was not the best start … we were lucky they did not punish us with 2-0 … after that we recovered emotionally and were really strong … we make a good performance … we had more of the ball than the last game … it was really important … [Abdukodir Khusanov] does not speak English so I didn’t speak with him … but he will be fine … he is aware of what happened … he will learn … any player can make a mistake … the fans always support a new player … he is so young … we are closer to Nottingham Forest … but Bournemouth are on an impressive run … we have games at home … we are fighting for the Premier [checks himself] Champions League!”
Erling Haaland, smiling broadly, speaks to Sky. “It was a really good performance … we started really bad … but we kept going … controlled a lot of the game … a great team performance … we have to keep winning games … we showed great spirit … keep going … Champions League is a must-win … then Arsenal … Chelsea went man against man and there was loads of space … sometimes even Manchester City can go direct and that’s a good thing … especially in the first half you could see that Omar Marmoush has something special … you can see why City bought him … he’s going to be a fantastic player for us … it’s nice to get to know new people and play with good players.”
What a turnaround by Manchester City! They looked stunned and shaken after their debutant Abdukodir Khusanov’s early mistake gifted Chelsea the lead. Chelsea could and should have built on that, with the hosts all over the shop, minds addled. But they allowed the champions back in, and a team like City, even in what seems at the moment like a transitional season, don’t need asking twice. Josko Gvardiol, Phil Foden and Erling Haaland were all excellent as City fought back; all ended up on the scoresheet. Omar Marmoush enjoyed a lively debut, while the unfortunate Khusanov allowed himself a small smile of relief at the final whistle. A good day at the office, all told. City get back into the top four, still on the fringes of the title race, and with renewed hope and confidence as they prepare for the visit of Brugge and their attempt to salvage their Champions League dream. As for Chelsea? Well, the high press was working, but the belief to put City to the sword wasn’t there. Enzo Maresca may have had a point when he said his team weren’t ready to become champions yet.
| Pos | Team | P | GD | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Liverpool | 22 | 33 | 53 |
| 2 | Arsenal | 23 | 23 | 47 |
| 3 | Nottm Forest | 23 | 6 | 44 |
| 4 | Man City | 23 | 17 | 41 |
| 5 | Newcastle | 23 | 14 | 41 |
| 6 | Chelsea | 23 | 15 | 40 |
| 7 | AFC Bournemouth | 23 | 15 | 40 |
| 8 | Aston Villa | 22 | -1 | 36 |
| 9 | Brighton | 23 | 4 | 34 |
| 10 | Fulham | 22 | 4 | 33 |
| 11 | Brentford | 22 | 1 | 28 |
| 12 | Crystal Palace | 22 | -3 | 27 |
| 13 | Man Utd | 22 | -5 | 26 |
| 14 | West Ham | 22 | -16 | 26 |
| 15 | Tottenham Hotspur | 22 | 10 | 24 |
| 16 | Everton | 22 | -9 | 23 |
| 17 | Wolverhampton | 23 | -20 | 16 |
| 18 | Ipswich | 23 | -26 | 16 |
| 19 | Leicester | 22 | -25 | 14 |
| 20 | Southampton | 23 | -37 | 6 |
FULL TIME: Manchester City 3-1 Chelsea
The Etihad erupts with relief and joy. A huge win for City in the race for a Champions League spot. A huge win for City in the title race as well? Let’s see.
90 min +5: On Sky, Gary Neville names Gvardiol as his player of the match. Then from a Chelsea corner coming in from the left, Colwill blazes wildly over the bar from six yards. There was contact from that man Gvardiol afterwards, but the ball had long gone and neither referee nor VAR is interested in awarding a penalty.
90 min +4: … so having said that, Madueke jinks his way down the right again but can’t find anybody with his cutback. He’s been Chelsea’s best player, with Palmer strangely subdued.
90 min +3: Chelsea look a beaten docket now. A team that just wants to hear the final whistle.
90 min +2: “This is a big missed opportunity for Chelsea,” observes Sky pundit Gary Neville, with reference to that aforementioned early dominance.
90 min +1: The first of five additional minutes sees Madueke scamper down the right, then along the byline. He sends a dangerous cross through the six-yard box, but there’s nobody there in royal blue to convert.
90 min: The Etihad en fête. At the risk of belabouring the point: Chelsea had Manchester City on the ropes early in the first half, only to let the champions back into the fight. You don’t let champions back into the fight.
89 min: City have gone unashamedly long in this second half, and how it’s worked for them. Niall Quinn will surely approve.
GOAL! Manchester City 3-1 Chelsea (Foden 87)
They won’t be giving up this lead, though! De Bruyne heads on to Haaland, who flicks Foden clear down the middle. Foden looks around for help, but he doesn’t need it, reaching the Chelsea box before slotting coolly into the bottom left. Game over! City back!
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86 min: Chelsea are dominating possession now. But doing very little with it. Palpable anxiety among the home fans, though. Understandably so: they’ve seen their team ship leads late on more than one occasion this season.
84 min: Palmer curls the free kick long. Gvardiol, facing his own goal, does extremely well to trap, turn and clear under pressure from Nkunku.
83 min: Palmer bustles his way down the inside-left channel only to be floored from behind by Kovacic. The City man goes into the book, and this is a free kick in a dangerous position, 30 yards out. Everyone lines up on the edge of the box.
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82 min: Neto works his way down the left and earns a corner. The set piece is hit long and finds Caicedo, just inside the box on the right. Caicedo should shoot, but miscontrols and can’t get anything away. A half-chance goes begging.
81 min: Haaland nearly barrels his way clear down the middle again, some good old-fashioned 1980s-style barging. But Chalobah stands up to him this time. Chelsea not yet looking as though they’ll get back into this.
79 min: Silva is booked for a pretty cynical clip on the heel of Fernandez. “Every week, I think goalkeeping standards can drop no lower. And then they do.” Gary Naylor there, who as an Evertonian will have been spoilt over the years by greats such as Neville Southall, Gordon West and, eh, Jordan Pickford. But the point stands.
77 min: Nunes one-twos crisply with De Bruyne down the right, and has options in front of him as he enters the box. But then he shows too much of the ball to Cucurella, and the crowd groan.
76 min: City extract some sting from the game with a bit of their old-school possession play. All of a sudden, they’re back, baby!
74 min: Marmoush’s promising debut comes to an end. On comes De Bruyne.
73 min: Chelsea make a double change. James and Sancho make way for Gusto and Neto.
72 min: … nowt.
71 min: Madueke dribbles down the right. He looks like he’s run the ball out for a goal kick, but flicks it off Gvardiol’s startled face just in time. Corner. Which leads to …
70 min: The Etihad, so quiet minutes before, is now bubbling with joyous noise. To reiterate: Chelsea had Manchester City on the ropes early in the first half, only to let the champions back into the fight. You don’t let champions back into the fight.
GOAL! Manchester City 2-1 Chelsea (Haaland 68)
City go long again, and hit the jackpot! Ederson creams a long pass down the right for Haaland, who holds off Chalobah with ease. He spins inside, putting Chalobah on his backside, then floats a careful curler over Sanchez, who had rashly come to the edge of his box for whatever reason. Brilliant by Haaland, not so great from Chelsea’s point of view.
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67 min: A simple long ball down the middle nearly does for Chelsea. Haaland holds it up, advancing down the inside-left channel before rolling infield for Marmoush, who could feed Foden to his right, but opts to shoot instead. His effort isn’t far away from the top-right corner, but high and wide nonetheless.
65 min: City aren’t achieving much at the moment. Pep doing a lot of pointing. The home crowd becoming a little pensive.
63 min: … in fact Foden one-twos with Gundogan before attempting to send a ball into the box. The eventual delivery is no good, and Chelsea clear their lines without fuss.
62 min: Nunes advances down the right and wins a corner off Cucurella. Foden to deliver.
61 min: This is now pretty scrappy stuff from two of England’s blue-chip clubs. Silva hoicks a free kick from the right straight into Sanchez’s arms; Cucurella has the chance to release Jackson down the left but slices the ball out for a throw. That’s the last we’ll see of Jackson, who is then hooked in favour of Nkunku.
59 min: Sancho crashes a shot off the base of the left-hand post. But he’d already been flagged offside, the whistle gone.
58 min: Ah, here we go. Chelsea pick up the pace, and Jackson dribbles hard down the left. He’s got options in the middle, but slips and his shot-cum-cross dribbles through to Ederson. Seconds after the restart, Caicedo is booked for hauling back Marmoush, though that might be a final-straw thing rather than for the foul itself.
57 min: The match restarts, but doesn’t restart. You get the drift.
55 min: In the meantime, Chalobah requires some treatment after Haaland accidentally landed on top of him, on his head, with predictable consequences. Thankfully after a good look by the physio, the Chelsea defender is good to continue.
53 min: Khusanov’s disappointing debut is over. He’s replaced by Stones, and walks off with sad doe eyes. To the great credit of the City fans, they make sure to give the young lad a proper reception as he leaves the pitch. Pep gives him a big hug too. He’ll be back, stronger and wiser for the experience.
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51 min: The press pays dividends again, but Palmer and Fernandez both take turns to dither over a shot. City counter and Haaland tries to show them how it’s done, cutting in from the right, taking advantage of a Colwill misread, and bashing low and hard. Sanchez parries.
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50 min: Ederson shanks a pass out for a throw, under pressure from Jackson. Nothing comes of it, but still. Chelsea’s high press, so successful early on in this match, but strangely forgotten for the rest of it, is suddenly back.
49 min: Kovacic nearly finds Haaland down the middle with a slide-rule pass, but Sanchez reads the danger and comes out of his box to larrup clear.
47 min: Madueke spins past Gvardiol and looks to make good down the right. Marmoush comes across to help his defender out. The new striker has been lively at both ends of the pitch. All augurs well. “For all of Chelsea’s money spent, it is ironic that three-quarters of their backline are English academy graduates,” writes Sam Jessop. “The production line of defenders that Chelsea produce (Aina, Hall, Livramento, Tomori, Colwill, Chalobah, James, Lamptey, Guehi, Christensen and even Akè) is quite ridiculous.”
Manchester City get the second half started. No changes. Before the restart, a lovely scene as Haaland and Sancho embrace and chat. Buddies from their days at Borussia Dortmund.
… and as for poor Abdukodir Khusanov … well, the young man wasn’t the first, and he won’t be the last.
Half-time entertainment. Coronation Street currently the third most-gripping Mancunian soap opera.
HALF TIME: Manchester City 1-1 Chelsea
A scoreline that’s probably about right, when taken in the round. But Chelsea had City on the ropes early doors, and let the champions back into the fight. You don’t let champions back into the fight. All of which could make for a very entertaining second half. Go nowhere!
45 min +2: Madueke dribbles in from the right and has a shot from the edge of the D. It’s deflected inches over the bar. There’s no time to take the corner, though. There goes that whistle.
45 min +1: The first of two additional minutes. Nowt to report.
45 min: Palmer, making good down the middle, has Jackson and Madueke either side. He hesitates, allowing Silva to get back and nick the ball off his toe. “Why are Chelsea knocking their goal kicks short to the keeper to immediately hoof down field?” wonders Dan Christmas. “Have goal kicks become so ubiquitously taken short that players have forgotten you can hoof the dead ball?”
43 min: VAR has a quick check, but Madueke was too deep out on the Chelsea right and playing Nunes onside.
GOAL! Manchester City 1-1 Chelsea (Gvardiol 42)
City go down the middle again, and this time hit paydirt! Gundogan pings down the middle for Nunes, who gets the better of Cucurella and shoots upon entering the box. Sanchez saves, but the ball deflects towards Gvardiol, romping in from the left. Gvardiol can’t miss with the goal unguarded. City level!
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40 min: City remain patient … then suddenly spring forward. Foden floats a pass down the middle to release Gvardiol, who gets in ahead of the dozing James. Sanchez comes out to close the angle. Gvardiol flicks a leg insouciantly to take an early shot. The ball squirts past Sanchez and inches wide of the bottom-left corner. That would have been some goal.
38 min: City enjoy a period of quiet possession. Calm dominance. Remember when they were always like this? It’s not so long ago, either, which makes it all so odd.
36 min: Marmoush has looked lively, though. So far, his debut has been as promising as Khusanov’s has been unfortunate.
34 min: Gundogan shoots through a crowded Chelsea box towards the bottom right. Sanchez parries, but spills into the road of Marmoush, who slots across the keeper and into the bottom left. But it’s not going to count. Marmoush was offside when the initial shot was struck.
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33 min: Cucurella has the opportunity to release Sancho down the left. The pass is no good, though, handing Khusanov the opportunity of a confidence-building slide tackle.
32 min: The resulting free kick is worked wide left to Marmoush, who whips a deep cross towards Foden, rushing in from the other side. Foden’s header, from six yards, is high and wide. But he’d have been flagged offside had it gone in.
31 min: Kovacic bustles down the middle and is skittled by Caicedo, who is rather fortunate not to go into the book. Just a stern talking-to from the referee.
29 min: Cucurella slips Jackson clear down the middle. Jackson fluffs his chance, allowing Ederson to smother. He was offside anyway. But City are playing with fire here. Chelsea look dangerous whenever they nick the ball and counter. A coiled spring.
28 min: Palmer advances down the inside-right channel and has a dig from 25 yards. The shot takes a deflection on the way through to Ederson, but the keeper handles well nonetheless.
27 min: … so the main takeaway from the match so far is that City still look sharp in attack. They’re a collective bag of nerves whenever somebody runs at them, though.
26 min: Chalobah is given a preposterous amount of time and space as he traverses down the right. From deep inside his own half, he reaches the edge of the City box before slipping a pass to Madueke on the overlap. Madueke goes nowhere. Chalobah might have done better trying to find Jackson in the middle.
25 min: Colwill is booked for taking his sweet time over the restart.
24 min: Nunes wins a corner down the City right. Foden plays it short and the move breaks down. But City come again through Silva down the same flank. Silva crosses, Haaland eyebrows it on, and Gvardiol brings it down on the left-hand corner of the six-yard box. Gvardiol leans back and blooters over the bar. Big chance missed.
23 min: Marmoush smashes the free kick straight into the wall. He was going for the top-left corner. Not enough height.
22 min: Gvardiol finds Marmoush this time, down the inside-left channel. James comes across and clumsily knocks him to the ground. It’s a free kick just to the left of the Chelsea D. A chance for Marmoush to showcase his set-piece skill.
21 min: Foden turns elegantly in the centre circle and sprays a pass wide left for Gvardiol, who barrels into the Chelsea box and crosses low for Marmoush. The new striker extends a leg but doesn’t connect. He’d have converted had he done so. Mind you, he was also clearly offside, so it’s all moot.
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19 min: Chelsea are getting a lot of joy down the left. Sancho and Cucurella combine cutely but the latter’s cross doesn’t get through to Jackson. Meanwhile here’s Hugh Molloy offering City’s debutant defender some much-needed historical succour: “Khusanov, poor lad, three touches, three shockers. What’s the earliest hook in Premier League history I wonder? Saying that, I remember early Nemanja Vidić and thought he looked looked and moved more like a nightclub bouncer than footballer.”
17 min: On the touchline, Pep is chuntering hard at his team, who look seriously shaken by the start to this game. Imagine the inner monologue of his new defender. “Even as an ardent Arsenal fan, my heart was breaking for Khusanov in those first few minutes, and indeed cheered when he blocked that shot,” writes Tanay Padhi. “Lamb to the slaughter, it’s been tough to watch.”
15 min: Chelsea spring on the counter again, Sancho tearing down the left and nearly finding Jackson in the middle, six yards out. Akanji is on point to hook clear, just in time.
13 min: Palmer was uncharacteristically sloppy back there. It was something of a surprise that he didn’t take on the shot himself when clean through; his pass across to Jackson was way too heavy, and all momentum was lost, allowing Khusanov to get back and gain some redemption by blocking Sancho’s shot/
11 min: … and now Foden crashes a shot off the right-hand upright! Both defences are absolutely all over the shop. This is like watching Spurs play Spurs.
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9 min: It really should be 0-2 now. Marmoush is dispossessed by Chalobah in the centre circle. Chalobah immediately slips Palmer clear, Khusanov too deep and playing him onside. Palmer could shoot but rolls across to Jackson. The pass too heavy. Jackson, forced wide, cuts back for Sancho, whose shot is blocked … by Khusanov. It’s been up and down so far for the young man all right!
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7 min: Well, that could have been worse, I guess. Had Khusanov not fouled Palmer, the former City starlet would have most likely gone through on goal. A fair chance then Chelsea would have gone two up in short order. “Horrible error that and it was noticeable that with the exception of Ederson, no City player went over to Khusanov to offer any support,” observes Stephen Carr.
5 min: Nothing comes of the resulting free kick. Poor Khusanov’s head must be swimming. Not exactly the ideal start to life at your new club. He’s just 20 years old.
4 min: … and now Khusanov goes into the book for a cynical clank into Palmer, who was running into space down the middle. Palmer was only doing so because Khusanov had rolled a hospital pass to Kovacic. He was lucky there were covering defenders, because VAR double-checked for a red-card offence as last man.
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GOAL! Manchester City 0-1 Chelsea (Madueke 3)
… and what a terrible start this is for Khusanov, whose second touch in his new shirt is a living nightmare. He misses a simple clearing header, then turns and fluffs an attempt to head back to Ederson. Jackson nips in and rolls across to Madueke, who has an open goal to slot into.
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1 min: … and then Marmoush, who is sent clear down the middle by Foden and lashes inches over the bar. Turns out he’s offside, but not by much. What a start that would have been!
Chelsea get the ball rolling. Then an early touch for the new boy Khusanov.
Before kick-off, a moment to remember three former Manchester City players who have recently passed on: Tony Book, Denis Law and Bobby Kennedy. The warmest of applause and an a cappella version of Blue Moon.
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The teams are out! Manchester City in sky blue, Chelsea in their first-choice royal. A cracking atmosphere at the Etihad. A big hug between the two managers, who know each other so well. We’ll be off in a couple of minutes.
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Enzo Maresca, erstwhile assistant to Pep, speaks to Sky. “I’m not sure Manchester City are low on confidence … they are always difficult to play … the moment everyone thinks they can drop a little bit or are low energy is the moment when they want to show everyone is wrong … it will be a tough game for sure.”
Pep Guardiola talks to Sky Sports. “I hope to see the best of [new signings Omar Marmoush and Abdukodir Khusanov] … they bring energy … they come fit … I decided to let them play … we have an important game today … we have next Wednesday … next Sunday … one game at a time … see what happens today … we hope to perform well.”
The 3pm kick-offs have finished. Rob Smyth has all the details in Clockwatch, but the most relevant results as far as Manchester City and Chelsea are concerned are Newcastle’s 3-1 victory at Southampton and Bournemouth’s 5-0 shellacking of the previously hard-to-beat Nottingham Forest. All of which has nudged Chelsea down to fifth and City seventh, though the champions can spring back to fourth with a win tonight. Chelsea can make it to fourth this evening as well, but they just require a draw to do so.
| Pos | Team | P | GD | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Liverpool | 22 | 33 | 53 |
| 2 | Arsenal | 23 | 23 | 47 |
| 3 | Nottm Forest | 23 | 6 | 44 |
| 4 | Newcastle | 23 | 14 | 41 |
| 5 | Chelsea | 22 | 17 | 40 |
| 6 | AFC Bournemouth | 23 | 15 | 40 |
| 7 | Man City | 22 | 15 | 38 |
| 8 | Aston Villa | 22 | -1 | 36 |
| 9 | Brighton | 23 | 4 | 34 |
| 10 | Fulham | 22 | 4 | 33 |
| 11 | Brentford | 22 | 1 | 28 |
| 12 | Crystal Palace | 22 | -3 | 27 |
| 13 | Man Utd | 22 | -5 | 26 |
| 14 | West Ham | 22 | -16 | 26 |
| 15 | Tottenham Hotspur | 22 | 10 | 24 |
| 16 | Everton | 22 | -9 | 23 |
| 17 | Wolverhampton | 23 | -20 | 16 |
| 18 | Ipswich | 23 | -26 | 16 |
| 19 | Leicester | 22 | -25 | 14 |
| 20 | Southampton | 23 | -37 | 6 |
Pre-match reading.
Manchester City hand debuts to striker Omar Marmoush and defender Abdukodir Khusanov. They’re two of three changes to the starting XI after the 4-2 capitulation at Paris Saint-Germain, the other player coming in being İlkay Gündoğan. Out-of-sorts captain Kevin De Bruyne and Savinho drop to the bench, while Rúben Dias misses out altogether. City’s third new signing Vitor Reis is on the bench.
Chelsea also make three changes, after their 3-1 win over Wolverhampton Wanderers. Levi Colwill, Enzo Fernández and Jadon Sancho stepping up; Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall, Pedro Neto and Tosin Adarabioyo dropping to the bench.
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The teams
Manchester City: Ederson, Nunes, Khusanov, Akanji, Gvardiol, Kovacic, Gundogan, Bernardo, Marmoush, Foden, Haaland.
Subs: Ortega, Stones, Grealish, De Bruyne, Reis, Savinho, O’Reilly, Lewis, McAtee.
Chelsea: Sanchez, James, Chalobah, Colwill, Cucurella, Caicedo, Fernandez, Madueke, Palmer, Sancho, Jackson.
Subs: Jorgensen, Disasi, Acheampong, Tosin, Gusto, Dewsbury-Hall, Neto, Nkunku, Guiu.
Referee: John Brooks
VAR: Stuart Attwell
Preamble
Rather unexpectedly, this match is probably not going to have a huge bearing on the title race … though you never know. What we do know for sure is that it’s a repeat of the classic 1986 Full Members’ Cup final. So nostalgia fans should get stuck into this ☟☟☟☟☟☟. Kick-off this evening is at 5.30pm. It’s on!
