Pep exacts sweet revenge in an important win at Stamford Bridge
Pep Guardiola has finally been able to solve the puzzle of Thomas Tuchel’s Chelsea in the fourth attempt. It may not be an FA Cup semi-final nor a champions league final but it is an important win that gifts the league champions three precious points as the chase for the title heats up.
Chelsea paid for allowing themselves to be outrun by Guardiola’s men in front of a packed Stamford Bridge crowd in a Saturday early kick-off.
Manchester City played the majority of the ball in the first 45 minutes as they bossed possession and also created few chances that could have got them in the lead but for shrewd defending by the host. That could however not get them the breakthrough as the European champions held on to enforce a stalemate in the first half.
Tuchel’s men bad day in office saw Reece James made way for Thiago Silva just before the half-hour mark following a clash with Grealish earlier.
City found the opening goal eight minutes after the restart when Gabriel Jesus’ strike at goal took a slight deflection off Jorginho to wrong foot Mendy below ballooning into the net. Thiago Silva and Mendy would both combine to deny City a second just a minute past the hour mark when Silva made a fine clearance off the line.
A minute later, Romelu Lukaku rolled one into the net at the other end but it was choked off for offside with Kai Havertz judged to be in an offside position when latched onto a pass from Marcos Alonso before offloading to Lukaku.
Neither side could get the ball in the net again, though Chelsea improved significantly late on especially with the introduction of Reuben Loftus-Cheek late on for Jorginho.
City held on to secure the win and a precious three points to send a clear statement that they are in the race for the title even without an outright striker as they did for the large parts of last season. Pep Guardiola has finally got his revenge over Tuchel on the fourth attempt since the German joined Chelsea midway through last season.
Chelsea is up next against Juventus in the champions league on Wednesday before an afternoon kickoff in the league against Southampton next Saturday. Meanwhile, Guardiola would lead his side against PSG on Tuesday before another heavy league match against Liverpool on Sunday.
By: Clifford Adumbire | myactiveonline.com
