Chelsea 0-3 Manchester City
by Layth Yousif 
at Stamford Bridge

THREE second-half goals in 17 minutes from Nico O’Reilly, Marc Guehi and Jeremy Doku sealed a vital victory for Manchester City at Stamford Bridge.

Following a lacklustre opening 45 minutes, Pep Guardiola’s second-placed side posted a statement victory with a superb second-half showing that simply blew sorry Chelsea away.

A difficult fixture for Guardiola’s team to navigate before kick-off, turned into a Sunday afternoon stroll in the west London sunshine, as City moved to within six points of Premier League table-toppers Arsenal with a game in hand, as the two titans gear up to clash in Manchester next Sunday.

Guardiola and his side clearly relish the business end of the season — with 29 wins from 32 matches in April, having last lost five years ago in the fourth month of the year — to turn up the heat on the Gunners, after putting Liam Rosenior’s underwhelming side to the sword to make it five wins in their last six visits to SW6.

“The second half was extraordinary because we had the mindset,” reflected Guardiola after the match, adding: “It wasn’t tactics. We know each other for a long time and the players showed a good mentality to win here, which is never easy.”

As for Rosenior’s side’s desperately poor display after the break, the Chelsea head coach said at the end of emphatic defeat: “Massively disappointing, especially from our first half performance,” adding: “it’s happened too many times [that we’ve conceded two goals in quick succession].

“City started the second half better than us, that can happen against a good team. But what you can’t do is concede two goals in the manner that we did, so quickly after one another.

“Again, it comes down to resilience in difficult moments and seeing those moments through and making sure you’re still in the game.”

Guardiola made a single change from the side that routed Liverpool in the FA Cup quarter-final at Wembley last weekend to book a date with Southampton in the last four, with only Gianluigi Donnarumma returning for cup goalkeeper James Trafford.

While Rosenior made two changes to the side that thrashed Port Vale 7-0 in the last eight of the world’s oldest domestic cup competition over Easter.

Enzo Fernandez served the second of his club-imposed two-match ban, while Marc Cucurella and Moises Caicedo were drafted into the starting XI, with the former operating at left-back, meaning Jorrel Hato moved to centre-back and Tosin dropping to the bench.

In midfield, Moises Caicedo was paired with Andrey Santos, leaving Romeo Lavia among the substitutes.

Caicedo also took the captain’s armband, after Cole Palmer skippered the team against the Valiants.

After winning each of their first four Premier League games under Rosenior, Chelsea had since won just one of their last six. With the Blues starting the day four points behind Liverpool in fifth spot, the final place allotted to English teams qualifying for next season’s Champions League, it was imperative for Chelsea to make inroads in their quest for the riches of the promised land.

The fact that the Stamford Bridge outfit hadn’t beaten City in any competition since the final of that tournament back in May 2021 was not surprising, given the Blues off-field travails since then.

With Bournemouth blowing the title race wide open in north London on Saturday when beating Arsenal 2-1, with two games in hand on the faltering Gunners before kick-off in SW6, Guardiola aimed to capitalise by reducing the nine-point gap with a vital victory against the Blues.

On five minutes, Cole Palmer fired into the side netting after a sweeping move forward by the home side. Chelsea’s Manchester-born former City attacker utilising the space allowed in Guardiola’s 4-2-4 attacking formation — a system that intensely pressures the opposition when they are in possession, but can be a risk if the opponents cut through the middle at pace, which is what Rosenior appeared to have instructed his side to do.

Brazilian teen sensation Estevao was booked in the early stages for kicking the ball away, before Chelsea had the ball in the net shortly afterwards, after a neat finish from Cucurella, but the “goal” was correctly disallowed by VAR for offside.

As the match warmed up after a nervy, error-strewn opening, Donnarumma blocked Pedro Neto’s near post effort on 18 minutes.

Rosenior, wearing a grey T-shirt and white trainers, as if on a middle-management training day, in contrast to the streetwise Guardiola, the bow-legged former Barca midfielder, sporting a black raincoat, black trousers and black boots, looking more like an ultra than ultra successful.

It was instructive to note Chelsea legend Frank Lampard was in the directors’ box, a day off from guiding Championship winners-elect Coventry to a single victory away from the Premier League.

Such was the paucity of quality, and action, Antoine Semenyo was booked for clipping Neto as we headed into half time under a cloud, literally, as a giant gunmetal grey cloud edged over proceedings, ending the glorious April sunshine that bathed the ground in the opening stages. Even forcing Rosenior to don what could only be described as designer hoodie/suit jacket combo.

As the clock ticked towards the interval, Roberto Sanchez turned Semenyo’s low drive past the post as the side’s went into the half time break goalless.

However, City came out for the second half utterly transformed from their lacklustre opening 45 minutes.

Six minutes after the break, O’Reilly headed home Rayan Cherki’s cross to put the visitors ahead, as the team celebrated with their fans behind the goal, fully aware of the importance of the 21-year-old’s ninth goal of an increasingly productive season. Indeed the only blot on the day was the youngster forced from the field with what looked like a hamstring injury.

Six minutes after the opening goal, Guehi doubled the visitors lead, latching onto Cherki’s ball as January’s arrival from Crystal Palace this January raced to the corner flag along with his teammates — to celebrate joyously in communion with their travelling support — safe in the knowledge that City started the second half a far different proposition from the slipshod side they looked in the opening 45 minutes, to simply blow Chelsea away.

On 68 minutes, dreadfully sloppily play from Caicedo, left the normally incisive midfielder caught in possession, as rampant City swarmed all over the Blues — leaving Doku to slot home past Sanchez, as City fans taunted: “Are you watching Arsenal?” ahead of next Sunday’s winner takes all clash in south Manchester.

“We’ve done a good three games but the best team in England is Arsenal,” the artful Guardiola insisted, adding: “The numbers are there.

“We will prepare well this week. We’ll adjust from the [League] Cup [victory over Arsenal last month].

“What defines the teams is how you play. If you don’t grow as a team in the way you play you won’t win. We have to insist to play better.”

Abdukodir Khusanov’s long-range effort fizzed narrowly wide shortly afterwards, as Guardiola cannily withdrew key personnel, in a tacit acknowledgment that not only was the game, but that he could enjoy the rare luxury of resting his main men ahead of their eagerly awaited clash with Arsenal next weekend, with 20 minutes still remaining.

“We’re Man City/We’ll fight to the end,” chorused the travelling support.

It seemed like a statement, more than mere hope, as the seemingly inevitable denouement to nine months of battle fast approaches.

Judging by City’s utterly imperious second half against Chelsea, Mikel Arteta’s Arsenal will have to produce a performance for the ages to emerge triumphant against Guardiola’s side. Not impossible, but given their recent form, increasingly unlikely. But then that’s what they said about George Graham’s Gunners before winning the title against all odds at nearest rivals Liverpool 37 years ago, in what has gone down in folklore to simply be known as “Anfield 89” to Gooners everywhere.

Whatever you’re doing next Sunday, cancel it, and make sure you watch the title decider instead.

For the winners of this season’s league title will surely be decided next weekend.