Man City prove Pep Guardiola right about small clubs in thrilling Chelsea draw

Despite challenges from Cole Palmer and Raheem Sterling, Manchester City remains in the lead in the standings.

In the absence of Stones and Palmer, an array of complications ensued.

The absence of Manchester City’s injured defender and their erstwhile winger resulted in an assortment of complications, including a crucial late penalty kick that drew a thrilling tie. Nevertheless, after 107 energizing minutes of play, Pep Guardiola and his squad were jubilantly commemorating a 4-4 draw that maintains their Premier League leadership for at least the next two weeks.

Guardiola anticipates that Chelsea will contend for the league title “sooner rather than later,” and City was most likely troubled by the hosts this season. Although City are certainly not accustomed to conceding four goals, the fact that it was still not enough to seal their defeat says a great deal about their quality and mentality.

Following City’s reunification with Chelsea following the conclusion of the Premier League season, the match at the Etihad Stadium was rendered inconsequential. The visitors performed abhorrently, as befits their respective campaigns, against a second-string City side, and their 1-0 victory bore little resemblance to the Blues’ preponderance.

Mauricio Pochettino has, depending on your perspective, had a rocky start or a successful one; however, the contrast between May and the current match against City was remarkable. Two former City wingers, Cole Palmer and Raheem Sterling, provided the driving force as they displayed an early zeal and caliber that had been lacking since the previous campaign.

City appeared taken aback, although Guardiola’s squad was undoubtedly hampered by the absences of Stones and Nathan Ake, who was also sidelined with an injury this week but could have substituted for him. Despite the fact that City were more sluggish than usual in the first minutes due to Kyle Walker’s speed, Josko Gvardiol’s attempt to break free but fail to make a tackle and allow the ball to pass him served as an early warning sign.

City, on the other hand, possesses an abundance of quality and requires little assistance to locate the scoresheet. Haaland recovered from being felled by the diminutive full-back and stroked home the opening goal. Marc Cucurella became the most recent player to be reminded that if you pull an opponent in the box, you cannot have any complaints when a foul is called against you. They earned a soft penalty for the second consecutive away game.

Pochettino expressed discontent with the ruling, while Chelsea supporters were enraged, employing foul language to referee Anthony Taylor that would have been more suitable in the Covid investigation. However, within three minutes, Reece James made an outstanding save from Ederson on a free-kick. After expressing gratitude to the custodian, the Brazilians’ teammates failed to adequately defend the corner, which Thiago Silva converted.

Gvardiol not only failed to prevent James from obtaining a through ball, but also managed to palm it directly into his path, in addition to playing Sterling onside so James could easily convert a simple goal. Things deteriorated further in the following moments. Before the conclusion of the first half, Manu Akanji was left completely unmarked as Bernardo Silva equalized with a cross following a short corner kickoff. This completed a poor defensive performance in the first half.

While Guardiola continued his recovery from surgery, it was difficult for anyone to enjoy a halftime break while watching a chaotic yet engaging football match, and there were still many spectators returning to their seats when City retook the lead in the second half. An impressive sequence in which Gvardiol advanced Haaland from the corner flag before Foden and Alvarez combined to enable the No. 9 to tap in for his second of the match demonstrated how formidable the Blues can be when opponents challenge them head-on.

Fortunately for the neutrals, a substantial amount of further action remained. Palmer’s outstanding solitary run was thwarted by Ederson, while Jeremy Doku failed to capitalize on a favorable opportunity and received a booking for diving while attempting to earn a penalty kick. City had to substitute Jack Grealish for Palmer during that time.

The substitution of Grealish appeared to strengthen City’s lead, as the winger formed a deft link pass with the extraordinary Bernardo Silva on the left flank, causing havoc for the Chelsea defense. City’s defense, however, was no better, reacting sluggish than Nicolas Jackson to concede three goals for the first time in 50 games and 13 months when Ederson blocked Conor Gallagher’s long-ranger.

City could have earned a point, lost, or a concession; Rodri’s late-game goal was tipped into the net by Thiago Silva with an unfortunate flying boot, and Palmer later made it 4-4. Guardiola and his squad will be ecstatic to reside atop the table for the following fortnight, having done everything possible to maintain their lead over Arsenal and Liverpool. Following a loss at Arsenal to conclude the October games, this was a marked improvement in performance and result, albeit one that will require a significant improvement in defense moving forward.

This aptly illustrates Guardiola’s thesis that losing elite players to elite teams should not cause concern. He stated on Friday that if you are concerned about selling to Chelsea or similar clubs, “I believe that indicates you are a small team.”

Despite the fact that City’s manager was questioned throughout the majority of the previous season regarding the sales of Gabriel Jesus and Oleksandr Zinchenko to Arsenal, neither player was ecstatic at the conclusion of the campaign. Despite the fact that Palmer and Sterling are both achieving their desired outcomes since joining Chelsea, the reigning champions remain in first place prior to the Christmas break.

Chelsea, Palmer, and Sterling all demonstrated that City have vulnerabilities, but the Blues demonstrated that they will continue regardless.