Manchester City failed to claim the national championship on Saturday. Pep Guardiola’s side took the lead against Chelsea thanks to Raheem Sterling, but failed to increase it due to a failed panenka by Sergio Agüero. After half time, Hakim Ziyech took care of the equalizer and in injury time Marcos Alonso finished it: 1-2. Chelsea rises to third place due to the important three-pointer, while City remains thirteen points ahead of Manchester United.
Guardiola decided to completely change his team and change in no less than nine places compared to the match against Paris Saint-Germain (2-0 win). For example, there was a basic place for Nathan Aké in the three-man defense, while with Raheem Sterling, Sergio Agüero and Gabriel Jesus there were three pure attackers on the field. On the side of Chelsea, Tuchel made five changes compared to the game with Real Madrid (2-0 win). That meant good news for Hakim Ziyech, who was lined up with Christian Pulisic behind deep striker Timo Werner.
It took a while for the game to get going. Both teams turned out to be well-matched and had difficulty in creating opportunities. Rodri tried on behalf of City with a shot that was blocked at the last minute by César Azpilicueta, while an offside goal from Werner was rejected. Sterling turned dangerous in a quick counterattack from the Citizens, but saw his shot get caught by Édouard Mendy.
Boom! Hakim Ziyech scores against Manchester City! ?
Posted by Voetbalzone on Saturday 8 May 2021
A depth ball on Gabriel Jesus led to City’s opening goal one minute before half time. The Brazilian won the game against Andreas Christensen and laid wide on Agüero. He took the ball in front of the goal badly and was lucky that the incoming Sterling could still shoot in: 1-0. In the injury time of the first half, a penalty for the home team followed, after Sterling was tapped on the heels by Billy Gilmour. Agüero produced a soft panenka, which could be easily caught by Mendy.
This way Chelsea stayed alive and the Londoners could look for the equalizer after the break. That succeeded when Ziyech intercepted the ball in midfield at Rodri in the 63rd minute. Azpilicueta brought the ball back from the right to Ziyech, who hit from the edge of the penalty area: 1-1. Shortly afterwards, Werner was a toe-length short for a cross from Reece James and a little later saw another goal disallowed for offside. That fate also befell Chelsea substitute Callum Hudson-Odoi in the final phase.
In the final phase, City went on the hunt for the winning goal. Sterling thought to escape on the other side, but was stopped by a brilliant sliding from Kurt Zouma. Phil Foden tapped in front from a low cross by Ílkay Gündogan. Sterling wanted a penalty for an alleged push in the back from Zouma, but got nothing. Chelsea still managed to win in injury time, when Marcos Alonso tapped in a low cross from Werner with some fortune: 1-2.