David Hytner’s match report has landed, so I’m going to wrap this blog up. Thanks for your company and emails – goodnight!
Rodri speaks to Sky Sports
We feel a bit exhausted to be honest, after a game with that rhythm. It wasn’t our best performance and individually we can look at ourselves, because conceding four goals is not normal for us.
We played the game they wanted. They want to play with quick transitions and are a better team in those situations. We struggled to play our game. We gave the ball away too often and could have been more patient. But we’re a team – we support each other and we’ll move forward. Big credit to Chelsea, they have good players and they put us under pressure.
The City old boys talk to Sky Sports
Raheem Sterling
Yeah it was a good game. We fought back a few times and that showed our mentality. [On his partial celebration] Yeah, scoring’s such a good feeling, but then you remember it’s your old club so you don’t overdo it.
We’ve been trying build slowly but surely since the manager came in. There have been some setbacks but we continue to work, even after some disappointing results. We’re making steps, little by little, and long may it continue.
[Did you want to show City what they once had?] I had a great time at City. People know what I can do, and with the foundation the manager has laid out here you just try to go out and perform.
Cole Palmer
It felt very strange playing against City for the first time. I’ve got the utmost respect for a club I spent 15 years at, and it was nice to see some friends. I thought we were unlucky not to get the win but it was another great game. [
It was a long time waiting for the penalty, but I’ve scored a few and I felt confident. I’m not gonna say I work on penalties because I don’t – I trust in my natural ability, and thankfully it went in.
Chelsea have now drawn at home to last season’s top two in very different circumstances. Against Arsenal they threw away a 2-0 lead; against City they came from behind on three occasions.
Mauricio Pochettino is too sensible to get carried away but he must be thrilled with that performance, particularly from the attacking trio of Raheem Sterling, Conor Gallagher and Cole Palmer. They gave City problems all afternoon, both with their pressing and, in the case of Sterling and Palmer, the ability to find pockets of space in the channels.
This is how the Premier League table looks going into the international break.
| Pos | Team | P | GD | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Man City | 12 | 20 | 28 |
| 2 | Liverpool | 12 | 17 | 27 |
| 3 | Arsenal | 12 | 16 | 27 |
| 4 | Tottenham Hotspur | 12 | 9 | 26 |
| 5 | Aston Villa | 12 | 12 | 25 |
| 6 | Man Utd | 12 | -3 | 21 |
| 7 | Newcastle | 12 | 14 | 20 |
| 8 | Brighton | 12 | 4 | 19 |
| 9 | West Ham | 12 | -1 | 17 |
| 10 | Chelsea | 12 | 5 | 16 |
| 11 | Brentford | 12 | 2 | 16 |
| 12 | Wolverhampton | 12 | -4 | 15 |
| 13 | Crystal Palace | 12 | -4 | 15 |
| 14 | Everton | 12 | -3 | 14 |
| 15 | Nottm Forest | 12 | -4 | 13 |
| 16 | Fulham | 12 | -10 | 12 |
| 17 | AFC Bournemouth | 12 | -16 | 9 |
| 18 | Luton | 12 | -12 | 6 |
| 19 | Sheff Utd | 12 | -21 | 5 |
| 20 | Burnley | 12 | -21 | 4 |
How a wildly entertaining match unfolded
25 min: Chelsea 0-1 City Erling Haaland wins and converts a controversial penalty.
29 min: Chelsea 1-1 City Thiago Silva equalises with a neat near-post header.
37 min: Chelsea 2-1 City Raheem Sterling scores against his old club.
45+1 min: Chelsea 2-2 City Manuel Akanji heads City level from a short corner.
47 min: Chelsea 2-3 City Erling Haaland bundles City in front after a thrilling counter-attack.
67 min: Chelsea 3-3 City Nicolas Jackson reacts quickest to equalise after Conor Gallagher’s shot is pushed away by Ederson.
86 min: Chelsea 3-4 City Rodri’s shot takes a huge deflection off Thiago Silva and wrongfoots Robert Sanchez.
90+5 min: Chelsea 4-4 City The substitute Armando Broja is taken out by Ruben Dias, and Cole Palmer – outstanding throughout – calmly equalises against his old club.
Mauricio Pochettino marches straight onto the field to have words with Anthony Taylor. He’s really been so angry, though it soon dissipates and he embraces his former Spurs right-back Kyle Walker.
There’s plenty of goodwill, actually, with Kalvin Phillips, Rico Lewis and other City players embracing Cole Palmer. His nerveless injury-time penalty, the eighth goal of a classic match in the rain, gave Chelsea a point they richly deserved.
90+9 min And he curls it over the bar.
90+8 min Kyle Walker is going to take the free-kick…
90+7 min Foden is flattened 25 yards from goal by Sterling, who is booked. That leads to more pushing and shoving. This might kick off at the final whistle.
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90+6 min: Chelsea substitution Nicolas Jackson is replaced by Lesley Ugochukwu.
It was a terrific penalty from Palmer, curled high into the net. Ederson went the right way, to his right, but couldn’t reach it. Palmer puts his arms out as if to say, ‘Did anyone expect me to miss?’ The courage of the kid!
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GOAL! Chelsea 4-4 Man City (Palmer 90+5 pen)
Cole Palmer has scored an injury-time equaliser against his old club!
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90+4 min Kyle Walker and Disasi are still having words. The wait goes on, and that drum-and-bass track you can hear is Cole Palmer’s heartbeat.
VAR check! Sterling found space between the lines yet again and clipped a good ball into Broja near the penalty spot. He dummied to shoot and was wiped out by the sliding Dias – but Dias may have got a touch on the ball first.
Nope, the penalty has been given. There’s a bit of a shoving match in the area and Grealish has been booked.
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PENALTY TO CHELSEA!
90+2 min And it’ll be Cole Palmer against his old club.
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92 min Pep Guardiola has beaten Mauricio Pochettino 4-3 before – but it was probably the most shattering victory of his career.
90 min Eight minutes of added time.
90 min: Chelsea substitution Armando Broja for Moises Caicedo.
Kovacic’s shot from the edge of the area was blocked by Disasi and rebounded to Rodri, 25 yards out. He swept a low left-footed shot that took a huge deflection off Thiago Silva and wrongfooted Sanchez. I’m pretty sure it would otherwise have been a comfortable save, but Thiago instinctively stuck his leg out and diverted the ball into the net.
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GOAL! Chelsea 3-4 Man City (Rodri 86)
Not for the first time in 2023, Rodri scores a huge goal!
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85 min “Re: the injured players XI,” begins David Penney. “As an Arsenal fan, I will humbly offer Abou Diaby in central midfield.”
That poor guy. He scored some imperious goals when he was fit – I can remember a couple at Villa Park and St James’ Park in games I MBMed. Were his later injury problems related to that horror tackle at Sunderland in 2005-06? I wonder how much psychological damage an incident like that does to the perpetrator, never mind the victim. Unless you are a sociopath, it must eventually run amok in your subconscious.
84 min Raheem Sterling is caught offside. Peter Drury tells us it’s the first offside of the game, which is a cracking stat and one of the many reasons it has been so exhilarating to watch.
81 min Gallagher tries an up-and-under from 30 yards but gets too much on it. He’s had a fine game though, and is a symbol of the intensity and quality of Chelsea’s pressing.
79 min: Man City substitution A rare pragmatic substitution from Pep Guardiola: Mateo Kovacic replaces Julian Alvarez in midfield. That’s another compliment to Chelsea.
77 min Gusto needs treatment after landing awkwardly near the halfway line. He’s okay.
76 min “I was going to suggest suggesting a perpetually injured all-time XI,” says Ian Copestake, “but none would be available at the same time.”
It’s the imaginary treatment room I’d worry about. Imagine the air quality.
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75 min: What a chance for Gusto! City are ragged at the back. Sterling wins the ball just outside the area and smuggles a reverse pass through to Gusto. He opens his body, 12 yards out, but curls over the bar with his left foot. That was a glorious chance, and his first reaction was to belt the ground in frustration.
75 min: Great defending from Akanji! The last man Akanji makes a vital sliding tackle on Jackson, who would otherwise have been able to put Sterling through on goal.
73 min Ederson’s panicky clearance hits the hand of his teammate Walker. It was outside the area, so wouldn’t have been a penalty, but Anthony Taylor didn’t see it anyway.
72 min Rodri is booked for pulling back Cole Palmer, who has had a fine game agianst his old club. He’s now playing as the No10, with Sterling on the right and Mudryk left.
71 min If only you could press a red button to hear Pep Guardiola’s internal monologue at a time like this. This game is far too wild and open for his taste.
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69 min City have a huge penalty appeal turned down when Bernardo Silva’s cross hits the sliding Disasi. Replays show the ball hit his head rather than the outstretched right hand.
Conor Gallagher whistled a drive from 25 yards that Ederson, diving to his left, could only push out in front of goal. Jackson – who has been very quiet all afternoon - reacted fastest to collect the rebound and slide it under Ederson. That’s a clinical finish, and a nice way to end a week he won’t forget in a hurry.
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GOAL! Chelsea 3-3 Man City (Jackson 67)
Another twist in this extraordinary match!
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64 min “I can’t be the only one who wishes that the ball had grazed Haaland’s elbow just before it crossed the line, meaning the goal was ruled out by VAR,” says Luke Jones. “Not out of any loyalty to Chelsea, but just because the controversy would have been truly world class. Just imagine Pep’s reaction!”
Nothing, surely, will ever top the human comedy of Anfield 2019.
65 min There’s a break in play while Ederson receives treatment.
64 min: Double substitution for Chelsea Malo Gusto and Mykhailo Mudryk replace Reece James, who is still feeling his way back from injury, and Enzo Fernandez.
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62 min I can’t keep up with this. Caicedo is booked for a foul on someone in a light blue shirt, then Foden’s long-range shot is comfortably saved by Sanchez.
60 min: Palmer denied by Ederson! That would have been a glorious goal against his own club. He moved infield to receive the ball 30 yards out, back to goal. In a flash he turned away from Rodri, then swerved past Dias and into the area. By the time he was in a position to shoot he was slightly off balance, and his low shot was very well blocked by the outrushing Ederson.
60 min: City substitution Talking of which, Jack Grealish has just come on to replace Doku.
59 min “In my opinion,” says Jeff Sax, “Doku adds more to City’s game than Grealish.”
I love their contrasting styles, which allows City to pick and choose depending on the opposition. For a game like today, against James, I might have preferred a craftier player like Grealish.
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58 min: Chance for Doku! Another dangerous break from City. With James caught upfield, Doku is able to run at the backpedalling Disasi. He moves into the area and drags a low shot that rebounds off the partially unsighted Sanchez and just evades Haaland.
56 min Doku is booked for diving in the area. A couple of early runs aside, he’s been played really well by Reece James.
54 min Caicedo fouls Gvardiol 25 yards from goal. Alvarez’s cross is unusually overhit and goes behind for a goalkick.
54 min “Age is a funny thing, Rob,” says Simon McMahon. “In the sense that you barely think about it for the first half of your life, then do nothing but think about it during the second half (assuming a life expectancy of, say, 80). Something to do with relativity, no doubt. Or VAR.”
Evening Livia.
53 min City have a bit of a strut on now. Rodri heads the ball down to Alvarez, who cuts across a half-volley from 15 yards that is well held to his left by Sanchez.
51 min “The Chelsea manager alumni club has got Maurizio Sarri’s Lazio facing Jose Mourinho’s Roma in the derby as I write this,” says Peter Oh. “My eyes are starting to sting from the smoke bombs, flares and cigarette smoke just thinking about it.”
The phrase ‘with hilarious consequences’ comes to mind.
49 min There was a VAR check for a possible handball but the goal stands. The ball was moving so slowly that Haaland slid into the net before it. It eventually hit Haaland’s arm, I think, but by that stage the ball was over the line.
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Caicedo tried to nick the ball off Haaland, 60 yards from goal, and from that moment Chelsea were exposed. Haaland moved it square to Alvarez, who forced it out to Foden on the right. He waited for Alvarez to make a lung-busting run on the outside and slid a simple ball down the line. Alvarez guided a low cross into the six-yard box, where Haaland got the wrong side of James and bundled it over the line from about a yard. It wasn’t elegant – the ball hit Haaland between the legs and rolled into the net – but he doesn’t seem perturbed by any aesthetic compromise.
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GOAL! Chelsea 2-3 Man City (Haaland 47)
City take the lead again after a devastating break!
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46 min Peep peep!
“The classic example of the perpetually injured player was Ledley King,” says David Wall. “While Reece James is nowhere near that point yet, I think they can be more trouble for a team than they’re worth, no matter the quality of performances when they are available. Especially in defensive positions it’s important to form relationships and understanding with your fellow defenders and goalkeeper.
“When Harry Redknapp was managing Spurs he always brought King back into the team as soon as he was fit even when the other centre-halves had been playing really well over a number of games beforehand. Inevitably King would get injured again after 4-5 games and so the others would have to try to rebuild the understanding they had before.
“Of course, it’s hard to judge the counter-factual but i tend to think that across the season Spurs would have been better defensively sticking with the same centre half pairing (therefore without King) consistently rather than changing it as and when King was available.”
You could argue it’s less of a problem these days, with squad rotation more common, though I agree that centre-back (and goalkeeper) are the worst positions for injury-prone players. I suppose every case is different – you’d never leave out Bryan Robson, for example. And even at centre-back, Vincent Kompany was still a key part of City’s success in his last few seasons.
“City scoring a goal from a corner seems very un-Pep-like,” says Ian Copestake. “Like sitting down for a meal at a restaurant and being served a bag of crisps.”
Been asleep since Covid have you buddy? This is CityPep 2.0, where set-piece goals are as beloved as 492-pass moves.
“Great game with ABCs everywhere hoping Chelsea can put a spoke in City’s wheel and keep the title race interesting,” writes Rick Harris. “There have been encouraging signs in recent games that Pochettino is beginning to make sense out the bag of all sorts he has inherited and if Chelsea can put City to the sword after despatching Spurs last weekend that will be a remarkable turnaround. The trouble is that City are just far too good.”
If I was a Chelsea fan I’d be really excited about their future under Pochettino. The age profile of the squad is perfect for him.
Half time: Chelsea 2-2 Man City
That was one of the better 45 minutes (okay, 51) that we’ve seen this season. Erling Haaland put City ahead with a controversial penalty, but Chelsea always looked dangerous in attack and equalised with a deft header from Thiago Silva.
Raheem Sterling scored against his old club after a mistake by Josko Gvardiol – refreshingly, Sterling even celebrated for a bit – and then Manuel Akanji headed City level on the stroke of half-time. More, please!
45+6 min After more good play from Sterling, who has been terrific, Jackson’s shot deflects behind off Walker.
45+3 min “My missive wasn’t really meant to be critical, more of a ‘what might have been’,” says Joe Pearson. “Think of the choice Southgate would have to make if James were routinely fit and battling with Walker for regular starts at right back. Sigh.”
Indeed. I think he’s a marvellous player. At his best (and fittest), he’s probably England’s most complete right-back. It would also give you the option of playing James and Walker (as the right-sided centre back in a back three) against Kylian Mbappe or Vinicius Jr.
Sod it, play all of them. Kieran Trippier at left-back, Trent Alexander-Arnold in midfield.
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Alvarez takes a short corner to Bernardo Silva in the inside-left channel. He curls a nice cross towards Akanji, who is weirdly unmarked and heads confidently past Sanchez from about eight yards. Mauricio Pochettino punches the air in disgust.
GOAL! Chelsea 2-2 Man City (Akanji 45+1)
City are level!
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45 min Six minutes of added time. Can we make it 60?
44 min Foden’s long-range shot is comfortably saved by Sanchez, then Jackson sweeps a shot straight at Ederson from 12 yards after another terrific run from Sterling.
42 min: Fine save by Sanchez! What a half of football this has been. Bernardo glides forward and waves a nice pass into Haaland on the edge of the D. He loses Thiago with a brilliant bit of movement and rifles a low shot back across goal with his left foot. It looks a certain goal, but Sanchez plunges to his left to make a superb one-handed save.
41 min Sterling runs at the backpedalling Walker, into the area, and curls a few yards wide of the far post.
40 min James collects a cute pass from Palmer and charges over the halfway line. He keeps going and eventually plays an angled pass to Sterling that is crucially cut out by the stretching Walker. Fernandez wallops the loose ball towards goal from 25 yards and Dias makes a desperate block.
Chelsea have caused City plenty of problems in transition.
40 min “As someone born a couple of months apart from Thiago Silva, I did let out a little shudder when Peter Drury called him ‘the grand old man’ after his equaliser. Hoping my ageing heart can take the pace of what has been an entertaining start to this one!”
Try being born eight years apart from him, and not in a good way.
39 min Alvarez’s dangerous cross on the turn is booted clear by Disasi in the six-yard box. This is a cracking match.
Palmer threaded a pass into the area towards the onrushing James. It should have been cut out by Gvardiol, but he lost his bearings, couldn’t sort his feet out and gave the ball straight to James. He reacted smartly and guided a low, first-time cross to give Sterling – who was being played onside by Gvardiol – a tap-in at the far post.
GOAL! Chelsea 2-1 Man City (Sterling 37)
Raheem Sterling scores against his old club!
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35 min: Just wide from Foden! And I mean just. Rodri marched through midfield and gave the ball to Foden on the edge of the area. He shifted the ball onto his left foot, away from Cucurella, and flashed a curling shot that beat Sanchez and whistled past the far post. That was a brilliant effort.
34 min “On Reece James,” says Joe Pearson. “As exciting as he is to watch, he just hasn’t been available enough lately. As some coach somewhere once said, the best ability is availability.”
Did that coach teach empathy in his spare time? I take the point, and eventually you have a decision to make if somebody can’t stay fit, but I also think we’re far too harsh on injury-prone players – as if they have some kind of moral failing rather than rotten, soul-crushing luck.
(I may be a bit emotional because of Jofra Archer’s latest setback.)
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32 min: Chance for Haaland! This is a cracking game. Foden makes a terrific run down the right and lofts a cross beyond the far post. Haaland meets it on the volley, barely two yards out, but the angle is so tight that he can only shin it into the side netting.
31 min Peter Drury, commentating on Sky, tells us that Thiago is the first 39-year-old goalscorer in the Premier League since Ryan Giggs in February 2013. QPR away, since you asked.
Gallagher curled an outswinging corner to the near post, where Thiago got across Haaland and flicked a superb header into the far corner. That is such a good finish.
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GOAL! Chelsea 1-1 Man City (Thiago Silva 29)
The old man has equalised!
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28 min: Good save by Ederson! James cracks a nice free-kick that is pushed over by Ederson, leaping to his left. It was really well struck but not quite in the corner.
27 min Fernandes is fouled 25 yards from goal by Rodri. It’s slightly to the left of centre, and Reece James fancies it.
25 min I suppose the argument in favour of a City penalty is that, beacuse they were pulling each other, it wasn’t a clear and obvious error by Anthony Taylor. But on balance I don’t think it was a penalty, and Mauricio Pochettino certainly doesn’t – after watching a replay he wagged his finger in disapproval
Cucurella was also booked for the foul, as was Cole Palmer for messing with the penalty spot before Haaland took the kick.
GOAL! Chelsea 0-1 Man City (Haaland 24 pen)
Erling Haaland calmly sends Sanchez the wrong way from the spot. That’s his 12th league goal of the season, already.
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VAR check: penalty given Jame Carragher’s take is that Haaland fouled Cucurella first. “No, this is not right,” he says.
PENALTY TO CITY!
21 min Controversy here. City played on with two Chelsea players down, one of them holding his head, and Cucurella was penalised for pulling back Haaland as they fought to reach Bernardo Silva’s cross from the left.
Both players were pulling each other’s shirt but I don’t think VAR are going to overturn it.
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19 min Fernandes’s pass is cut out by Akanji on the edge of the area. The ball rebounds to Gallagher, who flicks it up and swishes a volley from 25 yards that is comfortably saved by Ederson. Nice effort though.
17 min An interesting corner routine from City. Alvarez curls an outswinger towards the far post, where Gvardiol runs away from goal – and his marker Cucurella – to meet the ball. He heads it towards goal from about 12 yards and Sanchez makes a comfortable save. I’m not sure how you generate enough power to score from there if you’re running away from goal.
16 min Rodri slides a pass into the area for Alvarez, whose shot is well blocked by Cucurella. This has been a fun game to watch so far.
16 min Doku beats James with ease, this time on the outside, and drives a low cross that is kicked away. He’s so exciting to watch – fearless, direct, slightly unorthodox. And bloody quick.
14 min “Sterling is one of those infuriating players who can be an absolute game-changer, or an absolute liability,” says Matt Dony. “I never bore him any illwill after he left Liverpool, but every time Liverpool played City, I worried that he’d have a stormer and score a hat-trick. Fortunately, he never really turned it on in any of those games. I’m hoping today is different, though, and he rips through a former club. I don’t like the sensation of supporting Chelsea, but needs must.”
It’s easy to forget how influential he was in Guardiola’s first great City team. He scored something like 80 goals in three seasons from 2017-20, yet even then it felt like he was winging it to an extent. His movement has always been tremendous though.
12 min Palmer has a slightly selfish shot blocked by Akanji after another good break. Gallagher was unmarked on the edge of the area as Palmer cut infield from the right.
11 min Doku shuffles away from James in the area and slides a low cross towards Foden that is intercepted. That should be a fun contest.
10 min “The ‘wants to be my son-in-law’ is a season ticket holder and, of course, is at the game,” writes Damian Clarke. “A few bitingly sarky quotes about Chelsea’s performance that I can text him as my own work would be gratefully received.”
I’m afraid biting sarcasm isn’t really my forte. I’m just too darn empathic half-witted.
8 min Alvarez’s outswinging corner is cleared and Chelsea break. Jackson tries to run the last man Kyle Walker, and learns very quickly that some things cannot be done.
7 min Chelsea look bright, with Sterling taking up some excellent positions off the left wing. It’s been a really good start to the contest, and as I type Walker wins City’s first corner.
5 min Manuel Akanji is playing alongside Rodri in midfield when City have the ball. He loses it in midfield, and the resulting Chelsea break leads to a corner on the left. Ederson claims it with authority.
Alvarez might have been booked for pulling back a Chelsea player during that break. Anthony Taylor played a good advantage but didn’t go back to show a yellow card when the ball eventually went out of play.
4 min Chelsea have made a high-octane start, with and without the ball. And why not.
1 min After a decent Chelsea move, Reece James pings a shot from 20 yards that is blocked.
Levi Colwill has a shoulder injury by the way, hence the inclusion of Marc Cucurella.
1 min Peep peep! Chelsea kick off from right to left as we watch.
On Remembrance Sunday, the players gather round the centre circle for a rendition of The Last Post. Now it’s time for the most important of the least important things.
More freshly baked match reports
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Here’s Andy Hunter’s match report from Anfield. Liverpool’s next game, a week on Saturday, is a humdinger: Manchester City away, the revival of a classic rivalry.
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“Good morning from Pittsburgh!” says Eric Peterson. “Cole Palmer’s transfer move to Chelsea was discussed in detail earlier today by Robbie Earle and Steven Warnock on the TV over here. Unfortunately, they left out what I think Pep Guardiola made quite clear in his press conference yesterday, even if he skillfully obscured it in mediaspeak.
“Quote: ‘I’m really pleased. He wanted game time, he has it. Congratulations. I wish him the best.’ Translation: ‘He’s where he belongs, which is somewhere else. I don’t need a player to tell me when he’s earned playing time, I’m Pep Freaking Guardiola! If you’re more concerned about getting playing time than competing for it, then I don’t have room for you in my squad. Go to Chelsea. Have an instant impact. Wonderful. It’s easier at Chelsea than at Manchester City, isn’t it?’”
One of the gazillion things to admire about Guardiola is how relaxed he is about selling players to potential or actual rivals. That’s very unusual at the top of the Premier League.
“I know it’s unlikely,” says Joe Pearson, “but I’d love to see Chelsea win this, just so there would be a three-way tie at the top of the table, separated only by goal difference.”
That would be good, even in November. It’s not quite the same, but I’ve always loved this four-way title race in 1971-72.
Premier League full-time scores
Aston Villa 3-1 Fulham
Brighton 1-1 Sheffield United
Liverpool 3-0 Brentford
West Ham 3-2 Nottingham Forest
Pre-match reading
Team news
Mauricio Pochettino makes one change from the team that hammered Spurs on Monday. Marc Cucurella, who City wanted to sign 18 months ago, replaces Levi Colwill at left-back. Colwill isn’t in the squad so you’d assume he’s injured.
City make five changes from their midweek win over Young Boys. Manuel Akanji, Rodri, Jeremy Doku, Julian Alvarez and Bernardo Silva replace John Stones, Rico Lewis, Jack Grealish, Mateo Kovacic and Matheus Nunes. They have only eight players on the bench, two of them goalkeepers.
Chelsea (4-2-3-1) Sanchez; James, Disasi, Thiago Silva, Cucurella; Caicedo, Enzo; Palmer, Gallagher, Sterling; Jackson.
Substitutes: Petrovic, Gusto, Maatsen, Badiashile, Ugochukwu, Madueke, Matos, Mudryk, Broja.
Manchester City (possible 4-1-2-3) Ederson; Walker, Akanji, Dias, Gvardiol; Rodri; Alvarez, Bernardo; Foden, Haaland, Doku.
Substitutes: Ortega Moreno, Carson, Phillips, Kovacic, Grealish, Nunes, Bobb, Lewis.
Referee Anthony Taylor.
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There’s plenty going on in the 2pm games, especially at the London Stadium. Tim de Lisle has all the latest news.
Preamble
Hello and welcome to live coverage of Chelsea v Manchester City at Stamford Bridge. They used to be rivals, these two. It’s only two and a half years since they met in a Champions League final, when Kai Havertz scored the only goal of a hard-fought contest in Porto.
The teams have met six times since then; City have won the lot without conceding a goal. Sometimes revenge is a dish best served in tiny portions.
City went on to win the Champions League last season, the fulfilment of 15 years’ work. It’s ominous for the rest that, despite a slightly hungover start to this season, City are still top of the Premier League. The next month should tell us whether there is going to be a title race or not. City’s three league games after today are all against teams in the top five: Liverpool (H), Tottenham (H) and Aston Villa (A).
On paper this looks like a comfortable win, especially as Chelsea have been wretched at home in the league. But they will effectively, or at least tactically, be the away side today. And, as Monday’s truly bonkers win at Spurs reminded us, football is never played on paper. Thank goodness for that.
Kick off 4.30pm.
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