Frantic, open and featuring an 83rd-minute Rodri rocket of a Manchester City equaliser that pinballed off Trevoh Chalobah’s knee to send the home faithful ballistic: a scintillating contest ended with Chelsea earning a point and the champions dropping two in their bid to defend the title again.
After 11 successive victories the expected narrative was a 12th for City that would match Liverpool and Arsenal, who had both won earlier in the day. By half-time the script had been ripped up, because Chelsea led via a classic counterattacking Raheem Sterling goal and Pep Guardiola’s players were dazed, unable to bully their guests. Yet City’s iron will grabbed a draw that could prove priceless when May arrives and the championship is decided.
Guardiola said: “We played incredibly in the second half. The first half was not our [normal] levels but to compete against these [level of] teams you have to play 90 minutes, not just one half.”
Under the lights and on a rain-slickened surface, the entertainment started with a wake-up call for Sterling, who slept as Kyle Walker mugged him and initiated a purring move that ended in Julián Álvarez’s shot rolling wide.
It was smooth. So, too, was the opening engineered for Conor Gallagher. Cole Palmer jinked infield and thudded the ball to Enzo Fernández, whose instant layoff played Gallagher in, but he crossed instead of shooting.
Toe-to-toe thus far, as throughout. . A powder-puff clearance from the latter precipitated a Chelsea foray that had Nathan Aké sliding to thwart Palmer having a free hit.
Now, a gilt-edged chance. Palmer fashioned a rearguard-splitter that took Malo Gusto skating down the right. He rolled the ball over the turf to where Nicolas Jackson would ask but he dawdled, allowing Ederson a crucial fraction to smother the effort.
Chelsea’s gameplan included a harrying of those in the lighter blue shirts. An example was Moisés Caicedo upending Jérémy Doku and moments later repeating the act on the Belgian. This was about disrupting City’s rhythm and it meant the champions grasped for moments rather than enjoying their normal dominance.
Chelsea were heartened. Theirs was a statement of defiance and unwillingness to fall over easily as many visitors do here. The question, though, was the old one: how long could they hold out against the craft and power of the hosts? Palmer offered the best answer by creating the opener.
First, he bundled over Aké. Moments later, he sliced the ball along the right to Jackson. His delivery teed up Sterling, who twisted to leave Walker sprawling on the turf before firing the ball in. Cut to the benches where Mauricio Pochettino jigged in sheer delight and Guardiola was a man enraged as this was the textbook manner to breach his side.
The Catalan usually has a riposte to the insult of falling behind, often featuring Kevin De Bruyne. Early in the second half Caicedo, already booked for a further foul on Doku, scythed down Rodri and up stepped the Belgian to ripple the free-kick along the roof of the net.
De Bruyne starred again – playing in Walker, who tangled with Sterling in the area. The captain yelled for a penalty – as did teammates plus Guardiola – but VAR, correctly, said no, Walker shown to have kicked Sterling’s foot first.
One-nil it remained in a spectacle close to a repeat of the 4-4 thriller in November’s reverse fixture as, twice, Chelsea could have doubled their lead. Gallagher lost his cool close in, before Sterling, at similar range, saw Ederson beat his attempt away, Ben Chilwell unable to profit seconds after.
City took their turn to bombard the goal. Axel Disasi blocked Phil Foden’s volley, Haaland’s follow-up was repelled, as was a hit-on-the-angle by the Norwegian, Gusto and his goalkeeper, Djordje Petrovic, saving Chelsea.
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They had City at arm’s length but could not hold them. Now came Rodri’s intervention – his screams of vamos in his native Spanish a rallying cry, not just for City’s breathless finish but the remainder of the season.
In the last seconds Levi Colwill escaped a VAR penalty award when challenging Rúben Dias: it was for the type of handball – arm moving to it – that can be given. But, though Rodri later complained about the “VAR decisions” of the referee, Andrew Madley, it was not tonight.
