Manchester City shrugged off the loss of six players to Covid-19 to beat Chelsea 3-1 on Sunday to reignite its English Premier League title challenge.
Pep Guardiola’s team has made, by its own high standards, a faltering start to the campaign, not helped by the disruption of recent positive coronavirus tests among squad members, with injured defender Eric Garcia the latest to succumb.
But all that was put behind them by playing in the first leg at Stamford Bridge left Frank Lampard led Chelsea down to ashes.
Goal Scorers
Goals from Ilkay Gundogan, Phil Foden and Kevin De Bruyne gave City the winning streak, the home side could do something until Callum Hudson-Odoi found comfort too late.
City are fifth in the standings, four points behind leaders Liverpool and city rivals Manchester United, with a game in hand, while Chelsea remain eighth.
De Bruyne has played a central role for the attack thanks to City’s finished squad, with Gabriel Jesus one of the sidelines after a good test.
He said it was a crucial win against one of the top six most respected teams.
“I think it’s important that we win these big games and today we showed that we can win these big games,” said the Belgian star.
Man City’s Performance
Guardiola was pleased with his team’s performance as they approached the title race.
“The way we won titles before was the way we played today,” he told Sky Sports, pointing to Foden’s performance.
“He can play in all four positions; our confidence in him is amazing,” Guardiola said.
Chelsea’s Defeat
In contrast, Chelsea have won one of six games, and their fifth league defeat raises questions for head coach Frank Lampard, who took over at Stamford Bridge in the summer of 2019.
The signing of his big money during his closing season has failed to spread, with Timo Werner cutting a frustrated figure ahead as his goal drought continues.
“There are periods of pain we are going to go through. That was painful in the first half for the players,” Lampard told Sky Sports.
Chelsea started well, but good work was done by two goals in quick succession from the visitors.
The excellent Gundogan struck first in the 18th minute, turned around and shot home from the edge of the area after clever help from Foden.
It was Foden in the next goal, three minutes later, when he swept De Bruyne’s low cross for Chelsea’s defense.
Just before halftime, Raheem Sterling was sent clear after a Chelsea attack broke down.
His shot pulled the logs, and De Bruyne was there to behave himself and score points with a low shot.
Lampard made changes in the second half to little impression on the game, but two of the substitutes combined for an injury time goal as Kai Havertz charged forward to release Hudson-Odoi, who finished neatly.
Leicester’s Rampage Over Newcastle
Earlier, Leicester City were close to third in the standings with a 2-1 win over Newcastle, leaving the Foxes one point ahead as they play an extra game.
James Maddison broke a solid boundary in the 55th minute after a fine performance by Harvey Barnes and Jamie Vardy, who put the ball in his way to blow it home.
Youri Tielemans exploded for a beautiful moment, but Andy Carroll’s first goal, which put on a Newcastle shirt for ten years, set the tone for Brendan Rodgers ‘team at St James’ Park.
“In the second half we were always strong in defense. We said when we got the first goal it opened us up a bit. It was a fight ten minutes ago,” he told Sky Sports.
“The team has been great in the way they have dealt with Europe and our league efforts. There is still a long way to go but it is a good start for us.”
