Still a Pep in the step after City’s first loss

MANCHESTER City manager Pep Guardiola said yesterday he was “delighted” with his side’s performance — despite a first Premier League defeat of the season in a 2-0 loss at Chelsea.

City dominated possession early on at Stamford Bridge but could not find a way through the well-organised Blues defence and was hit on the break just before halftime as N’Golo Kante netted Chelsea’s first shot at goal.

David Luiz’s header in the second half sealed City’s first Premier League defeat since April as it was knocked off the summit by unbeaten Liverpool. Guardiola, however, still liked what he saw, believing Chelsea simply took its chances at key moments.

“The way we played in the first half was incredible,” he said. “If they have one chance, they will score one goal because the opponents are so good and determined.

“That’s what’s going to happen in the future on the biggest stages, but the way we played today was incredible. I’m delighted. We were outstanding except for five to eight minutes. We try to be champion. Everyone wants to beat us.”

Chelsea, second only to City in terms of average possession per match in the Premier League this season, was happy to absorb the visitors’ pressure in the first half.

Despite having 62 per cent possession, City mustered just one shot on target before the interval, and was forced to chase the game in the second half. It looked unusually ineffective though and never really looked likely to salvage anything after Luiz’s late header.