MAN CITY 1 CHELSEA 3 PLOT TOO
to life after the officials had turned a blind eye to Luiz’s check on Aguero just as the striker was set to race clear following Cesar Azpilicueta’s mistake.
Aguero fired against the legs of Azpilicueta when Leroy Sane had laid the ball into his path from six yards out. And after Cahill had spectacularly volleyed Jesus Navas’s cross past Thibaut Courtois a minute before the break, City cranked up the tempo.
Kevin De Bruyne wasted their best chance when he somehow lifted his shot against the bar from point-blank range following a Navas cross.
When Chelsea attacked next, on the hour, they were level.
Costa pulled off the shoulder of Nicolas Otamendi to kill Fabregas’s raking ball on his chest and he shrugged off the Argentina defender with ease before sending a low shot screaming past keeper Claudio Bravo.
Costa made a fool of Otamendi again when the Londoners went ahead 10 minutes later.
The Chelsea striker lured his marker into an ill-judged halfwayline challenge before setting substitute Willian clear to lash a drive past the static Bravo.
Lesson
Costa has now scored 11 times in the Premier League and set up another five goals. His effort and efficiency was a lesson to the misfiring Aguero.
Hazard sealed the league leaders’ eighth successive victory in the last minute.
He left Aleksandar Kolarov floundering with a turn of pace and gave Bravo the eyes before guiding home a clinical finish.nish. Then it all kicked off. Conte te (left) decided to hop on the e team bus for Manchester Airport rather than wait for Guardiola (right) to finish hiss post-mortem.
Instead he replied questions emailed to him.
Italian Conte said: “This s was a good experience. It wass my first game against Pep and I am pleased to win.
“I also think we were a bit lucky, but City are a really good team with great players and a good idea of football.
“This was a really importantnt performance because whenn you have this type of game e against a really good team it’s ’s important to show the right ht attitude and the will to win and fight.” to