Fernandinho out to ruin Chelsea title charge
Manchester City midfielder Fernandinho believes his side can reignite their Premier League title ambitions on Wednesday against a Chelsea team rocked by a shock 2-1 defeat against Crystal Palace.
Ten points clear following the international break, Chelsea’s lead was trimmed to seven after they had crashed at home to Palace on Saturday and secondplace Tottenham Hotspur had won 2-0 at Burnley.
City could not follow Spurs’ lead, drawing 2-2 to Arsenal on Sunday, but victory at Stamford Bridge will leave them eight points below Chelsea with eight games of the season remaining.
“The Premier League is still open,” Fernandinho told the City website. “We have a tough game against Chelsea away.
“To be close to them, we have to win that game.”
Chelsea came from behind to record a clinical 3-1 victory when the teams last met at the Etihad Stadium in December.
But while Antonio Conte’s side remain overwhelming title favourites, failure to beat City would give hope to the chasing teams, who have spent much of the season in their wake.
Chelsea failed to avoid defeat against Palace despite boasting a close to full-strength team and having almost 80 minutes in which to turn the game around.
Although neutrals will be crossing their fingers for another slip-up against Pep Guardiola’s City, Conte has urged his players to think of the pressure in positive terms.
“There is big pressure, but it is normal when you are in a great club and you are very good,” the Chelsea manager said on the club website.
“When you are lucky enough to fight for the title there is the pressure, but not only for us, for a lot of teams. Don’t forget, the other teams were candidates to win the title, but instead we stay top of the table and we try to keep this position.”
City were one of the teams expected to challenge for the title, particularly after Guardiola’s much-trumpeted appointment, but as the draw at Arsenal highlighted, they remain vulnerable in defence.
The result extended their unbeaten run to eight league games — the longest such sequence of Guardiola’s tenure — but the last three of those matches have been drawn.
City twice took the lead at Arsenal, only to be pegged back on both occasions, and Guardiola believes his team struggle psychologically when they have a lead to defend.
“When the team is down, we react because everything is lost and we react in a good, good way,” he told reporters after the stalemate against Arsenal.
“To handle a situation at 1-0 [up], we are not comfortable, not yet. But we will be better. We will improve in the future.”
City won 3-0 on their last visit to the Bridge a year ago, with Sergio Aguero plundering a hat-trick in a game in which Chelsea goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois was sent off for upending Fernandinho.
Neither side came close to challenging champions Leicester City last season, but a similar outcome on Wednesday could have major repercussions for this season’s title race.
Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger said on Tuesday that his side remained in the race for a top-four finish despite the recent slump in form. The North London side, who are sixth in the league and trail fourth-placed Manchester City by seven points, will seek their first victory in four games when they host 14th-placed West Ham United on Wednesday.
Arsenal have never finished outside the top four under Wenger, who sees increased importance in finishing with one of the four Champions League qualification spots this season.
“I think it’s certainly possible,” Wenger said. “For 20 years I have done it and it looked nothing. Suddenly now it’s important and people realise it is not as easy as it looked.”