Mahrez magic leaves Potter feeling the heat
AGOOD night for Manchester City and indeed for England manager Gareth Southgate. This was one of Jack Grealish’s livelier performances of the season and Kalvin Phillips returned from injury as a substitute to play his first minutes since September. Both can expect to be on the plane to Qatar next week.
As for Chelsea and their manager Graham Potter, this was another 90 minutes that prompted more questions than answers. Potter’s side have not won a domestic game since the middle of October and they travel to Newcastle on Saturday. That is a much sterner proposition than it used to be.
Both teams were understrength here. Potter threw on the cavalry midway through the second half but the game was pretty much done by then. Former City forward Raheem Sterling got a muchdeserved ovation from the home fans when he came on but that was as good as it got for him.
Chelsea created three good chances and couldn’t take them. They will rue that. Indeed the stadium announcer awarded the man of the match award to City goalkeeper Stefan Ortega.
City were the better side, though. Much of their football was great to watch, showing the trademarks of speed, cleverness and instinct that have been passed down through the ranks at the Etihad.
On his chances of making the World Cup, midfielder Phillips said: ‘I’m back fit now so hopefully I have a chance. Anything can happen. I’m optimistic but I know with the amount of game time I’ve had there’s always a doubt. I’ll be nervous but if it’s a positive call I will be very happy.’
Pep Guardiola added: ‘ Gareth Southgate knows him and that is important. He (Phillips) is ready.’
Guardiola’s team should have scored in the first half but did not. However, a free-kick by Riyad Mahrez and a goal from Julian Alvarez arrived early in the second period and Chelsea, for all they tried, could not come back.
Potter does not need to be particularly concerned just yet. This was not his strongest team. Nevertheless, he will not wish to head for the World Cup hiatus having not won for so long. Saturday’s game feels very big.
City have no such worries. Guardiola is an expert at guiding his teams through a domestic season and it is no coincidence they have won this competition four times during his years at the club. Here, they were dominant early and Grealish was particularly prominent. As the first half wore on, Ilkay Gundogan also came to the fore.
Peculiarly, City did not work Edouard Mendy particularly hard during this period. Indeed it was Ortega who made the best two saves of the half as two Chelsea forays presented Christian Pulisic and 18-year- old left wing back Lewis Hall with chances.
Both should have been taken but neither were and Chelsea were to regret that. Mahrez struck first for
City with a free-kick in the 53rd minute. having been hacked down by trevoh Chalobah, he curled the set piece towards the top of the wall and, as Kalidou Koulibaly and Armando Broja turned their backs, the ball passed between them and into the goal.
After almost an hour of sound defensive work, it was a wretched goal to succeed and things soon got worse for Chelsea. Alvarez drove a superb ball left to right to Mahrez five minutes later and when Mendy parried his low shot, Alvarez drove in the rebound.
Much of City’s football was attractive and they deserved their lead. Chelsea were not helping themselves, though. When hakim Ziyech set up hall, his shot was too close to Ortega. Potter eased on to his haunches.
‘I’m always concerned when we don’t get results,’ said the Chelsea boss. ‘Our performances haven’t been what we wanted in the last couple of games. But tonight is what we wanted the team to look like. It was a pleasing performance, a step forward.’
Chelsea pressed but the closest they came was when Pulisic’s strike was disallowed for offside. there were almost 90 minutes on the clock by then. It would have been a consolation at best.
MANCHESTER CITY (4-3-3): Ortega 7.5; Lewis 7, Dias 7, Laporte 6 (Ake 81min), Gomez 6; Palmer 7, Rodri 6.5 (Phillips 50, 6), Gundogan 8 (Silva 50, 6); Mahrez 7, Alvarez 7, GREALISH 8.5. Scorers: Mahrez 53, Alvarez 58. Booked: Grealish. Manager: Pep Guardiola 7. CHELSEA (3-4-3): Mendy 8; Chalobah 6 (Azpiliuceta 69, 6), Koulibaly 6, Cucurella 6; Loftus-Cheek 5.5, Kovacic 6, Zakaria 5.5 (Gallagher 68, 6), Hall 7 (Havertz 75); Ziyech 6 (Sterling 68, 6), Broja 5.5 (Mount 68, 6), Pulisic 6. Booked: Koulibaly, Chalobah, Azpilicueta. Manager: Graham Potter 5.5. Referee: Simon Hooper 6. Attendance: Not provided.