City’s pressing claim to keep their crown
MANCHESTER CITY tested positive in their bid to retain the Premier League title.
Kevin De Bruyne’s brilliant second-half strike put Pep Guardiola’s men into even deeper isolation at the top of the table, 13 points clear of the vanquished European champions.
And while the scoreline suggests victory came by only the narrowest of margins, the reality was that Thomas Tuchel’s men left
The Etihad well beaten.
Apart from an effort by Romelu Lukaku at the start of the second half – Chelsea’s only shot on target – the visitors offered nothing more offensive than a clutch of blow-up European Cups waved by their fans to remind the Mancunians who beat them in Porto last May.
City passed and probed with patience and kept the Londoners on a leash from which they never threatened to break free.
When Chelsea weren’t launching long balls in the hopeful direction of Lukaku, they played in reverse, almost paralysed by a fear of attacking the home side in case they ran into a more substantial beating.
This was City’s 12th victory on the bounce and a delighted Guardiola said: “Chelsea are European champions – and they deserve that – so I know how well we have played.
“They are masters of defending but this is an important victory because they are a big contender.
“In 180 minutes against Chelsea this season we have conceded only one shot on target. That is so good.
“When you win 12 games in a row then sometimes you have to be lucky, like we were at Arsenal.
“I only wanted to win this game if we deserved to –and we did deserve it.”
City’s press made life hell for Tuchel’s men. Chelsea didn’t have the skill or the inclination to pass through it, yet Tuchel would have been tempted to think his game plan was working at the break.
For all City’s dominance, their only clear chance in the first half came courtesy of Mateo Kovacic’s mistake.
Then De Bruyne (below) ambushed the Croatian on the edge of the Chelsea box and the bounce of the ball put Jack Grealish clear.
The £100millon midfielder conjured up a two-bob finish, however, and Kepa saved his shot.
Lukaku only cost slightly less and telegraphed his attempt to beat Ederson to
the keeper’s right and his intention was read perfectly by the Brazilian.
Tuchel said: “I thought we deserved a draw. We did not deserve to lose because we restricted City to a minimum of big chances but the individual quality of De Bruyne made the difference.
“We didn’t have the quality you need to hurt them. There were big counter-attack chances we wasted.”