MAURIZIO MUGS
Guardiola suffers first loss as Kante & Luiz nick the points for Ch
SO it was Pep Guardiola who blinked first.
Manchester City’s first defeat of the season also saw the champions surrender the leadership of the Premier League to Liverpool.
Jurgen Klopp’s men moved one point clear at the top of the table after stretching their own unbeaten start to the campaign to 15 matches at Bournemouth and then seeing Maurizio Sarri’s side deliver them a huge favour at Stamford Bridge.
Guardiola will have travelled back to the north west feeling like the victim of a mugging. Sarri picked his pocket with goals against the run of play in each half from N’golo Kante and David Luiz.
And i n doing so, the Neapolitan proved that the champions can be beaten by the right tactical application.
It was City’s first Premier League defeat on the road since January.
With top-scorer Sergio Aguero once again missing, Guardiola asked Raheem Sterling, Riyhad Mahrez and Leroy Sane to operate as a fluid front three.
Sarri also opted to go without a recognised striker, using Eden Hazard through the middle and attempting to swamp the champions in midfield. It wasn’t pretty, but boy it was effective. Chelsea played like an away team, sitting in and challenging the visitors to break them down.
When Kante gave them the lead a minute before half-time it was the Londoners’ first effort on goal. City, despite never being allowed to hit top form, still created chances.
Sterling, celebrating his 24th birthday, had been involved in 43 goals i n 45 Premier league games over the course of the last two seasons.
It really should have been 44 in 46 in only the eighth minute. David Silva worked some space down the right to sweep over a cross that was deflected into Sterling’s path six yards out. But the City winger didn’t look comfortable as he took a swing with his unfavoured left foot and sent his shot straight at Kepa Arrizabalaga.
With both David Silva and Bernardo Silva struggling to find space in the middle, City’s best work continued to come down the f l anks. Chelsea impressed with their defensive discipline, but Hazard was starved of any quality service.
Sane was denied by Kepa after Mahrez had left Antonio Rudiger floundering with an outrageous bodyswerve to send the German free.
And when Sane teed up David Silva with the loose ball, the Spaniard’s shot was blocked by Rudiger.
Chelsea survived again when Sterling crossed from the right and Sane arrived from the opposite flank to unleash a shot that was deflected over by Cesar Azpilicueta’s flying challenge.
Luiz injured himself trying to leave one on Sterling with a cheap touchline challenge.
But then the Brazilian illustrated why Sarri has put so much trust in him by starting a move which brought Chelsea the