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Even in his worst nightmares, Frank Lampard could not have imagined this. A showdown that was heralded as an opportunity for Chelsea to reassert their title credentials ended in an ignominious defeat after first-half goals from Ilkay Gündogan, Phil Foden and Kevin De Bruyne as Manchester City noted their own aspirations to move. at an attack distance of the first two.
To say that Chelsea was outclassed here is an understatement. If it weren’t for some crucial second-half interventions from their goalkeeper, Édouard Mendy, the final score could have been much more embarrassing for Lampard, who has now seen his team win just four points in their last six games while falling to a fifth league loss of the season.
However, while he must find a solution quickly as pressure mounts after having spent over £ 200 million on new players in the summer, Pep Guardiola’s team is building impressive momentum which means they cannot be ruled out after a third consecutive victory that was achieved despite missing a number of players due to Covid-19.
The inclusion of 35-year-old goalkeeping coach Scott Carson on the bench was an example of the difficulties City faced before kick-off.
Benjamin Mendy was also named as one of eight substitutes despite the club vowing to open an internal investigation into his breach of coronavirus regulations on New Year’s Eve, while Sergio Agüero was again deemed not fit enough to start. . Oleksandr Zinchenko and Foden were withdrawn and US goalkeeper Zack Steffen received his first Premier League start after it was confirmed that Ederson, Ferran Torres and Eric García also tested positive for Covid-19.
By contrast, Lampard had no such issues and made five team changes that drew disappointingly against Aston Villa, with Hakim Ziyech returning from injury to start for the first time since winning over Leeds here last month alongside Timo Werner. and Christian Pulisic in a rebooted attack. The return of Thiago Silva and Kurt Zouma to the heart of the Chelsea defense would generally have been a welcome sight for their coach, as their team returned to bad habits in recent weeks, but were torn apart in a brilliant performance in the first half. of the team. visitors.
Guardiola, who turns 50 in a fortnight, said this week that he has been reconsidering whether he will remain in management longer than he originally planned as he pledged to extend his stay at City.
They have now only conceded three times in their last 11 matches in all competitions since losing to Tottenham in November and they seemed to have come prepared to fight back against opponents who have become used to not taking down teams in big games.
Chelsea certainly started with intention, although it was short-lived. Having weathered the early storm with ease, City should have been ahead in the 15th minute when Foden’s precise pass was played at De Bruyne, but he unusually dragged his shot wide. Nonetheless, it seemed to galvanize the visitors and, after Raheem Sterling also tested Chelsea’s defense, Gündogan scored the opening goal without pressure after Foden mounted it.
The England midfielder was back in the thick of the action as City doubled their lead two minutes and 37 seconds later, with De Bruyne, used as a false nine by his coach, providing the pass to pass Mendy at his first post. On the touchline, Guardiola could barely contain himself. His plan was reaping dividends.
Chelsea desperately tried to strike back but, failing to land a single shot on goal in the first half hour, they were forced to pay again when De Bruyne conceded after Sterling’s breakaway effort returned from the post. It was the first time they had conceded three goals in the first half at Stamford Bridge since against Burnley in August 2017 and Lampard left the court at halftime with the appearance of having seen a ghost. Surprisingly, he sent the same team for the second half as Chelsea looked to at least salvage some pride. Once again, however, it was City who took over. Zinchenko’s shot was well saved by Mendy and the keeper had to be in his prime to deny Rodri’s header on a De Bruyne free kick.
Lampard finally brought Callum Hudson-Odoi and Billy Gilmour into the fray after 20 minutes into the second half, with the oddly off-beat N’Golo Kanté one of those leading the way. But even with Werner again working on offense, there was mysteriously no sign of top scorer Olivier Giroud, as Steffen remained largely a spectator throughout the match until Hudson-Odoi’s final consolation goal. The goalkeeper could hardly have wished for an easier introduction to the Premier League.
