Chelsea vs Man City LIVE: Premier League result and final score as Jack Grealish sets up Riyad Mahrez winner
Chelsea 0-1 Man City: Pep Guardiola’s side reduced the gap to leaders Arsenal to just five points as the champions returned to winning ways
Manchester City cut the gap to Premier League leaders Arsenal to five points as substitutes Riyad Mahrez and Jack Grealish combined to sink Chelsea.
City were struggling to break though Chelsea in the first half at Stamford Bridge and Pep Guardiola had to make a slew of changes to add spark to his team.
That included Grealish and Mahrez, with the England international producing a perfect cross to the back post for the winner on 63 minutes.
Chelsea lost Raheem Sterling and Christian Pulisic to injury in the first half, adding to a mounting list of absentees, to leave the Blues with just four points from their last five Premier League matches under Graham Potter.
Follow all the reaction below
Chelsea 0-0 Man City
12 mins: Joao Cancelo is playing high in midfield on the right side of the pitch for Man City. He receives the ball and cuts inside as the space opens up.
Cancelo has the knock the ball forward before chasing it down but Kalidou Koulibaly beats him to the loose ball and works it clear for Chelsea.
Chelsea 0-0 Man City
9 mins: A floated ball comes up the pitch towards Ilkay Gundogan but he doesn’t win the aerial ball and Chelsea break up the pitch.
A threaded pass comes through to Denis Zakaria on the inside left and he slides it wide to Marc Cucurella who makes an overlapping run.
Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang makes a run into the centre of the box but Cucurella’s cross lands in the near side netting.
Chelsea 0-0 Man City
6 mins: Sterling is taken off and replaced with Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang. That’s another massive blow for Graham Potter who is also missing Mason Mount, Reece James and Ben Chilwell for tonight’s game.
Chelsea 0-0 Man City
4 mins: Raheem Sterling has shuffled off the pitch early on and chats with the physios about a niggle in his leg. He tries a couple of sprints down the line but shakes his head in disappointment.
He’s not going to be able to continue.
Kick off: Chelsea 0-0 Man City
Kai Havertz gets the match underway at Stamford Bridge. Chelsea work the ball over to the right side of the where Cesar Azpilicueta knocks it back to Thiago Silva.
The home side keep the ball well before winning a throw in over on the right wing.
Chelsea vs Man City
Here come the teams.
Manchester City are backed to get the job done tonight but Chelsea have a good home record and will keep things tight tonight. The difference could come down to City’s superstar Erling Haaland. Can he get on the scoresheet once again?
Pre-match thoughts from Pep Guardiola
Pep Guardiola stopped by the Sky Sports pundits to chat before kick about all things Manchester City. Here’s what he said:
“Everyone wanted this line-up - I follow our fans. We are not going to discover what it means. Kyle [Walker] and Joao [Cancelo] came back from the World Cup with niggles and weren’t settled. Rico [Lewis] and the other guys have been fantastic.
“We would prefer to be eight points infront, that is the reality. But, I have the feeling, when you’ve won four Premier Leagues in the last five years, that it is not normal to be eight points clear with this competition and all the top teams that we have.
“We try to be there close, and there is a lot of games still to play. We’ll try to maintain our playing level and get a good run of victories.
“Erling Haaland and the process has been quick. In many times in previous seasons we’ve played with a false nine to have an extra man in the middle, but now the extra man is in the box.
“We’ve had to adjust something, but we are delighted, not just with his efficiency in front of goal, but everything.”
Can Chelsea stop Haaland?
Premier League top scorer Erling Haaland has seven goals in his six Premier League away appearances. He’s already netted 21 this season with more than half the season still to go.
Will Sterling score?
Raheem Sterling could become the third player to score a Premier League goal in this fixture for both Chelsea and Manchester City, emulating Nicolas Anelka and Frank Lampard.
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