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“So far so good, -ish, for the Arsenal fan,” shivers Charles Antaki. “After yesterday, when my lucky rabbit’s foot, four leaf clover, horseshoe and combined prayer wheel/dreamcatcher utterly failed to deliver a decent result against Bournemouth – it’s almost as if groundless superstitious practices can’t be relied on – things are taking a turn for the better here. Of course, this might herald an avalanche of goals from Haaland in the second half, so it’s the voodoo doll out again. He’s a lovely boy, and there’s nothing personal of course, but a dismal afternoon from him and his team is what the witch doctor ordered.”
“As the game wore on, my eyes kept being drawn to the Manchester City kit,” writes Kári Tulinius. “Now, I’m not one to hate on all gry football shirts, City have had some nice ones in fact, but something about the combination of light grey and neon green puts me in mind of a cheap 1990s pocket radio. Speaking of that decade, is that the worst Premier League kit since Manchester United’s one-half wonder in 1996?”
At least that kit looked good with jeans.
Half-time reading
Half time: Chelsea 0-0 Man City
Andrey Santos heads a half chance over the bar, the last touch of an interesting if largely uneventful first half at Stamford Bridge. Marc Cucurella had a goal disallowed for offside at one end; Robert Sanchez saved well from Bernardo Silva at the other.
45+1 min Bernardo Silva’s inswinging corner beats everyone and goes out for a goalkick on the far side.
45 min Semenyo bursts into life with a typical run across the face of the penalty area. Eventually he reverses a shot that takes a nick off a defender and goes behind for a corner.
44 min City have had 68 per cent possession, though their performance hasn’t felt that dominant.
43 min Estevao’s first dangerous run is ended by a good tackle from Bernardo Silva. The game needs a goal.
39 min O’Reilly makes good ground on the left and plays a crisp cutback to Cherki. He sweeps a first-time shot from 17 yards that is too close to Sanchez.
38 min Semenyo is booked for a nothing foul on Neto. After a good start, the match has become bitty.
36 min Estevao, who has been booked, is penalised for a clumsy tackle on Doku. Careful now.
34 min Doku finds the underlapping O’Reilly near the byline in the area. His precise cutback is met by Bernardo Silva, whose close-range shot – taken under pressure and therefore not cleanly struck – is well blocked by Sanchez.
33 min Donnarumma runs 20 yards out of his area to stop Joao Pedro running only his own lob forward. Important goalkeeping because Joao Pedro was away.
30 min Neto, apparently boxed in near the corner flag, nutmegs Nunes magnificently. Rodri has to step across to concede a corner.
29 min Gusto’s cross just evades the stretching Joao Pedro, who had made an excellent run to get the wrong side of Guehi.
27 min Doku barrels into a crowded area, but it’s all a bit tight and he eventually overruns the ball.
24 min Now it’s City’s turn to have a dominant spell, and Chelsea’s turn to assume the defensive position.
21 min Nunes sprays a crossfield pass out to Doku. He muscles past Gusto, charges into the area and cracks a shot that is blocked.
19 min Pedro Neto bounces Rodri to the ground – yep – then slithers outside a defender and drives a low shot from the angle that is beaten round the near post by Donnarumma. Chelsea are bossing this, certainly in terms of penetration.
18 min “I don’t like supporting City, but here we are,” hereweares Matt Dony. “Two disappointing Peps. I have a longstanding (and, admittedly, fairly irrational) dislike for Guardiola. And it makes me a little bit sick every time I see Lijnders on that bench. But I need Chelsea to lose. So Blue Moon, Poznan, Oasis and all that. My living room is blue. For a bit, at least.”
16 min: Disallowed goal for Chelsea! Marc Cucurella finishes smartly after a fabulous run from Joao Pedro. The flag goes up for offside, and though it looks very tight to the naked eye, the decision is confirmed by VAR.
13 min Palmer even gets back to make an important tackle on Doku in his own area. It’s been a fun start to the game, with both teams looking bright and breezy in possession.
12 min Chelsea are dominating possession now, with Palmer heavily involved. He is bang up for this.
Estevao is booked for kickinjg the ball away.
11 min “It does look lovely, Stamford Bridge bathing in the sun,” writes Peter Oh. “Enzo Fernandez is even wearing shades in the stands. He’s practically in Madrid!”
10 min Palmer gets the wrong side of Rodri and is cynically pulled back by the shirt. The referee gives a free-kick but surprisingly declines to show a yellow card.
10 min A deflected shot from Palmer, who looks desperate to impress, bounces through to Donnarumma.
8 min Neto pokes a pass through to Joao Pedro, who shoots from a similar position to Palmer a moment ago. This time his shot deflects behind off Khusanov.
5 min Palmer smashes a shot into the side netting after a fine Chelsea break. He started it himself, then got the ball back from Neto and danced past Rodri in the area. By the time he had the shot, the angle was too tight and it rippled the side netting.
5 min It’s been a relaxed, confident start from City, with most of the game taking place in the Chelsea half.
4 min The corner eventually leads to a deep cross from the right and a dangerous header back across goal from Doku. Haaland is sniffing with intent but Fofana gets there first to make a vital clearance.
3 min After a patient City move, Semenyo runs at Cucurella to win the first corner. He has settled so smoothly since joining City in January.
2 min Chelsea’s wingers will probably switch, but for now they’re playing with Neto on thee left and Estevao on the right.
1 min Peep peep! City, in their grey and yellow change strip, kick off from left to right as we watch.
It’s a lovely spring afternoon in west London. Little brisk. But it’s a nice enough day for what is a fascinating contest.
A reminder of today’s teams
Chelsea (4-2-3-1) Sanchez; Gusto, Fofana, Hato, Cucurella; Caicedo, Andrey Santos; Estevao, Palmer, Neto; Joao Pedro.
Subs: Sharman-Lowe, Acheampong, Tosin, Sarr, Essugo, Lavia, Garnacho, Guiu, Delap.
Man City (4-2-3-1) Donnarumma; Nunes, Khusanov, Guehi, O’Reilly; Bernardo, Rodri; Semenyo, Cherki, Doku; Haaland.
Subs: Trafford, Reijnders, Ake, Marmoush, Kovacic, Nico, Ait-Nouri, Savinho, Foden.
Referee Chris Kavanagh.
Match report: Sunderland 1-0 Tottenham Hotspur
Match report: Crystal Palace 2-1 Newcastle
Match report: Nottingham Forest 1-1 Aston Villa
The updated Premier League table
Premier League results
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Crystal Palace 2-1 Newcastle
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Nottm Forest 1-1 Aston Villa
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Sunderland 1-0 Tottenham Hotspur
Enjoy him while you can
Team news
Chelsea make two changes to the side that walloped Port Vale last weekend. Their two MCs, Marc Cucurella and Moises Caicedo, replace Tosin Adarabioyo and Romeo Lavia.
No surprise that Manchester City make only one change from the thumping win over Liverpool – Premier League goalkeeper Gianluigi Donnarumma returns in place of James Trafford.
Chelsea (4-2-3-1) Sanchez; Gusto, Fofana, Hato, Cucurella; Caicedo, Andrey Santos; Estevao, Palmer, Neto; Joao Pedro.
Subs: Sharman-Lowe, Acheampong, Tosin, Sarr, Essugo, Lavia, Garnacho, Guiu, Delap.
Man City (4-2-3-1) Donnarumma; Nunes, Khusanov, Guehi, O’Reilly; Bernardo, Rodri; Semenyo, Cherki, Doku; Haaland.
Subs: Trafford, Reijnders, Ake, Marmoush, Kovacic, Nico, Ait-Nouri, Savinho, Foden.
Referee Chris Kavanagh.
Jonathan Wilson
Enzo Fernández and Rodri would quite like to move to Madrid; many people would. They both said as much in the international break, those special parts of the season when players join up with their national teams and give interviews while apparently unaware that media are global these days: a whisper on Luzo TV can soon become a hurricane in London. But Rodri will line up for Manchester City at Chelsea on Sunday, while Fernández will not, suspended by the club for “crossing a line”.
It’s worth, perhaps, looking at exactly what was said. Fernández expressed disappointment at Enzo Maresca’s departure on New Year’s Day. “It … hurt a lot,” he told Luzo, “because we had a lot of identity, he gave us order, but it’s the way that football is, sometimes it’s good, sometimes it’s bad. But we always had a clear identity when it came to training, playing and obviously his departure hurt us especially in the middle of the season – it cuts everything short.” Sadness that a manager has gone surely isn’t a crime; it could even be supportive of Liam Rosenior and the difficulty of taking over a club mid-season.
Premier League half-time scores
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Crystal Palace 0-1 Newcastle
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Nottm Forest 1-1 Aston Villa
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Sunderland 0-0 Tottenham Hotspur
Preamble
We shouldn’t really start a Chelsea v Manchester City blog by talking about Manchester United, but hear me out. United won the Premier League ahead of Blackburn in 1993-94 because Mark Hughes scored a monstrous volley in an FA Cup semi-final against Oldham. (If you want to know the full story, listen to the outstanding And It’s Live! podcast. The short version is that United’s season was falling apart until Hughes scored a last-minute equaliser against Oldham, after which they rallied to win the Double.)
No football league exists in isolation. Form, morale, rhythm extend across all competitions; this season, the Premier League’s unusual spring break means the cups have been the vehicle for some dramatic moodswings.
Can you even remember City’s last Premier League match? It was a meh 1-1 draw at West Ham a month ago, a result which many of us thought had ended the title race. But then City played admirably with 10 men in defeat to Real Madrid, outplayed Arsenal in the Carabao Cup final and trounced Liverpool in the FA Cup. At the same time, Arsenal’s knees started to jellify. Now, almost unbelievably, the title is effectively back in City’s hands.
They’re still nine points adrift, but they have two games in hands plus a home match against Arsenal this time next week. If City win their last eight games, the best Arsenal can do is finish level on points with them.
City’s run-in starts with a trip to Stamford Bridge, a match that is never easy – not even when Chelsea are in the middle of another drama/crisis. Chelsea, who are in danger of slipping behind in the Champions League race, host both Manchester clubs in the next seven days.
It’s a big game for Chelsea and a huge one in the title race. If City win, all the momentum will be with them ahead of next Sunday’s match against Arsenal. If they don’t, the pressure will be back in their court.
Kick off 4.30pm.
