MANCHESTER CITY 3-1 CHELSEA: Goals from Josko Gvardiol, Erling Haaland and Phil Foden earned Pep Guardiola’s side a huge win as they bounced back from a disappoining midweek defeat to PSG in Europe
Manchester City have moved back into the top four after Pep Guardiola’s side came from behind to beat Chelsea 3-1 at the Etihad.
The visitors took an early lead after capitalising on a horrific mistake from debutant Abdukodir Khusanov, whose weak attempt at a headed pass to Ederson ended up in the path of Nicolas Jackson. Jackson promptly set up Noni Madueke, who slotted the ball into the back of the net to put Chelsea ahead.
However, City equalised through Josko Gvardiol, with the left-back scoring on the rebound after Robert Sanchez saved Matheus Nunes’ effort. Erling Haaland then put City in front as he chipped Sanchez, who had inexplicably come off his line, before Phil Foden sealed the win with a clinical counter-attacking goal.
Here are five talking points from a dramatic clash in Manchester…
Khusanov’s nightmare
Abdukodir Khusanov was one of two players handed their debut by Pep Guardiola following a big money January move to City, with the former Lens defender becoming the first footballer from Uzbekistan to play in the Premier League.
However, Khusanov had a nightmare start as the 20-year-old made a woeful error that led to Chelsea’s early opener as he attempted to head the ball back to his goalkeeper. However, Khusanov’s effort was a weak one and allowed Nicolas Jackson to assist Noni Madueke.
Khusanov also picked up an early yellow card for bringing down Cole Palmer, with Jamie Redknapp telling Sky Sports: “When you get yourself into that position, it’s like your head is in a tumble dryer. You make one mistake, then you compound it. He’s not had a lot of help from the other defenders around him. You’ve just got to hang in there. Since then, he has done OK. I felt for the kid.”
Marmoush impresses
Omar Marmoush was also given his City debut after joining the club from Frankfurt this month and the Egyptian showed glimpses of his quality during the game with some quick and direct runs in behind Chelsea’s defence.
The 25-year-old did not get on the scoresheet despite putting the ball in the back of the net after an error from Robert Sanchez. The Chelsea goalkeeper spilled a long-range strike from Ilkay Gundogan and Marmoush was there to fire home the rebound, but the goal was ruled out for offside.
However, Gary Neville was complimentary of Marmoush on commentary for Sky Sports, saying: “Marmoush is impressing me – but he is offside. You can see he’s going to be a real threat. Sanchez still makes a real mess of it. He has to do better.”
Gvardiol’s threat
Josko Gvardiol is the Premier League’s highest-scoring defender so far this season and he celebrated his 50th appearance in the competition by netting City’s equaliser.
Gvardiol had several chances to score before he eventually did, with the left-back poking home a rebound after Sanchez saved Matheus Nunes’ effort. The 23-year-old has now notched five league goals this campaign, which also makes him City’s third top scorer behind Erling Haaland and Phil Foden.
“The two full-backs have been a threat when they go forward,” Neville said after the goal. “Gvardiol deserves it.”
Sanchez struggles
Sanchez’s position as Chelsea’s first-choice goalkeeper has long been questioned and Maresca admitted ahead of the game that the Spaniard was “far, far from where I want him to be”.
Sanchez made an error in Chelsea’s 3-1 win over Wolves on Monday, spilling a catch that led to Matt Doherty’s goal, and he was at fault once again against City. The ex-Brighton goalkeeper was caught off his line and chipped by Haaland as City went 2-1 up and no player has made more errors leading to goals this season than Sanchez’s five.
“It’s old school, classic Haaland,” Neville said. “You just can’t handle him. I don’t know what the goalkeeper is doing. He’s not good enough. Brilliant from Haaland. In the last few minutes, those direct passes have hurt Chelsea. Chelsea deserve this.”
City bounce back
City had regained a semblance of form in the league ahead of this game, going unbeaten in their last five matches, but they did suffer a 4-2 defeat to Paris Saint-Germain on Wednesday.
The result left City’s Champions League hopes hanging by a thread and Guardiola would have been hoping to see his side bounce back from that disappointing result with a win over the Blues. And they did just that, coming from behind to beat Chelsea 3-1.
The win comes as a huge confidence booster for City ahead of a crunch tie with Club Brugge in Europe next week and sees them move back into the top four for the first time in a month. With more big clashes on the horizon next month against the likes of Arsenal and Liverpool, Guardiola will be delighted with the way his team responded after a poor start.
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