Chelsea 2 – 1 MAN CITY – MY THOUGHTS
13 Dec
And so, after a pulsating affair at Stamford Bridge, our unbeaten run is over. Not that we should be too down-heartened, of course; we’re still top of the Premier League table by two points with nearly half the season gone. Yes, it’s a setback but we’ve got the resilience and winning mentality to respond.
For the opening half an hour, we were simply outstanding. Mario Balotelli scored within two minutes and that gave us the confidence to play some exquisite passing football. We ought to have had a penalty for a foul on David Silva, a decision that would have almost certainly resulted in a different outcome, but we failed to take full advantage whilst dominating. Chelsea replied with a goal from nowhere and then proceeded to control the game and were deserving of their late winner.
It’s obviously a blow to return to Manchester with no points, but there were more than enough signs that we have the potential to end the season as champions. Reduced to ten men after Gael Clichy’s second half sending off, we battled and managed to limit Chelsea’s efforts on goal. It took a slightly harsh penalty decision against Joleon Lescott for the home side to grab the lead, so despite the gap at the top narrowing to two points, we can take heart and belief from this game.
Focusing on individual performances, and the main positive for me was the all-round superb showing from Gareth Barry. At the start of the season, many (myself included) felt the England man would be the one to miss out if we were to adopt a more attacking approach. However, his form throughout the campaign has been excellent and he’s keeping the likes of Nigel De Jong out of the side. Barry offers us that balance that’s so crucial as we attack with freedom, and it is thanks to his positional awareness that our fullbacks can bomb on.
He is a physical presence in midfield, winning his tackles and his passing has been far crisper this year than last. Although he naturally doesn’t have the range or vision of a Silva or Nasri, he is incisive and able to keep it simple when needed. On current form, he is undroppable and is a contender for player of the season so far.
On the flip, Gael Clichy suffered a tough time. Daniel Sturridge’s pace and trickery down Chelsea’s right flank caused our left-back plenty of problems and in the end, Clichy resorted to illegal means in an attempt to halt the former City man. A second booking for a rash challenge on Ramires earned him a red card and meant that we were forced to play the last 30 minutes with ten men. The Frenchman will miss Sunday’s fixture against Arsenal and with Aleks Kolarov sidelined through injury, it means that Pablo Zabaleta will likely operate from the left of defence with a hopefully fully-fit Micah Richards returning on the right.
Opposition View: After being completely overran in the opening half hour or so, Chelsea gained control of the midfield and thus were able to dictate the pace of the game. Their trio of Romeu, Ramires and Meireles outnumbered City and with Sturridge in scintillating form, combined with the strength of Drogba and creativity of Mata, they looked a dangerous proposition. They were just about deserving of their win, although they weren’t able to force Joe Hart into any meaningful saves. Their defence, however, looked woefully suspect early on as we exploited the lack of pace in the centre. Should they shore up matters at the back, they could be a contender for the Premier League title.
As for City, we now have to bounce back against Arsenal on Sunday at the Etihad Stadium. They were plenty of plus points to take from this fixture and as long as we learn from our mistakes, we should remain confident in our ability.
If you feel like one of your strengths is making strategic team decisions, look into sports management classes from online colleges.
I think we’re all a bit deflated at the manner in which City were defeated because with a full complement on the field City would not have lost. But we played fantastically early on as we have done all season so I’m not expecting us to do a Newcastle!
From the tone of this you would think we had escaped with a draw, there were dissapointing elements to this performance, Vincent Kompany for one is losing the plot, i don’t know what is going on with him this season but he keeps getting involved in all advised strops in nearly every match. As for Lescott, he needs to be dropped due to his lack of ability whist he is in possesion of the ball. If we had stead in Europe with these at the back we would have been slaughtered.
Chelsea did not deserve to win. They won due to a few wrong decision that went against us. Otherwise; it might have been a different outcome.
Merilies should have gotten a red card for his high flying tackle. The Challenge on Silva was a clear penalty and on top of that the Clichy’s red card (which was the right decision) gave Chelsea the edge to win.
This barely counts as a deserved win,What else a team needs more to win?
With all said, a win is a win and credit to them for that.
The neutrals view:
As an Arsenal supporter I didn’t care how the result went.For the first part of the game I thought City were going to give Chelsea a right spanking. Great football!
You missed out on a definate penalty (foul on Silva).
If that’d put you 2 up I think it would have been game over, so in that respect you were robbed.
The big disappointment was when Clichy got his red card Mancini appeared to make changes intent to play out the game for a 1 all draw…with Silva & Aguaro replaced by De Jong & K Toure. Only when Chelsea went 2-1 up did he try to regain some offensive initiative by substituting Lescott for a striker. I think it was his negativity that ultimately lost you the game. IMHO a 10 man offensive City would have been more than a match for the 11 man Chelsea side.