Premier League: Chelsea hold Manchester City
Manchester City 1 - 1 Chelsea
Rodri rescued a for Manchester City to deny Chelsea victory and maintain his side's long unbeaten home record.
Despite Liverpool and Arsenal securing convincing wins earlier in the day, City fell behind in the title race. Nevertheless, salvaging a draw against Chelsea must be seen as a positive outcome, considering the imminent threat of defeat.
Raheem Sterling, facing his former club, put Chelsea ahead just before half-time with a superbly executed goal, capitalising on a swift counter-attack created by Nicolas Jackson. Throughout the game, Chelsea remained dangerous on the break, with Jackson missing a golden opportunity.
Click here for the latest City news and stories
Premier League news and stories: 2023/2024
Despite City creating numerous chances, they struggled to convert them or seriously trouble Chelsea goalkeeper Djordje Petrovic, despite mounting pressure in the second half. Erling Haaland was particularly guilty of squandering chances, notably missing a header from a Kevin de Bruyne delivery.
City, facing their first home league defeat since November 2022, were saved by Rodri's strike with seven minutes remaining. Rodri's fierce first-time shot, deflected by Chelsea substitute Trevoh Chalobah, found the back of the net.
The draw sees City slip to third in the table, trailing leaders Liverpool by four points with a game in hand. They will have the opportunity to close the gap and overtake second-placed Arsenal with a win against Brentford on Tuesday.
Despite being moments away from a third successive away win, Chelsea remains in 10th place. However, they head to Wembley for next weekend's Carabao Cup final buoyed by one of their best displays in an inconsistent campaign.
Highlights below from the Chelsea YouTube account. Manchester City 1-1 Chelsea | HIGHLIGHTS | Premier League 2023/24 - YouTube
YouTuber @21k_Gold commented on the video: "Jackson and Disasi performance is gold today, especially Disasi who gave a very similar performance to what Rudiger used to deliver for us."
The impact this result will have on the title race.
We spoke with a number of Chelsea and Manchester City fans about their thoughts on the match and the impact it could have on the title race.
Macca, a Manchester City fan, told us: "We should have won this match really. We have more difficult fixtures left compared to some of our opponents. I hope we can win some of those to stay in touch with Liverpool and Arsenal."
Louise, another City fan, added: It was a good game. "The second half was much better than the first. In the first half, we were not in the right rhythm, but we improved everything in the second half, resulting in a really good performance. Unfortunately, we couldn't win though and those two lost points could cost us when it comes to the end of the season."
Lauren, a Chelsea fan who lives in Greater Manchester, told us: "We have definitely improved our performances over the last few matches and this has delivered some much better results since that disaster against Wolves. The Carabao Cup final against Liverpool is a big test now."
JT, another Chelsea fan, added: " Fair play and true to his word, Mauricio Pochettino set our team to go toe-to-toe with the champions, and for the first 45 minutes that plan worked wonderfully for us. We were the better team for 70 minutes and fatigue cost us in the end."
