For the latest from the pitch sign up for our football newsletter
Thank you for subscribing!
For the latest from the pitch sign up for our football newsletter
We have more newsletters
Chelsea and Manchester City fought out a breathtaking 4-4 draw in one of the Premier League games of the season.
City took the lead after Marc Cucurella pulled Eriling Haaland down in the penalty area, giving the Norwegian the opportunity to slot home City's first goal of the evening and his first ever goal against the West Londoners. However, Chelsea equalised through a perfectly executed corner routine that concluded with Thiago Silva flicking a precise header into the far corner.
They then capitalised on a mistake from £77million man Josko Gvardiol, whose poor touch allowed Reece James to fire a cross to the back post for Raheem Sterling to slot home. On the stroke of half-time, City levelled the contest when the Chelsea defence fell asleep and allowed an unmarked Manuel Akanji to head Bernardo Silva's cross into the far corner. In the second-half, Haaland scored his second after only two minutes, sliding onto Julian Alvarez's low cross and bundling the ball into the back of the net.
READ MORE: 'Man City handled takeover better than Chelsea – they had a proper plan in place'
READ MORE: Forgotten footballer who was in Jose Mourinho's first Chelsea game now works at US prison
But Chelsea heads did not go down and they were level 20 minutes later, when Conor Gallagher's venomous shot was pushed into the path of Nicolas Jackson, who was there to place the rebound under Ederson and into the net. Chelsea substitute Malo Gusto had a golden opportunity to score a late winner, but he leant back and placed his effort over the cross bar when through on goal. The full-back was made to pay for his error as Rodri's first time effort deflected off a Chelsea defender and flew past a helpless Robert Sanchez.
However, the drama was far from over as Ruben Dias' brought down Armando Broja with a last minute challenge to give the Blues a late penalty. As if it was written by Steven Spielberg himself, City academy product Cole Palmer stepped up to score the penalty and secure a late draw. Daily Star Sport considers what Pochettino got right and wrong against the Citizens.
Join the Daily Star's WhatsApp for the sexiest headlines, showbiz gossip and lots more
The Daily Star is now on WhatsApp and we want you to join us!
Through the app, we'll send you the sassiest showbiz stories, some naught headline and a seismic smattering of aliens…along with the latest breaking news of course.
To join our community, all you have to do to join is click on this link, select 'Join Chat' and you're in!
No one will be able to see who has sign up and no one can send messages except for the Daily Star team. We also treat our community members to competitions, special offers, promotions, and adverts from us and our partners.
If you don’t like our community, you can check out any time you like. To leave our community click on the name at the top of your screen and choose Exit group. If you’re curious, you can read our Privacy Notice.
CLICK HERE TO JOIN
Aggression, Aggression, Aggression
With Chelsea struggling for form and Manchester City finding their groove, few eyebrows would have been raised if the Blues sat back and looked to counter the champions. While enjoying more possession, Chelsea's frontline looked to press the City midfielders in the central areas and force them all the way back to Ederson.
City often find themselves exchanging short passes 30-yards from the opposition goal, but the Blues did not allow them to maintain that much control. It is a sign of the growing confidence at Stamford Bridge, after one of the worst seasons in Chelsea history last year.
Unleashing City's former employees
Where do you think Chelsea will finish this season? Let us know in the comment section below
As well as the Champions League, TNT Sports will also be offering sports fans access to games across the Premier League, Europa League, Serie A and much more.
You can also watch the biggest events in boxing, UFC, WWE and get exclusive action from MLB.
£29.99 per month on top of £8.99 per month Amazon Prime subscription
Cole Palmer and Sterling both won numerous trophies with City, but they would have had a huge point to prove after both were sold to the Blues by the Champions.
Considering their history with the club, deploying both against their former manager may have been viewed as a risk by some. However, they were Chelsea's most dangerous players, as Palmer looked to drop into the hole behind Nicolas Jackson, while Sterling looked for space in behind.
They gave City's defence nightmares and their excellent work could be seen when Palmer harried Gvardiol into making an error and James crossed for Sterling to score.
Renewed belief
Resilience has been in short supply at Stamford Bridge since Thomas Tuchel's final days. On frequent occasions since the German was sacked, Chelsea started games brightly, only to disintegrate as soon as they were faced with any adversity.
However, Chelsea looked determined and confident, despite falling behind on two occasions and losing their lead on the stroke of half-time. The Blues are far from the finished product, but there appears to be genuine belief in the work they are doing.
Pochettino has already had plenty of critics, but the dressing room and the board are certainly behind him.
Zonal marking
Football purists are always debating between the more modern approach of zonal marking and the traditional, everybody takes a man each technique on set pieces. When City had a set piece, Chelsea appeared to merge the two styled by assigning each of their taller players a zone and instructing the smaller players to mark a City player and block their running path.
Unfortunately, it worked against them as Enzo Fernandez left Akanji when the short corner was taken, allowing the Switzerland international the opportunity to glide between James and Silva and head home. Many will argue it was an individual error rather than a fault in the system. However, lapses of concentration is a huge risk in zonal marking and Pochettino found that out the hard way.
- Chelsea FC
- Manchester City FC
- Mauricio Pochettino
- Premier League
- Pep Guardiola
Source: Read Full Article