At the final whistle at the Etihad Stadium yesterday there was an overwhelming sense that Manchester City had thrown away two points against Chelsea. Enzo Fernandez scored for Chelsea in the 94th minute to cancel out Tijjani Reijnders first-half goal to ensure that yesterday’s match finished 1-all. Pep Guardiola’s side ran out of legs as fatigue and injuries caught up to them in the game’s closing stages. City were also left cursing the fact that they couldn’t convert a plethora of good positions into goals or chances. As the final whistle blew there was also another factor that stood out. This Manchester City side is still learning and they have a way to go to become a fully-fledged Pep Guardiola side.
Manchester City couldn’t close out yesterday’s match against Chelsea and they paid the price for it.
In years gone by, Manchester City would easily control the closing stages of a match like last night’s. Pep Guardiola’s all-conquering City side would not let their opponents have possession and they’d typically see out the closing stages of matches like last night’s with ease. But that didn’t occur at the Etihad against Chelsea last night. Instead, Pep Guardiola’s side ran out of legs. Injuries and fatigue caught up to City. With tired legs and tired minds, the decision-making of this City side wilted.
Manchester City couldn’t control the final stages of last night’s match. They left the door open for Chelsea to nick a point. Instead of closing the game down and controlling possession, City kept trying to do much on the ball or defensively rather than doing the simple things. In truth, City should have two or three goals up by the time Enzo Fernandez equalised for Chelsea. But they weren’t. Pep Guardiola’s side should have kept possession, but they were unable to do so late on last night. There was an immaturity to Manchester City’s play late in yesterday’s match. That immaturity cost City dearly.
The passage of play that led to Chelsea’s equaliser showed the immaturity in Pep Guardiola’s side. Rayan Cherki picked up possession on the right wing and played a chip to Bernardo Silva. Manchester City’s captain lost possession while trying to keep the ball. Chelsea midfielder Andrey Santos took the ball from Bernardo and attempted to surge forward from midfield. Bernardo pulled down Andrey Santos and picked up a yellow card. Chelsea worked the ball from the free kick out wide to Malo Gusto. Nico O’Reilly stepped up to challenge to high up the pitch at on Chelsea’s right wing. Gusto rounded O’Reilly and set up Enzo Fernandez’s late equaliser.
Those two pieces of play from Cherki and O’Reilly highlighted the immaturity in City’s play. They’ll both learn from what occurred last night as will this new-look Manchester City side. It was a harsh lesson for them to learn but one that should serve this City side well in time.
Rodri has said that his team must learn from yesterday’s disappointment.
The way Manchester City conceded the late equaliser to Chelsea doesn’t fall solely on Rayan Cherki and Nico O’Reilly. It is a lesson this City side must learn together. Under Pep Guardiola you do think they will. There were mitigating factors at play in the game’s closing stages last night. The City players were tired and Rodri had run out of steam. The loss of Ruben Dias and Josko Gvardiol also hurt Pep Guardiola’s team. But there was enough leadership and experience on the pitch to prevent what occurred late in yesterday’s match from happening. But it wasn’t to be.
Speaking after Manchester City’s draw with Chelsea, Rodri explained that his team must learn from yesterday’s disappointing draw to Chelsea. Speaking on what occurred, Rodri said: “*It’s frustrating of course but at the end it is what it is. We created enough chances to win the game three or four-nil, but this is football. If you don’t take your chances with nothing they just draw the game.*”
“*So we have to learn from this. There is still a long way and we just need to focus on the next games. First half was brilliant, enough to score three or four goals. In the second half, we forgot a little bit how to play and they got control of the game, losing easy balls.*”
“*Sometimes when you defend, defend, defend, they did not have much but they get a draw. There’s still a long way to go.*”
“*Injuries unbalances the team, every single time a player goes out [injured] but of course, the team has to adjust. It is not an excuse, we have enough talented players to play but in the second half we lose face a bit.*”
Final thoughts.
Manchester City should have beaten Chelsea at the Etihad Stadium last night. But they failed to take full advantage of their openings and they couldn’t sustain control of last night’s match as the second-half wore on. There is a lesson to be learned from last night’s result for this City side and come the final whistle it was apparent that this iteration of Pep Guardiola’s side still has a lot to learn. That process is ongoing and it will take time as we saw last night when Manchester City couldn’t gain control of last night’s match when they desperately needed to.