Manchester City crushed **Chelsea**in the second half of their clash to earn a massive 3-0 triumph.
Supporters at Stamford Bridge wanted to see their side show their desire for a top-five finish to qualify for the Champions League, and they were the first team to put the ball in the back of the net. But the warning signals did not break the deadlock by halftime, and the Citizens learned their lesson.
Turning the screw after the break, the Carabao Cup champions clinched all three points with three strikes from Nico O’Reilly, Marc Guehi, and Jeremy Doku. They are now six points behind table-topping **Arsenal**with a game in hand, and it is all eyes on the showdown at the Etihad Stadium.
Story of the Match
Liam Rosenior rotated two members of the starting eleven he selected in a 7-0 victory over Port Vale in the **FA Cup**quarterfinal last weekend. Marc Cucurella came in for Tosin Adarabioyo as Jorrel Hato moved into central defence from the left of the back four to partner Wesley Fofana. Moises Caicedo commanded a pivot position in the midfield next to Andrey Santos, so Romeo Lavia was left on the bench. Pedro Neto, Cole Palmer, Estevao, and **Joao Pedro**played as the front four.
**Pep Guardiola**gave all ten outfield players from the 4-0 rout of **Liverpool**a place in the lineup. **James Trafford**took on the role of shot stopper last week, but he handed the gloves to Gianluigi Donnarumma. Matheus Nunes, Abdukodir Khusanov, **Marc Guehi**and **Nico O’Reilly**remained the back four in the absence of John Stones and Josko Gvardiol. **Rodri**and Bernardo Silva sat in the midfield behind Rayan Cherki, Jeremy Doku, Antoine Semenyo and Erling Haaland.
City had put in two of their best performances of the campaign before this trip to Stamford Bridge to make a double of domestic cups a real possibility, and they brought that momentum into the first sequences of this showdown. Nunes whipped in a dangerous delivery to the back post where Guehi’s knockdown could not connect with any grey shirts, then **Rodri**ran freely into the penalty area, but Robert Sanchez picked off his hanging cross.
There are still questions about the level of this Citizens side in comparison to champions of the past, and it did not take long for them to encounter the first test of their defensive stability. A ricochet off **Rodri**allowed Palmer to probe forwards. He decided against trying to release Estevao, setting off Neto on his left. His teammate returned the favour, and Palmer thrashed a shot into the side netting.
A similar shooting location saw **Joao Pedro**earn a corner through a Khusanov block. Neto ultimately wasted his delivery, and the left winger was guilty of poor set-piece execution a second time when Palmer received a free kick for a tug from Rodri moments later. The hosts were having their way.
By the 15th minute mark, the Blues had put the ball in the back of the net. **Joao Pedro**pulled through the centre of the field with a clever carry, and he threaded a through ball for Cucurella. The left back placed an effort over the trailing leg of Donnarumma, but he would be denied due to running offside.
Donnarumma was called into action not long after. He barrelled inwards from the left wing, shrugging off challenges from Nunes and **Rodri**to rattle a low strike towards the target. The Italian shot stopper smartly got down to the ball, parrying it away, and the momentum was clearly with Rosenior’s men.
Finally, City started to wake up. Their primary progressive outlet into the final third was Doku and his relentless dribbling from the left. One such situation saw an underlapping run from O’Reilly, and the left back’s pullback fell for Bernardo, whose strike was smuggled away. Cherki attempted to test the defence in a similar situation, and Semenyo also pulled an effort wide from target, drifting infield.
But Guardiola’s men had missed their opportunity to make a statement in the first 45 minutes. Thankfully, the game was still deadlocked at 0-0, and they could regroup in the dressing room.
Cherki and Haaland had early sighters in the second half, highlighting greater urgency from the guests. And in the 51st minute, Cherki cracked open the can. From the right flank, he lifted the ball into the danger zone, and O’Reilly held off Santos, steering a headed effort into the back of the net. The **England**international is the man of the moment: six goals from his previous nine outings.
Six minutes later, City had decisively doubled their advantage. Cherki came close to Doku on the left wing, wandering around, attempting tackles from Hato and Estevao before slipping a pass through a channel to pick out Guehi. The defender drove the ball beyond Sanchez, calming down the nerves.
Rosenior rotated two players at the midway mark of the second half: Lavia came on for Santos, and Alejandro Garnacho got wide minutes as a replacement for Estevao. But the pair would walk on merely to be better spectators of the third and final strike of the afternoon in West London.
Semenyo stole a march on the blue shirts down the inside right channel, firing a shot into the palms of Sanchez. The goalkeeper immediately bowled the ball into the feet of Caicedo, who turned into danger. Doku picked up the pieces, daggering a driven strike into the bottom corner of the net. Another opportunity was passed up by Semenyo, but the damage had been done in this battle.
Phil Foden, **Savinho**and Mateo Kovacic came on for the final fifteen minutes: Guardiola was content that the Citizens had done their job. All that was left to do was hold onto the clean sheet.
The closest that **Chelsea**came to spoiling that accolade was through a left-sided attack: Cucurella cut the ball back towards Lavia, and the midfielder scooped a pass behind the backline for his teammate to chase. But Donnarumma judged the decision smartly, smothering the incoming headed effort.