The English Premier League tie between Chelsea and Manchester City on Thursday, January 5, at the Stamford Bridge stadium ended 1-0 in favour of the defending champions who are pursuing glory with their aggressive attacking.
The match began with Graham Potter’s young side showing blistering strength but a lack of coordination in the front including porous midfield caused Chelsea a vital three points as their opponent cruised to victory thanks to Riyad Mahrez’s brilliant efforts.
The Algerian international Mahrez combined efforts with Jack Grealish for the beautiful opener in the 63 minutes to help Pep Guardiola’s side move closer to the table-toppers, Arsenal on the EPL log.
Here are the major takeaways from the match
Cursed 9 or unfavoured player
The inability of Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang to break the defence of Man City, coupled with previous awful performances has revisited the conversation on the number 9 jersey of Chelsea.
From Alvaro Morata to Fernando Torres and Belgian forward out-favoured Romelu Lukaku, players donning the number 9 jersey have struggled to impress.
With Aubameyang’s performance, questions were raised if the Gabonese ex-international is just being too lazy or if he is under the spell of the jersey.
The former Arsenal star registered a dismal performance against Manchester City on Thursday evening.
Aubameyang started Chelsea’s tie against City on the bench but made his way onto the pitch after just five minutes as Raheem Sterling was forced off injured.
He was however replaced with Omari Hutchinson after showing a struggle to make an impact.
City not ready to drop title hope
Man City’s win over Chelsea has moved them five points behind league leaders, Arsenal. This means the defending champions are not ready to lower their struggles in the quest for glory.
A couple of wins for Guardiola’s side can see things turned around for the Blues who had already beaten Chelsea this season.
More pressure on Potter
With zero wins in a couple of games, Graham Potter is indeed under pressure. And failure to turn things around may lead to the sacking of the gaffer.
The British, 47, was brought in to replace Champions League winner Thomas Tuchel by the new owners of Chelsea. Despite signing a few good players, things have really moved from frying pan to fire for the manager.
A defeat to Manchester City means Chelsea is 10 points away from the top four, leaving the gaffer under more pressure as he could be sacked if the woeful performances continue
Chelsea’s champions league hope under threats
A defeat to rival City means Chelsea now sits 10th on the log with 25 points behind Brentford and Brighton.
They are ten points off the top four and there is a possibility of the London side now going for the Champions League next season.
