man city 1-2

Sunday Times

Carlos Tevez and Shay Given justify City's lofty ambitions

Man City 2 Chelsea 1

Duncan Castles at City of Manchester stadium

THERE are some things even Mark Hughes has not been able to buy, such as John Terry and a Premier League win, but Terry and company swaggered up to Eastlands yesterday to put the second of those right for their opponents by having one of their flaky away days.
Like their losses at Wigan and Aston Villa, this match started well, Chelsea ahead early and looking comfortable. Without a league win since September and fragile at the back, you feared for City. Instead, they presented their embattled manager and a record Eastlands crowd with a performance of bullish resolve. There was good fortune to the equaliser — the ball rebounding off Micah Richards’ arms into the path of Emmanuel Adebayor — and debate over their winner, with Ricardo Carvalho bemused that his sneaky foul on the buzzing Carlos Tevez had been detected. It even needed an immaculate penalty save from Shay Given to keep Chelsea at bay, yet this, City’s first victory over the Premier League’s original billionaires since 2004, may mark a turning point for their coach.
“I thought our performance was excellent from start to finish,” said Hughes. “Sometimes when teams go up against Chelsea they give them too much respect and that allows Chelsea to win games. We didn’t allow them to do that today. We want to make the most of this. We know what it takes to win against the bigger sides, once we get the knowledge of how to beat the lesser sides we’ll be okay.”
Those who know Hughes well describe a man under pressure; a manager conscious that a succession of draws against mid to low-ranking Premier League opposition is unlikely to be tolerated by an ownership that has backed him far longer and further than he expected.
Hughes feared for his position upon Sheikh Mansour’s takeover last year. As he waged internecine war with significant elements of his playing staff, the Welshman wondered if he would make it into a second season.
Ultimately, the sheikh decided not only to give Hughes another campaign, but to grant him close to carte blanche in the summer transfer market. Problems, though, remain. Some of the manager’s signings have failed to achieve the expected standard. Wayne Bridge, Joleon Lescott and Kolo Toure have not knitted into a defence worthy of their £53m combined transfer fees, while Vincent Kompany has failed to convince either as midfielder or defender.
Last night City were eager to strike early. In the opening minutes Tevez left Terry on his backside as he sprinted to the touchline then hooked the ball back and agonisingly above Adebayor. On the opposite side of the area, Robinho was crudely halted by Branislav Ivanovic and Michael Ballack, winning a free kick from w hich Nigel de Jong span a shot wide. Less emphatic was their defending. There was a rough moment when Deco’s inventiveness sent Didier Drogba into a hole where Bridge should have been only for Given to rescue him. Sixty seconds later Shaun Wright-Phillips was chasing back to concede a corner that the Irish goalkeeper protested angrily about.
Perhaps Given sensed impending doom. Although Frank Lampard’s corner was cleared as far as Ballack, the midfielder dribbled the ball back to the far touchline and wrong-footed Barry before returning it to the danger area. There, both Ivanovic’s initial strike and Anelka’s follow-up were parried by Given, only for the final save to bounce off Adebayor’s back and trickle in.
Stung but not paralysed, City swiftly gathered themselves. With Wright-Phillips causing consistent problems, the home side won a series of set pieces. Micah Richards headed over when well placed, Adebayor turned a Barry cutback off target, the midfielder had a shot of his own deflected over, and Wright-Phillips almost caught Petr Cech out at the near post.
Carvalho then spared his keeper by turning a netbound Richards header out for a corner, yet the equaliser was simply delayed. From City’s half-cleared corner, Wright-Phillips fired into the area, the ball cannoning off Richards to Adebayor, who shot against Terry then into the net. Chelsea’s captain protested that the ball had reached the centre forward via Richards’ elbows. Referee Howard Webb ignored the complaint, then booked the complainant for crudely bodychecking Tevez.
After the interval Wright-Phillips once more outdid Ashley Cole before teeing Adebayor up for a shot that Ivanovic stopped in the six-yard box. Chelsea, though, could not clear their lines and when Carvalho craftily put his studs against Tevez’s back Webb blew for a foul just outside the area. Tevez sent the free kick low around a poorly-placed and past Cech.
Carlo Ancelotti’s response was to bring Juliano Belletti on as an attacking right back and push Essien further up the field. In the Brazilian’s first challenge he inadvertently caught Bridge heavily enough to have the left back stretchered off. Soon, Terry joined him, leaving the stadium on crutches with an injury Ancelotti categorised as minor.
Drogba drew Bridge’s replacement, Nedum Onouha, into a late tackle, but Given saved Lampard’s penalty to his right.
“We are disappointed because I think the referee made two important mistakes,” said Ancelotti. “Micah Richards did a handball and the second situation was not clear for me because I think that Carvalho cleared the ball cleanly. I’m surprised because I consider Webb a fantastic referee with good experience. But I don’t want to speak about this because I want to look forward.”
City’s grand day won’t win them a League title. But it might cost Chelsea one.

Star man: Shaun Wright-Phillips (Man City) Yellow cards: Man City: Barry Chelsea: Terry, Carvalho, Ivanovic, A Cole, Belletti Referee: H Webb Attendance: 47,348

MAN CITY: Given 7, Richards 7 (Onuoha 69min), Toure 7, Lescott 6, Bridge 5 (Kompany 76min), De Jong 6, Wright-Phillips 8, Barry 5, Robinho 6 (Zabaleta 90min), Tevez 7, Adebayor 6.

CHELSEA: Cech 6, Ivanovic 5, Terry 5 (Malouda 88min), Carvalho 7 (Belletti 63min), A Cole 6, Essien 7, Ballack 7 (Mikel 64min), Lampard 7, Deco 7, Drogba 7, Anelka 6

World Cup watchEngland: Richards (Man City): Excellent attacking, questionable in defence. Lescott (Man City): Plenty still to do to start. Barry (Man City): Badly at fault for opener. Wright-Phillips (Man City): Persistent threat. Ashley Cole (Chelsea): Was better at Arsenal. Terry (Chelsea): Increasingly dependent on the tactical foul. Limped off near the end. Lampard (Chelsea): Has come to terms with Ancelotti’s system.

The rest: Ivory Coast: Toure (Man City): Relentless in his defending, Drogba (Chelsea): Finest in Premier League. Holland: De Jong (Man City): One of his better games. Argentina: Tevez (Man City): More energetic than most. Brazil: Robinho (Man City): Discontented. Portugal: Carvalho (Chelsea): Still classy. Germany: Ballack (Chelsea): Sublime in making opener. France: Anelka (Chelsea): Best season in this country.

-------------------------------------------------------

Independent:

Given heroics make the most of Tevez's dead-ball mastery

Manchester City 2 Chelsea 1: Goalkeeper's late penalty save delights whole of Manchester as Chelsea lead at top is cut to two points

By Steve Tongue at Eastlands

Draws in the Premier League, according to Mark Hughes's bête noire Arsène Wenger, are like defeats, by which he meant that serious challengers cannot afford to lose two points at a time.
Manchester City, after seven in a row, interrupted only by a Carling Cup victory over Wenger's youngsters on Wednesday, finally added a League victory to make up lost ground thanks to Shay Given's late penalty save from the normally deadly Frank Lampard. They have lost only one game out of 18 all season, and that to a brutally late goal at Old Trafford over two months ago.
For once their success will have been celebrated all over Manchester, enabling United as it did to cut Chelsea's lead at the top of the table from five points to two following their own canter at West Ham. There will be more to this title race than the London side running away with it as has recently been suggested. In terms of chances, with Didier Drogba spurning one even after Lampard's miss, they could easily have left with a point, but instead this goes down as a third defeat on the road to follow those at Wigan and Aston Villa.
By the end there was a touch of desperation about them, with Ricardo Carvalho and a hobbling John Terry both withdrawn after collecting two of the side's six yellow cards. The fact that every defender received one illustrated how much pressure City had been able to exert. Carlos Tevez worked as hard as ever in harrying them and Shaun Wright-Phillips, never quite offered sufficient opportunities at Stamford Bridge, made his point with a vivacious performance down the right. There was vindication too for Emmanuel Adebayor, scorer of an unfortunate own goal to give Chelsea the lead, but then equalising before half-time.
This being the Premier League, controversy abounded as well, with questions asked about all three goals by the team conceding them. "The referee made two mistakes," said Chelsea's manager Carlo Ancelotti, who unlike Wenger nevertheless had a handshake for his victorious opposite number. For Hughes, thrilled by the comeback, it was "all in all a perfect performance".
The drama was played out in stereotypical Manchester weather – driving rain – with much of the football as slick as the way the ball fizzed off the sodden surface. City had to do without the hard graft of both Stephen Ireland and Craig Bellamy, each having suffered a knock in the Arsenal game, and needing extra mileage from other players to make good that double loss, they will have found it dismaying that Wright-Phillips and Adebayor should have been involved in conceding the early goal.
The winger covered for Micah Richards in chasing Ashley Cole down the touchline and should have been given a goal kick. To City's annoyance, Howard Webb's decision was a corner, retrieved by Michael Ballack on the right and crossed beyond the far post to Drogba. His header was met by Branislav Ivanovic, Given blocking that shot and then the follow-up by Nicolas Anelka, only for the ball to rebound off Adebayor, almost on the line, into the net.
It was hard on the home side, above all on their goalkeeper, who had already made a fine save from Drogba, homing in unmarked on Deco's clever flick. His team responded vigorously and made a number of chances before equalising. Micah Richards headed too high when escaping at a corner; Adebayor shot wide; Petr Cech saved from Wright-Phillips and Gareth Barry's drive was deflected away.
Reward came after another Richards header brought a corner, Cech having completely missed a cross and been saved by Carvalho's vigilance. The goalkeeper did not distinguish himself either from the corner kick, pushing out to Wright-Phillips for a shot that Chelsea claimed was helped on by Richards' hand for Adebayor to knock in. This defence takes such things as a personal insult: it was the first League goal they had conceded for almost nine hours. It did look as though Richards had been attempting to withdraw his arm rather than deliberately handling the ball; which did not prevent the referee, as he left at half-time, being harangued by first Terry and then Given, who was still fuming about the corner that should have been a goal kick.
Chelsea might have regained the lead, too, before the interval after Drogba's dipping free-kick, identical to his goal at the Emirates last Sunday, except that it was a whisker wide. But come the second half, a record crowd for this ground did not have long to wait for a third controversial goal. Carvalho was furious at joining Terry in the referee's notebook after catching Tevez in the back with his follow-through and conceding a free-kick 25 yards out. Three City players stood alongside Chelsea's wall, then moved away, inviting Tevez to shoot through the gap, which he did with a low drive, straight and true, as Cech took one fatal step the wrong way.
When Chelsea responded, Cole finally escaped from Wright-Phillips for a cross-shot that caught Richards such a blow on the knee that he had to be replaced by Nedum Onuoha. Onuoha it was who tripped Drogba with nine minutes to play, offering Chelsea the chance of redemption. Given confirmed his status as hero of the day by beating out Lampard's kick and Drogba, odds on to score, pulled an even later chance wide.

Attendance: 47,348
Referee: Howard Webb
Man of the match: Given
Match rating: 7/10

-------------------------------------------------------

Observer:

Emmanuel Adebayor atones as Chelsea pay the penalty
Manchester City 2 Adebayor 37, Tevez 56 Chelsea 1 Adebayor (og) 8

Joe Lovejoy at Eastlands

Typical city, as the old-timers will tell you. After seven successive draws, against the likes of Burnley, Fulham and Hull, along come back-to-back victories over Arsenal and Chelsea. Lift-off for the richest club in the world? It is still early days, the team still very much a work in progress, but this first league win since September has at least got them moving in the right direction again.
Not so, Chelsea. Eliminated from the Carling Cup in midweek, they now find their lead at the top of the table down from five points to two after Manchester United's demolition of West Ham earlier in the day. Carlo Ancelotti had the good grace to shake Mark Hughes's hand at the final whistle, when he probably felt more like throttling Didier Drogba, who spurned a straightforward chance from six yards just before the end.
The biggest crowd City have had at Eastlands were in raucous, celebratory mood as they left the stadium, but there were 40,000 hearts in mouths after 81 minutes, when Nedum Onuoha brought down Drogba inside the area and Frank Lampard stepped up to take the penalty. The England man is usually deadly from 12 yards, but this time he shot too straight and too close to Shay Given, who brought the house down with a save low, to his right.
Justice was served by the result, which came courtesy of goals by the strikers Emmanuel Adebayor and Carlos Tevez. Ancelotti thought his team deserved a draw, but then, as someone once said, he would, wouldn't he? When pressed, he was honest enough to admit that City did "a good job" on the Chelsea midfield, pressuring them into making more mistakes than is their custom.
The match had seemed destined to take an altogether different course when Chelsea took the lead in the eighth minute, with a daft goal of the sort that has restricted City to one clean sheet in their past 11 league games. Given saved a shot from Branislav Ivanovic, and kept out, but was unable to hold, the follow-up by Nicolas Anelka. The ball bounced out to Adebayor and went in off his back, for an embarrassing own goal.
To their credit, City took this latest blow on the chin, regrouped and hit back hard. Gareth Barry had a shot from 20 yards deflected wide by Michael Essien and Adebayor saw a goalbound header cleared off the line by Ricardo Carvalho. The breakthrough that City's high-tempo, high-morale efforts warranted came after 37 minutes, when Petr Cech punched the ball only as far as Shaun Wright-Phillips, whose crisp drive hit Micah Richards and flew to Adebayor, who scored close in at the second attempt. Drogba was within inches of restoring Chelsea's lead just before half time, with a curling free-kick.
City were full of vim and vigour in the second half. They have had a habit of throwing away promising positions, but this time Chelsea were worried. Drogba's demeanour is a barometer of his team's angst, and he was bleating in overdrive. Cech, under pressure from Adebayor, booted the ball nervily into touch and Carvalho was booked for a rash challenge that was the product of City's pressure. Wright-Phillips got away from Ashley Cole for once to create a shooting chance for Adebayor, who was thwarted by Ivanovic's last-ditch clearance.
Then after 56 minutes City were ahead. A free-kick from inside the D by Tevez went through Chelsea's defensive wall, leaving Cech unsighted and embarrassed as the ball flew past him. Cue celebratory songs of "Fergie, Fergie sign him up".
Drogba, climbing above Kolo Touré, headed wide at close range, fuelling the impression that it was not Chelsea's day. Ancelotti sent on Juliano Belletti and John Obi Mikel to rescue a point, but City were in no mood to oblige. Ivanovic headed over from six yards from a Deco corner. Suddenly, it was Chelsea who were wasting scoring opportunities. Drogba should have equalised at the death, but justice was served by the result. The richest club in the world have shown what they can do.
Manchester City had the exact same number of shots (16) in their home game against Chelsea last season (which they lost 1-3) but this time they were able to get more on target to secure a crucial win.

THE FANS' PLAYER RATINGS AND VERDICT

Danny Pugsley, BitterandBlue.blogspot.com This was a fantastic game of football. Both sides were very good today. The one-touch football on a greasy pitch was great. Mark Hughes went for an attacking line-up from the off. That is the reason why we got points today. In recent weeks, with all the draws, we have been hesitant and cautious, but today we were constantly pressurising. It was one the best team performances from City that I have seen in a long time. There have been grumblings about Hughes, but this result will have quelled that for the time being, but there is a minority who will never accept him.

The fan's player ratings Given 8; Richards 8 (Onuoha 69 6), Touré 7, Lescott 7, Bridge 7 (Kompany 76 6), Wright-Phillips 9, De Jong 8, Barry 8, Robinho 7(Zabaleta 90); Tevez 8, Adebayor 7

Lucio Marinelli, Observer reader It was one of those bad days that all top teams have. We had a couple chances even before we scored, then we took our foot off the pedal thinking it was going to be like Arsenal. But City fought for everything. Every 50-50 tackle, they won. It was the worst performance from our midfield that I have seen. Cech was nervy and our full-backs were poor; it was one of Cole's worst games, and that starved the front two. I'm not superstitious but that kit has got to go. We have never won while wearing it. Having said all that I still think we'll win the league.

The fan's player ratings Cech 4; Ivanovic 5, Carvalho 5 (Belletti 63 6), Terry 6 (Malouda 88), A Cole 4; Essien 5; Ballack 3 (Mikel 64 5), Lampard 4; Deco 3; Drogba 6, Anelka 5

-------------------------------------------------------

Telegraph:

Manchester City 2 Chelsea 1

By Oliver Brown at the City of Manchester Stadium

Remember that poster, Welcome to Manchester? It was sky-blue, and dominated by the face of Carlos Tévez, the City summer signing grinning as if in mockery of his United past.
A record crowd of over 48,000 at the City of Manchester Stadium watched the tireless Argentinian direct all his derision at Chelsea with a winning free kick that arrested Man City’s run of seven straight draws and stopped their opponents’ title charge, however briefly, in its tracks.
Chelsea had not conceded a league goal for nearly nine hours until this collision with Mark Hughes’ well-drilled, well-equipped team, which seemed to treat the loss of 14 points in seven games as a trifling irritation. All that has changed for City with this priceless scalp.
Hughes has worked a familiar trick, acting with supreme patience under the scrutiny that he was about to be sacked by Sheikh Mansour, before delivering the emphatic reply on the pitch.
He had a lot to thank Shay Given for, after the Irishman pulled off the rarity of a penalty save from Frank Lampard.
It has not been the best week for Carlo Ancelotti, humbled in the Carling Cup by Blackburn as a result of an under-strength selection and found out again here, even when he had fielded his strongest side. But even Didier Drogba could produce qualities to match the energy and determination of Tévez. The worry for City arrived late, when Wayne Bridge had to be carried off on a stretcher after a bad tackle by Juliano Belletti.
There were saving graces for Chelsea. Nicolas Anelka, too often eclipsed by Drogba, illustrated last night how subtly his abilities dovetailed with those of the Ivorian, timing his movement to perfection and hounding Joleon Lescott with invariable success. Deco, too, was ceaselessly creative in his lone role behind the front two, at one stage producing a back-heel in expectation of a final touch from Drogba that did not come.
Chelsea’s breakthrough, though, sprang more from luck than good judgment as an unmarked Drogba floated a ball across goal for Branislav Ivanovic, who shot straight at Shay Given. The rebound also fell fortuitously at Given’s feet but at that point the Ireland goalkeeper was out of reprieves, as another parry hit only the back of Adebayor before looping in.
Lescott was plainly at fault, a point sure to invite further debate as to whether he has been any kind of replacement at centre-back for Richard Dunne. Robinho was characteristically anonymous throughout this game, supporting the notion put about by German great Franz Beckenbauer that the Brazilian would be more at home in a circus, so patently do his talents not conform to a team ethic.
But City did not lose heart. Micah Richards rose high in an effort to dispatch a fine corner from Gareth Barry, while Wayne Bridge was even emboldened to try a long shot against his former employers.
Chelsea, to give them their due, defied assumptions that they were mere automata, with Frank Lampard, Deco and Ashley Cole displaying the neatest interplay, which helped form a seamless supply chain down the left. The problem was at the back, where Ricardo Carvalho was being outwitted by Barry and Shaun Wright-Phillips given licence to make plenty of inroads.
Conditions were treacherous in the steady rain, and one shove by Anelka sent Richards sprawling several yards across the slippery surface. Petr Cech’s instincts were similarly all over the place in the build-up to City’s equaliser. Coming to make an extravagant punch, the Chelsea goalkeeper was nowhere near it, leaving Carvalho to put the ball out for the telling corner.
Wright-Phillips, rushing in, angled a pass brilliantly into the path of Adebayor, who pounced to convert from close range. Hughes threw a jubilant punch on the touchline, but Chelsea’s complaint was that Richards had handled. Replays suggested that it was hardly an infringement on the scale of Thierry Henry’s.
Chelsea were in the unusual position of finding themselves physically outmuscled, as a crunching tackle by Nigel de Jong on Deco proved. John Terry sought to respond in kind with a flagrant body-check on Carlos Tévez and received a yellow card for his trouble. Carvalho soon went the same way into Howard Webb’s book for too meaty a follow-up on a Tévez challenge, scraping his studs down the striker’s back.
This lapse, however, was to be far more costly. Tévez lined up the resulting free kick and relished the spectacle of it swerving around the outside of the wall and in. Cech moved far too slowly to his right, but Tévez’s reaction, sliding on his knees in front of the crowing City supporters, was no less ecstatic for that.
Given’s subsequent heroics, scrambling low to his left to deny Lampard after City substitute Nedum Onuoha had been penalised for hauling down Drogba, magnified the moment.

-------------------------------------------------------

Mail:

Manchester City 2 Chelsea 1:

Rich pickings as Manchester United old boy Carlos Tevez jolts Carlo Ancelotti's league leaders

By Malcolm Folley

Frank Lampard’s uncharacteristic failure from the penalty spot caused jubilation to spread across the city of Manchester.
At the moment City goalkeeper Shay Given correctly dived to his right to block Lampard’s 82nd-minute spot-kick, Chelsea were condemnedto defeat. And as rain fell over the City of Manchester Stadium, a rainbow could be seen forming in the sky above Old Trafford, just a handful of miles away.
Having beaten West Ham with embarrassing ease earlier in the afternoon, Manchester United ended the night two points behind Premier League leaders Chelsea.
And Carlos Tevez, once of the parish of Old Trafford but deemed too costly to retain last summer, transpired to be City’s match-winner on a night Mark Hughes’s team deserved to take a rapturous ovation from a record crowd of 47,388.
Chelsea’s usually composed team had a night to forget, and the yellow cards collected by John Terry, Ricardo Carvalho, Branislav Ivanovic, Juliano Belletti and Deco, assuring the club of a fine from the FA, were illustrative of an uncommonlyragged performance.
Lampard’s unconvincing penalty compounded an unhappy evening. As the crowd whistled and jeered, with no justification as Didier Drogba had been clearly brought down by substitute Nedum Onuoha, Lampard waited for referee Howard Webb to blow his whistle. Given stood tall, and spread his arms.
He was a man still bleeding internally from the wound inflicted on the Rrepublic of Ireland team by Thierry Henry’s hand-ball that ushered them out of the World Cup, and Given was in no mood to absorb further misery. As Lampard shot, Given dived in unison with the ball and delirium broke out in the stadium, as well as in the bars of the city.
As statisticians searched to unearth the date when Lampard last failed with a penalty, widely believed to have been the day England were knocked out of the last World Cup by Portugal in 2006, Given graciously afforded much of the credit to City goalkeeping coach Kevin Hitchcock, who played for Chelsea.
‘Kevin had done his homework on the way Frank takes his penalties,’ said Given.
But with the exception of Chelsea fans, surely there was no one who begrudged Given a moment to cherish.
Chelsea manager Carlo Ancelotti, who, after a lifetime in football, claimed that his team had been victims of two poor pieces of refereeing.
He felt Micah Richards had handled before Emmanuel Adebayor equalised for City, and he was similarly disappointed that Carvalho was adjudged to have fouled Tevez, creating the free-kick from which the little Argentine scored.
In truth, Chelsea’s troubles ran much deeper. Lampard, Michael Ballack and Deco were largely ineffectual in midfield, while it was hard to recall when Terry and his fellow defenders had spent a match so deep on the back foot. Goalkeeper Petr Cech also delivered an unconvincing performance. At least Ancelotti conceded: ‘It was not a good day for us. It was a tough game and Manchester were very strong, and they did a good game.’
If money is the most potent force in the Premier League, we were in the company of the unrivalled powerbrokers in the market place of the game.
For once, Chelsea owner Roman Abramovich understood what it is like to feel inadequate at the bank. In comparison to the inestimable billions that City’s proprietors from Abu Dhabi can lay their hands on should they feel underwhelmed by Hughes’s team, Abramovich will demand that Ancelotti shows restraint when the transfer window is thrown open next month.
But money is not necessarily the root of all evil when teams play with this sort of passion and ambition. When Chelsea took the lead, City’s defence were in disarray from the moment Drogba met a cross at the far post and headed the ball back into the six-yard area.
Given kicked away Ivanovic’s shot with his right foot and also Nicolas Anelka’s follow-up. But the ball struck the back of City striker Emmanuel Adebayor and rebounded slowly into City’s net.
Adebayor had better luck in the 37th minute, after the impressive Shaun Wright-Phillips drove a shot against the arms of Richards, and swept home the equaliser.
The winner arrived 10 minutes after the interval, when Carvalho’s tackle on Tevez was concluded with his foot hitting the Argentine in the back. Tevez drove the free-kick through the Chelsea wall as Cech sold himself in the wrong direction.
At least Ancelotti, unlike Arsenal boss Arsene Wenger after defeat on this ground three days earlier, had the good grace to shake Hughes’s hand at the final whistle.

------------------------------------------------------

NOTW:

POSTER-BOY TEVEZ IS SO WELCOME IN MANCHESTER

Manchester City 2 Chelsea 1

Neil Ashton

SOMEHOW they survived a penalty scare, staring up at the scoreboard in disbelief at the final whistle.
Yes, Manchester City really did win.
It has taken them the best part of two months and yet - at the eighth attempt - they have finally won a Premier League game.
What a landmark, chasing down league leaders Chelsea with this sensational performance.
It has to be a special occasion for both sets of the city's supporters to celebrate on the same night.
Well, they were spilling out of the pubs and clubs of Manchester arm-in-arm after Shay Given's penalty save.
Frank Lampard is usually so reliable from 12 yards, so ruthless whenever he is presented with a free shot on goal.
This time he appeared to change his mind, opting for placement instead of power. Uh oh.
It was an exceptional moment for City, full of exuberance after this absorbing clash between two single-minded teams.
They both sensed victory and yet it was Chelsea who were over-run, finally tripped up by the magic of Carlos Tevez.
The fall-out will no doubt continue between the tiny Argentinian terror and Sir Alex Ferguson in the build up to the two-legged Carling Cup semi-final.
After this, the Manchester United manager owes his former striker an almighty favour.
United, 4-0 winners at West Ham, are just two points off the top following a dramatic day in the Premier League.
Tevez's strike was a delicious 56th-minute free-kick, bent beyond Chelsea's wall and beyond the reach of Petr Cech.
Now the top four is within City's reach again, back among the chasing pack after two miserable months for Mark Hughes.
They thoroughly deserved this victory, easing the pressure on City's manager after the club began making contingency plans.
Guus Hiddink knocked them back, yet former Inter coach Roberto Mancini was prepared to take it on until the end of the season.
Mancini can forget about being parachuted in now, putting his potential appointment at City firmly on the back-burner.
Misty-eyed
This kind of performance keeps managers in jobs and the team are suddenly on a roll after their 3-0 victory over Arsenal in the Carling Cup.
This was far more impressive, dismantling Chelsea in front of more than 40,000 misty-eyed supporters.
If their Carling Cup defeat at Blackburn was a blip, then this was a real slip by Carlo Ancelotti's Blues.
They have been charging towards a third Premier League title, powering their way past teams with their abrasive style.
Yesterday, they met their match, unable to find an answer when Emmanuel Adebayor equalised and Tevez finally turned them over.
What a battle between Tevez and John Terry, chasing each other all over the pitch in a captivating sideshow. They could so easily have been team-mates, with Terry part of City's masterplan last summer.
Now they are the best of enemies - Tevez providing the trickery and Terry the thunderous tackles.
Tevez turned him early, wriggling clear of the Chelsea and England captain with embarrassing ease.
Terry was riled, booked just before the break when he slid across the rain-soaked surface to upend the striker with a mistimed challenge.
By then, City were matching the leaders stride for stride, battering them with relentless attacks. Who says Ancelotti's team cannot be stopped? Wigan took no notice and neither did City, taking the game to Chelsea and making them aware they wanted the points.
But it's all about the final ball, the piercing pass that can finish teams off in front of their own supporters.
They needed a break, the kind of touch that gave Adebayor the chance to stab an equaliser beyond Cech just before the break.
Foxed
Chelsea's keeper had been exceptional, punching clear the danger and getting his body behind the ball to keep out efforts from Nigel de Jong and Tevez.
He was foxed by Shaun Wright-Phillips' shot from the edge of the area, unable to stop Adebayor getting to the ball before Terry. Adebayor finally prodded it beyond Cech, setting off for City's adoring supporters stationed high up in the stands.
They will be thinking even higher after this victory, top four and beyond.
Those are the aspirations of everyone connected with City as they prepare to strike for home in the second half of the season.
They have some ground to make up after seven successive draws.
At times they lived on their nerves, with Given the security blanket behind the shakiest defence in the Premier League.
He was beaten by Didier Drogba's delicious free-kick that went narrowly wide of the post but then blocked the Chelsea striker from close range. However, Micah Richards could barely cope with the surging runs of Ashley Cole.
Cole loves his football right now, having picked off his old team Arsenal at the Emirates last weekend with those curved balls into opposition territory.
The left-back was Chelsea's best player in the first half, working overtime as his side sensed a second goal.
The Blues had already struck lucky with their opener, cashing in when Adebayor deflected the ball beyond Given after just eight minutes.
The move was decisive, with Gareth Barry embarrassed out on the touchline when Michael Ballack dragged the midfielder away from the box.
He finally crossed and after Branislav Ivanovic's shot had been saved by Given, Nicolas Anelka's effort was deflected into the net off the back of Adebayor. Tough to take, especially after his own goal against Liverpool last month and yet City responded.
At times they were cavalier, opening the game up against the team with the best defensive record in the Premier League.
Exceptional
It was brave, especially when Chelsea have players of Ricardo Carvalho's class to count on. He brilliantly diverted the ball over the crossbar after Cech had misjudged.
But Tevez was exceptional throughout as he darted between defenders.
He is rarely subdued, setting an example with his selfless running and exceptional appetite.
The little man deserved his goal, a fitting reward after finally settling into City's system. He can be the main man, good enough to lead the line and take this team to greater heights.
Cech should have read the intentions, a free-kick that was bent low beyond the four figures in Chelsea's wall. But the keeper saw it too late and was beaten by the pace and the precision of Tevez's winner.
Ballack was immediately sacrificed and so was Carvalho, with Chelsea throwing men forward in search of an equaliser.
They got their chance when Drogba was upended by Nedum Onuoha's clumsy challenge in the 82nd minute, with Howard Webb instantly pointing to the spot.
Given read it, brilliantly diving to his right to prevent Chelsea taking a point.
It was a world-class save, the kind that saves managers their jobs.

-------------------------------------------------------