Man City 0-2

Independent:

Manchester City capitalise on Frank Lampard's missed penalty for Chelsea

Manchester City 2 Chelsea 0
Andy Hampson

Yaya Toure and Carlos Tevez took advantage of a rare Frank Lampard penalty miss to fire Manchester City to their first Barclays Premier League win in a month.
Lampard was a kick away from his 200th Chelsea goal when he lined up a second-half spot-kick at the Etihad Stadium but Joe Hart, who stayed on after fouling Demba Ba, saved from his England team-mate.
Yaya Toure made Chelsea pay with a fine finish from inside the area and substitute Tevez made victory certain with a long-range effort late on.
The result reduced Manchester United's lead at the top of the table to 12 points but, perhaps more importantly with the title drifting away, increased City's advantage over third-placed Chelsea to seven.
Both managers had gone into the game under considerable pressure but City boss Roberto Mancini ended it far happier than Chelsea counterpart Rafael Benitez, who suffered more abuse from fans.
Benitez again put Fernando Torres and John Terry on the bench as he looked to drag City into a battle for second place, also restoring Lampard and Ba among six changes.
City were again without captain Vincent Kompany but Mancini opted to flood midfield by handing Jack Rodwell only his third City start with Sergio Aguero alone up front.
He was rewarded with a superb performance from Rodwell, who fully justified his inclusion as he attempts to ignite his City career after injury troubles.
He played a part in a positive start by City, who had their first shot within 40 seconds as Yaya Toure took aim from the edge of the area but Petr Cech saved easily.
City controlled possession with David Silva looking to pull the strings, Yaya Toure getting forward at every opportunity and Rodwell making several powerful runs.
It was some time before Chelsea threatened, but after initially being beaten, Kolo Toure recovered well to cut off Ba's counter-attack.
Despite their early dominance, it was 15 minutes before City really tested Cech as Matija Nastasic went forward for a corner but the goalkeeper dealt with the Serbian's powerful header.
Rodwell had a shot blocked by Gary Cahill and Silva played in Aguero but the Argentinian overran the ball.
Lampard, looking to reach that double century by scoring for a fourth successive Premier League game, had his first sight of goal from a 30-yard free-kick but blazed well over.
The game became scrappy as Chelsea tried to regain some control and Ramires was booked for a late challenge on Yaya Toure.
City continued to look the more creative and another good chance came as Aguero pulled back a James Milner cross and Pablo Zabaleta's powerful volley was headed away by Cahill.
Rodwell then tested Cech twice in just over a minute, first forcing the keeper to tip over a powerful 25-yard drive and then heading into his arms from the resulting corner.
City went into the second half with the same determination but Aguero's acrobatic volley from Silva's cross went well wide.
The game's pivotal moment came in the 50th minute as City switched off at the back and Ba raced on to a long ball from deep.
Ba shrugged off Kolo Toure and clipped the ball past the out-rushing Hart but was brought down as he got tangled in the goalkeeper's legs.
Referee Andre Marriner immediately pointed to the spot but importantly felt Ba was just moving away from goal and did not show Hart a card.
Hart made the most of the reprieve to earn instant redemption by saving from Lampard, who had scored his last 10 spot-kicks, low to his right.
He was in action again seconds later to deal with the resulting corner and City set about making sure Chelsea paid for missing their chance.
Surprisingly, Mancini opted to replace the influential Rodwell with Tevez but the resulting change in shape gave Chelsea more to think about.
The game opened up as Aguero raced through from a Milner pass and chipped just over before Ramires almost exposed Kolo Toure on the counter at the other end.
City made the decisive breakthrough just after the hour.
Milner found Silva in the box with a clever reverse pass and his pull-back found Yaya Toure on the edge of the area.
The Ivorian still had much to do but his first two touches took out two defenders and gave him space to curl a superb low finish beyond Cech and in at the far post.
Chelsea made a double change in response with Lampard, after a frustrating game by recent standards, making way along with Eden Hazard for Victor Moses and Oscar.
The changes did not bear fruit and it was not long before Torres was introduced for Mikel.
But it was City's substitute Tevez who made the most dramatic impact, putting the game beyond the visitors with a superb strike from outside the area five minutes from time.

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Guardian:

Yaya Touré drives Manchester City to victory over Chelsea

Jamie Jackson at Etihad Stadium

The good news for Manchester City is that they closed the gap to Manchester United back to 12 points with this win. The bad tidings are that another round of matches is now chalked off and with 11 matches left Sir Alex Ferguson's team show no sign of taking their feet off the champions' throat.
As United coast past their latest obstacle – as they did in the 2-0 win at QPR – City continue to scramble results and appear nothing like the threshing machine of last season. They had to survive a rare Frank Lampard miss from the penalty spot – courtesy of Joe Hart's save – before Yaya Touré and Carlos Tevez confirmed a deserved win against a Chelsea side that lacked fluency.
The dream of retaining the title was moribund but Roberto Mancini's men could not countenance going down whimpering. City had to defeat Chelsea to start clawing back the points margin to a more respectable one.
Their strategy was the one that has misfired for much of the campaign: get David Silva on the ball and let him spy the hidden angles to slip in a team-mate for the finish. The afternoon turned out to be one of the few occasions the Spaniard was in touch with his muse. On several occasions he flitted around the Etihad turf to unlock a Chelsea rearguard that was competitive but lacked the second sight required when Silva is on his game.
On 16 minutes Pablo Zabaleta, the captain in Vincent Kompany's absence, drove down the right and sent over a ball in Sergio Agüero's direction that was cleared. From the ensuing play Silva popped up on the other flank and threaded a pass to Yaya Touré. The Ivorian, playing in the "hole" with Jack Rodwell picked in his holding midfield role, saw his shot deflected off Branislav Ivanovic.
A corner followed and, when Rodwell gained possession, his turn-and-shot was blocked before Agüero was put in by Silva, who collected the ball after David Luiz's pass to Mikel John Obi fell short. But the Argentinian, having beaten Petr Cech, overran the ball.
Before the interval City's other chances were a Zabaleta shot inadvertently stopped by Touré and a 25-yard Rodwell effort that warmed Cech's fingers.
Though Rodwell – outstanding until his removal after the break – was also a threat from several Silva corners and when making late runs into the area, at half-time Rafael Benítez might have told his side to be more direct.
Twice Lampard had profited from this ploy on the City left during the first half and, when they won a penalty seven minutes into the second period, it was from a quickly hit diagonal from Ivanovic to Ba. As the striker raced at goal he eluded Kolo Touré before Hart went to challenge him. He tried to pull out but there was contact so Andre Marriner pointed to the spot. Yet Lampard's kick was saved impressively by the goalkeeper and Kolo Touré scrambled it away for a corner.
Hart's effort roused his team-mates. Silva, again, was the conductor-in-chief. His ball over the top was controlled by Agüero, though the touch took him wide and Gary Cahill was able to get a leg in the way. Milner was next up when his pass put Agüero in again but this time his chip over Cech was aimed too high.
When City finally took the lead it was after Ramires had spurned a golden chance to open the scoring. Put clear by Ivanovic he dawdled in the home area, allowing Kolo Touré to snuff out the danger.
As play moved down the other end, it was the defender's brother who stepped up to score a fifth league goal this season. Milner fed Silva in the Chelsea area and the Spaniard knocked the ball into Yaya Touré, who ghosted past Mikel and found the far corner of Cech's goal with the keeper partially unsighted by Cahill.
Carlos Tevez, on for Rodwell, confirmed the result late on with a firm finish after smooth link-up play from Agüero and the continually impressive Silva.
This had been Rodwell's first start due to disruptive hamstring problems since the 3-1 win here over Queens Park Rangers on 1 September and Mancini was pleased. "He played very well," he said. "After his minutes he was tired and for this reason we changed him but he did very well and I'm very happy for him."

Man of the match David Silva (Manchester City)

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Telegraph:

Manchester City 2 Chelsea 0
Chris Bascombe

Those expecting a Roberto Mancini’s title concession speech will have to wait a while longer. Joe Hart, Yaya Toure and Carloz Tevez maintained Manchester City’s slender hopes of catching Manchester United, and - perhaps more significantly given the current state of the table - extended their cushion to Chelsea in second place.
The turning point at The Etihad was Hart’s 51st minute penalty save to deny Frank Lampard.
Hart could have found himself having to explain another error to his manager after he clumsily challenged Demba Ba in the penalty box. Instead, he offered a timely reminder why he is England premier goalkeeper.
Lampard, normally so reliable from the spot, saw his well struck kick pushed away.
City then piled on the pressure and deservedly took the lead thanks to a brilliant individual goal by Toure as he danced his way through a packed Chelsea defence and side-footed past Cech on 63 minutes. A superb second from Tevez late on completed an accomplished second half performance.
The form of Toure, Sergio Aguero and David Silva will offer Mancini hope City may at least end the campaign in form resembling that of champions.
It wasn’t so long ago Chelsea aspired to play like Barcelona. Mancini is under pressure because, it’s believed, City’s Spanish-influenced hierarchy wants the same.First you have to win. Then winning isn’t enough and you have to do so with panache.
Neither of these clubs has done enough of either recently.
The dourness of the opening stages demonstrated the current plight of two teams with seriously compromised ambitions for the rest of this campaign. When the self-preservation of the two managers is the primary focus prior to kick-off, it’s a guarantee of a no risk strategy on the park.
Rafa Benitez’s teams always play to contain and wait for mistakes and not even a fifteen-point gap to Manchester United before kick-off was going to prompt Mancini to look up the phrase ‘gung-ho’ in his coaching dossier.
Aguero began as the sole striker, midfielders invited to support and probe in support, but when Tevez arrived in the second half the game opened up and City found their form.
Jack Rodwell, one of the few City employees seen at The Etihad less than Sheikh Mansour, made his first start since October and did well. Samir Nasri - the ‘fifty percenter’ as he is now known - was on the bench until injury time.
Nasri isn’t the only scapegoat of the season, however. The preference of Kolo Toure’s bulky presence to Joleon Lescott tells the England international where he stands.
For Chelsea, Benitez maintained his policy of rotating captain John Terry, whose lack of pace he finds hard to trust every week. Terry was a sub.
All the initial appetite and ambition was shown by City, Toure’s goalbound strike blocked after just 42 seconds.
Petr Cech’s reflexes were needed to swat away Matija Nastisic’s header after 15 minutes and four minutes later, Aguero was guilty of over indulgence when sent through by Silva. The Argentine’s heavy touch ran the ball of play as he tried to dribble past Cech.
Cech remained the busier keeper before half-time, Rodwell showing plenty of glimpses of the talent that attracted Brian Marwood to his signature last summer.
Chelsea had offered little attacking threat but should have led on 51 minutes when Hart mistimed his run from goal and ran into Ba.
Referee Andre Marriner had no option but to give the penalty, but Hart’s save galvanised City. Mancini finally sent on Tevez to support Aguero on 55 minutes and opportunities began to flow, with Toure’s strike and Tevez’s unstoppable second four minutes from time punishing a limp, soulless Chelsea and ensuring United still have plenty of work to do.

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Mail:

Manchester City 2 Chelsea 0: Hart's heroics put Rafa in firing line as Frank fluffs his lines

By CHRIS WHEELER

After kicking off his pre-match press conference by dropping the F-word, Roberto Mancini began his post-match address by paying tribute to the outgoing Pope.
Life is certainly interesting with the Italian in charge at Manchester City and that is one reason to hope he escapes the axe this summer.
As much as this win will help City to finish ahead of Chelsea in second place, it is unlikely to make any  difference in the Barclays Premier League title race. For that, the deeply religious Mancini still looks as though he will need divine intervention.
Even that eventuality would seem unlikely to save Rafael Benitez, however. Defeat at the Etihad  Stadium means the Spaniard has gained one more point than predecessor Roberto Di Matteo when he was sacked in November, but his team have played three games more.
Although salvation may yet be at hand in the Europa League and FA Cup, it would be a major surprise if the ‘interim’ prefix in his job title is not replaced by the word ‘ex’ this summer.
Benitez’s side deserved what they got here, going down to second-half goals from Yaya Toure and Carlos Tevez. They only managed two shots on goal and one of those was Frank Lampard’s penalty seven minutes after half-time, brilliantly saved by Joe Hart. Whether the England goalkeeper should still have been on the pitch is another matter.
He brought down Demba Ba when the Chelsea striker outpaced  a flailing Kolo Toure to reach  Branislav Ivanovic’s long punt  forward just in time to knock it past the keeper.
Referee Andre Marriner pointed to the spot but did not even  produce a yellow card.
One goal short of 200 for Chelsea and three off Bobby Tambling’s club record, Lampard would have expected to score having converted  his last 10 penalty attempts.
But Hart second guessed his  England colleague and was already  diving to his right when Lampard drove the ball low towards the corner. There was nothing wrong with the shot but Hart got a hand to the ball and turned it away at full stretch. ‘A crucial moment in the game,’ admitted Benitez.
It was also the perfect riposte from Hart after Mancini had threatened to drop his goalkeeper if he continues to make mistakes. The City boss was still not completely satisfied, however, criticising Toure and Hart for conceding a penalty in the first place.
Mancini took issue with some of his players at the weekend for only giving ‘50 per cent’ but he could have no complaints here.
Apart from a brief spell before half time, they were largely dominant only to come up against a  resolute Chelsea defence led by Gary Cahill. He produced two  magnificent blocks to thwart James Milner and Sergio Aguero and  also headed clear from Pablo Zabaleta’s volley.
Chelsea were opened up on two occasions when Aguero went clear on goal, but he knocked the ball too far past Petr Cech and on the second occasion dinked it on to the roof of the  Chelsea net.
The impressive Jack Rodwell, who played for nearly an hour on his first start since September, also tested the Chelsea keeper with a swerving effort from 25 yards.
Cech was finally beaten in the 63rd minute after David Silva played the ball to Yaya Toure on the edge of the area. John Mikel Obi and Lampard seemed to have the Ivorian covered but Toure swept round them both with ridiculous ease before seeing his right-foot shot take a nick off Cahill’s boot as it curled inside the far post.
Rodwell’s replacement, Tevez, made sure of victory with a  fantastic strike in the 85th minute when Chelsea failed to get the ball from Aguero, following his run down the left, and Silva fed Tevez on the edge of the box.
Again there were two defenders  in attendance but neither Cahill nor Ivanovic closed down the Argentine, who scarcely needed any  backlift to smash the ball between them and beyond a despairing Cech for his first league goal in nine games.
The result could prove crucial in securing second place for City,  leaving Chelsea to battle for the other automatic Champions League spot. Whether that scenario will be enough to save Mancini or Benitez remains to be seen.

Manchester City: Hart, Zabaleta, K Toure, Nastasic, Clichy, Garcia, Milner, Rodwell (Tevez 53) Silva (Lescott 90), Y Toure, Aguero (Nasri 90).

Subs not used: Pantilimon, Dzeko, Sinclair, Kolarov.
Goals: Y Toure 61, Tevez 85
Booked: Zabaleta, Kolo Toure, Rodwell

Chelsea: Cech, Ivanovic, Cahill, Luiz, Cole, Mikel (Torres 81), Lampard (Oscar 67), Ramires (Moses 67) Mata, Hazard, Ba.

Subs not used: Turnbull, Oscar, Terry, Azpilicueta, Bertrand.
Booked: Ramires

Referee: Andre Marriner (West Midlands)
Attendance: 47,256

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Mirror:

Manchester City 2-0 Chelsea Paying the penalty:
Toure and Tevez punish Lampard spot-kick flop as City beat Chelsea

David McDonnell

Devout Catholic Roberto Mancini thanked outgoing Pope Benedict XVI on his final day at the Vatican.
But no amount of divine intervention may be enough to maintain Manchester City’s status as Premier League champions, despite this deserved and vital victory over Chelsea atthe Eitihad.
Mancini famously went to church on the morning of the final day of last season, his prayers answered by his City’s dramatic title triumph over local rivals Manchester United.
But as impressive as this win was, it served only to trim United’s lead to 12 points, and with City still to travel to Old Trafford, the title race is all but over.
Respectability, in terms of not allowing United to claim the title by an embarrassing points margin, is now City’s aim, despite Mancini’s admirable refusal to concede the inevitable.
With the Blues breathing down their neck in third place, just four points behind at the start of the day, the win also strengthened City’s prospects of cementing second place at the expense of their pursuers.
Having dropped seven points in their previous three Premier League games to hand United a seemingly unassailable lead in the title race, City rediscovered their swagger to devastating effect.
Chelsea’s cautious policy of containment, content to concede possession then hit on the break, was tested early on as City laid siege to the visitors’ goal without success.
Matija Nastasic saw a header saved by Petr Cech, while Jack Rodwell, making only his third start since his £12million move from Everton, was denied by a crucial block from Gary Cahill.
The visitors were content to sit deep, but such a mindset invited City on to them, with Sergio Aguero squandering a chance in the 19th minute, when he rounded Cech but lost control of the ball.
Chelsea’s lack of enterprise was epitomised by Frank Lampard hoofing a 35-yard free-high into the stand midway through the first-half, the effort more Six Nations than Premier League.
There was no let-up from City, whose stand-in skipper Pablo Zabaleta went close to scoring with a spectacular volley in the 39th minute, Cahill rescuing Chelsea once again with a vital headed block.
Rodwell was dominant in central midfield, forcing Cech into a fingertip save over the bar in the 41st minute with a long-range dipping strike.
But the goal City’s pressure deserved continued to elude them, with Rodwell again threatening to score a minute later, his header from a David Silva corner planted straight at Cech.
City began the second half with the same intensity that made them the dominant team in the first 45 minutes.
Two minutes after the restart, Aguero sent an acrobatic volley wide, the skewed effort failing to do justice to the impressive build-up that preceded it between Silva and Yaya Toure.
With City in command there seemed little chance of Chelsea making a breakthrough, yet Benitez’s side were handed an opportunity to do just that when Joe Hart conceded a penalty in the 50th minute.
Demba Ba raced on to Branislav Ivanovic’s long ball and profited from Hart and Kolo Toure’s slow reactions, the former bringing down the Chelsea striker, ref Andre Marriner right to point to the spot.
The Chelsea bench were incensed that Hart was not sent off, their anger compounded moments later when the City keeper saved Frank Lampard’s spot-kick, to deny the midfielder his 200th goal for the Blues.
Aguero went close on two further occasions before the deadlock was broken by Yaya Toure in the 63rd minute, moments after Ramires had fallen over within sight of goal.
Toure displayed a superb first-touch to skip past Lampard and John Obi Mikel and manoeuvre himself into a shooting position before curling a majestic finish beyond Cech.
City made sure of victory five minutes from time when substitute Carlos Tevez planted an unstoppable shot in the top corner for his 11th goal of the season.
With Mancini’s future uncertain, a strong finish in the league – and a potential FA Cup win – will do the Italian’s job prospects no harm at all.

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Sun:

Rob Beasley

MANCHESTER CITY’S fans gave a rousing chorus of ‘Stand up for the champions’.
While they may only be able to do that for another couple of months, their team at least are not throwing in the towel.
Yesterday’s performance and victory proved that.
Roberto Mancini had been critical of some of his players for not kicking on after last season’s title-winning heroics.
It is true they have not touched the imperious periods they enjoyed either end of a dodgy middle in the last campaign.
But they have suffered in the face of an incredible run from Manchester United.
And, in the end, City will look back to a bad week-and-a-half.
That saw them drop seven points with draws against QPR and Liverpool and an awful defeat to Southampton, in a costly spell spanning the end of last month and the beginning of this.
It was a slip-up they simply could not afford as United took maximum points over the same period. But as Mancini pledged yesterday: “We will continue to work.”
Both City and Chelsea still have the carrot of the FA Cup left and in the Londoners’ case, the Europa League too.
A piece of silverware and a top-three place will hardly be a disaster, although a dispirited Chelsea might be more concerned about staying in the top four.
It could have been different for them yesterday had Frank Lampard not blown a chance from the penalty spot after 50 minutes to grab his 200th Chelsea goal and give them the lead.
But credit Joe Hart for a fantastic save.
City went up a gear after that when Mancini switched things around by bringing on an extra striker in Carlos Tevez.
Yaya Toure provided the opener on 63 minutes and Tevez himself added a thumping second five minutes from time. It was no more than City deserved.
They had enjoyed all the pressure and chances in the first half as Chelsea took to packing their penalty area.
Matija Nastasic and City’s forgotten man Jack Rodwell both had powerful close-range headers well saved.
Yaya Toure had a shot deflected over and Sergio Aguero spurned an opportunity when he chose to try and round Blues keeper Petr Cech rather than shoot.
After this pressure — and Chelsea’s negativity — it must have been all the more galling for Mancini to see his side concede a penalty after the break.
City fell asleep when a long ball from Branislav Ivanovic allowed Demba Ba to get away from Kolo Toure.
Ba went to round Hart, who brought the Chelsea striker down and was lucky not to get even a yellow card for the foul.
Up stepped Lampard, seemingly set to edge closer to the Chelsea club record of 202 goals held by Bobby Tambling.
His kick was hard and true towards the bottom corner — but Hart showed why he is the Premier League’s best as he flung himself full-length to his right to palm the ball away.
Hart has received some criticism this season, not least when Mancini revealed he would not be afraid to drop England’s No 1 if he made any more mistakes.
So you could understand the keeper’s screaming celebration after pulling off his crucial, brilliant stop.
That moment seemed to pep up City and the crowd.
Mancini quickly made the key change of bringing on Tevez.
It quickly paid dividends. James Milner found David Silva in the area and the tricky Spaniard held his man off before nipping the ball back for Yaya Toure.
With a duck of his shoulder he sidestepped two Chelsea players then curled a shot past a third — and Cech — into the far bottom corner.
Fantastic stuff from a player who City fans will have been pleased to read wants to finish his career at the club.
The second goal arrived five minutes from time.
Aguero was full of energy and movement all afternoon and his run initially opened things up before he found the sure touch of Silva to tee up Tevez five yards outside the area.
The Argentine had the time to steady the ball with one touch and then, as Ivanovic stood off, he released a scorching drive that flew past the outstretched arm of Blues keeper Cech.
That was goal 11 of the season for him.
After the game, Mancini publicly thanked the Pope for his eight years’ work at the head of the Catholic church.
With United 12 points clear at the top, Mancini will need the departing Pontiff’s boss to turn this title race around.
City fans will continue to hope and pray.

STAR MAN — SILVA (Man City)

MAN CITY: Hart 7, Zabaleta 7, K Toure 7, Nastasic 7, Clichy 7, Garcia 7, Y Toure 8, Rodwell 7 (Tevez 7), Milner 8, Aguero 5 (Nasri 5), Silva 8 (Lescott 5). Subs not used: Pantillimon, Dzeko, Sinclair, Kolarov. Booked: Rodwell, K Toure, Zabaleta.

CHELSEA: Cech 6, Ivanovic 5, Luiz 5, Cahill 6, Cole 6, Mikel 5 (Torres 5), Lampard 5 (Oscar 5), Ramires 5, Hazard 5 (Moses 5), Mata 5, Ba 6. Subs not used: Turnbull, Terry, Azpilicueta, Bertrand. Booked: Ramires.
REF: A Marriner 5