Manchester City 0-1

Telegraph:

Chelsea 0 Manchester City 1

Pep Guardiola's side dominate disappointing Blues as Kevin De Bruyne magic seals win

Sam Wallace

There are mistakes in the history of certain clubs and then there is Chelsea’s disastrous decision to sell Kevin De Bruyne, among the few players in the world who can determine the outcome of a game with a moment of brilliance, and a man who seems destined to haunt them over and again.

De Bruyne was the match-winner for Manchester City in this peak of the Premier League showdown, a collision between two of the best teams in the competition although, on this day, it was only really the visitors who showed up. They deserved their victory, dominating the game up until the moment that De Bruyne slammed a left-foot shot past Thibaut Courtois to win the game for a City side who had come forward relentlessly for most of the match.

The Belgium international was the pick of a fine City team and in the fleeting moments in which he took a return pass from Gabriel Jesus and advanced into a pocket of space on the edge of the Chelsea area, the outcome seemed inevitable. City finally had their big gun in range of the target and the level at which De Bruyne has now reached means that he rarely misses.

Pep Guardiola’s team sit top of the league, a goal better off than Manchester United who also have 19 points, and have now seen off Chelsea in one of the most demanding fixtures of the season, even without the recently injured Sergio Aguero. Their manager was buoyant afterwards, cheerfully discussing everything from Fabian Delph’s renaissance to the Catalan independence referendum, forever “so, so happy” but now with much greater justification.

City are playing according to the Guardiola masterplan, a team who insist on pressing their opponents high up the pitch and, according to their manager, setting out their stall from the first moment that, in his words, “these guys have come here to win”.

He promised to prosecute the same approach at Old Trafford, White Hart Lane and the Emirates with the confidence now high in the players that this can work for them. In Guardiola’s words it is “suicide by stupid guys” to play high up the pitch without pressing the ball, and he had the players willing to do it in his hard-running front three.  To then go on to win you need footballers as gifted as De Bruyne and David Silva, but then credit also goes to the unflinching Fernandinho in midfield and Delph, who had a very good game at left-back.

By contrast Chelsea were a disappointment, especially their own match-winner-in-chief Eden Hazard, starting his first league game of the season but substituted before the end.
His replacement, Pedro, immediately looked a more vibrant option and there was a much better last 20 minutes for the home side, with City finally denied the right to run the show.

Chelsea lost Alvaro Morata to injury with just 34 minutes on the clock, the striker who had six goals in six league games reporting a hamstring problem that he did not wish to make worse. He was replaced by Willian, who formed a partnership with Hazard that made few inroads and only at the end, when Conte switched to 3-4-3 did Chelsea push their visitors back. They might have pinched an equaliser but they certainly would not have deserved one.

It is hard not to ask afresh the question as to how De Bruyne, now arguably the league’s pre-eminent footballer, and certainly its best midfielder on ­current form, was finally allowed to leave Stamford Bridge in August 2014 for a mere £18 million.

That was a different Chelsea manager who was having different arguments over different players, but it is a decision that continues to cost Chelsea. Conte sidestepped that particular thicket of thorns, instead preferring just to say that he thought his players had given their very best, although if that is their best then it will not be enough to ensure they retain the title.

It was hard to think of a single major chance they created when they were in need of the equaliser and the system that reaped such rewards last season was strangely ineffective with Victor Moses on the bench. Conte adjusted his usual 3-4-3 formation to accommodate a five-man midfield in which Cesc Fabregas, Tiemoue Bakayoko and N’Golo Kante all featured, yet they seemed just to fall ever deeper in face of the onslaught. By the end of the first half they had made just over a third of the passes that City had, and generally looked like an away team trying to counter-attack.

There were a couple of moments when Hazard slowed to a standstill and hovered a foot over the ball, promising a defence-splitting dash forward, but he never quite delivered. Before he was replaced, he only really had a sight of goal after the hour when a free-kick he had won was clipped left to him and he hit a shot from a difficult angle that Ederson blocked.

At the other end, Marcos Alonso, one of Chelsea’s better performers, got a block on a David Silva shot before City scored a minute later. The move, starting with Nicolas Otamendi and going from De Bruyne to Jesus and back again, before the Belgian set the cross-hairs and swept the ball past Courtois.

City should have had another with six minutes left when Jesus caught the ball true on the left side of the area and Antonio Rudiger set his neck muscles in time to head the shot out of the ­goalmouth. Although Chelsea raised their game at the end it was hard to think of a single chance that was created other than an Andreas Christensen header over the bar late on when it was at last City’s turn to dig in and keep their shape.

On the touchline, as the pressure increased in the closing stages, Guardiola demanded even that his players chest Chelsea’s crosses into the area rather than head them away and invite more pressure. Yet right to the end they remained steadfast in their belief that the ball must be passed and not lumped out of defence. The City manager is not easily pleased and his mood afterwards suggested that this team are close to the side he has always envisaged.

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Observer:

Chelsea sunk by Kevin De Bruyne winner for Manchester City
Chelsea 0 - 1 Man City

Daniel Taylor at Stamford Bridge

Perhaps the most alarming thought for the other teams with aspirations of winning the Premier League is that Manchester City could produce this show of strength, passing the ball so elegantly and comprehensively outplaying the reigning champions, without even being able to call upon the player who is one goal short of establishing himself as their joint all-time record scorer.

It is a scary thought for the teams chasing Pep Guardiola’s side at the top of the league and if Chelsea had suspected Sergio Agüero’s absence might work in their favour they were quickly made to realise that was a mistake. The days have passed when an injury to Agüero might cause City lasting disruption. They were the better team in every department and, by the end, it was starting to feel like a trick of the imagination that they had trailed Chelsea by 15 points last season.

Chelsea might do well just to stay in touch this season bearing in mind the imbalance of talent on show here and the latest evidence that the club were far too hasty in allowing Kevin De Bruyne to leave Stamford Bridge. De Bruyne is at a level now where he can justifiably be ranked among the world’s elite footballers. He was not the only player in City’s colours to excel and an argument could legitimately be made that it was the most complete team display, from back to front, of the Guardiola era. Yet it was De Bruyne who provided the game’s decisive moment.

The winning goal was another outstanding addition to the Belgian’s portfolio, aided and abetted by David Silva’s enduring brilliance, the penetrative qualities of Leroy Sané and Raheem Sterling in the wide positions and the emergence of Gabriel Jesus as a player who can trouble the most accomplished defences. The celebrations at the end made it clear Guardiola and his players considered this more than just an ordinary victory.

They have now won eight games on the bounce in all competitions and, though it will always be their front players who attract most of the attention, it should not be overlooked that City, with Fabian Delph flourishing as a stand-in left-back, have beefed up their defence and now have a goalkeeper, Ederson, who is a clear upgrade on Claudio Bravo. Everybody knows the aesthetic qualities of Guardiola’s teams. Yet here, too, was a determination whenever they did lose the ball to get it back as quickly as possible. It was reminiscent of Barcelona’s tactics in Guardiola’s peak years – and that is the ultimate compliment, as far as his current club are concerned.

Chelsea looked sluggish in comparison. They rallied late on but a goal at that stage would have been an injustice and their disappointment was exacerbated by the hamstring injury that deprived them of Álvaro Morata for most of the match. Morata lasted only 35 minutes, leaving Antonio Conte with another opportunity to reiterate his complaints about the fatigue caused by their midweek trip to Madrid. To be fair to Chelsea’s manager, he did not make as big a deal of it as might have been anticipated.

It was true that City played with greater energy but, more than anything, they exuded the confidence of a side that had scored 16 times without reply in their last three league fixtures. They were quickly into their rhythm, using the full width of the pitch, with Sané and Sterling under instructions to cling to the touchline and push back the two Chelsea wing-backs. Silva seemed to be at the heart of everything and Fernandinho, a player who does not get a sliver of the credit he deserves, had another fine game.

There are not many teams who will back themselves here to out-pass the hosts but City defended with a high line, pressed for the ball and moved it with a speed and accuracy that was beyond their opponents. Chelsea were pinned back at times and when they did break out they did not keep the ball long enough to build up any sustained pressure. Eden Hazard, starting his first league game of the season, faded after a bright start. There was the sight of N’Golo Kanté misplacing what should have been a routine six-yard pass and putting the ball straight out for a throw-in. Willian found it difficult to make any difference after replacing Morata and there was the clear sense that Cesc Fàbregas is no longer the player he was. The passing statistics told their own story: Chelsea had only 38% of the possession.

It was rare to see Chelsea being given this treatment on their own ground and when the goal arrived from De Bruyne’s left foot, midway through the second half, it was the culmination of a ten-minute spell when City had at least four opportunities to take the lead. De Bruyne’s one-two with Jesus was quick and incisive. As soon as De Bruyne moved on to the return pass, it was clear he was going to let fly. Twenty yards out, it was a beauty and City had the goal that propelled them back to the top of the league. They are going to take some shifting.

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Mail:

Chelsea 0-1 Manchester City: Kevin De Bruyne brilliantly fires Pep Guardiola's side to victory in hugely impressive performance against champions
By Rob Draper for The Mail on Sunday

The bass line of the stereo in the Manchester City dressing room was still thumping loudly, clearly audible a good hour after the final whistle. Fernandinho is normally in control of the playlist and the Brazilian clearly felt his team had something to celebrate.
His manager seemed to agree, Pep Guardiola embracing his coaching staff at the end with an intensity which suggested that, whilst he repeats the mantra that it is far too early to project their ultimate trajectory, he feels this team is on the right track.
And if the prize will ultimately go to those prepared to be bold and idealism really does trump pragmatism, then Pep Guardiola’s Manchester City will replace Chelsea as champions. No team in this league, not even the free-scoring Manchester United, seeks the initiative and demands the ball as they do.

And it will seemingly take more than the erratic driving of an Amsterdam cabbie to thwart their plans.
No Sergio Aguero, no problem: without his Argentine centre forward Guardiola still set out to take on the reigning champions in their backyard, outpass and outplay them, and go home with the spoils.
If not always at their glittering best – especially in a first half in which they conceded possession too readily – City held true to Guardiola’s idea of football.
They didn’t reach perfection but they did constantly aspire towards it. And in doing, they were eventually rewarded. If this was a stress test of City’s high line, Guardiola’s philosophy and their all-round robustness, then they passed it with something to spare.
‘We try with Manchester City to feel like a club, to convince the club we're able to go wherever and play our game,’ said Guardiola afterwards. ‘Of course you have to adapt to your opponents but we showed in the first minute that we were coming here to win the game. That is what I want to give to the club and that is what we did in this game.

‘We played with courage, to keep the ball, to make high pressing. We play so high. John Stones and Nicolas Otamendi were amazing making the line high. We are able to do that because our high pressing is good. It's suicide if there's no pressure on the ball. Even last season when we came here we weren't able to win. I'm so satisfied because we won in the way we tried from the beginning.’
Yet it didn’t always seem as though it would end that way. The narrative arc of the game was invested with suspense to suggest a potential alternative conclusion. For much of this game it seemed the wiliness of Antonio Conte would smother the idealism of Guardiola.
No matter that he was at home, once Conte had unluckily lost his only trusted centre forward in Alvaro Morata to a first half hamstring strain injury, he was prepared to sit this one out with no recognised striker on the pitch. Only when City did take the lead was Michy Batshuayi introduced.

Conte had signalled his intent from the off, with Cesar Azpilcueta preferred over Victor Moses.
This would be no gung-ho attempt to match City’s attacking prowess.
With his midfield three and with Anders Christiansen a natural born leader at the back, Chelsea were happy to harry City on the counter and did so quite effectively.
Conte’s reasoning was that, coming so soon after the Atletico game, Chelsea couldn’t possible match the intensity and pressing of City for 90 minutes and had to sit deep.
‘You can go very high to press and play a game with great intensity, but you must do this for the whole game,’ he said.
‘In another case, you must be disciplined, try to close the space and try to exploit the space behind the defenders.’
You wondered whether his praise for City – ‘after the transfer market, they improved a lot, they strengthened; it's right to complement them’ – was a veiled message to the Chelsea board and a management of expectations for this season.
For, though Chelsea are champions, they played as though they know their place in the new order.

Conte’s frustrations may well be shared by Chelsea’s Sporting Director Michael Emenalo, but with a slight different twist.
His concern must be that two players he plucked as youngsters for Chelsea’s future are on course to be the stars of this season for direct opponents: Romelu Lukaku at Manchester United and Kevin De Bruyne at City.
He shone on his return, none more so than when on 67 minutes Otamendi brought the ball out of defence and found the Belgian.
De Bruyne played his first touch to Gabriel Jesus before receiving a return ball and using the space he was afforded to strike a delightful, powerful, curling shot across Thibaut Courtois.
The trajectory of his run allowed him to continue into the arms of the celebrating City fans. By then, it was well deserved.

Yes, Chelsea had threatened on the counter before Morata’s withdrawal and with the quick and clever reverse-pass free-kick from Fabregas on 60 minutes that found Hazard were close to scoring.
But the overall momentum was with City. Raheem Sterling consistently had the better of Marcos Alonso and Gary Cahill. David Silva almost surprised Thibaut Courtois with a snatched shot on 30 minutes; and the Belgian goalkeeper had to react smartly again on 45 minutes when Fernandinho met De Bruyne’s corner firmly.
And they might have won by a healthier margin, when Gabriel Jesus almost decapitated Antonio Rudiger with a fierce shot, which the Chelsea defender headed off the line on 85 minutes.
No matter: the result, Guardiola’s first win over Chelsea, rather than the score-line, was what mattered. And it sent a decisive message as the first quarter of the season concluded.

Chelsea:

Courtois 7, Rudiger 7, Christensen 7, Cahill 6, Azpilicueta 7, Kante 7.5, Bakayoko 6.5(Batshuayi), Fabregas 6.5, Alonso 6.5, Hazard 7 (Pedro), Morata 6 (Willian)

Unused subs:
Caballero, Moses, Kenedy, Zappacosta,
Bookings:
Goals:

Manchester City:

Ederson 8.5, Walker 7, Stones 7.5, Otamendi 7, Delph 7, Fernandinho 7, Sterling 7, De Bruyne 9 (Danilo), Silva 8.5 (B. Silva), Sane 7 (Gundogan), Jesus 8

Unused subs:
Bravo, Mangala, Zinchenko, Toure
Bookings: Fernandinho, Otamendi
Goals: De Bruyne (67)

Referee: Martin Atkinson

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