Man City 1-1

Independent:

Frank Lampard's return proves a non-starter but Blues nearly come undone to battling City
Chelsea 1 Manchester City 1:
Sam Wallace

Frank Lampard shared a joke with the Chelsea bench, he even managed to persuade a reluctant Jose Mourinho to shake hands with him beforehand and then, with 13 minutes left of the match he came on and Stamford Bridge prepared to have their hearts broken all over again.

Not this time for Lampard, not even for the man who has scored more times for Chelsea than any other in their history. Over 13 years he scored all kinds of goals at Stamford Bridge, in all kinds of games but in this, surely his last outing at the club that has defined his career, he did not add the postscript that Manuel Pellegrini will have hoped for.
When he came on at last there was some booing from the home fans but it was easily drowned out by clapping and cheers, and - one notable felt-pen and cardboard anti-Lampard placard aside - that was the mood. “The Chelsea fans showed complete class at the end,” Lampard said later. “I enjoyed this.”
The gap at the top of the table between the leaders Chelsea, and Manchester City in second place remains five points. It was City who looked the most likely to score in the second half having equalised through David Silva soon after Loic Remy’s opening goal, and it was them who pushed the most in those closing minutes.
For much of the second half, there was a risk averse mood to the game until in the closing stages Pellegrini seemed to sense that the energy Chelsea had expended mid-week against Liverpool was telling. He sent on Lampard first, then Edin Dzeko and Stevan Jovetic while Mourinho’s substitutions were much more with containment in mind.
At the final whistle, Mourinho punched the air, a clear indication of his feelings at securing a point with a team that was without the suspended Diego Costa and the injured Cesc Fabregas. The Chelsea manager boycotted his post-match press conference and sent none of his staff either, the blue swivel chair sitting empty. There will be a fine from the Premier League but that seems the least of his worries.
Frank Lampard applauds the Chelsea fans as well as the Manchester City supporters Frank Lampard applauds the Chelsea fans as well as the Manchester City supporters 
There were strong performances on both sides, notably Nemanja Matic and Fernandinho, although it came to a close with neither side really creating the second half chance that might have won the game. Lampard, speaking afterwards, said that it was a better result for his former club.
“There were more chances for City in the game,” he said. “Chelsea had a big old game in midweek and the draw probably suits them in the long run… we know what that lead is. But there are lots of points to play for.”
Pellegrini weighed his words more carefully but there was no doubt that he believed his team were the more attacking. “I don't know what happened with Chelsea, from the first minute we came for the three points.” Later he added: “I think both teams have a clear style of play. Everyone wants to play in the way they think is better. He [Mourinho] has a style. You analyse the style of Chelsea. I analyse just the style of my team.”
Chelsea already had the door half open on 41 minutes when Eden Hazard crossed from the left side having been picked out by Branislav Ivanovic’s left-footed ball from the right that the winger slotted across the box. Running towards his own goal, Vincent Kompany could have got there first but perhaps sensing that any touch might have deflected it past Joe Hart he decided against extending his legs and, coming in behind, Remy scored easily.
Remy scores to put Chelsea ahead Remy scores to put Chelsea ahead 
Until then Chelsea had seen less of the ball in attacking positions than the visitors and at times felt hemmed in. Yet Mourinho’s teams are generally comfortable on the back foot and although there were some close shaves it also felt like they were biding their time to break out.
Sergio Aguero should have scored on 32 minutes when a ball from very deep from Kompany caught out John Terry who turned towards his own goal, stretched and missed it. Coming from the right channel, the Argentine shot wide. Minutes earlier, Hazard left a ball on the edge of the area for Oscar but his shot was lame.
The goal from Remy, in the side in place of Costa, was the swift switch of play from one wing to another that Chelsea had been looking for all half. But they were not on top for long. In the final minute of the first 45, Bacary Sagna won the ball and played it wide for Jesus Navas. He crossed to the centre of the area where Thibaut Courtois should have taken the ball easily.
Courtois should have taken the cross before Silva's goal Courtois should have taken the cross before Silva's goal 
For reasons that were hard to discern, the Belgian goalkeeper, usually so composed in his decision making, essayed a risky punch that spun wildly off his knuckles and landed in the path of the most dangerous striker on the pitch. Aguero’s shot was drilled low. Silva was lurking in the area and guided the ball in past the defenders on the line.
Fitfully, Mourinho burst into outrage on the touchline but Mark Clattenburg handled him well – the patient dismay of a teacher dealing with an unusually difficult pupil. Through all the bravado, the Chelsea manager was delighted with a point.

Line-ups:
Chelsea (4-2-3-1): Courtois; Ivanovic, Zouma, Terry, Azpilicueta; Ramires, Matic; Willian (Droba, 80), Oscar (Loftus-Cheek, 90), Hazard; Remy (Cahill, 87).
Manchester City (4-2-3-1): Hart; Sagna, Kompany, Demichelis, Clichy; Fernando, Fernandinho (Lampard, 77); Navas, Silva (Jovetic, 89), Milner; Aguero (Dzeko, 84).

Referee: M Clattenburg
Man of the match: Matic (Chelsea)
Match Rating: 6

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Observer:

David Silva seizes point for Manchester City as Chelsea are checked
Chelsea 1 - 1 Man City
Daniel Taylor at Stamford Bridge

José Mourinho was not willing to offer his verdict on this tense struggle between the two teams at the top of the Premier League. Apparently it was the fault of Jamie Redknapp and all the other rotters in the media that Diego Costa was suspended and Mourinho, in turn, was applying his own ban. It is a siege mentality at Stamford Bridge right now and it is tempting to think they might have boarded up the pressbox and dismantled the television gantry if Manchester City had made the most of their superiority.
As it turned out, Costa was not too badly missed bearing in mind his replacement, Loïc Rémy, scored Chelsea’a goal. Yet they did badly miss Cesc Fàbregas given the way City’s midfield operated with the greater control. It was a strangely dishevelled performance from the league leaders and City had enough of the ball to feel like they ought to have darkened Mourinho’s mood even more.
 
Manuel Pellegrini’s side could not add to David Silva’s equaliser but they should head back to Manchester feeling encouraged by the pattern of the game and what it said, after 87 minutes, when Mourinho signalled for Remy to come off and brought on Gary Cahill to strengthen their lines of defence. In that moment Chelsea’s manager had virtually abandoned the idea of going for a winner and settled on keeping out a late City onslaught.
His team survived but when a game between first and second ends this way it does serve as a reminder that City, as their fans like to sing, will fight to the end of this title race.
They were certainly the more rounded team and it was unusual, to say the least, to see Chelsea with home advantage being pinned back into their own half. On other occasions there was a level of carelessness that must have startled Mourinho. Silva’s goal was a calamity for Thibaut Courtois but it was not the only occasion when normally dependable players made individual mistakes in and around their penalty area and it was strange to see such an accomplished group of footballers being so generous.
 
Chelsea, to give them their due, did start to cut out the defensive lapses as the game went on but they needed to because their opponents were throwing everything at them in those stages and, if anything, seemed encouraged by the message that Mourinho’s Rémy-Cahill switch sent out.
Jesús Navas had their first effort saved by Courtois after only 17 seconds and Pellegrini was entitled to be disappointed his side could not be more ruthless bearing in mind they had a number of chances at 0-0 and the best of the play in the second half without being able to put together a really inviting opportunity.
Chelsea had set out like a team that was reluctant to blur the lines between adventure and leaving themselves open to the counterattack and, by the end, it was a full-on backs-to-the-walls operation. “Boring, boring Chelsea,” the away end sang, along with various other uncomplimentary chants about Mourinho’s tactics. Yet City should also feel aggrieved with themselves because, on the balance of play, there is no doubt it was a missed opportunity.
 
At one point early on, Nemanja Matic lost the ball to Fernandinho and was fortunate the Brazilian’s shot was deflected behind for a corner. Sergio Agüero had a chance not long afterwards that originated from James Milner dispossessing Branislav Ivanovic and Pellegrini will also reflect on that moment, just after the half-hour, when John Terry misread the trajectory of a long ball from Vincent Kompany. Agüero was free but pulled his shot wide and, despite their dominance in the second half, City did not get a chance of that nature again.
Chelsea opened the scoring with virtually their first attack of real penetration and the goal was a personal ordeal for Bacary Sagna given that Pellegrini had trusted him with the job of subduing Eden Hazard on the left of Chelsea’s attack. Sagna might be marginally quicker than City’s usual right-back, Pablo Zabaleta, but the Argentinian is a better natural defender and it showed when Ivanovic picked out his team-mate.
 
Sagna had switched off and Hazard returned the ball, first-time, across the six-yard area. Kompany withdrew his leg at the crucial moment, perhaps fearing that he might turn the ball into his own goal, and in hindsight he probably should have taken the risk with Rémy lurking behind him to fire past Joe Hart.
What followed was unusual bearing in mind Chelsea’s reputation – Bradford City aside – as the best team in the country at holding on to a lead. On this occasion it lasted only four minutes and featured the first major mistake from Courtois since his return to his parent club from Atlético Madrid. Milner’s presence might have distracted the goalkeeper as he came to punch Navas’s right-wing cross but it was not a valid excuse for completely missing the ball. Agüero, as usual, was loitering with intent and swung his left foot at the ball. The shot was going wide but Silva was there to apply the decisive touch inside the six-yard area.
After the interval, it was rare to see Chelsea being pinned inside their own half. Milner and Navas impressed on the wings. Fernandinho and Fernando made Yaya Touré’s absence not feel important and Mourinho became so agitated it required a tête-à-tête with Mark Clattenburg on the touchline. Mourinho seems permanently dissatisfied with the refereeing kingdom but Clattenburg officiated the game impressively and it was not his fault – or the fourth official Jon Moss – that Chelsea did not pass the ball with more authority.
Pellegrini sent on Frank Lampard to face his old club but Mourinho had ensured there were an awful lot of bodies to get through.

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Telegraph:

Chelsea 1 Manchester City 1
Summit meeting ends in stalemate
Jason Burt

Jose Mourinho is quickly, typically, developing a siege mentality inside Stamford Bridge and he replicated that out on the pitch here as Chelsea withheld Manchester City’s determined attempts to slice their five-point lead at the top of the Premier League table.
As the contest appeared set to play itself out all eyes turned to Frank Lampard. Eventually he did come on, with 14 minutes to go, with surely the script prepared. It seemed inevitable that on his final appearance at Stamford Bridge, after all he has achieved at this arena, all the goals and honours and “Super Frankie” accolades – the banner returned – that he would break Chelsea hearts while wearing City blue.
At the end the 36-year-old toured the pitch one last time, accepting the applause and warm chants but it was only after a draw, even if it felt a win-win for him. Mourinho had shaken hands with Lampard as he sat on the substitutes bench but he then shackled him on the pitch with Gary Cahill deployed in the dying minutes as a holding midfielder as Chelsea bolstered their defences even further. There was no way Lampard was going to be permitted a sniff at goal.
“It was strange but I knew it would be different. I enjoyed it,” Lampard said later and he had appeared nervous. “It is a special place for me here and I am coming back with a very good team. I think City maybe edged it.” He was right, they did edge it.
Mourinho carried that sense of grievance into the game – refusing to speak to the media because of the way the so-called ‘stamping’ ban on Diego Costa was analysed, discussed, “campaigned” for, reported. This game drew a record number of rights holders and broadcasters including a crew from Kazhakstan – what did they make of it all?
Mourinho maintained his silence afterwards. How long will this last? Presumably until he feels he has made his point. He did not even offer up his assistant Steve Holland.
This was about gaining a point – and ensuring that City did not claim all three. Chelsea were ahead, briefly, and must have harboured ambitions of stretching their advantage to eight points and with it surely snuffing out the challenge of the champions. But eventually they settled for maintaining the status quo. It was another step towards the title for Mourinho, even if City captain Vincent Kompany felt moved to declare: “Experience tells us that five points is nothing. It gives us enough confidence to push on.”
City played well enough to have won and will come away believing they should have done. Chelsea had just three shots –“ and not one in the second half – which represented the lowest total they have recorded in a Premier League match since 2003/04. The clearer opportunities, and there were not many, fell to the visitors.
But this was about game-management for Mourinho. He was without the suspended Costa and the injured Cesc Fabregas. The midfielder’s creativity was sorely missed.
Mourinho had to use players who had been pushed into extra-time only last Tuesday in that intense Capital One Cup tie against Liverpool.
 
Mourinho harnessed that sense of grievance and he rode it out. He was full of gestures and gesticulations and the officials – referee Mark Clattenburg chief among them – were left in no uncertain terms as to his mood. He turned to the fourth official Jon Moss imploringly, disapprovingly. He turned to the stands. He looked at the heavens – and he cajoled his players to the point they required as tiredness gripped their legs.
The Chelsea fans responded. They chanted “Diego”, they aimed some abuse at Jamie Redknapp, the Sky pundit regarded as the witch-finder general, and they verbally sparred with the City supporters. They also nursed that sense that officialdom was against them.
Mourinho also had to contend with that rarest of things: a mistake by Thibaut Courtois. It came at a critical point – just after Chelsea had taken the lead with an accomplished goal and just before half-time. It came as Chelsea claimed the ball had gone out of play for a throw-in – it had not fully – and that Jesus Navas was offside. He was not. Branislav Ivanovic had played him on.
It came as the Spaniard swung in a cross and James Milner jumped. Courtois flapped at the ball and it fell to Sergio Agüero who steadied himself and fired low and goalwards. Ivanovic had recovered to cover the goal but the shot was going wide until David Silva reacted sharply to divert it into the net. Mourinho turned on his heels in disgust. Courtois looked stunned.
It drew City level. They had fallen behind to the one piece of incisive play Chelsea could sustain and inevitably that involved Eden Hazard, who was even more responsible for providing that cutting edge in Fabregas’s absence.

The Belgian broke away. The ball was ferried crossfield to Willian. He held off Martin Demichelis and a chance was created for Ivanovic to cross, picking out Hazard who superbly volleyed the ball low back across goal for Costa’s replacement Loïc Rémy – preferred to Didier Drogba – who fired past Joe Hart from close range. It was an accomplished creation but was Kompany again caught out? The defender had pulled out of intervening for fear of scoring an own goal.
Before that Ivanovic – perhaps feeling the effects of a deep cut to his foot sustained against Liverpool – was caught out twice, with Fernandinho’s eventual shot deflected wide. Then Courtois saving smartly from Agüero after the striker fashioned space for a powerful drive. Agüero was then allowed to run clear of John Terry only to screw his shot narrowly wide. City manager Manuel Pellegrini held his head in his hands at that one.
He knew chances would be difficult to eke out – effectively later accusing Mourinho of parking the bus – and into the second half there would not be another opportunity as clear as that one. Fernandinho headed down into the turf, allowing Courtois to tip the ball over the bar. The Brazilian midfielder then shot weakly at the goalkeeper.

But Chelsea would not be breached. Nemanja Matic, as ever, was outstanding.
Terry was imperious while Cahill’s replacement, Kurt Zouma, the 20-year-old French defender who was outstanding. Zouma has strength and growing composure and above all pace to burn and it feels like it could be a long way back into the team for Cahill.
There would be no late drama. With the substitutes on, Drogba and Edin Dzeko among them, there was one last chance as Milner finally managed to find some space – only to fall between sending in a cross and a shot. The ball flew past the far post and the draw was taken.
“The last few games we’ve dropped our standards a bit but that was more like it,” Lampard said. “It keeps it bubbling. I don’t think either team can be too upset with the result.” Mourinho is bubbling also.
He remains upset and will continue to develop that sense of grievance as he attempts to hold off City’s challenge.

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Mail:

Chelsea 1-1 Manchester City
Jose Mourinho's side remain five points clear as league leaders claim vital point at Stamford Bridge

By Rob Draper

So there will be no title decided in January. Innate caution won the day over decisive risk taking. In short, the spectacle did not fit the billing. Not even the return of Frank Lampard to Stamford Bridge for the final 15 minutes of the game — the reaction was generally, though not exclusively, warm — could inject the necessary drama or create the fantastic finale.
Chelsea and Manchester City both live to fight another day. The winter slog continues and the warm spring of title celebrations still seems some way off. In the end, Manuel Pellegrini had more to lose, though it was his side which created the better chances and it was they who sought the winner in those final anxious minutes.
Jose Mourinho was, of course, content. ‘What we have, we hold,’ might well be his mantra and a five-point lead going into February will suit just fine. The statistics will show they recorded just three shots, their lowest at home since 2003-04 and none in the second half. All will be forgiven if the title returns.
Mourinho is still not talking to the press, but we didn’t need his words to confirm what his intentions are in the coming months. There will be no rash dash for the line. When he can, he will entertain; when he is challenged, he will revert to type.
For Pellegrini the only victory he could claim was moral. ‘I think both teams have a clear style of play,’ he said. ‘Everyone wants to play in the way they think is better.
‘You analyse the style of Chelsea and I analyse the style of my team. I’m very proud of the way we played away against the leaders, where normally Chelsea wins.
‘We tried to win the game from the first minute, I’m very proud about that. And I think we created the chances, especially in the second half, to deserve more than the three points. I’m not happy about a point but I’m happy about the performance.’
He would not be drawn into a philosophical discussion of Mourinho’s football. ‘I’m not saying we’re more attacking,’ he added. ‘I’m saying both teams have a clear style.’ But that is not strictly true. Chelsea have scored 52 goals this season. When they wish to attack, they can; Saturday was not such an occasion.
Nevertheless it left Pellegrini convinced he can still win the League. ‘I said before the game that it was very important but not the final so we still have time to recover those five points. And if we continue the way we did today it will be easier.’
It wasn’t that the football was bad, though the individual errors which characterised the first half will have embarrassed some stellar reputations, Vincent Kompany and Thibaut Courtois among them. For much of the game the problem was both sides were good, just not in the way that excites you and grabs your senses. There was much for coaches to admire in midfield: solidity, tracking back, good team shape. There was a wild moment towards the end, when James Milner swept a shot across goal, when you could believe that a dramatic conclusion was imminent. Yet chances were few, the Milner moment notable for its rarity rather than its clear-cut nature.
The opening exchanges set the tone: tetchy and tight. When the chances and goals came, it was individual errors, calamitous ones from seasoned pros, which were to blame.
It started on 24 minutes, when Branislav Ivanovic lost possession to Milner, a mistake which required Courtois to parry a shot from Sergio Aguero. Then it was Kompany losing out to Loic Remy, who crossed for Oscar, whose shot forced a Joe Hart save.
On 32 minutes, Chelsea, busy appealing for a penalty, were caught out by a long ball which saw John Terry slip and Aguero break clear. The Argentinian should have scored but pulled the ball wide.
And on 42 minutes Chelsea would prise City open with a quite delightful lofted ball from Ivanovic which found Eden Hazard in space on the far left. The Belgian delivered an exquisite first-time volleyed cross but for some reason Kompany, perhaps fearful of turning it into his net, appeared half-hearted as he slid in to block. As such, he let the ball through to Remy, who had the simplest task in turning it in. Kompany punched the ground in frustration, acknowledging his error.
From such positions Mourinho’s team rarely surrender. Yet three minutes later they had. This time it was Courtois who had the aberration, flapping at a Jesus Navas cross. Perhaps he was distracted by Milner, but the ball fell to Aguero, who shot and saw David Silva turn his strike into the net.
Thereafter, the game reverted to type. The highlight of the day was referee Mark Clattenburg giving Mourinho the kind of look primary school teachers reserve for their naughtiest pupils as the Chelsea manager protested another decision.
City sat in Chelsea’s half in the second half without threatening much. There was a Fernandinho header into the ground which bounced upwards, requiring Courtois to tip the ball over on 56 minutes and a shot on 68 minutes from the Brazilian but Courtois collected that easily enough.
The principal excitement came when Lampard returned, trotting on to a mixed reception with 15 minutes to go. Even he could not produce a denouement on such an auspicious occasion and perhaps because of that he was greeted warmly from all around the ground when the final whistle went. For Lampard alone it was a day not to forget.

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Mirror:

Chelsea 1-1 Manchester City: Silva cancels out Remy opener as Blues maintain five-point gap at the top
 
By Dave Kidd
 
Jose Mourinho's men were on the back-foot for the large part at Stamford Bridge as the absence of big-hitters Fabregas and Costa was felt

David Silva earned Manchester City a point to keep the Premier League title race alive – but Manuel Pellegrini's men left Stamford Bridge feeling they should have cut Chelsea's lead to two points.
With his former Atletico Madrid understudy, Diego Costa, controversially banned, it was left to the Argentine to produce a leading-man peformance and set up David Silva for the equaliser after a Thibaut Courtois blunder on the stroke of half-time, to swiftly cancel out Loic Remy's opener.
As Jose Mourinho continued his sulk in the wake of Costa's three-match ban for stamping on Liverpool's Emre Can in the Capital One Cup semi-final and Frank Lampard returned to the Bridge for a cameo appearance as a 77th-minute sub, it was Chelsea who ended up the happier with a point.
City did most of the attacking but Chelsea maintain their five-point lead as the Premier League's top two largely cancelled each other out – despite the visitors showing most of the attacking intent.
Courtois had been busy within 30 seconds of the start, pushing out a Jesus Navas shot after a slick City move.
And he was forced into a fine save from Aguero after Branislav Ivanovic's dozy pass was cut out by James Milner and the Argentine striker wriggled free to shoot.
Kurt Zouma, again preferred to Gary Cahill, made a crucial tackle to deny Aguero a clear sight of goal.
But Chelsea had their moments and when the shaky Vincent Kompany gifted possession to Loic Remy, he squared for Oscar to test Joe Hart from range.
Aguero then beat Terry to a long and shot wide across goal.
So it was against the run of play when Chelsea seized the lead on 41 minutes, Ivanovic lofting a ball from right to left, Eden Hazard producing a cushioned first-time centre for Remy to tap home when Kompany did not react quickly enough to cut out the danger.
But Chelsea's lead barely lasted two minutes – with Courtois, so commanding in both legs of the Capital One Cup semi-final victory over Liverpool – suffering a brainstorm.
Navas crossed from the right and Courtois, seemingly distracted by a City runner, misjudged and flapped. Aguero drilled at goal as Silva prodded home.
After the break, Courtois had to be alert when a downward header from Fernandinho bounced up and forced him to tip over.
Lampard made his arrival in the 77 minute to a mixture of applause and boos from the home fans
But Milner drove wide across the face of goal as Mourinho attempted to shut up shop, bringing on defender Cahill for striker Remy in the dying minutes.

Teams
Chelsea: Courtois, Ivanovic, Zouma, Terry, Azpilicueta, Ramires, Matic, Willian, Oscar, Hazard, Remy
Subs: Cech, Ake, Drogba, Cahill, Christensen, Loftus-Cheek, Brown
Manchester City: Hart, Sagna, Demichelis, Kompany, Clichy, Fernando, Fernandinho, Navas, Silva, Milner, Aguero
Subs: Caballero, Kolarov, Boyata, Zabaleta, Lampard, Jovetic, Dzeko

Next three league fixtures
Chelsea: Aston Villa (A), Everton (H), Burnley (H)
Manchester City: Hull (H), Stoke (A), Newcastle (H)

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Express:

Chelsea 1 - Man City 1: Honours even as Mourinho's men maintain five point lead
TWENTY FOUR different TV companies transmitting this battle of the titans to a record 175 countries.

By John Richardson

An estimated global audience of 650 million but not one word from a chastened Jose Mourinho – well at least to the assembled media.
‘The Silent One’ was ready for war – something fourth official Jon Moss quickly discovered as the Portuguese berated him at every opportunity.
Referee Mark Clattenburg must have wished he was at another Ed Sheeran concert as he was forced to have words with the Chelsea boss.
It had been a siege mentality brilliantly executed by the Stamford Bridge boss which had reached its zenith with the three match ban of Diego Costa and also involved the Chelsea fans taking a verbal pop at Sky Sports pundit Jamie Redknapp who, according to Mourinho, had been part of the conspiracy against his side.
Even his programme notes had been condensed to a few paragraphs, claiming the football world was lined up against his club as he said: ‘We also remember the moments when the gods of football were against us’.
What no one can dispute is that Mourinho and his teams usually deliver when it matters.
Without being anywhere near their best and without their striking talisman Chelsea were able to maintain the status quo at the top of the Premier League table, this draw maintaining the five point gap.
Chelsea knew they couldn’t afford to keep looking to the back of the dug out at Costa and the injured Cesc Fabregas.
It was all about the here and now, and two goals in three minutes ensured that half-time arrived with this fascinating game on the boil.
Chelsea struck first through Loic Remy’s third league goal of the season but it was Eden Hazard who was the real architect of Manchester City’s demise at the back.
There was plenty to do when Nemanja Matic’s ball arrived close to the by line but a brilliant volleyed cross begged Remy to finish from inside the six yard box.
But City are not going to give up their title without a fight and didn’t take long to respond although earlier there had been more controversy, an assistant referee ruling that Hazard had taken the ball over the touchline for a City throw.
Chelsea believed it was yet another miscarriage of justice and were left cursing even more when David Silva took advantage of disarray at the back to level the scores.
Thibaut Courtois’ attempted punch from a Jesus Navas cross only fell to Aguero on the edge of the area.
With little fuss he shot goalwards and Silva was able to apply the vital clinical touch, the ball evading Branislav Ivanovich on the line.
Chelsea were deflated and struggled to rediscover their rhythm with City looking the more potent as Mourinho grew more and more exasperated.
By comparison the taciturn Manuel Pellegrini was a beacon of calm, especially with his side carrying the greater threat.
Navas was a constant source of danger although City’s executor in chief Aguero wasn’t at his sharpest in front of goal.
Earlier he had been presented with a golden chance to display his finishing prowess but the striker’s finish was unusually wayward.
Mourinho didn’t know who to moan at, his absent defenders or the officials who he claimed had missed a hand ball from Martin Demichelis just seconds earlier.
Thankfully all parties proved that a senseof humour hadn’t been completely lost as Mourinho kicked a loose ball at James Milner after a free-kick had been awarded in front of the technical area.
‘An accident’ protested the Chelsea boss as he apologised all round. Milner simply smiled.
But there was a grimace when you know who was preparing to enter a throbbing coliseum. Surely Frank Lampard who endured a mixture of cheers and boos wasn’t going to write another incredible script?
Not this time. But City went so, so close but in the end they couldn’t do a Bradford City.

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Star:

Chelsea 1 - Man City 1: Blues hold on for point as Jose Mourinho stays silent
JOSE MOURINHO kept his vow of silence last night, again refusing to talk about his club.


By Tony Stenson

Just as well. He would need to explain how his side continue to excite and frustrate.
How they let slip a lead and continue to have Man City breathing down their necks when they were running away with the title.
How they struggled at the end – and parked the bus as City went for broke and were all over them.
Not forgetting how Arsenal and the pack are not far behind. Arsene Wenger led a crop of managers chuckling at the result.
Mourinho would also have needed to explain why his keeper Thibaut Courtois, considered one of the world’s finest, fluffed a cross like a Sunday league keeper to witness City wipe out Chelsea’s lead within a minute.
And his appalling touchline behaviour, where he was constantly brought to book by the fourth official for leaving his area and was eventually spoken to by referee Mark Clattenburg.
He was lucky not to be sent to the stand.
Mourinho has gone in for this monk-like existence because he feels the world is against his club.
Total rubbish, of course, but it often deflects what is happening on the field.

Chelsea, after their blistering start to the season, are looking fragile on occasions and relying far too heavily on Eden Hazard.
There were long periods of midfield snapping, chances being wasted and top stars not fulfilling their potential.
All this in front of the biggest TV audience ever to watch a Premier League game, with crews from around the world tuned into to what was billed as the title decider.

City were never overawed by the occasion and but for sloppy finishing could have broken the Stamford Bridge hoodoo and inflicted a first league defeat in 11 games.
They were on top in the final stages as Chelsea battened down the hatches.
Mourinho gave notice of his vow of silence by writing just seven paragraphs in the Chelsea programme.
He was not keen to hold a welcoming hand to City and their manager Manuel Pellegrini – he has previous there and is still smarting from when the City boss called Chelsea “a small team”.
It led to a frantic game, tackles going in, skirmishes bristling but overall it lacked quality.

Oscar wasted a 29th-minute chance by shooting tamely into the hands of Joe Hart on one of the rare occasions Chelsea found space in City’s defence.
After Chelsea were twice denied penalty appeals for handball, City broke clear and Sergio Aguero shot wide with only Courtois to beat in the 32nd minute.
Chelsea produced the best moment of the first half and deservedly took the lead.
Hazard and Loic Remy broke clear, brought Willian and then Branislav Ivanovic into the act and from his pass, Hazard crossed for Remy to score in the 42nd minute.
But within a minute City were level.
Navas crossed and Courtois fluffed his clearance, his punch going to Aguero whose shot was turned in by David Silva.
It was obvious the absence of Diego Costa, who has scored 17 times in 19 Premier League appearances, was a major blow for Chelsea.
It meant Frank Lampard’s introduction was a footnote to the Mourinho show.
Lampard said: “The last few games we’ve dropped our standards a bit but that was more like it.
“It keeps it bubbling. I don’t think either team can be too upset with the result.”