Thank you very much for your company today. Jacob Steinberg was at Stamford Bridge today - here is his report.
Guardiola: “Today the guys were outstanding. They make me so proud.”
He goes onto say how he is proud of himself today as his plan worked but says there are many parts to their victory over Chelsea.
Yash Gupta says: “Tuchel sort of raised the white flag when he selected a midfield three. If he had selected Mount or Havertz, I don’t think Chelsea would’ve been pegged back too deep. In the end he pulled a ‘Pep’.”
I think it is fair to say that Tuchel’s tactics were far too defensive and negative today. He will have learned a tough lesson from the loss against an attacking City side.
Gabriel Jesus: “We prefer to play good, so we come to play against one of the best teams in the world, European champions, they are so good, they have a lot of amazing players. We played very good and won the game.
“I turned good, shot and got a little lucky but I am very happy to score that goal. The most important thing is that everyone played so good.
“It is not about the message, we always try to play as good as possible. We have a lot of top players to create the chances and score the goals.”
If you’re interested ... Aston Villa scored an 88th minute winner at Old Trafford against Manchester United. It gets better for City fans, too, as Bruno Fernandes missed a 93rd minute penalty.
The City players have sent their shirts into the stands, which is nice. Scott Carson is now out on the pitch to congratulate everyone. Scott, if you’re listening, I’d like your shirt.
What a second-half! It might have lacked a few clear cut chances but it was a relentless 45 minutes for all involved. City were the better team throughout but Chelsea put them under plenty of pressure, which the visitors coped with very well.
Full-time: Chelsea 0-1 Manchester City
A fully deserved win for City.
90+6 mins: Another long ball is sent into the box but Ederson once again comes to claim. Someone seems to have thrown a chocolate bar, possibly a Twirl at Ederson.
90+5 mins: Chelsea ping a free-kick to the edge of the area, which is flicked into the six-yard box but Ederson comes to claim.
90+4 mins: Fernandinho and Rudiger glide into each other, leaving the latter on the deck but he seems OK to get up.
Lukaku gets down the left and sends a great cross to the back post for Azpilicueta to attack but it goes over his head as he stumbles into Cancelo. The crowd want a penalty but there is no chance it is happening.
90+2 mins: Both get up after a long delay, so the four minutes of added time have only just started in earnest.
90 mins: Rudiger pings a pass over the top for Havertz but Ederson comes out to punch the ball clear inside the area. The Brazilian clashes with Havertz for his troubles, leaving both on the deck.
Four minutes are being added on but that could end up being a lot longer due to the treatment going on in the area to the two players.
89 mins: Lukaku gets behind Laporte and Dias after a long ball over the top but he can’t make much of it, as City clear his cross. Moments later Azpilicueta swings in a curling cross from the right with his less favoured left boot but it goes just over the Belgian striker’s head.
87 mins: Sterling and Fernandinho are on in place of Grealish and Foden. A great level of experience for Guardiola to be able to bring on at this stage of the game.
85 mins: Rudiger is the latest Chelsea man to be caution, this time for a foul on Mahrez.
Azpilicueta chips a pass into Werner who has found space in the area, he turns and volleys a shot at goal but it whacks into Dias’ chest. There are the traditional calls from the crowd for handball but there is no chance of that being the case.
83 mins: Werner gets down the right and sends in a very dangerous low cross for Havertz to attack but Walker beats him to it by a split second, otherwise Chelsea would be level.
Foden slips the ball through for Grealish to race onto, he gets one-on-one with Mendy and tries to dink it over the ‘keeper but he spreads himself well to deny the winger and keep Chelsea in the game.
81 mins: Grealish is infuriating Chelsea with his fine wing play. Loftus-Cheek is the latest to foul the former Villa man. Mahrez enters in De Bruyne’s place. This means Jesus is down the middle, Mahrez on the right and Foden dropping back to replace the Belgian.
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79 mins: Havertz catches Walker on the top on his foot to give City a free-kick on the right flank. De Bruyne swings it in for the City players to attack ... Laporte gets ahead of his marker but needs to stretch to make contact and his volleys goes just wide. Mahrez is coming on.
77 mins: Loftus-Cheek soon shows what he is on for, driving forward with the ball at his feet. Chelsea need that level of energy against a City midfield that has exerted from the first minute.
Alonso goes into the book for going through the back of Bernardo Silva as he looks to instigate an attack. Christensen then joins his teammate in the referee’s notepad for holding onto De Bruyne.
75 mins: Bernardo Silva cutely dispossesses Kovacic and launches a City attack, ending with Grealish finding Cancelo on the overlap but his cross is held by Mendy. Loftus-Cheek is coming on for Chelsea.
73 mins: Grealish chips the ball over Azpilicueta, who is forced to send the ball behind for a corner to alleviate the pressure. De Bruyne plays the corner short but when he gets the ball back he sends it hideously out of play.
71 mins: Lukaku controls well and lays a pass into Kovacic who is running into space. The Croatian fires off a shot from the edge of the box but Dias valiantly dives to block it.
The action is now relentless, that’s for sure. End-to-end stuff with plenty in between. Will City go for a second or will Guardiola get Fernandinho on soon to try and calm things down.
69 mins: De Bruyne releases Grealish down the left, he sends a cross with the outside of his boot along the six-yard box which Jesus collects at the back post, he returns it into a congested penalty area, allowing Chelsea to intervene. De Bruyne eventually gets the ball and fires off a shot, which is deflected wide. Chelsea clear the corner and break on City. It looks dangerous until Walker intercepts a pass to end the attack.
67 mins: Alonso takes the resulting free-kick but he pings his effort into De Bruyne’s head. Chelsea do get a corner for the Spaniard to swing in from the right but it is headed clear. The ball goes back out to Alonso whose cross with his right boot flies wildly out of play.
65 mins: Lukaku spins away from Laporte, who grapples him to the ground 20 yards from goal, earning a yellow for his indiscretion.
Richard Leather emails. “After all that has been said about Lukaku - being the complete player etc. he has been largely invisible in the two testing games for Chelsea - Liverpool and City… These were the games he was supposed to turn?”
The tactics and performance have no helped him. To be fair, Chelsea did play with 10 men for more than a half at Anfield.
63 mins: NO GOAL! The ball goes into Havertz who is a good two yards offside, he is allowed to carry on and knock the ball into Lukaku for a tap-in. This is a pulsating game now.
61 mins: OFF THE LINE! City break on Chelsea, with the ball ending up with Jesus aiming at goal. There are only defenders to beat, as Mendy is out of his goal but Thiago Silva is waiting to clear off the line. Jesus should score from there.
The open nature of the game now is making this fun. It is about to open up a touch more, as Havertz comes on for Kante.
“I think the whole Tuchel is a tactical genius is a bit over done,” emails Declan O’Brien. “In your assessment of the first half, you chastise city for not managing a shot on target, but ignore Chelsea’s failure to do so. You seem to be painting it as if Chelsea have a cunning plan to not even threaten to have a shot in the whole half. That can’t have been Chelsea’s ambition so therefore the plan or its application are faulty.”
I think I frequently pointed out that Chelsea’s game plan was to defend and hit on the counter, pointing out at half-time that the latter element had not worked.
59 mins: Grealish is in the box with the ball at his feet, he shifts it onto his right boot and gets a shot off from a tight angle. It looks like it is heading for the far corner but Mendy’s fingertips save Chelsea.
Chelsea are looking more ambitious. Lukaku gets the ball on the right and sends in a dangerous cross which Dias slides to clear.
57 mins: Rudiger takes the ball from around 40 yards out to the edge of the box, where he sends it out to Alonso to cross but Cancelo is there to head behind. The corner is taken by the Spaniard but it does not beat the first man and ends up back with Mendy within seconds.
Kovacic lifts his head up for the first time and sees space for Werner to run into. His pass is a dangerous one but Ederson reads it and comes out quickly to collect.
55 mins: Chelsea require a plan B here, as they need to actually attack City, something they’ve avoided doing thus far. It might also result in Chelsea opening up a a touch, giving City more space to play in, which would be very dangerous with City in this form.
GOAL! Chelsea 0-1 Manchester City (Jesus, 53)
Cancelo ploughs down the left, earning another City corner. It goes short and eventually comes into the area where it falls to the feet of Jesus, who spins and gets a shot off, which deceives Mendy due to a deflection and it nestles in the corner.
Updated
51 mins: City are still very much on top here against a Chelsea side who are sitting deep. It looks like the hosts have a chance to break but Werner is outnumbered in the corner and loses possession, as Chelsea have no one up with him for the counter.
49 mins: Grealish slides into the channel and pulls the back into the box to Bernardo Silva, who lays it off to De Bruyne whose shot is blocked. Grealish gets the ball soon after on the edge of the box, before creating space to curl a shot towards the corner but it goes just wide.
47 mins: Azpilicueta is caught on the ankle by Foden when clearing the ball. Chelsea cannot afford to lose another wing-back.
Second half
Here we go again!
“Wouldn’t it be better for City to push De Bruyne all the way to a striker role and Foden in midfield, I mean that touch was classy, wasn’t it?” asks Yash Gupta. “On the left they’ve created all the pretty triangles but on the right there is only Jesus hugging the touchline most of the time and Walker passing straight towards the box.
“Chelsea are slowly getting rattled. Last week they faced a team with five outfield players either not fully fit or coming through injury. Don’t think they’ll have it as easy this time, especially as they themselves are made to run ragged.”
I am sure we will see a little rotation in roles after the break.
There is plenty of criticism regarding the quality of this game on social media, where I go for my petrol updates, but I think it’s been a good watch.
Elsewhere ... Man United and Aston Villa have also failed to trouble the scorers.
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Half-time: Chelsea 0-0 Manchester City
It has been an engrossing opening 45 thanks to two very detailed game plans. City have had the best of it but are yet to have a shot on target, which might be a sign they need a striker - a slight flaw in their concept.
Chelsea have gifted possession to City in the knowledge they can defend all day without giving up good chances. They will, however, be disappointed they have been unable to break on City, with Lukaku and Werner almost redundant.
45 mins: Another corner for City ... Foden swings it in from the right. Dias looks to attack but Christensen heads away. Bernardo Silva sends it back into the box for Mendy to claim.
Two minutes added on.
44 mins: Azpilicueta infuriates Lukaku and Werner by not sending a cross into the box when there was danger aplenty. In the end, Kante swings in a deep cross from the right but it goes over everyone and out for a goal-kick.
42 mins: Cancelo flicks the ball with the outside of his boot for De Bruyne, who is racing into the area. It is a beautiful pass but just ahead of the Belgian.
Moments later, Jesus controls the ball with his shoulder in the box but it bounces at an awkward height and he sends a shot high and wide.
Mendy takes a long goal-kick for the first time. A further sign of a change in approach from Chelsea after 40 odd minutes of absorbing pressure.
40 mins: Grealish plays the ball to De Bruyne on the left, he gets it out of his feet and whacks a rising shot from 20 yards but it goes well over the bar.
Tuchel looks like he wants his midfield to push higher up, as they are inviting pressure. The German coach looks a little frustrated by how things are going.
38 mins: City are still pressing very high, although with slightly intensity, as they continue to force Chelsea back. Lukaku has barely had a kick, as proven by a misscontrol when under pressure from Rodri.
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36 mins: Grealish finds a pocket of space between Azpilicueta and Christensen, he drives at the Dane who blocks his cross for another corner which comes to nothing.
34 mins: Kante sends a ball into the channel for Werner to chase but Ederson reads the situation and runs 20 yards out to clear the danger. I think it is a sign of Chelsea thinking when it comes to attacking.
Down the other end, Rodri gets the ball 30 yards out and he fires a shot off, which is going wide before Rudiger deflects it over. The resulting corner is headed back by Dias at the far post but Silva clears. The ball comes back to Foden at the byline but once again Chelsea get it out of play for a corner.
32 mins: Walker pings a pass into De Bruyne on the edge of the area, a lesser player would have seen it bounce off his shin but the Belgian is not just any footballer, as he controls it and spins simultaneously but his shot is blocked.
30 mins: City are slowing things down with some passing around the back, as an advert for Blue Fuel goes round the side. I hope Chelsea are solving the petrol crisis by making their own.
28 mins: James is back on the floor clutching his ankle. Silva will replace him, forcing Azpilicueta to wing-back.
This game is so good, I might actually read an article about the tactical nuances going on.
Updated
26 mins: Cancelo drives into the box alongside Azpilicueta, forcing the Basque to turn the ball behind. De Bruyne swings in another corner which hits Alonso at the near post and out for another corner. The second corner is also removed from the danger area without fuss.
24 mins: “As I predicted [see 12.19], City have parked the bus, just outside the Chelsea penalty area,” says Rick Harris.
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22 mins: I think it is very fair to describe this game as “engrossing”. It has been a fascinating opening quarter with both teams sticking to their task.
Bernardo Silva is moaning about Rudiger getting up in his face. The German seems to have given the City man a couple of pushes, which have irked the Portuguese.
20 mins: De Bruyne sends in a corner from the left straight into Mendy’s arms. City need to improve their set-pieces or at least make it trickier for the goalkeeper to come and claim.
18 mins: Mendy sends a goal-kick straight to Rodri but City cannot take advantage of the error as their attack quickly breaks down.
Down the other end, Werner picks the ball up on the left, cuts inside and lets fly but Walker deflects the shot for a corner. Alonso swings in the cross, which Rodri heads away.
16 mins: De Bruyne gets behind the Chelsea defence and pulls the back towards the penalty spot but no one in a light blue shirt is there to convert.
Chelsea break down the other end, with Werner making it into the box, from where he crosses for Lukaku to attack but Cancelo does enough to put the Belgian off and City clear.
14 mins: City look in control of the game but they cannot get the better of the Chelsea defence and we all know how dangerous the hosts can be on the break. The bottom line is ... both teams’ game plans are working as they would like at this stage.
Updated
12 mins: James hits the deck after clashing with Grealish. The City man wants a foul but the referee is having none of it. It would seem James has rolled his ankle and needs some treatment to ensure its integrity. The defender returns to the pitch after the doc gives him the nod.
“Do you think that these two teams are currently the best two in the world?” asks Bogdan Kotarlic. Ermmm... quite a tricky one at this stage but let’s just accept they are.
10 mins: Very much a case of City dominating the ball in the opening stages but yet to find a gap in the Chelsea defence to exploit. They are playing at a very high tempo, so it will be interesting how long they can maintain it.
Chelsea look to go a touch more direct with a ball for Werner to turn round the corner, which results in Dias bringing down the German.
8 mins: City win a corner on the right after Rudiger clears out man and ball when challenging Jesus near the electronic hoardings, which the Brazilian crashes into. He gets up gingerly to witness Foden swing the corner into the goalkeeper’s arms.
6 mins: Grealish tries to get round James shielding the ball but when he can’t he decides to just push him over near the byline in comical fashion.
4 mins: City are looking bright in the opening stages. Jesus gets a chance to cross into a dangerous area but Azpilicueta reads it and heads over his own back from the edge of the six-yard box.
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2 mins: Plenty of “Champions of Europe” chants from the home fans to remind the away following of the defeat in Porto.
It looks like Foden is starting as the false nine/pretend centre forward/makeshift striker. Jesus is on the right.
City are playing very high and looking to press the Chelsea back line as they attempt to play out, which has had results early on as they win the ball back a couple of times.
Kick-off
Peep! Peep! Peep! Here we go!
The teams are out on the pitch and the atmosphere is growing.
There are some Champions League balloons in the stands as that is the very definition of banter.
“Jesus on the right with Foden a little bit back is what I think Pep is going for,” emails Yash Gupta. “Foden is much better through the midfield especially when he is on the right. They will work to isolate Rudiger and Alonso.
“Looking at the line-ups, I’m actually quite confident City will win this one with good authority, as long as Laporte doesn’t go fighting with Lukaku.”
Chelsea, you’ve been warned!
@ManCity We’ve got a great plan B today @sterling7 watch out chelsea.
— Shaun Goater MBE (@OfficialSGoater) September 25, 2021
“Perhaps you might remind those with short memories that City parked the bus at Old Trafford last season and I fully expect Guardiola to do likewise today,” says Rick Harris. “Can’t see many (if any) goals in this one as neither manager will want to lose.”
I cannot see that being the case today but I am not the sharpest tool in the box.
“Being a glass half-full kinda guy, I see this match as an early seasoner minus-three pointer,” says Ian Copestake.
Let’s all be positive, people!
“Timo is a good fit today as he brings a lot of intensity which we need on and off the ball,” says Tuchel. It will be interesting to see how he works with Lukaku.
Marcus Bettinelli and John Stones are friends, it would seem. Is from England Under-21 duty or similar?
Joe Cole says Chelsea are the “best team in world football” off the ball, which sounds like the real quiz. They are a very impressive outfit at the moment but will be severely tested today if City are “at it”.
Barney Ronay on Pep Guardiola.
“Morning,” emails Dean Kinsella. “An early season six-pointer. I imagine City’s front line to be Grealish left, Foden right and Jesus as centre forward. Jesus has been living a charmed life as City’s striker - a fine footballer but just not enough goals in him.”
I suspect Guardiola might start with Foden down the middle. But who knows?
Power shift?
Jonathan Liew looks at Chelsea.
City, on the other hand, are giving off a very attacking vibe. Silva and De Bruyne in midfield, with Foden, Grealish and Jesus leading the line, not that I can guarantee which order they will be operating.
Chelsea have Mendy back in goal, which is a boost. They have gone for a very steady midfield of Jorginho, Kante and Kovacic, who will help them break through the City team. Werner joins Lukaku up top, with pace set to threaten the City back four.
Starting lineups
Chelsea: Mendy, James, Azpilicueta, Rudiger, Christensen, Alonso, Jorginho, Kante, Kovacic, Werner, Lukaku
Subs: Arrizabalaga, Silva, Loftus-Cheek, Chalobah, Saul Niguez, Hudson-Odoi, Chilwell, Ziyech, Havertz
Manchester City: Ederson, Walker, Dias, Laporte, Cancelo, Rodri, De Bruyne, Silva, Foden, Grealish, Jesus
Subs: Steffen, Stones, Ake, Sterling, Torres, Fernandinho, Mahrez, Palmer, Lavia
Referee: Michael Oliver
Good morning
Pep Guardiola and his nemesis meet once more in the hope that he will finally get the better of Thomas Tuchel.
Manchester City, minus a few rather important players, are back at Stamford Bridge in the hope they can somewhat make up for their Champions League final loss in Porto. It will not be easy for City who could only draw 0-0 last week at home against Southampton and have a number of players on the knacked list. Ilkay Gundogan, Aymeric Laporte, John Stones and Rodri all have a question mark over their heads when it comes to fitness with Guardiola only making a decision on their welfare this morning.
Tuchel will be in boisterous mood having won four of Chelsea’s opening five games and with a perfect record against Guardiola since landing in the Stamford Bridge hotseat last season. The German seems to have the better of his rival from Catalonia, something that might force Guardiola to think outside the box, which usually results in something Francisco Goya would be proud of.
The one thing Chelsea did seem to miss last season was a prolific goalscorer but Romelu Lukaku has given hints he can fill that void up top, making Tuchel’s men real Premier League contenders. They proved their abilities by drawing with 10 men against Liverpool and now they have another chance to lay down a marker.
Here’s to a cracker!
Kick-off: 12.30pm BST
