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Daily Mirror
Daily Mirror
Sport
Josh O'Brien

Man City breeze past Chelsea to heap more pressure on Graham Potter - 5 talking points

Manchester City made light work of Chelsea as Pep Guardiola's men ran out 4-0 winners to progress to the fourth round of the FA Cup.

The two sides met for the second time in less than a week after Thursday night's clash at Stamford Bridge that saw City run out 1-0 winners in West London courtesy of a Riyad Mahrez goal.

The Algerian was the scourge of Chelsea once again as he fired in a glorious free-kick from distance to open the scoring inside 25 minutes. Mahrez left Kepa Arrizabalaga diving in vain as he arrowed his strike into the top-right corner.

Julian Alvarez ensured there was no post-World Cup rust, as the young Argentine international stepped up to double City's lead from the penalty spot after Kai Havertz blatantly handled inside the area from a corner.

Things started to become embarrassing for Chelsea 38 minutes in when Phil Foden put City three goals to the good. It was a scintillating move that started with Kyle Walker, who also got the assist following a delicate pass from Mahrez before Foden eventually converted.

Mahrez netted his second and City's fourth from 12 yards after Kalidou Koulibaly was deemed to have fouled Phil Foden in the box five minutes from time.

One of Oxford United or title rivals Arsenal await City in the next round.

Mirror Football has identified five talking points from City's emphatic win over a Chelsea side in disarray.

More Mahrez magic

Riyad Mahrez scored a delightful free-kick to send City on their way ((Photo by Naomi Baker/Getty Images))

Five goals in his last five FA Cup appearances following on from his tally of four in total last term, Mahrez is very much the man of the moment when it comes to this competition.

The former Leicester City man boasts such supreme technical quality any opposition defender cannot afford to switch off.

His two goals marked his seventh and eighth strikes of the season in all competitions.

Mahrez hasn't exactly been an ever-present in the City line-up this season and perhaps his recent heroics against the Blues are his way of reminding his manager he wants to play a very big part in whatever his side are going to achieve this term.

Chelsea's striker conundrum

Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang was omitted from the entire match-day squad for the trip to the Etihad ((Photo by Clive Mason/Getty Images))

Though the scoreline will show Chelsea have shipped three goals, there is an argument to be had that there main issues lie in attack.

The entire first-half passed Potter's side by without them registering a single shot on goal, which begs the question why Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang was left out of matchday squad entirely.

Purchased from Barcelona in the summer while Thomas Tuchel was still in the Blues hot-seat, Aubameyang clearly hasn't caught Potter's eye and despite their clear need for someone to put the ball in the back of the net - the ex-Arsenal man has seemingly significantly fallen down the pecking order.

Aubameyang's omission from the squad was made all the more interesting considering new signing David Fofana was handed an immediate place as a substitute before coning on, despite his arrival only being confirmed on Saturday.

More pressure on Potter

Some of Chelsea's away support started to turn on Graham Potter ((Photo by Marc Atkins/Getty Images))

This was perhaps the lowest point of Potter's tenure so far, with the former Brighton boss overseeing Chelsea's fifth defeat in their last seven games and putting an end to their last realistic chance of silverware this term.

Chelsea took nearly an hour to register their first shot on goal, as well as clearly losing the the kind of defensive grit they enjoyed in the early stages of Potter's tenure.

As a result, the away end started to voice their frustration and the 7,000 or so Blues fans who travelled were heard chanting the names of former boss Thomas Tuchel and ex-owner Roman Abramovich.

Pep rings out the changes

Pep Guardiola named a rotated side for City's win over Chelsea ((Photo by Alex Livesey/Getty Images))

Both Guardiola and Graham Potter made changes to their respective starting line-ups, though it was the hosts who made the more significant tweaks.

While Thiago Silva was handed a rest for the Blues, City took the bold step of leaving both of Erling Haaland and Kevin De Bruyne on the bench.

It is a remarkable testament to City's astonishing squad depth that there was hardly much of a drop off in quality, with the likes of Mahrez and World Cup winner Julian Alvarez giving the Chelsea defence plenty to think about throughout as both got on the scoresheet.

Let the kids play

Lewis Hall has featured in both of Chelsea's meetings against Man City this season ((Photo by Matthew Ashton - AMA/Getty Images))

There was a whole host of exciting young talent on display from both sides, with the youthful players scattered all over in varying positions.

From Chelsea's perspecive, Potter opted to hand minutes to two inexperienced defenders in Bahir Humphreys and Lewis Hall - both of whom enjoyed bright moments, with the latter in particular showcasing some impressive dribbling.

As for the hosts, Cole Palmer was given more minutes and even had the chance to open the scoring 18 minutes in but failed to convert beyond Kepa Arrizabalaga.

Sergio Gomez was also given a rare start at left-back, though there was no room in the line-up for one youngster who has sparked plenty of excitement over at the Etihad in Rico Lewis - who started on the bench.

Former Arsenal academy ace Omari Hutchinson came off the bench for Chelsea, but failed to inspire any significant upturn in fortune.

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