Antonio Conte has to stop, and so must we. Be sure to join Lawrence Ostlere for the Saturday clockwatch:
Or Tim Hill for El Clàsico, which is kicking off now.
Thanks for joining me for a cracking game, which swung decisively in Chelsea’s favour in the second half. They’re four points clear at the top, at least until Liverpool play tomorrow, after coming back to beat Spurs and Manchester City in consecutive games. Things are looking up at the Bridge. Bye!
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Here is Antonio Conte, who is a little more succint:
“We have many things still to improve. If you don’t have a good character, it’s very hard to win this game. [Fàbregas] played a good game, with good personality. I’m very happy. I know I can always count on him.”
Conte is asked if his players lost control after Agüero’s late foul, but gives that one the swerve. “It’s a pity. Agüero is for sure a fantastic player, and it’s difficult to control yourself when you are losing a game. I think Agüero is a really good player… I’ll stop.”
Here’s Pep Guardiola, trying and failing to be easy breezy about the whole thing:
“Congratulations to Chelsea, they won. We created a lot of chances, played really good... after the 1-2 [Willian’s goal], it’s not easy. In the box, we’re not strong enough.”
Did De Bruyne’s miss cost them? “A little. But it’s part of the game. We didn’t win just because of that action. There were many. “[Chelsea] ran through three... four times, they scored three times. In the box, they are so, so strong. ”
On Anthony Taylor’s decision not to penalise David Luiz in the first half, Guardiola only says: “I am so happy to be here [in England], I don’t want to change anything, I just want to understand.
On Agüero’s late red card: “both players were strong there, so that’s all.” Replays show Fabregas raising a hand to Fernandinho, and Guardiola snubbed the Chelsea man’s handshake at the end.
Final thoughts: “The level was good, believe me. You are going to analyse, we lost 3-1, but I prefer to play that way, then against Burnley and Crystal Palace where we won. Chelsea had nine players in the box, we created 25 chances, but we lost. That is my explanation, but it will sound like an excuse.”
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That Aguero lunge power assault on David Luiz was incredible. Like pushing the "deliberate foul" button on the old Fifa games
— FitbaThatba (@fitbathatba) December 3, 2016
We’ve all been there. By the way, it’s Agüero’s second red card of the season, so he’ll miss four league games, against Leicester, Watford, Arsenal and Hull.
David Luiz is on hand to translate for man of the match Diego Costa, who says “we’re working very hard, everyone knows what they are doing. I’m trying to keep my discipline, stay on the pitch and be cool. Manchester City had chances to score again, but they missed, and that gave us confidence.”
David Luiz adds: “to win here, against amazing players, showed the character of our team – to come back in the second half and win.” Character isn’t a word that’s alien to footballers, but every Chelsea player has used it an awful lot after this game.
The defender, who was excellent bar his first-half foul that went unpunished, is strapped up with an ice pack but declines to comment on Agüero’s challenge, preferring to pay tribute to Chapecoense. “It’s a difficult moment for everybody”.
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Daniel Taylor's match report
While we wait for the two managers to surface from the dressing room, Sky are showing a montage of City’s missed chances. “They don’t kill teams,” summarises Thierry Henry. Their last home Premier League win was on 17th September, against Bournemouth. Since then, three draws and a defeat, all of which they could conceivably have won.
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Post-match reaction to come, starting with Eden Hazard and a relieved Gary Cahill:
Eden Hazard:“Eight in a row doesn’t happen too often... we showed great character against Tottenham, and again today.” “I didn’t see [the red cards], I was on the bench. I don’t want to talk about that, I want to talk about football.” I think he saw.
Gary Cahill: “I think that’s my first own goal... everyone said this would be a big test, and it was... we soaked up a lot of pressure. We’re not even at Christmas yet, but it’s encouraging, and we’ve come through a test today, and showing another side to our football. We’re delighted with the result, of course.”
When Kevin de Bruyne hit the bar after 57 minutes, City were a goal up and well on top. Two minutes later, Diego Costa levelled, and what followed was nothing short of a nightmare. They now face the prospect of Sergio Agüero and Fernandinho facing bans for losing their heads so comprehensively in the last minute.
Full time: Manchester City 1-3 Chelsea
As the dust settles, Chelsea have made it eight wins in a row, and are four points clear at the top. They have made a huge statement in the title race with that second half performance, as Manchester City unravelled spectacularly.
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Another red card... Fernandinho sent off!
...the scuffle spills over onto the sidelines, and Fernandinho puts hands on Fàbregas, sending him over the advertising boards. He joins Agüero in getting a (slightly) early bath, and a bad day has become ugly for the hosts.
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Red card! Sergio Agüero is sent off!
Agüero utterly loses his head at the end of the game, flying into David Luiz with both feet off the ground. Chalobah shoves Agüero, and an almighty scuffle ensues...
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94 mins: Batshuayi is on, replacing Hazard.
93 mins: Chelsea were preparing for a long spell of injury time, but that Hazard goal has taken the wind from City’s sails. On the break, Willian’s shot is palmed away by Bravo, almost into the path of Fàbregas.
90 mins: There will be six added minutes. Guardiola is aggrieved by the celebrations on the Chelsea bench; he should save his anger for his defenders. Kolarov let Hazard skip past him in the Sunday league style.
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GOAL! Manchester City 1-3 Chelsea (Hazard)
Game over, thanks to another devastating goal on the break. A City move breaks down, and Alonso lofts the ball to Hazard, who sprints past Kolarov, and smashes it low into the net!
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88 mins: Iheanacho collects an Agüero knock down, but fires way wide of goal. Before that, an Anthony Taylor refusal draws sarcastic laughter from Guardiola, increasingly irate on the touchline.
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87 mins: Silva moves down the left, raps the ball off Azpilicueta’s shins for a corner, lifts it into the middle and sees it cleared away by David Luiz.
86 mins: Hazard, at his wily best on Chelsea’s breaks forward, wins a cheap free kick on the halfway line, and a pat on the back from Guardiola. Nathaniel Chalobah is on for Diego Costa.
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85 mins: Touré’s corner finds Iheanacho running to the near post, but he flicks the ball into the side netting. Time running out, as Chelsea inch towards an eighth straight win.
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83 mins: Diego Costa is down at the other end of the field, and takes his sweet time heading off the pitch for treatment.
“Indonesia cling on by their fingernails to take a 2-1 lead to Hanoi for the second leg. The president is on the pitch now congratulating the players” says roving reporter Jeremy Dresner.
82 mins: Touré ambles forward and slots the ball to Silva, but his attempted cross is easily clear. On the touchline, Guardiola urges players and fans to up the workrate, and Touré wins a corner off Willian.
81 mins: Navas is booked for tugging Hazard’s shirt. From the free kick, Cahill is a whisker away from beating Bravo to the ball, and ending this as a contest.
80 mins: City win a corner, but Otamendi heads a presentable chance over the bar.
79 mins: A promising move breaks down as Clichy gives the ball to Moses, with Iheanacho and Touré both in the box. The hosts appear to be playing two at the back. Fasten your seatbelts...
77 mins: Navas motors down the right, and after his cross is blocked by David Luiz, he goes down easily under pressure from Alonso. Another change for City: Stones off, Iheanacho on. That’s as attacking as it gets, really.
75 mins: Fifteen minutes for City to find an equaliser; they’re currently punch drunk, every Chelsea foray forward sending a shiver around the ground. Gundogan is going off, replaced by Yaya Touré.
73 mins: Guardiola orders Yaya Touré off the bench, wondering how exactly City are behind here. In truth, they’ve been caught cold on the counter attack twice by Chelsea. A penny for Kevin de Bruyne’s thoughts, in particular.
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72 mins: An odd moment, as Willian stays down after a clash with Kolarov. Taylor waves play on, Chelsea protest, and De Bruyne angrily prods the ball out of play. He really didn’t have to.
After scoring, Willian holds up his black armband, in tribute to his Chapecoense compatriots. David Luiz joins him in a moment of reflection in the middle of a frantic game.
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GOAL! Manchester City 1-2 Chelsea (Willian)
The game in a nutshell, as Gundogan walks through the Chelsea defence, but can’t pick out a pass. Chelsea break at speed, Hazard finding Costa, who holds off Otamendi, advances and slides a perfect pass to Willian in space on the right. The Brazilian takes a touch and fires low across Bravo. Chelsea lead!
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68 mins: A defensive substitution for City, with Sané, really impressive in bursts today, replaced by Gaël Clichy.
66 mins: A spectacular tackle by Moses stops City retaking the lead! City get in down the right for the 23rd time, and De Bruyne’s cross is on a plate for Agüero – but somehow, Moses gets a foot in to dig the ball out from under his feet.
65 mins: Silva tries to tempt Kanté into a rash challenge, but the Chelsea man keeps his distance. City keep the ball, trying to stall the visitors’ momentum. Meanwhile, in Vietnam:
“Can the Indonesians hold out or will the Vietnamese get hurt on the counter attack? You feel something has to give. This is gripping football!” Thanks, Jeremy Dresner. There have probably been less defensive errors in that one.
63 mins: Costa, suddenly a menace every time he gets on the ball, picks out Willian, whose cross-shot rolls through to Bravo. Chelsea in a far stronger position than ten minutes ago...
62 mins: This is what they call finely poised. Sané steps infield, drawing a host of defenders, but his pass lacks direction. Costa slides the ball upfield to Willian, who goes over cheaply, failing to impress Anthony Taylor.
61 mins: Kanté is dispossessed by Fernandinho, whose pass to De Bruyne is flicked on to Agüero. The striker has space, but dallies with his shot, allowing Courtois to make a smart save.
GOAL! Manchester City 1-1 Chelsea (Diego Costa)
A blast from the past, as Fàbregas finds Diego Costa with a long diagonal pass. He brings it down with his shoulder, and with Otamendi busy appealing for handball, rifles it under Bravo and into the net!
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58 mins: Chelsea look to punish De Bruyne’s wastefulness, with Hazard and Costa almost combining in a counter-attack. No matter...
57 mins: Good grief, what a miss. Gundogan starts an attacking move with a ball to Silva, who finds space down the right and squares a low ball to De Bruyne, unmarked, four yards out. He Rosenthals it onto the bar, when it was easier to score!
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55 mins: There’s a break in play as Agüero goes down, David Luiz treading on his heel after a collision from the corner. He takes a long time to get up, but is carrying on.
53 mins: Alonso is the latest defender to drop a clanger, setting up Agüero perfectly with an underhit back-pass. He goes around Courtois, but Cahill is on hand to redeem himself, clearing away a certain goal. Conte and Guardiola will have a long old post-game chat about the defending today.
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51 mins: Yeesh! Sané tests Bravo’s feet with a ludicrous long back pass that the keeper has to half-volley away. Chelsea regain possession, and Willian charges forward, before firing low and wide with options on either side. City still living dangerously in defence.
50 mins: Kanté, effective as ever in the heart of midfield, is booked for rough-housing David Silva. Chelsea make a change, with Pedro, who picked up a knock in the first half, replaced by Willian.
49 mins: Sané gives away possession and Costa has space, and an angle, to shoot. He drags a weak shot wide of the near post, to raucous braying from the home fans.
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48 mins: Costa, quiet in the first half, runs out of room to find a pass and City win the ball, Sané cruising upfield and teeing up De Bruyne, who delays a fraction too long before firing his shot at Courtois.
47 mins: Kolarov strips Fàbregas of the ball early on, before Navas’ cross is turned behind by David Luiz. It’s worked short, then a misplaced ball drifts out of play. You can be too clever.
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Peep!
Anthony Taylor, who might want to give Altrincham town centre the swerve tonight, gets us back under way. No changes for either side.
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We’ll be back under way shortly. Thoughts on what to expect next are welcome. In the tunnel, Diego Costa is having a little word with Agüero. I’ll wager he’s up to no good.
Indonesia v Vietnam latest; over to Jeremy Dresner:
“Penalty to the Indonesians! Deserved for some clumsy defending. Smashed into the net, goalkeeper’s right. Indonesia 2-1 Vietnam. And the Indonesian crowd are going wild!”
The build-up was all about a continental, cerebral battle, but that was a wonderfully English half of football. Flying wingers, hefty crosses, and a big refereeing decision, Anthony Taylor waving away David Luiz’s shove on Agüero.
There was also plenty of hapless defending, culminating in Cahill’s moment of madness as City ended the first half on top, and made it count. Chelsea have caused the hosts plenty of problems, and Hazard should have scored after taking the ball around Bravo. This is far from over.
Half time: Manchester City 1-0 Chelsea
Hazard makes a brave, but doomed bid to chase down a lost cause, before Taylor calls time on a breathless first half.
City have been making hay down the right flank for the last ten minutes, and Agüero finds Navas in acres of space. He whips a cross beyond Alonso, and Cahill shapes to clear, but gets in a mess, and toe pokes the ball into the far corner. Oh Gary!
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GOAL! Manchester City 1-0 Chelsea (Cahill own goal)
As we all predicted, a comedy own goal has broken the deadlock.
43 mins: Navas gets into space on the right again, and his cross causes panic, with Gundogan appearing near the penalty spot – he’s challenged by Kanté, and Taylor waves play on.
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42 mins: Navas plays a short ball to De Bruyne, who Chelsea are simply not closing down quick enough. His cross from deep on the right finds Agüero, under just enough pressure to skew his header wide.
41 mins: City forcing Chelsea back in the latter stages here, with Kolarov and Otamendi beyond the halfway line. The trouble is, when a crossing opportunity presents itself, Agüero is outnumbered six to one in the area.
39 mins: Sané, showing flashes of his potential going forward, skips beyond one challenge but just overruns the ball, allowing Cahill to block his route to goal.
37 mins: Moses gets a head to another City corner, before Sané, out on the right for a change, sends a swirling cross over the head of Agüero.
35 mins: City’s wing-backs able to test the Chelsea back three, as Navas forces David Luiz into a hasty clearance. At the other end, Moses’ low cross is dealt with by Stones, who has recovered well from that early bungle against Costa.
33 mins: Sané has been kept on the back foot for this first half, but he surges forward to turn a cross into Agüero’s path – but the striker’s snap shot is blocked by Azpilicueta. City the stronger side at present...
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31 mins: That was a free kick and booking, at the least. What’s strange is Taylor appeared to be reaching for a card, before deciding it was actually fine. City appear a little dazed and confused, but De Bruyne at least keeps Courtois on his toes with a low cross towards Agüero.
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29 mins: ...it loops in the air and Azpilicueta’s weak back pass lets Agüero in down the left – but David Luiz steps across cynically to block his path to goal. Taylor waves play on! The crowd are bordering on mutinous.
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27 mins: Both teams having problems in defence, with Aguero almost given too much room by Azpilicueta, before Moses outfoxes Sané to win a corner. It ends in a drawn-out scramble, before De Bruyne hoists the ball clear...
25 mins: Seconds later, Chelsea should be ahead, as a long ball takes out Otamendi and Navas, leaving Hazard to race in on goal. He lifts the ball over Bravo, and with an awkward but achievable angle to shoot from, tries and fails to pull the ball back to Costa, and City survive.
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24 mins: De Bruyne, City’s brightest spark so far, wins and takes a free kick – it’s swung in expertly onto the head of Fernandinho, who nods the ball home. The flag is up, though – correctly.
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22 mins: Pedro is down injured, and with physios looking concerned, Willian is sent out to warm up.
“Vietnam are playing out from the back” says Jeremy Dresner. “Indonesia seem to have a long ball thing going with their left back. It is fiery. Tackles flying in all over the pitch. It’s jolly good fun actually.”
It sounds an awful lot like this game, in fact...
21 mins: The corner is cycled to and fro by the home team, until Gundogan fires a deep cross that Alonso turns away.
20 mins: City burst into life, Kolarov allowed to surge upfield and drill the ball to Agüero, whose shot from 20 yards is tipped over the bar by Courtois.
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19 mins: Chelsea give away possession – plenty of that from both sides so far – and Agüero chases a De Bruyne though-ball down the right. In the left-back slot, who else but right-winger Pedro is there to win it back.
18 mins: Navas and Sané have, as expected, lined up as wing-backs, with Sané, nominally a forward, dealing with Moses and Pedro on City’s left. On the other side, de Bruyne is penalised for a clip on Alonso.
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17 mins: Nicolas Otamendi faces 75 minutes of marking Eden Hazard on a yellow card, after going in late on Diego Costa. The first name in the book, perhaps more for the cumulative misdeeds of others than that tackle in isolation.
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15 mins: A hint of frustration in a shove by De Bruyne on Cahill, conceding a cheap free kick. City win it back, and Silva plays a one-two with Fernandinho – but the Brazilian can’t pick out Agüero in the middle.
14 mins: Oof! Sané misjudges a headed clearance, presenting the ball to Pedro, whose lay-off is drilled towards goal by Hazard – but it flies just wide of Bravo’s near post! Chelsea have shaded the opening 15 minutes here.
13 mins: There’s been direct stuff from both teams, with De Bruyne hoiking a diagonal pass towards Sané that Azpilicueta does well to nod away. Taylor is forced to stop play, with Moses and Aguero both down after feisty challenges. These two managers are settling into English football nicely.
11 mins: A spell of head tennis is ended by Kanté’s clumsy challenge on Gundogan. Chelsea get the ball back, with Fàbregas sweeping a long ball to Alonso – but Stones is back to head his cross clear.
9 mins: This has been a frantic start, and Chelsea’s defence are caught cold by a quick throw-in – but Taylor lets them off the hook by penalising a City push.
@niallmcveigh @ChelseaFC will struggle without Matic in the middle of the park. I don't know if Cesc has the legs.
— CHB (@London_Skylines) December 3, 2016
Could be a long 90 minutes for Cesc, on this early evidence.
8 mins: Stones, in the middle of City’s back three, has his first test against Costa, and fails, with the striker nicking the ball on the goal-line. He picks out Pedro, but fortunately for the hosts, his pull back is poor.
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7 mins: City keep the ball, and de Bruyne connects with Silva, whose cut back into the area hits Cahill on the arm. There are howls of derision as Taylor waves appeals away, but it was never intentional.
6 mins: Silva’s charge down the left from midfield is cut off by Azpilicueta, before Agüero earns a hard-won corner from a tussle with Cahill. It’s played short, and backwards, City happy to hang onto possession.
4 mins: A first hint of danger from Chelsea, with Kanté sweeping the ball to Moses, who lofts a diagonal up to Hazard, back on the pitch. He cuts inside at speed, but Otamendi is on hand to block the shot.
3 mins: De Bruyne finds space behind Cahill for a cross, but David Luiz, a model of composure in recent weeks, clears it away.
2 mins: Fernandinho challenges Hazard, and catches the Belgian’s right leg with his studs. Hazard needs treatment, and hobbles to the touchline.
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1 min: Kolarov finds Aguero down the left, but the striker can’t quite keep the ball in play.
We're off
Anthony Taylor gets us started.
Força Chape
Players have warmed up in black shirts that pay tribute to Chapecoense, after Tuesday’s terrible events. There will be a minute’s silence before kick-off, after a tragedy that particularly affected David Luiz and Fernandinho, who both knew people who lost their lives on the flight.
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Jeremy Dresner, in a bar in Vietnam, has updates from another big game today, “in case that Premier League stuff gets bogged down in tactics”.
“It’s the first leg of that all important Asia Cup semi-final between Indonesia and an ageing Vietnam. On a patchy surface the hosts took the lead from a corner but it had been Vietnam who have had most of the ball, and they have just equalised from the spot. With less than 15 minutes gone and a second leg in Hanoi this is far from over.”
But are Vietnam playing with a libero? Have Indonesia gone with a diamond? We need answers.
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Predictions? City’s last three home games in the league have all finished 1-1, while neighbours United have, funnily enough, drawn their last four home matches. Nobody has won a Premier League match in Manchester since September; I fancy that run might continue today. City 1-1 Chelsea.
Here’s Pep, in an awkward exchange with Geoff Shreeves. Asked about whether he’s using a new system today, he says “no... the system is to take the ball, and attack. The system is to play a good game, to score goals and not concede any.”
Guardiola also confirms that Raheem Sterling misses out with an injury picked up against Burnley. On their lack of midweek action, he adds “we were not just thinking about Chelsea, but how to recover our game. We had more training sessions, without a midweek game. Chelsea are in good form. The challenge for us, is to see how our level is, we aren’t going to win the Premier League today.”
The City boss gave his players Monday and Tuesday off, had them train at the stadium yesterday, and stay nearby overnight. He’s also changed the colour of the goal nets, from black to white, the ruddy maverick.
History
City and Chelsea have won four of the last seven titles between them, but genuine title battles have been surprisingly thin on the ground. The two teams have filled the top two places just once, in 2014-15, when the highlight of two 1-1 draws was Frank Lampard’s face when he scored for City.
Recent highlights at the Etihad Stadium for both teams: Samir Nasri completing the comeback to keep City in the title race back in 2012, and Chelsea delivering a José Mourinho masterclass in 2014 (although City ultimately took the title). Last year, City won both fixtures 3-0, the home win in August proving much less significant to the title race than anyone predicted.
If you want a proper thriller between these two, you could do worse than going back 30 years, when Chelsea squeaked a nine-goal Full Members’ Cup final:
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Antonio Conte speaks...
“It was fantastic to win seven games in a row. Today, we know this game will be very difficult, because we face the best team in this league, with a great coach. But we worked this week to prepare... we must pay attention today.”
“[Nemanja] Matic is suffering a little muscular problem, for this reason I changed the line-up… Cesc [Fàbregas] is in good shape, he can show his value today. It’s a big game, I trust in him, and in all the team.”
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He may not be in the starting XI, but judging by today’s programme cover, Yaya Touré is about to drop the slickest solo project of 2016:
Look who's our matchday programme cover star for #cityvcfc!!! @YayaToure 🙌🙌🙌 #mcfc pic.twitter.com/j6KLBgfVMF
— Manchester City (@ManCity) December 2, 2016
The big team news is that Chelsea actually make a change; Cesc Fàbregas returns for the first time since being hauled off against Arsenal, with Nemanja Matic absent through injury.
That could be significant against City’s busy midfield, bolstered by Ilkay Gündogan who’s preferred to Yaya Touré. That’s one of six changes from the win over Burnley, with John Stones returning to a three-man defence, and Jesús Navas and Leroy Sané operating on the flanks. On paper, at least.
46 - The number of changes Pep Guardiola has made to the Man City starting XI in the #PL this season, the most by any manager #MCICHE pic.twitter.com/HrqatBOGh1
— Premier League (@premierleague) December 3, 2016
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Team news!
Man City: Bravo; Otamendi, Stones, Kolarov; Sané, Gündogan, Fernandinho, Navas; Silva, De Bruyne; Agüero.
Subs: Sagna, Zabaleta, Fernando, Caballero, Clichy, Touré, Iheanacho.
Chelsea: Courtois; Azpilicueta, David Luiz, Cahill; Moses, Fàbregas, Kanté, Alonso; Pedro, Costa, Hazard.
Subs: Begovic, Ivanovic, Oscar, Willian, Batshuayi, Chalobah, Aina.
Referee: Anthony Taylor (Cheshire)
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Two of the game’s modern managerial greats, who have both raked in Scrooge McDuck levels of silverware throughout their careers, finally go head-to-head today. Disappointingly, Guardiola and Conte only had nice things to say on Friday. Whatever happened to mind games? Unless... these are the mind games...
Guardiola: “Conte is without doubt one of the best, maybe the best, coach in the world right now. [Chelsea] were contenders to win the Premier League from the beginning. Now, maybe more than before. It’s a good test for us; it is the first time we are going to face each other. It’s good to play against him.”
Conte: “This is a great test for us, for our formation, to continue this way. We know that it won’t be easy because we face a really great team, with really great players and a good idea of football. But we want to show we are working very well and are growing. This is another step to show us if something has changed since the start of the season.”
Guardiola v Conte
— Premier League (@premierleague) December 2, 2016
🇪🇸 v 🇮🇹@ManCity v @ChelseaFC #MCICHE pic.twitter.com/bpYbucReJS
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Preamble
Less than three weeks until Christmas, and like frantic festive shoppers, teams in the title race need to get their act together. The team top on Christmas Day has won the league in nine of the last 12 seasons, so there’s no better time for a team to take pole position – particularly with a flurry of heavyweight fixtures to come, starting today.
There’ll be intriguing battles all over the pitch, with double-figure scorers Diego Costa and Sergio Agüero backed by an array of jet-heeled attacking talent, but the biggest of all may be in the dugout. Magnus Carlsen has got nothing on grandmasters Pep Guardiola and Antonio Conte, facing each other for the first time after weeks rearranging condiments in preparation.
Conte’s Chelsea are the form horse, galloping into title contention with seven straight wins, and entirely unchanged in their last six league matches. Guardiola, on the other hand, has been searching for the right formula since losing to Spurs, sending out 20 different starters in the six games since. There’s every chance he’s kept one more trick up his sleeve especially for today.
Kick off is at 12.30pm GMT. Teams, build-up and freaky formations to come.
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