Pep Guardiola could be without Sergio Agüero for some of the “toughest part of our season” after the striker suffered a suspected muscle injury in Manchester City’s win over Chelsea.
Goals from Kevin De Bruyne and Riyad Mahrez on 29 and 37 minutes cancelled out N’Golo Kanté’s opener at the Etihad Stadium to lift the champions to third. Yet Agüero limped off on 77 minutes and Guardiola is concerned that City’s top scorer in the league may be out for a prolonged period.
“Hopefully we’ll know tomorrow [Sunday], but the first indication is not good. I think it’s a muscular injury. [We could be without] him for some days of the toughest part of our season,” Guardiola said. “The doctor says tomorrow we are going to see but he thought it was a kick but I think he stretched a little bit.” Rodri and David Silva also had to be replaced but Guardiola put this down to cramping.
The City manager praised Frank Lampard as a courageous manager after Chelsea limited City to 46.7% possession, the lowest of the Catalan’s 381 top-flight matches as a manager. “There is always one thing in your lifetime that hasn’t happened,” he said. “It happened. So, OK, I have another record, I won one game without possession. They are an incredible team with Kanté, Kovacic, Jorginho, so it can happen.
“We beat an incredible top side, Frank is a brave manager – courageous to play. Chelsea are an incredible team, we knew it but we beat them. It was a typical high-level game. Our back four played so good today. In the most difficult period of the game we scored on the counter.
“We created enough chances to score more goals. We score a goal [equaliser] when they were better. Before the goal from them, the game was tight. Then we suffered, but the second half we were much better.”
Lampard said: “We were controlling the game, we were playing some great stuff and we felt in control but you can’t be absolutely in control against Manchester City.
“It was bad luck for their first goal [due to a deflection], and absolute quality from Riyad Mahrez for the second and that changed the game. Maybe we were a bit slow with our movement at the back, I know we were giving them a good game but I am disappointed with the small details. If you look at City they are an example, and we’re at the absolute start of that process.”
This was Chelsea’s first league defeat since September. “It feels like a long time since we lost a game,” Lampard said. “We know there is a transitional feel [about his side] but I know if we keep working we will be coming.”
