Chelsea responded to their midweek defeat to newly promoted Wolverhampton Wanderers in the most convincing of fashions, ending Manchester City’s 15 game unbeaten streak in the Premier League with a tireless 2-0 victory at Stamford Bridge.
As was to be expected considering the differing fortunes of the teams recently, Pep Guardiola’s league leaders initially took control of the play creating chances through the pace of Raheem Sterling and Leroy Sane, who’ve been in scintillating form this season.
Chelsea’s defence, as it has failed to do often enough this season, stood firm applying block after block. Despite managing just six passes in the final third, Eden Hazard’s precise cut-back landed perfectly for N’Golo Kante to strike a first time effort into the roof of the net with just a minute of normal time to play in the first half.
The lift the goal gave to the team and the thousands of fans, who packed the terraces in hope more than anticipation, can’t be understated and the Blues grew into the game, Willian and Pedro both coming close to doubling the score. As the clock approached 80 minutes, the game was finely poised, until the towering Brazilian centre-back David Luiz capped his best performance of the season with a great header from Hazard’s inswinging corner.
Here’s how we rated the Chelsea players in the game:
