Three things we learned from Chelsea loss as Enzo Fernandez absence felt but promising signs shown | OneFootball

Blues missed suspended vice-captain’s impetus as they dropped more points

It wasn’t long after the obligatory post-match handshakes that Liam Rosenior headed down the tunnel, and that was no real surprise. His Chelsea team had been as good as City before the interval but then caved in a second half that will hugely concern the head coach, hierarchy, players and fans alike.

An enticing end-to-end battle was still at a deadlock when the players headed for the dressing rooms. Pep Guardiola has given more team talks in his time than Rosenior, though, and he seemed to rouse his team in a way the Englishman could not.

Chelsea came back from the interval looking lethargic, City a renewed and replenished force. From two superb assists by the enigmatic Rayan Cherki, Nico O’Reilly and Marc Guehi made it 1-0 and 2-0 in the space of six second-half minutes and suddenly Chelsea’s strong footing in a crucial game in the race for Champions League football was gone.

Rayan Cherki picked Chelsea apart in the second half

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Their precarious position, two goals down, got worse, not better. Moises Caicedo ceded possession to Jeremy Doku, and the Belgian gobbled up the chance to notch City’s third and place real pressure on Arsenal in the title race — as well as on Chelsea, in the immediacy, for their dreadful recent form.

The Blues’ last win over City remains the 2021 Champions League final, and for the first time in more than 18 years, they have now lost three consecutive league games without scoring a goal along the way.

Enzo Fernandez served the second match of his two-game club-imposed ban for his unprofessional comments about Real Madrid, and with Frank Lampard watching his two former teams from the comfort of the directors’ box, it was in midfield where Chelsea left gaping holes in a brutal second-half.

Rosenior said there are still hurdles to overcome before Fernandez has fully made it up to the team. That is fair enough. But you could not help but feel his influence would have been a major help on this mightily tough day for all in blue.

Andrey Santos scampered about the pitch and screened the defence but was pinched of the ball a little too often, and it was his more experienced midfield partner Caicedo who committed the worst offence of that ilk when he gave the ball up to Doku just 30 yards from goal.

Doku made it 3-0 and a second-half schooling for a Chelsea team who remain such a distance off City’s level.

Encouraging signs down the left

There was encouragement down the left flank from Chelsea, particularly in the first half, and although that could not even get them remotely close to a result on the day, it may be something to build from in the remaining weeks of the season.

Marc Cucurella’s attacking impetus gave Chelsea cause for optimism

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The game’s first half-chance came when Cole Palmer struck into the side-netting from a tight angle on the left, and soon enough Chelsea had the ball in the back of the net through Marc Cucurella, who got free following good work by Joao Pedro. Pedro Neto, shortly after, forced a good save from the same spot.

And two chances in the second period, with Chelsea chasing the game, both came down the same flank and both fell to Cucurella — one of the Blues’ better performers on a day to forget.

One was a shot from distance which whistled just wide, then Gianluigi Donnarumma parried the second. Chelsea could not find the net but to call them utterly toothless would be slightly harsh. Down that left wing, they possessed at least some threat.