Match Report: Chelsea blown away by Man City’s second half flurry as Blues spiral further | OneFootball

Chelsea were blown away by Man City’s strong second half as the Blues suffered more damage in their attempt to reach the Champions League.

The first few moments of the game made it seem like it was going to be a long afternoon for Chelsea, with City pressing early and hungry. But the next period was all Chelsea. Marc Cucurella had a goal disallowed for offside, Cole Palmer shot into the side netting and the Blues continued to threaten.

The rest of the first half followed a similar pattern – a sloppy City performance defensively gave Chelsea plenty of chances, but the Blues weren’t able to take advantage of a few promising breaks.

At the start of the second period we all expected City to go up a gear, and indeed they did. They looked quicker and hungrier right from the start, and before long they had taken advantage. Nico O’Reilly shrugged off Andrey Santos to meet Rayan Cherki’s cross and bury a header past Robert Sanchez.

Everyone in the stadium at that moment feared a collapse now the fragile home team were behind. Their fears were soon confirmed. Former academy kid Marc Guehi took a superb touch from another Cherki assist and buried his finish. Soon after, Jeremy Doku added the third.

MOTM – Jorrel Hato

Analysis

There was some hope after a first half where Chelsea competed, and actually made a few chances. But their good play was entirely reliant on how disappointing Man City were, the moment the away team stepped it up after the break, Liam Rosenior’s team weren’t able to compete at all.

It was another embarrassing defeat in the end, and by the end one felt foolish for ever having had much hope about a good result for the Blues. Their Champions League hopes continue to sink without trace.

Teams

Chelsea: Sanchez; Gusto (Acheampong 88), Fofana, Hato, Cucurella; Andrey Santos (Lavia 67), Caicedo (c) (Essugo 81); Estevao (Garnacho 67), Palmer, Neto; Joao Pedro (Delap 81)

Chelsea substitutes: Sharman-Lowe, Tosin, Sarr, Guiu

Booked: Estevao 12, Essugo 90+8

Manchester City: Donnarumma; Matheus Nunes, Khusanov, Guehi, O’Reilly (Ait-Nouri 64); Bernardo Silva (Kovacic 81), Rodri; Semenyo, Cherki (Foden 76), Doku (Savinho 76); Haaland Manchester City substitutes: Trafford, Ake, Reijinders, Gonzalez, Marmoush

Goalscorers: O’Reilly 51, Guehi 57, Doku 68

Booked: Semenyo 38,

Stats

Quote of the game

“We need more resilience in difficult moments… The reality now is there’s too many times we go a goal down and it’s quickly followed by another and that can’t happen.” – Liam Rosenior sees the problems post game.