Man City 1-0 Chelsea (Alvarez 12′)
What happens when you switch out your 36-goal striker for a meaningless match in the sunshine, and rest him after being gifted the Premier League title the day before, knowing you have two cup finals on the horizon?
You bring just as deadly a presence in Julian Alvarez, who needed just 12 minutes to split Manchester City and Chelsea on Sunday. After that it was a training-ground exercise for both teams.
Manchester City don’t need to try in the league anymore. The first of three trophies this summer is in the bag. But what City, with their multi-talented, always-hungry, relentless squad of superstars love more than anything else is to play in cruise control.
This only comes when you’re on the sort of winning streak City have become accustomed to under Pep Guardiola.
The slender win over Chelsea was their 11th straight in the top flight – a run that has earned them the title as Arsenal have floundered.
And this with Guardiola having made nine changes to the XI that rocked Real Madrid 4-0 in midweek. It wasn’t just Alvarez who was on top form – Kalvin Phillips and Manuel Akanji shone too.
Alvarez slotted home the opener, a delightful finish from a forward that oozes class. Phil Foden was a whisker away from scoring himself, while Phillips had a header bounce off the post.
That was about as good as City needed to be. Alvarez had the ball in the net a second time but the VAR then spotted a Riyad Mahrez handball.
Chelsea, meanwhile, had their chances but didn’t take them. Raheem Sterling was denied by the agile Stefan Ortega after a rare burst through the City defence in the first half. The goalkeeper then got a let-off when Conor Gallagher hit the post from close range.
Substitute John Stones cleared a second-half Sterling chance off the line before the offside flag went up, in a reminder for City that the game wasn’t won quite yet.
Guardiola threw on the likes of Erling Haaland and Kevin De Bruyne to try and wrap up the match. But a feeling the game was over had come when Alvarez opened the scoring.
Here are i‘s player ratings.
Man City ratings
Stefan Ortega – A 12th game of the season and a ninth clean sheet. Ortega also played in the League Cup and FA Cup wins over Chelsea this season, and wasn’t troubled much here either. Did well to deny Sterling in the first half, and somehow kept out Gallagher. 7
Kyle Walker – Was matched up with England team-mate Sterling and fared pretty well. City’s three-man defence meant Walker sat back more than he usually would have liked. 6
Manuel Akanji – Held the fort well in the heart of defence, and was ably supported by Laporte and Walker. Sterling had the run on him once or twice but it was a steady performance from Akanji. 7
Aymeric Laporte – Won his battles against Havertz and communicated well with Akanji. A typically assured performance from the defender. 6
Kalvin Phillips – Sprayed the ball around well. Almost got a delightful assist from a Foden effort, and marshalled the midfield. He even hit the post with a header. However, he won’t be unseating Rodri any time soon. 7
Sergio Gomez – Was given license to play forward but too often deferred to City’s attacking unit for that responsibility. Held firm with Phillips in midfield and prevented Sterling from influencing the game when dropping deep. 6
Riyad Mahrez – Like Foden, Mahrez appeared to be playing at half pace. Lacked the usual dazzle we’ve come to expect from him, even when he plays dead-rubbers such as these. An assist was ruled out for handball. 6
Rico Lewis – Was given another chance to prove himself in his 14th start of the season, and fared well in midfield. Still, it’s unlikely he’ll be muscling his way into one of City’s finals on this display. 6
Phil Foden – Appeared to be playing in first gear for much of the game. Was creative on the turn but didn’t match the level he would ordinarily have been expected to produce. Saved City from blushes at the death with some resolute defensive work. 7
Cole Palmer – Did well on the flank, especially when tracking back, and looked comfortable in his first start since January. At 21 he’s not the complete player yet but he should get more chances next season. 7
Julian Alvarez – Led the line well and took his opener with the utmost calm. Alvarez would probably start every game in another Premier League team. He won’t be ahead of Haaland for City’s upcoming finals though. 7
Subs:
John Stones – Replaced Akanji and cleared a Sterling chance off the line before the offside flag went up. 7
Erling Haaland – Got 20 minutes at the end to delight the City fans and almost scored with his first touch. His presence helped stretch the game but Chelsea’s centre-backs were resolute in their handling of him. 6
Rodri – Replaced Laporte and did the business, sitting in the defence and blocking anything that came near him. 6
Kevin De Bruyne – Came on for Gomez as City sought to put the game beyond Chelsea. But was fairly quiet, as City went direct to Haaland on too many occasions. 5
Chelsea ratings
Kepa Arrizabalaga – Didn’t have a huge amount to do due to City’s decision not to go full throttle. 6
Trevoh Chalobah – Had a quiet game spent largely watching the likes of Foden twist away from trouble. 6
Thiago Silva – Benefitted from Chelsea’s choice to sit deep and invite attacks, rather than test City’s pace. Did well at the set piece. 6
Wesley Fofana – Required to do more of the leg work between Chelsea’s two central defenders. Fofana wasn’t much troubled by the City’s midfield runs but had a tougher time of it when Haaland came on. 7
Cesar Azpilicueta – Enjoyed a fairly steady game. City eventually stopped trying to go down Azpilicueta’s flank unless it was on the counter, and that resilience helped the visitors hold firm for much of the game. 7
Enzo Fernandez – Appeared lost a times and was forced to hold shape against a controlling City side, rather that seek to make an impact. Fairly innocuous. 5
Ruben Loftus-Cheek – Rarely had the better of Palmer on the Chelsea right. This was his first start under Lampard and it showed. 5
Lewis Hall – Impressed on the break and forced two saves out of Ortega, but had to make do with ball chasing for much of the game. One of Chelsea’s more positive players. 7
Conor Gallagher – Headed a golden opportunity for a first-half equaliser onto the post and faded as the game went on. 6
Kai Havertz – Laboured to get the better of Laporte and ended up looking back at his own goal more than City’s. A tepid display when Chelsea needed a fighter up front . 5
Raheem Sterling – Looked nervous when, on occasion, he got behind the City defence. Ortega denied him one-on-one when the England man should have done better. 6
Subs:
Mykhailo Mudryk – Fairly ineffective as a replacement for Gallagher.
Noni Madueke – Gave Chelsea a bit of pace going forward, which was more than what Havertz had offered. 6
Kalidou Koulibaly – N/A
Carney Chukwuemeka – N/A
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