MANCHESTER CITY EDS 0, CHELSEA U21 1
City’s chances of a third place finish in the Barclays Under 21 League ended with a late goal by Chelsea substitute Charlie Colkett which handed the visitors, who still have a game in hand, the chance to usurp their hosts for fourth place.
A mix-up in the City six yard box with just four minutes to go saw Isaac Christie-Davies’ cross reach Ike Ugbo but the ball broke for substitute Charlie Colkett who reacted first after Tosin Adarabioyo’s challenge on Ugbo saw the ball go loose in the box.
The late goal was a sucker punch for City who had dominated the latter stages of the game with a string of chances after both sides had their moments in a game that had generally contrasted sharply with the fireworks on display at the Etihad yesterday.
City had tested Chelsea early, forcing Chelsea ‘keeper Bradley Collins into a couple of saves early on following shots by George Glendon and Sinan Bytyqi.
Chelsea posed a threat on the break throughout but Angus Gunn was rarely troubled, with a shot by Ruben Sammot after Aleix Garcia let the ball run away from him their best chance in the early stages.
Quintero found Sammot with a great pass soon afterwards in the 22nd minute but his shot was saved by a diving Gunn as Chelsea continued to find joy with sloppy City possession.
Gunn collected a tame free kick by Muktar Ali soon afterwards following a foul on Jay Dasilva by James Horsfield as City continued to give away chances to the visitors with shaky defending.
City’s best chance of the half came from a rare break after 32 minutes with Bersant Celina exchanging passes with Issac Buckley-Ricketts but he couldn’t get a shot away as Collins raced off his line and was saved by an intervention by Ola Aina before he could reach the through ball.
The home side prevented a near certain Chelsea opener when Isaac Christie-Davies put Quintero through but the young midfielder was denied by a brave sliding tackle by Kean Bryan.
The pace slowed even more after the break as City tightened up at the back but they still allowed Chelsea chances to probe on the break.
Brandon Barker spent much of the game going down blind alleys but had a shot blocked while Bytyqi shot wide after cross by Nemane was moved on quickly by Celina after 69 minutes.
And Celina’s corner was headed into the arms of Collins by Adarabioyo as City tried to raise the tempo towards the end.
Angelino’s late cross was behind Celina as City went for the grandstand finish while a one handed save by Collins denied Bytyqi with eight minutes to go shortly afterwards but Simon Davies’ side failed to deal with a late Chelsea cross and paid the price.