Manchester City 1, Chelsea 1
Rodri earned a late equaliser for Manchester City after Raheem Sterling had given Chelsea the lead at the Etihad Stadium.
Chelsea survived two VAR penalty checks as City did not bring their shooting boots today, with Erling Haaland missing a gilt edged chance to break the deadlock shortly before Rodri brought City back on par after Chelsea decided to protect their lead for the last 20 minutes after having success taking the game to City on the break.
It was the least the City deserved as they dominated 71% of possession with 32 shots on goal but only 5 on target (Chelsea had 6) with 12 corners to Chelsea’s 1.
But the draw means two points dropped in a tight title race as City dropped to third in the Premier League after Liverpool and Arsenal recorded big wins today.
They are four points behind league leaders Liverpool and play their game in hand against Brentford on Tuesday.
After a cagey start Chelsea had a massive chance to open the scoring after 22 minutes when Cole Palmer sprung the offside trap and squared for Nicholas Jackson who fluffed his lines and couldn’t beat Ederson from 8 yards 1 on 1.
Ex-City winger Palmer was earlier denied a shooting chance after Nathan Ake dived in the steal the ball off his toes as he reached it.
City had arguably more chances but Chelsea should have been in the lead in the first half.
Kevin De Bruyne’s free kick from 25 yards out early in the second half landed on the roof of the net while Kyle Walker’s claims for a penalty after he fell under pressure from Sterling was denied by referee and VAR.
And the crowd were certain that Erling Haaland would score when Foden broke free and crossed only for the big Norwegian to volley the shot wide.
Chelsea had a double chance to extend their lead in the second half when Ederson saved from Jackson and Sterling again as City could not retain the ball in midfield – badly missing the input of Bernardo Silva as Chelsea closed ranks to protect their lead.
Dorde Petrovic saved from Erling Haaland as City made the change they had been needing since the first half – Silva for Julian Alvarez – after goalscorer Sterling had been swapped for Christopher Nkunku.
Palmer was replaced for Trevor Chalobah shortly afterwards as the visitors started to look towards preserving their lead. And choosing to defend their lead would eventually lead to the equaliser.
De Bruyne was still having little luck with crosses into the box until one pearler dropped perfectly for Haaland who, from 6 yards out, headed it over the bar with 12 minutes to go and City kept piling on the pressure.
City’s pressure paid off with 8 minutes to go when Kyle Walker’s shot deflected back out to Rodri whose thunderous goalbound shot from the edge of the box deflected in off Chalobah’s knee.
City were level and going for the winner, Haaland’s weak header was easy for Petrovic to collect as the game went into four minutes of added time.
Levi Colwill escaped a second VAR check for handball as Chelsea escaped with a point after a frenetic end.
Embed from Getty ImagesPLAYER RATINGS – Manchester City 1, Chelsea 1
Ederson: 7. Good saves from Raheem Sterling. Great save to deny Nicholas Jackson 1 on 1 from 8 yards after Chelsea had sprung the offside trap and again in the second half.
Kyle Walker: 6. Tasked with looking after Raheem Sterling but left his ex-team mate in plenty of space when Chelsea got their passing right and punished Ederson. Claimed a penalty but cleared the ball in the second half.
Manuel Akanji: 7. Inverted into midfield from centre back and helped block up passing lanes and intercept through balls. Blocked a shot from Christopher Nkunku.
Ruben Dias: 6. Early header straight at Dorde Petrovic. Solid in defence.
Nathan Ake: 6. Crucial interception to deny Cole Palmer a shooting chance.
Rodri: 7. Below his usual standards. Gave the ball away to gift Chelsea a chance via Raheem Sterling. Volleyed a chance high before coming up with a thunderous equaliser late in the game.
Phil Foden: 7. Had a battle with Ben Chilwell but stuck on the right flank. Balls into the box were dangerous but cleared by Chelsea. One great cross to Erling Haaland in the second half deserved a better finish.
Kevin De Bruyne: 7. Not quite his day, creativity but not much end product. Landed a prime free kick on the roof of the net and should have seen one of his crosses converted by Erling Haaland late on.
Julian Alvarez: 6. Plenty of shots early on, but gave the ball away too causing City problems on the break from Chelsea.
Jeremy Doku: 7. Caused Malo Gusto problems with direct running and sending balls into the box but didn’t have enough chance to do this and was wasteful too. Had Cole Palmer back watching him in the second half too.
Erling Haaland: 6. A total of 10 shots for City today – the most he has had in a game. Headed over a great cross from the left and was just wide with another cross at the end of the first half. Volleyed wide in the second half and couldn’t put the loose ball away after Chelsea failed to clear Phil Foden’s volleyed shot. Forced a save from Petrovic but headed over the bar from 6 yards out with just the Chelsea keeper to beat late on.
Bernardo Silva (on for Julian Alvarez, 64): 6. Immediately added some more impetus and ball retention to City plus dangerous balls into the box. Late shot wide.
TEAM NEWS – Manchester City 1, Chelsea 1
Jack Grealish, John Stones and Bernardo Silva were stood down from the City side that beat FC Copenhagen 3-1 in midweek. Manuel Akanji, Julian Alvarez, and Jeremy Doku were selected in their place as Chelsea came with the Etihad with ex-City players Raheem Sterling and Cole Palmer starting the game – there were mild boos from the crowd as both players got touches on the ball.
GOALS – Manchester City 1, Chelsea 1
Man City 0, Chelsea 1: 42. Raheem Sterling managed to escape the City defence when he turned Kyle Walker, stepped inside and curled the ball past Ederson after a counter attack down the Chelsea right and a cross field ball to the left.
Man City 1, Chelsea 1: 82. Rodri’s long range goal bound effort went in off the knee of Trevoh Chalobah after Kyle Walker’s initial shot was blocked but the loose ball fell to the City midfielder.
MATCH STATS – Manchester City 1, Chelsea 1
Man City: Ederson, Walker (C), Akanji, Dias, Ake, Rodri, Foden, De Bruyne, Alvarez (Bernardo Silva 64), Doku, Haaland
Man City Subs not used: Ortega, Stones, Kovacic, Gomez, Nunes, Bobb, Susoho, Lewis
Booked: Bernardo Silva 86
Goal: Rodri 82
Chelsea: Petrovic, Gusto, Disasi, Colwill, Chilwell (C), Caicedo, Fernandez, Palmer (Chalobah 71), Gallagher, Sterling (Nkunku 64), Jackson (Casadei 82)
Chelsea Subs not used: Bettinelli, Mudryk, Madueke, Casadei, Gilchrist, Samuels-Smith, Harrison
Bookings: Caicedo 35 (foul on Kevin De Bruyne); Palmer 60 (foul on Nathan Ake); Petrovic 62 (time wasting)
Goal: Sterling 42
Referee: Andrew Madley