Khusanov and Sanchez's parade of errors. Player ratings for the Man City vs Chelsea match by Dailysports
Probably, the viewers expected something different. An active, attacking game where both teams would score several goals! But it didn’t quite turn out like that.
Chelsea allowed a lot of shots on goal, but Manchester City often couldn’t take advantage of them (either the shots were inaccurate, or blocked by defenders). The "Citizens" as a team would rush to defend as soon as Chelsea intercepted the ball. Seriously, no one even bothered to cover the midfield—everyone immediately rushed to fill the space in their penalty area. As a result, Chelsea couldn’t even get close to City’s goal.
It was a match of student versus teacher (let’s recall that before becoming Leicester’s head coach, Enzo Maresca was an assistant to Guardiola). In the end, the teacher won. Now, Manchester City has risen to 4th place, while Chelsea has dropped to 6th and now must worry about the fantastic Bournemouth.
Best Players of the Match for Manchester City:
Josko Gvardiol
In the first half, while Haaland was playing as a false nine, Gvardiol and Nunes were the real threats. While the Norwegian drew the attention of Chelsea’s defenders, these two made runs in behind and created chances. The first goal for Manchester City is a perfect illustration of this.
As for Gvardiol, honestly, we don’t even know what to praise him for more. He is exceptional and dangerous all over the field, both in defense and attack. He was the best player on the field today. He’s the best signing for Manchester City in recent years.
Erling Haaland
In the second half, Manchester City's attacks were built on a simple principle: the ball is passed back to Ederson, who then makes a long pass to the lone striker. Haaland played the role of a target man, receiving the ball and passing it to his teammates. In one such situation, he caught Sanchez making an error and scored a goal.
For his key role in attack building, the goal, and the assist to Foden, Haaland is also on the list of the best players.
Mateus Nunes
Firstly, Nunes played a big part in Gvardiol’s goal: he tricked the defenders, took the ball, shot, and then Gvardiol finished it off. As mentioned, he played an attacking role today, although he was somewhat overshadowed by Gvardiol and Haaland. Secondly, no one outshone him in defense, where he recorded the most defensive actions.
Notable Mentions:
Guardiola immediately brought on two new players — Marmush and Khusanov. For Khusanov, the start was awful, as he made a mistake leading to a goal in the 3rd minute. Marmush, though he didn’t register any direct goal involvement, had a solid performance overall. When he was transferred, the main question was what position he would play. Today, he played as a left winger in a 4-3-3 system.
Manchester City Player Ratings:
- Akandji M. - 6
- Gvardiol Y. - 9
- Gündogan I. - 7
- De Bruyne K. - 6
- Ederson - 8
- Kovacic M. - 7
- Marmush O. - 7
- Nunes M. - 8
- Silva B. - 7
- Stones J. - 6
- Foden F. - 8
- Haaland E. - 9
- Khusanov A. - 5
Best Players of the Match for Chelsea:
Noni Madueke
Despite his limited involvement in the game, Madueke was the player who most often found himself in Manchester City’s penalty box. To be precise, he had 10 touches in the box, 3 shots, and 2 successful dribbles (out of 4) from 30 touches. Not to mention the stats, he was the only player who managed to trouble Manchester City's defense and did something meaningful in attack.
Trevoh Chalobah
Just a week ago, Trevoh was playing for Crystal Palace on loan, but Chelsea ended the loan early, and he made his first appearance back with the team. He played well and was the best defender for Chelsea. This was a poor game for Chelsea, but Chalobah stood out with the quality of his performance.
Nicolas Jackson and Reece James
These two players are mentioned together because we simply have no complaints about them. Almost every other player from Chelsea had some issues, so we at least want to highlight the ones who performed decently. Jackson gets recognition for catching Khusanov’s mistake and his efforts in attack. Unfortunately, those efforts didn’t result in goals. As for James, he didn’t stand out with many defensive actions (only 5), but he was notable for the quality of his play. He blocked 2 shots from Manchester City, one of which could have led to a goal.
Chelsea Player Ratings:
- Gusto M. - 6
- James R. - 6
- Jackson N. - 7
- Caicedo M. - 6
- Colwill L. - 5
- Cucurella M. - 6
- Madueke N. - 7
- Neto P. - 6
- Nkunku K. - 6
- Palmer C. - 6
- Sanchez R. - 4
- Sancho J. - 6
- Fernandez E. - 6
- Chalobah T. - 7
Luis Torres
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