Chelsea 0 Man City 3
Second half massacre at the Bridge. I’ve gotta say I nearly fell asleep in that first half as City passed the ball side to side at a snail’s pace creating very little to worry a Chelsea team who didn’t really want to attack during the game, City dominated the ball in the first half but didn’t really look like scoring in a game they simply had to win. Pep obviously gave them an earful at half-time as they looked a completely different team in the second half, it didn’t take long for City to open the scoring as Cherki crossed the ball to the back post where who else but Nico O’Reilly was waiting to head past Sanchez to give City the lead in the 51st minute. City quickly doubled their advantage after some magical play from Rayan Cherki who then stabbed the ball into Marc Guehi who finished like a striker to put City 0-2 up in the 57th minute, from there the weight was lifted off Cities shoulders and a third soon followed a Caicedo had his pocket picked by Jeremy Doku when then coolly finished Sanchez at the near-post to finish the game in the 68th minute. A statement victory from City who now have all eyes firmly fixed on the Etihad next week in a title-deciding game against Arsenal on Sunday.
What a second half from Man City. You’d think it was two different teams that played both halves with how good City played in the second completely outclassing Chelsea all over the pitch, led by the talents of Rayan Cherki who we’ll talk about later as he notched two brilliant assists for the first two City goals. Nico O’Reilly popping up with yet another crucial goal but going off with what looked like a hamstring injury which will be a huge worry for Pep with Arsenal next week, defensively City look amazing with the partnership of Guehi-Khusanov looking imperious keeping yet another clean sheet to go along with the one they managed against Liverpool last weekend. Pep has found his strongest team and is sticking with it in the run-in albeit there is no more injuries from now until the end of the season, if it wasn’t clear already City are clearly the best team in the league and don’t look like slowing down any time soon.
A pretty toothless game from Chelsea on the whole. Coming into this game Chelsea had lost there last two in the Premier League along with getting battered by PSG in the Champions League over both legs, the win against Port Vale last week in the FA Cup clearly didn’t mean much in terms of confidence within the team as they were a million miles off City today all over the pitch, the quality in the forward areas which you’d expect from the likes of Joao Pedro, Cole Palmer, Estevao wasn’t there at all as they were so wasteful with the few chances they did have going forward. Cucurella probably had the best chance of the game for Chelsea but they were already 0-3 down at that point so it would have been a consolation, Chelsea are in real danger of slipping down the league at the minute with so many teams within touching distance of them behind them. It looks like Rosenior doesn’t really know how his best team at the minute and defensively Chelsea have been so poor since he’s come in, that game against Man United next week might just decide Chelsea’s fate this season in the hunt for Champions League football.
Rayan Cherki the difference maker yet again for Man City. Every time I watch Cherki I’m left in disbelief by some of the things he can do with the football, the assist for the second goal was outrageous dribbling around the box then finding a needle in a haystack with the pass for Guehi who took his goal brilliantly. It makes it all the more baffling that he was sitting on the bench for the first part of 2026 when City were dropping points in the league, he plays with such flair that it looks like he’s not even trying at times. For example there was a moment in the game when City had just scored the second goal where he flicked the ball up to himself and volleyed the pass down the line to Semenyo with inch-perfect accuracy, he’s just a joy to watch and I can’t help but love him despite my allegiance towards the red part of Manchester. If City do end up winning the league this season he’s going to be the driving force behind it as he’s Cities best player at the minute in my opinion, we need to see more players like Rayan Cherki.
Are City now the favourites for the title? I would make the argument that City are now in the driving seat when it comes to the Premier League with Arsenal coming to the Etihad next week, saying that all Arsenal need to do is draw that game to keep the title well within their hands with a win definitely meaning that the title will be heading back to London this year. City do look the business at the minute but the pressure is on the Citizens next week who simply have to win which put the sides level on points if City win their game in hand which is at home against Crystal Palace, Arsenal will be reeling at the minute but by this time next week they could be in the Champions League semi-finals and in the driving seat in the Premier League. Are you glass half-full or glass half-empty when looking at Arsenal at the minute? I might just edge to half-empty if I’m honest, we’ll see in the next week which might just be the most important week in Mikel Arteta’s managerial career.