PREMIER LEAGUE 16/17: Pep v Conte-The good, the bad and the ugly
- Probaha Roy
- Dec 4, 2016
- 3 min read
Chelsea’s winning streak continued as they defeated Manchester City 3-1 at the Etihad stadium. While Chelsea showed ruthlessness and precision in front of the goal, Man City were left ruing a lot of missed chances. There were a number of talking points: master class of the coaches and controversies alike- 4 goals and 2 red cards bear testimony to that.
Strategy
While it was expected of Chelsea not to change their tried and tested 3-4-3, nothing could be predicted for Man City. Because in the recent matches, Pep had tried out too many things, drawing criticism from some quarters. It was expected that City might overload the centre of the pitch as Chelsea would stick to their wideman plan.
But to everyone’s surprise Pep also resorted to 3-4-3 and tried to get one up on Conte with his own medicine. To counter Chelsea’s wing play he fielded two of the fastest players of the squad- Leroy Sane and Jesus Navas on the flanks.
In the first half Man City were successful in stopping Victor Moses and Marcos Alonso from making their marauding runs and isolated Diego Costa in the process. The likes of Sane, David Silva and Kevin De Bruyne exposed the wide areas of Chelsea’s defensive line. Whenever Alonso or Moses went for an overlap, it would seem like a harakiri for the Blues.
City took the lead by virtue of this strategy when Navas' cross from the right side was bundled into his own net by Chelsea skipper Gary Cahill.
'Força Chapecoense'- Luiz and Willian pay tribute to their countrymen. Image courtesy: Evening Standard
Misses Galore
Neither team lacked creativity, but Manchester City raised the bar with a string of misses. Sergio Aguero and De Bruyne were the main culprits for the Citizens. For Chelsea, Eden Hazard wasted a colossal amount of chances before he scored the third goal. KDB could have killed the game in the 2nd half but he missed an empty net and hit the woodwork.
Ruthless Chelsea
For a long period of time, the visitors failed to get a stronghold on the game. Their 8-match unbeaten performance was remotely reflected in those spells. But they showed immense precision in front of the goal. 4 shots on target and 3 of them went in!
Cesc Fabregas brought back 2014’s memory as his incisive lofted pass found Diego Costa who calmly put the ball past Claudio Bravo. The second and third goals were products of stormy counter attacks, In both the cases, Hazard and Willian maintained their composure in finding the spot.
Hazard scored the final goal for Chelsea. Image courtesy : Guardian
Controversies
Chelsea ended the match relieved of sorts as they maintained their hold on top of the table. But they should consider themselves lucky to finish the game without suspension, especially as Luiz's cynical foul on Aguero went unpunished.
However, it was outright shambolic of the Man City players to lose their cool in the injury time fiasco. Aguero deservedly got a straight red for his frustrated challenge on Luiz and now faces a lengthy ban. But Fernandinho’s red card could have been avoided had the referee spotted the cheeky slap from Cesc Fabregas. The Brazilian was playing peace keeper when Fabregas slapped him. He lost his cool and shoved the Spaniard while the latter kept calm to avert his own peril.
Some needless scuffle marred the otherwise entertaining match. Image courtesy: www.bbc.com
The road ahead
Chelsea remain at the top and will be looking to continue their dream run with easier fixtures coming up. But, problems have piled up for Manchester City as they will miss Aguero and Fernandinho for their key contest against Arsenal in 2 weeks.
Moreover, Pep Guardiola may face charges from FA for his mockery of the match officials. Though everything looks perfect for Chelsea at the moment, they will be wary of their players getting tired due to the midweek fixtures. On the other hand, Man City must sort out their defensive woes to keep their title hopes alive.
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