A Sergio Aguero hat-trick saw Manchester City cruise to victory at Stamford Bridge last night, momentarily climbing into third place on the ladder.
What started out as an end-to-end encounter with both sides coming close early quickly fell apart for the hosts, as the Sky Blues displayed lethal counter-attacks that the reigning champions were unable to deal with.
Anytime Kevin De Bruyne got on the ball and began to push forward it seemed as though City would score, eventually breaking through just after the half-hour mark with a brilliant curling strike from Aguero into the bottom corner. The lead would be doubled in much the same manner after the break, with a combination of De Bruyne, Aguero and Samir Nasri tearing the Chelsea defence apart.
The outing would get even worse for the hosts though, as goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois was red carded late on for a tackle inside the box on Fernandinho. City’s star Argentine would dispatch the consequent penalty to put the result well beyond doubt.
Chelsea
Thibaut Courtois – 5: Made some crucial saves in the first-half, yet a trailing leg which brought down Fernandinho when one-on-one in the 79th minute saw the Belgian receive his marching orders.
Cesar Azpilicueta – 4.5: Could not keep up with Samir Nasri in a relatively unnatural right-back role for this match, but was successful when tackling and recording good distribution.
Gary Cahill – 4: Looked confident early on but this quickly disappeared as the Chelsea defence were destroyed on the counter-attack.
Branislav Ivanovic – 4: A lack of pace in the hosts’ centre-back pairing was glaringly exposed by the connections of De Bruyne and Aguero. Along with Cahill, was left looking-on stunned as the ball was driven into the box for the second goal.
Baba Rahman – 4.5: This certainly was a trial-by-fire for the youngster, who still managed to venture up the field to deliver seven crosses, yet was left in the dust when City moved the ball down the left.
Cesc Fabregas – 5: The Blues were drained of their confidence to attempt any creativity in attack, cutting-short any influence Fabregas could generate. Passed with good accuracy though and had a late long-range attempt at Joe Hart.
John Obi Mikel – 4.5: Similarly to the centre-backs, the veteran was always two or three steps behind the City midfielders and attackers when it mattered most. Made way for Asmir Begovic upon the red card.
Willian – 5.5: Possibly still struggling for full fitness, the usually threatening Brazilian struggled to break into the final-third and none of his nine crosses found a mark. Was also 50/50 from set-pieces and was substituted with 20 minutes left.
Reuben Loftus-Cheek – 6: Had one of Chelsea’s better chances of the match in the 19th minute with a outwardly curling strike across the face of goal. Also distributed well along the wing and recorded four take-ons.
Pedro – 5.5: Despite the result, Pedro continues to improve his form in the late season. Had a shot cleared off the line inside the first 10 minutes and also created two chances for teammates.
Diego Costa – 4.5: The hunger was clearly there for the returning striker, yet City’s dominance in numbers around the final-third meant his only real shot for the 90 minutes came from outside the box.
Substitutes
Kenedy – 5: A little unlucky not be awarded a penalty just after coming on perhaps, but was a lively source of fresh legs before City’s third killed the game off.
Bertrand Traore – 5.5: Looked confident after coming on for William, barely misplacing a pass and also taking a shot at goal.
Asmir Begovic – 5: Took up the gloves after the dismissal of Courtois and had little to do in the last 10 minutes.
Manchester City
Joe Hart – 6.5: Was called upon for six saves that were not particularly threatening, marking the Englishman’s 14th clean sheet of the season.
Pablo Zabaleta – 7: Distributed well up the right-side and was too physically powerful for the Chelsea wingers to trouble.
Nicolas Otamendi – 6.5: Had to clear Pedro’s shot off the line after watching a long-ball fall straight to the feet of Diego Costa, but recorded nine clearances and interceptions in a commanding effort around the box.
Eliaqium Mangala – 6: The less involved of the centre-back pair, yet his distribution was supreme and the way City’s numbers dominated in defence completely stifled the hosts.
Aleksandar Kolarov – 6: Kept Willian well under wraps and joined in on the attack with three crosses.
Yaya Toure – 7: A performance which displayed the Ivorian’s best abilities, Toure bullied the midfield with seven successful take-ons and pin-point passing.
Fernandinho – 6.5: Did not steal the show, but did enough for his side to dominate the vital areas of the pitch and won the penalty late in the game when one-on-one with Courtois.
Jesus Navas – 6: Passing was not up to the level of his midfield partners and he did not do much to add to the attack.
Kevin De Bruyne – 8: Was the source of many absolutely devastating counter-attacks for the visitors, heavily involved in the first and second goals as he sliced through the Chelsea backline.
Samir Nasri – 7.5: Is definitely enjoying the link-up play with De Bruyne and the ex-Gunner is arguably in his best form of the season. Can claim the final assist for the second goal, while also testing Courtois twice himself.
Sergio Aguero – 9: The spotlight shines on the Argentine once more after a supreme hat-trick put the reigning champions to shame. Finished off two counter-attacks either side of the break, before converting the late spot-kick.
Substitutes
Bacary Sagna – 5: Did enough to see out a comfortable result for the Sky Blues.
Fabian Delph – N/A: Only touched the ball four times after his introduction.
Kelechi Iheanacho – N/A: Replaced Aguero for the final minutes.
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