Not even Frank Lampard could have imagined this in his worst nightmares. A clash that was heralded as an opportunity for Chelsea to reaffirm their title credentials ended in a shameful defeat after strikes by Ilkay Gündogan, Phil Foden and Kevin De Bruyne in the first half. first two.
To say that Chelsea were defeated here is a serious understatement. Had it not been for some crucial interventions by goalkeeper Édouard Mendy in the second half, the final score could have been much more embarrassing for Lampard, who has now seen his team score just four points in the last six matches, when they dropped to a fifth loss of the season in turns on.
However, while he must find a solution quickly as the pressure builds up after spending more than £ 200 million on new players in the summer, Pep Guardiola’s team is building an impressive dynamic that means it cannot be discounted after a third consecutive victory that was achieved despite losing a number of players due to Covid-19.
The inclusion of 35-year-old goalkeeper coach Scott Carson was an illustration of the difficulties City faced before the opening whistle. Benjamin Mendy was also nominated as one of eight alternates, despite the club promising to open an internal investigation into him violating Covid-19 regulations on New Year’s Eve, while Sergio Agüero was not considered fit to start.
Oleksandr Zinchenko and Foden were called up and US goalkeeper Zack Steffen started in the Premier League after it was confirmed that Ederson, Ferran Torres and Eric García had also tested positive for coronavirus. On the other hand, Lampard had no such problems and made five changes to the team that drew disappointingly with Aston Villa, with Hakim Ziyech back from injury to start for the first time since the victory over Leeds here last month alongside Timo Werner and Christian Pulisic in a restarted attack.
The return of Thiago Silva and Kurt Zouma to the center of Chelsea’s defense would normally have been a welcome image for their coach, as their team has returned to bad habits in recent weeks, but was torn apart in a sparkling display in the first half. of visitors. Guardiola – who turns 50 in fifteen days – said this week that he is reconsidering whether he will remain in management longer than originally planned, having already pledged to extend his stay at City.
They have conceded just three goals in the last 11 games in all competitions since losing to Tottenham in November and appeared to be prepared to strike back against opponents who are in the habit of not breaking teams in big matches.
Chelsea certainly started with intention, although it was short-lived. After resisting the initial storm with ease, City should have taken the lead in the 15th minute, when a precise pass from Foden was played at De Bruyne, but he strangely dragged his shot to the side.
Even so, it seemed to galvanize the visitors and, after Raheem Sterling also tested Chelsea’s defense, Gündogan fired the first goal without pressure after an assist from Foden. The England midfielder returned to the center of action when City doubled their lead two minutes and 37 seconds later, with De Bruyne giving him the pass through Mendy at his next post.
On the side, Guardiola could barely contain himself – his plan was paying off. Chelsea tried desperately to counterattack, but, failing to hit a single kick on the target in the first half hour, they had to call again when De Bruyne opened the scoring after Sterling’s shot from the post.
It was the first time that they conceded three goals in the first half at Stamford Bridge since against Burnley in August 2017 and Lampard left the bench at half-time looking like a ghost. Surprisingly, he sent the same team to the second half while Chelsea tried to at least save some pride.
Once again, however, it was City who took control. Zinchenko’s shot was well saved by Mendy and the Senegal goalkeeper had to do his best to prevent Rodri’s header following a De Bruyne free-kick. Lampard finally introduced Callum Hudson-Odoi and Billy Gilmour into the fray in the 20th minute of the second half, with the strangely out-of-rhythm N’Golo Kante one who led the way.
But even with Werner working on the attack again, there was mysteriously no sign of scorer Olivier Giroud, as Steffen remained a great spectator throughout the match until Hudson-Odoi’s last consolation blow. Steffen would hardly want an easier introduction to the Premier League.