Manchester City earned first blood in the title race after beating Chelsea 3-0 in a heavyweight Super Sunday clash Sky Sports reports.
With just two games on the board, City are already five points clear of the current champions.
Sergio Aguero opened the scoring on 31
minutes – finally converting one of five presentable chances in a
one-sided opening to the match.
John Terry was substituted at half-time
by Jose Mourinho in attempt to tighten things up but City kept the
pressure on and Vincent Kompany doubled the lead on 79 minutes.
Fernandinho, who could have been sent off for an elbow on Diego Costa in the first half, struck a late third.
City started fast at the Etihad Stadium
and could have been ahead within 30 seconds but stand-in Chelsea
goalkeeper Asmir Begovic, who replaced the suspended Thibaut Courtois,
denied the striker from close range.
The
battle between the striker and the ‘keeper continued with Begovic
denying Aguero three more times in the opening 30 minutes, the pick of
which was a one-handed save from a fierce drive from City’s top
goalscorer from last season.
Chelsea were being outplayed in every department and City finally got their noses in front just after the half-hour mark.
Aguero and Yaya Toure linked up to
bamboozle a flat-footed John Terry and Gary Cahill on the edge of the
area before the striker steadied himself to skilfully roll the ball into
the corner of the net.
Chelsea’s service towards Eden Hazard
and Diego Costa was non-existent in the first half and the striker cut a
frustrated figure. His mood was angered further on 42 minutes when he
was cracked in the head by a Fernandinho elbow that drew blood on
Costa’s brow and just a yellow card from referee Martin Atkinson.
Terry was the fall guy for Chelsea’s
dismal opening 45 minutes, being replaced by Kurt Zouma at the break –
the first time Mourinho has substituted Terry in the Premier League.
The visitors did improve after the break
with Hazard seeing more of the ball and City being forced deeper into
their own half. However, when Chelsea’s chance came on 70 minutes, they
didn’t take it.
Hazard was found inside the box by Costa
and although he beat Kompany with a clever shimmy, his shot from 12
yards was too close to Joe Hart, who pushed the ball to safety.
Kompany showed Hazard how it should be done with 11 minutes remaining.
He showed a greater desire than
Branislav Ivanovic to meet a David Silva corner at the near post and
flicked a well-judged header into the far corner.
The Etihad, with its new third tier
added to the south stand, was now rocking and Fernandinho answered the
crowd’s demands for more goals with five minutes remaining.
Ivanovic’s sloppy clearance was seized
upon by the rampaging City attack and the ball was worked to the
midfielder, who spanked a first-time effort into the far corner.
Costa hit the post for Chelsea in stoppage time but this was to be City’s day. The champions have work to do.
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