Chelsea took on Manchester City for the second time in the space of a week.
As It Happened:
In the 19th minute, Laporte’s ball over the top played in Palmer behind the Chelsea defense. His low left-footed shot hit the side netting. In the 23rd minute, Mahrez fired his free-kick from range into the top right corner to open the scoring for the home side. VAR awarded a penalty to City in the 29th minute after Havertz handled the ball from an incoming corner. Alvarez stepped up to take the penalty. Kepa managed to get a touch on the ball after diving to his right, but it still managed to find the back of the net to double City’s lead. In the 37th minute, Riyad Mahrez’s free-kick from the edge of the area went straight at Kepa. Less than a minute later, Walker squared the ball for Foden, who guided the ball home with his left foot to give City a 3-nil lead before halftime. In the 55th minute, Gallagher’s quick free-kick was played into Mount in the box. His effort was deflected wide of the left-hand upright. In the 84th minute, Koulibaly brought Foden down in the box with a mistimed challenge. Robert Jones awarded City their second penalty of the match. Mahrez stepped up and emphatically converted the penalty.
It was an even game up until the first goal went in. Chelsea looked dangerous on the counter. The traveling supporters were hoping to see the players give their everything to honor club legend Gianluca Vialli, who passed away on Friday. Instead, they gave up the moment Mahrez scored his first goal. There are too many players that play for the name on the back of their shirt, instead for the badge on the front. When you play for the badge on the front, then the name on the back will be remembered by the fans. Any player that’s interested in collecting a pay check, instead of giving it their all for the badge should find themselves a new club. The biggest positive on the night were the supporters. They sang their hearts out from the first minute, right until the final whistle.
Player Performances:
- Every single one of the players were rubbish. There were four exceptions: Trevoh Chalobah, Lewis Hall, Denis Zakaria, and David Fofana.
