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A moment of brilliance from Kevin De Bruyne was enough for Manchester City to grab the win against Chelsea during Saturday’s Premier League action, as the Sky Blues continued their unbeaten run with a 1-0 win.
City dominated the bulk of the match, and De Bruyne finally gave the visitors a deserved lead after 67 minutes, firing a beautiful shot into the top corner.
Seven matches into the season, City still haven’t lost.
The Blues started the match on the front foot, and Alvaro Morata missed with an early header from a promising position. Their advantage didn’t last long, however, as City’s high press caused confusion in the Chelsea defence.
Thibaut Courtois’ clearance nearly bounced off Gabriel Jesus and wide of the goal, and John Stones headed wide from a great delivery from De Bruyne.
Ederson did well to deny a low shot from Cesar Azpilicueta, and the resulting corner turned into a quick counter, with Raheem Sterling almost picking out Jesus and David Silva. The Spaniard put Courtois to work minutes later.
ESPN FC’s Liam Twomey highlighted City’s pace of play as a key factor in the first 30 minutes and wondered if the Blues could keep up the rest of the way:
The hosts suffered a huge blow with 10 minutes left to play in the first half. Star forward Morata went down clutching his hamstring and was replaced by Willian, with Eden Hazard moving into a central role.
The final chance of the half fell to the Sky Blues, with Courtois making a brilliant stop to deny Fernandinho’s header.
City continued their dominance after the break, but chances were few early. Sterling fired a shot over, and Courtois had to be alert to claim several crosses. Bleacher Report’s Gary Hayes thought Morata’s absence was clear:
Chelsea couldn’t threaten much, but when they did break at pace, Ederson had to make a good save to stop Hazard giving his side the lead.
The Blues’ resolve finally broke after 67 minutes, when Jesus played in De Bruyne and the Belgian unleashed a fantastic shot to beat Courtois. Former England international Gary Lineker loved it:
Chelsea manager Antonio Conte responded by introducing Michy Batshuayi and Pedro, and the hosts started to find more success out wide. They were saved by Antonio Rudiger with mere minutes left to play, however, as the German cleared Jesus’ volley off the line.
Andreas Christensen couldn’t keep a header on target in injury time, and City comfortably played out the rest of the match.
