Manchester City and Chelsea drew 1-1 at the Etihad Stadium on Saturday, and both teams could take positives and negatives from the game.
City demonstrated the occasional susceptibility of their high defensive line by conceding the opening goal, scored by Raheem Sterling, and only achieved one goal themselves, due to Rodri’s late equalizer, despite having 31 shots.
Again, Pep Guardiola’s squad demonstrated character and resolve by earning an 18th point from a losing position. Only Liverpool have won more after falling behind this season.
Chelsea’s outstanding strength was their performance in the opening hour, which could have been enough to win the game if they had taken more chances when they were ahead.
Missing opportunities has been a recurring theme for Mauricio Pochettino this season, but it was still one of Chelsea’s greatest performances since the Argentine manager took over last summer.
“The effort was massive and the spirit is the way we want to compete with the talent we have. I think we will reach, one day, the levels we expect. To play the best team in the world is never easy and today the character and personality made me very happy.” Said Pochettino.
Guardiola was disappointed with City’s first-half performance, but on another day, with Erling Haaland in good form, they would have won comfortably. For the first time since moving to England, Haaland had nine shots without scoring.
Liverpool sit comfortably at the top of the table with 57 points. Arsenal is second with 55 points and Manchester City are in the third position with 53 points.
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