Manchester City ignited the Premier League title race with a second-half attack, closing the gap on leaders Arsenal with a 3-0 victory over Chelsea.
Josep Guardiola’s side produced a devastating attack just after half-time on Sunday, with Nico O’Reilly and Marc Guehi scoring in the space of six minutes at Stamford Bridge.
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Jeremy Doku claimed a victory that will ensure City capitalize on Arsenal’s shock 2-1 home defeat to Bournemouth on Saturday.
Second-placed City are currently just six points behind Arsenal and will face off against the Gunners at the Etihad Stadium on April 19th.
City are hitting their stride at the perfect time after beating Arsenal in the League Cup final and Liverpool in the FA Cup quarter-finals.
Their ambitions to win a seventh English football title under Guardiola appeared to have been dented after their last two league games drew with struggling West Ham and Nottingham Forest.
A disorganized first half against Chelsea suggested City might squander a golden opportunity to put pressure on Arsenal.
But Guardiola’s half-time team talk had the desired effect, with City now looking set for a do-or-die visit from Mikel Arteta’s side next weekend.
If City win this high-profile clash, they will move to within three points of Arsenal, who had a huge lead in the 2023 and 2024 title race, with a game in hand and perhaps allow Guardiola’s side to lift the trophy.
Chelsea have won their first four league games since Liam Rosenior arrived from Strasbourg to replace Enzo Maresca, but the Blues manager faces some tough questions after winning just one of their last seven football games and losing three in a row.
Chelsea, who have not beaten City since the 2021 Champions League final, will once again be without Enzo Fernandes following manager Rossenyol’s controversial decision to omit the Argentine midfielder, who had hinted he could leave in the summer.
Sixth-placed Chelsea look sluggish without Fernandes, and are four points behind Liverpool in the race for a top-five spot in the Champions League.
City, who started late and lacked energy and cohesion, were lucky not to fall behind when Marc Cucurella’s clinical finish was ruled out for severe offside.
City also allowed Pedro Neto a brutal shot too easily, forcing Gianluigi Donnarumma to make a save at his near post.
It took City 35 minutes to make a sharp attack, as Bernardo Silva put his body on the line to meet O’Reilly’s cross, but Roberto Sanchez made a fine save to deny the midfielder’s close-range shot.
However, City stepped up their attack after the interval and O’Reilly broke through in the 51st minute.
Rayan Cherki fed an inswinging cross to O’Reilly and the City left-back repeated his heroics in the League Cup final with another clinical header from close range.
Six minutes later, Cherki once again showed the creative genius that so captivated Guardiola, despite some impulsive moments in his first season in Manchester.
The French playmaker weaved through a cluster of Chelsea players on the edge of the area and threaded a wonderful pass to Guehi. Guehi fired a perfect shot into the far corner from 12 yards out. He looked more like a forward than a centre-back.
City benefited from Chelsea’s misery defending their third goal in the 68th minute.
Despite the Chelsea midfielder being surrounded by three City players, Sanchez rolled the ball to Moises Caicedo and Doc darted into the area to score as Guardiola celebrated his precious result.
After the match, Dok hailed City’s “exceptional” win.
“I watched the Arsenal game and seeing Arsenal lose (against Bournemouth on Saturday) made me realize how unpredictable the Premier League is,” he told Sky Sports.
“We were also focused on our game. Winning here (Stamford Bridge) is not a given, so it’s special that we were able to do it today.”
Elsewhere on Sunday, Tottenham’s relegation bid was dealt a further blow after losing 1-0 to Sunderland.
In Roberto De Zerbi’s first game as manager, Spurs suffered their 16th league loss of the season. The team’s 14-game winless streak in league play dates back to January 1st.
Nordi Mukiele’s deflected shot sealed the match at the Stadium of Light, further plunging Tottenham’s campaign into jeopardy.
Tottenham are two points clear of safety with six games remaining. Nottingham Forest’s 1-1 draw with Aston Villa, who are fighting for relegation, did not help their plight.
Meanwhile, Crystal Palace came back from 1-0 down to beat Newcastle 2-1 at Selhurst Park.
