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Not even in his worst nightmares Frank Lampard could imagine this. A showdown that was touted as an opportunity for Chelsea to reaffirm their title credentials ended in an ignominious defeat after first-half strikes from Ilkay Gündogan, Phil Foden and Kevin De Bruyne as Manchester City did starts from his own aspirations to move within striking distance of the first two.
To say that Chelsea have been outmatched here is a serious understatement. Without some crucial second half interventions from their goalkeeper, Édouard Mendy, the final score could have been much more embarrassing for Lampard, who has now seen his side pick up just four points from their last six matches as they collapsed to a fifth league loss of the season.
Still, if he is to find a solution quickly as the pressure builds after spending more than £ 200million on new players this summer, Pep Guardiola’s side are building impressive momentum which means they can’t be discarded after a third consecutive victory which was obtained despite a shortfall. number of players due to Covid-19.
The inclusion of 35-year-old goalkeeper coach Scott Carson on the bench was an illustration of the struggles City faced ahead of kick-off. Benjamin Mendy was also named one of eight substitutes, as the club promised to open an internal investigation into its violation of Covid-19 regulations on New Years Eve, while Sergio Agüero was again not deemed fit enough to start.
Oleksandr Zinchenko and Foden have been recalled and USA goalkeeper Zack Steffen secured his first Premier League start after it was confirmed that Ederson, Ferran Torres and Eric García also tested positive for the coronavirus. Lampard, on the other hand, had no such issues and made five changes to the team which disappointingly drew against Aston Villa, with Hakim Ziyech returning from injury to start for the first time since beating Leeds here on last month alongside Timo Werner and Christian Pulisic in a restarted attack.
The return of Thiago Silva and Kurt Zouma to the heart of Chelsea’s defense would have generally been a welcome sight for their manager having seen his team revert to their old bad habits in recent weeks, but they were torn apart in a scintillating performance in first period by visitors. Guardiola – who will be 50 in a fortnight – said this week he had reconsidered whether to stay in management longer than he had originally planned, having already pledged to extend his time at City .
They have now conceded just three times in their last 11 matches in all competitions since their loss to Tottenham in November and appeared ready to counterattack against opponents who have made a habit of not breaking up teams in the big matches.
Chelsea certainly started with intention, although it was short-lived. Having weathered the early storm with ease, City should have gone ahead in the 15th minute when Foden’s precise ball played to De Bruyne, but he trailed his shot in unusual ways.
Nonetheless, it seemed to galvanize the visitors and after Raheem Sterling also tested Chelsea’s defense, Gündogan shot in the first goal without pressure after being set up by Foden. The England midfielder was in the thick of it again when City doubled their lead two minutes and 37 seconds later, with De Bruyne providing him with the pass to pass Mendy at his nearby post.
On the sideline, Guardiola could hardly contain himself – his plan was reaping dividends. Chelsea desperately tried to retaliate, but failing to achieve a single shot on target in the first half hour, they had to call again when De Bruyne returned home after the breakaway effort from Sterling returned from the post.
It was the first time they had conceded three first-half goals at Stamford Bridge since against Burnley in August 2017 and Lampard left the dugout at half-time as if he had seen a ghost. Surprisingly, he sent the same side for the second half as Chelsea were at least looking to save some pride.
Once again, however, it was City that took control. Zinchenko’s shot was well stopped by Mendy and the Senegalese keeper had to be at his best to deny Rodri’s header on a De Bruyne free kick. Lampard finally brought Callum Hudson-Odoi and Billy Gilmour into the fray after 20 minutes of the second half, with N’Golo Kante strangely out of step, one of those to give way.
But even with Werner working on offense again, there was mysteriously no sign of top scorer Olivier Giroud as Steffen remained largely a spectator throughout the game until Hudson-Odoi’s final consolation strike. Steffen could hardly wish for an easier introduction to the Premier League.
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