Man City vs Chelsea: The One That Had Everything (Except a Cat)

Defending his man

Is there anything that could have made Saturday’s lunch time fixture more fun? Goals, tackles flying in, dodgy calls, indignation and outrage, a little bust up at the end. I mean, I wouldn’t have said no to an animal pitch invader having a little scamper around the pitch. But for all intents and purposes this game had it all. The task here is basically futile. Words just aren’t as fun - go watch it if you somehow missed it. And not just the highlights!

Over the last two months, Antonio Conte has made this Premier League lark look pretty easy. But Chelsea haven’t faced a serious threat to their system until this weekend. It was definitely set to be a clash for the FM lovers out there. While its typical that the hype surrounding these fixtures is better than the game itself, Saturday turned out to be the opposite. Sure those ‘systems’ were dispatched, but frustration won in the end - which really was a victory for us all. 

As its been ages since the actual game - or may just feel like ages since watching the game on a loop for the last four days - I thought it prudent to just break down the best moments …

Man City vs Chelsea: The One Without Jon Fearn

Costa just can't have pretty things

Oh Sunday. Bloody Sunday. Apologies for being late on this. It’s possible I’ve only just got through the traffic on the M40 and back to civilisation. If any of us are looking for a remote positive from the result it is at least a reprieve for and from Eva Carneiro and everything that surrounds that narrative. Don’t worry Jon Fearn — we’ll never forget you.

Thanks to the sensible planning from the City hierarchy, I nearly missed kick-off courtesy of a forced excursion to the Academy Stadium. And by the looks of how the match began, I don’t think I’m the only one who missed out and turned up exhausted — not pointing any fingers. But you know who you are Cesc Fàbregas* and the entire back line.

Premier League: Team of the Season

It's that time of the year for people to put fake teams together and ponder the what-ifs if this were actually at team. The players selected here are ones that impressed (me) this season. In a bid to set aside bias, it is not Chelsea's starting XI even if the team has a blue hue. With the excitement of a season that saw both the favourite and richest club go and win the darn thing, there could be an argument for more City players to make an appearance in this XI. Yaya Touré the most glaring omission. He had a brilliant season following in Frank Lampard's footsteps scoring 20 goals in a season. So rather than include him in the XI, he gets a special mention.

City v Chelsea: When Aguero Met Luiz' Buttock

Oh hi David Luiz' bum

With replay after replay, Chelsea somehow found themselves back and Wembley in the FA Cup. Could the magic of the Cup and new Wembley be enough to trump Rafa? Er, no. No it could not. No magic or luck is powerful enough to battle yet another dodgy lineup. The interim one was the first of many a manager to drop both Frank Lampard and John Terry from a semi-final or final since 2006. And we all know how well that worked out for him.

If anyone has any idea what the tactics were to have Chelsea's diminutive midfield pitted against the juggernaut that is Yaya Toure without any girth themselves, I'd love to hear it. Mystifying choice beyond the fact that Lampard played on Thursday. Either way you cut it, you need both an experienced man and sizeable character if you're going to stop Toure.