Chelsea came close to beating Manchester City on Saturday after conceding in the dying minutes of normal time. Mauricio Pochettino’s men drew 1-1 at the Etihad Stadium, taking the lead before half-time and relinquishing it late on.
Raheem Sterling scored against his former club and put in a good performance, but it wasn’t enough. Cole Palmer also shone against his old side and would have had an assist to his name if his teammates could finish.
Chelsea caught City on the break
Erling Haaland should have opened the scoring for the hosts after heading home from close range. Nicolas Jackson had an opportunity for the visitors on the counter, but he got the ball stuck under his feet. Sterling would make no mistake when given a similar chance to score, however.
Chelsea frequently broke City’s offside trap and had space in behind to counter. Minutes before half-time, it was Jackson who was free down the right flank and found Sterling in space. The ex-City forward cut inside and fired into the bottom corner to give Chelsea the lead.
Chelsea couldn’t hold on after the break
City stepped up the pressure following the restart, nearly clipping the bar from a Kevin De Bruyne free-kick. Haaland missed countless chances to level the game too, notably firing a volley wide from a swift counter. He had a left-footed shot parried away for a corner and somehow headed over from just yards out.
Chelsea came close to doubling their lead through Sterling, but Ederson was equal to it. Malo Gusto whipped in a low cross from the right flank, but Sterling couldn’t convert it beyond the City goalkeeper. Ben Chilwell failed to make his follow-up attempt count too.
City ramped up the pressure late on and broke down Chelsea’s stubborn resistance through Rodri. The midfielder scored a deflected effort after the Blues failed to clear their lines.
