Key events
Conor Gallagher speaks to Sky. âSlightly disappointed ⦠obviously they dominated the game in terms of possession but we had a lot of chances to win the game ⦠we defended really well ⦠weâre disappointed to concede quite late but the point is a good point ⦠we countered them well ⦠itâs a fair result in the end ⦠the game could have gone either way ⦠weâll take the point ⦠it was a good performance ⦠defensively we were focused ⦠you could tell we were tired in the last bits of the game ⦠the lads are confident ⦠weâre going into the next game [the Carabao Cup final] with a lot of confidence and weâre excited for it.â
Itâs fair to say Cityâs equaliser had been coming, though. They had 32 shots at goal tonight, albeit with only five on target. They had 79 touches in Chelseaâs box, sent in 47 crosses, and enjoyed 71 percent of possession. The xG, because everyone loves that, was 3.07 to 1.58 in Cityâs favour. And yet a draw seems fair. Why? Chelsea had more shots on target with six from just nine attempts. You can do owt with stats.
On the one hand, thatâs good news for the leaders Liverpool, who now canât be usurped at the top when City host Brentford on Tuesday evening. On the other, itâs not good news for Liverpool, as Chelsea receive a massive jolt of confidence ahead of next weekâs Carabao Cup final. Swings and roundabouts, though one suspects on balance Jurgen Klopp will be more than happy with this result. See also Mikel Arteta, whose Arsenal side are scoring like maniacs right now. The run-in promises to be a million miles of fun.
That result seems about right on balance. Manchester City had plenty of big chances but Chelsea defended doggedly ⦠and Chelsea had their fair share of fine opportunities as well. It was another hugely entertaining match between these two attractive sides, to follow the 4-4 draw at Stamford Bridge in November. Either side could have easily won. Erling Haaland stares into the middle distance, and his frustration at dropping precious points in a three-way title race is illustrated when he finally snaps out of his reverie and pushes the Sky camera away. That was all great fun, but Chelsea will be far the happier right now.
FULL TIME: Manchester City 1-1 Chelsea
Well, then.
90 min +5: The ball did hit Colwillâs left arm. Some slight movement forward. Ball to arm? Arm to ball? VAR has a long look. Itâs not happening for City. Youâve seen them given, but everyone was so close together itâd have been terribly harsh.
90 min +4: De Bruyne hits the corner long. Haaland wins a header at the far stick. Petrovic acrobatically punches clear. Thereâs some bedlam. A potential hand ball? VAR to take a look!
90 min +3: City probe again. Chelsea sit back again. Time for one last chance? Doku wins a corner off Gusto on the left. De Bruyne to take!
90 min +2: Casaedi now skittles Ake out on the left flank. A free kick. A chance to pump it into the mixer ⦠but City arenât hard-wired that way and play it short instead. They work the ball to the right for Walker, who blazes a speculative shot off target. Exactly what City didnât want, and what Chelsea did.
90 min +1: The first of four added minutes sees Casadei tee up Nkunku for an attempted bicycle kick on the City penalty spot. Ederson deals with the fresh-air swipe.
90 min: Disasi heads Dokuâs cross behind for a corner, when Petrovic was preparing to claim. Haaland meets the set piece with a weak header, and this time the keeper is allowed to go about his business in peace.
89 min: City pass. City probe. City pass and probe. Chelsea hold their shape.
88 min: Chelsea put a few passes together and Chilwell races after a long ball down the left. The flag goes up correctly for offside. The clock ticks on, and Chelseaâs best form of defence may well be attack.
87 min: Rodri crosses from the left. Haaland competes. So does Silva. Neither can win a header. Chelsea clear ⦠though thereâs nobody upfield, and they canât get out. City will come straight back at them.
85 min: Silva is booked for clipping the heel of Caicedo. The hunter hunted.
84 min: Hats off to Lee Madden (80 min) for prescience. Rodri celebrated just as he did in the Champions League final. He knows how important that could be. And thereâs still plenty of time to turn one point into three!
GOAL! Manchester City 1-1 Chelsea (Rodri 83)
The ball pinballs around the Chelsea box. It breaks to Rodri on the edge of the area. He sends a rising screamer towards the top left. It takes a small deflection off Chalobah before almost ripping the net. It was heading in anyway. That had been coming!
82 min: Casadei comes on for Jackson.
81 min: Haaland keeps the ball from going out wide right of the Chelsea goal. He boots it straight into Chilwellâs startled mug, then claims a penalty for handball. Nope.
80 min: Silva curls in from the right. A shot-cum-cross that floats harmlessly wide left of the target. City have done everything but score. âAs a Chelsea fan, I genuinely think taking Palmer and Sterling off will turn out to be a bad decision,â worries Lee Madden. âThey were our most dangerous players and weâre giving City something. To worry about. It feels like only a matter of time before City score.â
79 min: Haaland has missed two huge chances this evening. Very strange. Youâll not see the like of this too often.
78 min: City keep on coming at Chelsea, who are beginning to ask for trouble in sitting back. Doku crosses from the left. Disasi clears. Then De Bruyne picks up possession on the left. He curls a glorious cross towards Haaland, who flies in to meet it, six yards out ⦠only to power a header high and wide left! The entire stadium waited for the net to billow, only for nothing to happen. What a miss!
76 min: Corner for City on the left. De Bruyne and Foden play it short, then switch it towards Silva, to the right of the D. Silva returns it. The ball sails wide left of goal. Petrovic ushers it out of play.
75 min: Silva jigs down the left and dinks a cross towards ⦠nobody in particular. On the touchline, an agitated Pep is on the prowl. Heâs earned himself the wrath of the fourth official for stepping outside of his technical area. No official censure, though.
74 min: Chelsea take a little bit of sting from the game with some patient possession in midfield.
72 min: De Bruyne crosses low from the right. Silva prepares to slam home from close range, only for Colwill to extend a leg and divert the ball back to his keeper. The defender celebrates his intervention as he might a goal.
71 min: Palmer is replaced by Chalobah, who comes on and passes on a tactical tweak: itâs time for Chelsea to switch to a back five.
69 min: De Bruyne wins a corner down the right. It ends up being a non-event.
68 min: Jackson strides down the left but canât get past Walker. He pulls back for Fernandez â all friends again â but what follows is neither shot nor pass to Nkunku. Chelsea pass up yet another opportunity to put some navy-blue water between the teams.
66 min: Nkunku is found in the City box by Gallagherâs right-wing cross. Instead of making an immediate scoring impact, he takes a heavy touch and is blocked out of it by Akanji. The ball breaks left to Jackson, who prepares to shoot only for the in-rushing Fernandez to step in and lash a wild shot off target himself! Jackson is beyond livid, hopping around, effing and jeffing in the direction of his team-mate. As it turns out, Nkunku was offside initially, so had any of them scored, it would have been chalked off. But still. What a business!
65 min: Silva comes on for Alvarez. Then suddenly Haaland is sent into the box from the left by Doku. His rising strike from a tight angle pings off Disasi and is turned around the post by Petrovicâs strong hand. Nothing comes of the resulting corner.
64 min: The goalscorer Sterling leaves to pantomime boos. Nkunku comes on in his place. A reminder that Nkunku has previous here.
