Manchester City close gap in title race with emphatic victory at Chelsea

After a season dominated by long throws, tortured set-piece routines and rigid football, a killer blend of artistry and firepower is threatening to deliver another domestic treble for Manchester City. They have stirred when it matters most, crushing Liverpool in the FA Cup last weekend, and have their gaze firmly fixed on wounded prey after closing the gap on Arsenal with an expert destruction of Chelsea at a flat Stamford Bridge.

Pep Guardiola’s sharks could smell the blood in the water after Arsenal’s stumble against Bournemouth. City were ferocious and unstoppable. They took this game away from a callow and careless Chelsea with a blistering surge at the start of the second half and, even if there are twists and turns to come, there is no doubt this emphatic 3-0 win has tilted momentum in the title race to Guardiola’s side.

City have been here before. They stayed calm after giving Chelsea encouragement during a tepid first half. City lent on the experience of Rodri and Bernardo Silva in midfield, took control and cuffed their flaky opponents around. They led thanks to another vital contribution from Nico O’Reilly, increasingly Guardiola’s man for the big occasion, and any hope Arsenal had of Chelsea doing them a favour was shattered by a display of supreme creative brilliance from Rayan Cherki.

Those flourishes could be the difference. While Arsenal look choked in open play, City have so many ways to hurt teams. Cherki’s form has dipped at times but Guardiola was right to say the Frenchman has something special. Chelsea could not live with the former Lyon player. They were caught out by a sumptuous cross for O’Reilly to head in the opener in the 51st minute and were still reeling when City’s No 10 danced inside from the left and made to shoot before playing a disguised ball to Marc Guéhi to make it 2-0 six minutes later.

Nico O’Reilly heads Manchester City into a second-half lead at Stamford Bridge. Photograph: Tom Jenkins/The Guardian

Some numbers: Cherki now has 10 assists in the league this season. Guéhi, meanwhile, is the first away player to keep two clean sheets at Stamford Bridge in a single league campaign (he played for Crystal Palace in a 0-0 draw on the opening weekend). And, most important of all, Arsenal’s nine-point lead is no more. The gap is down to six, City have a game in hand and the mood will have well and truly turned if they beat Arsenal at the Etihad Stadium this weekend.

So many of City’s titles have featured them summoning an immediate response to a slip from a rival. They handle the pressure. Guardiola put it down to mindset when he explained why City recovered from a slow start on Sunday. Liam Rosenior, by contrast, was left to bemoan his side’s habit of folding at the first sign of trouble.

Chelsea missed the leadership of the injured Reece James and the suspended Enzo Fernández. Rosenior admitted that it probably would have been easier had he not punished Fernández’s flirtation with Real Madrid by banning the midfielder for two games. Order has to be restored. Chelsea are four points off fifth-placed Liverpool and have lost five of their past six games in all competitions. They played well in patches but lacked ruthlessness in the final third and lost organisation. They were overpowered by City’s midfield and an early booking for Estêvão Willian, the 18-year-old Brazilian, for kicking the ball away summed up Chelsea’s immaturity.

There were good parts to Chelsea’s performance. They worked to compress the space and had a flurry of chances when they played through the City press. Cole Palmer had the first opening, firing into the side netting. Pedro Neto zoomed past Matheus Nunes and drew a save from Gianluigi Donnarumma. João Pedro forced a block from Abdukodir Khusanov and then released Marc Cucurella, but the left-back was a whisker offside when he fired past Donnarumma.

Guehi scores City’s second goal. Photograph: Tom Jenkins/The Guardian

City were listless and aimless in possession. Guardiola was unhappy when Cherki drifted a cross out of play in the 25th minute. Chelsea were comfortable. City struggled to connect with Erling Haaland, although there were flickers. Robert Sánchez denied Silva and Antoine Semenyo shot just wide.

At half-time, Guardiola must have told his players to wake up. City lifted the tempo, sharpened the angles and sliced through Chelsea. Haaland and Cherki delivered warning shots. Chelsea were overwhelmed and soon trailed. There was no pressure on Cherki when he checked back on the right and crossed for O’Reilly, who headed past Sánchez after peeling away from Andrey Santos.

O’Reilly, whose double saw off Arsenal in the Carabao Cup final, had delivered another clutch moment. Now City motored away. Cherki danced past some powder-puff challenges and set up Guéhi. Moisés Caicedo turned into trouble. He ran into Cherki and Jérémy Doku, who raced clear to make it 3-0. A familiar springtime story was playing out: an Arsenal wobble followed by a City charge.