It was in the space of less than three days that Manchester City played Chelsea again, this time a FA Cup Third Round clash, the former overcame the latter with a 1-0 victory at Stamford Bridge few days ago and brought the momentum into this domestic cup fixture at home at the Etihad Stadium. Riyad Mahrez was the main man for the Citizens for the third straight time against the Blues this season as he scored a brace this time around; He had previously found the net in City’s previous two matchups versus Chelsea, including an opener in the Carabao Cup back in November last year as well as the winner five days ago in the Premier League.
Only Three Shots from the Blues
Chelsea continued to play below their usual high standards amidst poor form as well as a long list of injuries. In the FA Cup showdown between the Blue Side of Manchester and it, Chelsea only managed three shots in the entire 90 minutes, in which a single shot was fired at Stefan Ortega, City’s backup goalkeeper. City, on the other hand, was determined to make it five straight wins over the team from London in all competitions, and Mahrez opened the scoring with a left-footed beauty from a freekick to beat Kepa Arrizabalaga; The Spanish goalkeeper was heavily criticised after failing to intercept a ground delivery from Jack Grealish for Mahrez to score the winning goal last time out.
Seven minutes later, a Phil Foden corner met the left hand of Kai Havertz, prompting referee to award a spot kick upon a Video Assistant Referee (VAR) review. World Cup winning forward Julián Álvarez assumed the responsibility and fired in his first goal since the quadrennial tournament from the spot. The riot did not end there, with Citizens patiently built up another play to score a third, after defensive midfielder Rodri’s long ball found Mahrez on the right wing, before the flanker passed it to the charging Kyle Walker. City’s captain of the evening then fed the ball to Foden to slot home its third goal of the match, taking a three-nil advantage to the dressing room.
Graham Potter, the Chelsea coach made several changes in the second 45 minutes, but to no avail since no actual impact was given from his substitutions, while the opposing Pep Guardiola decided to take off a few of his starters as City will have another cup tie against Southampton away tomorrow night. Foden was involved in City’s goal once again in the second half, with Senegal national team captain Kalidou Koulibaly bringing him down in the box. Mahrez hit the top left corner with his strike, making it his fourth goal against Chelsea this season, also City’s fourth goal of the evening. The 4-0 score line remained till the final whistle.
Riyad Mahrez against Chelsea this season:
Three games. Four goals. 👊 pic.twitter.com/YZZ212FqNZ
— B/R Football (@brfootball) January 8, 2023
Chelsea Lost Five Straight Against City Since the 2020/2021 UEFA Champions League Final
Blues’ fans certainly remember how Chelsea went past Manchester City in the Final of the UEFA Champions League two seasons ago, but they had lost five consecutive games in all competitions against the team from the Blue Half of Manchester. To add insult to injury, the Blues had not managed a single goal versus last night’s opponent, conceding nine goals in total in all five losing encounters. Besides, Chelsea’s coach Graham Potter continued his embarrassing managerial record against the Citizens, as he has now lost seven of his eight matchups against the team who grace the sky blue jersey. The loser of last evening will now shift their focus to an away game against Fulham in the Premier League while City vowed to maintain their recent fine form in tomorrow’s Carabao Cup quarterfinal fixture. Both teams are scheduled to meet again in May for the return leg of the Premier League.
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