Manchester City pressed the self-destruct button
as Chelsea ended their unbeaten start to the Premier
League season and hauled themselves right back into
the title race with a 2-1 victory.
• Palmer: AVB's high-line act
City were in cruise control midway through the first
half at wet and windy Stamford Bridge, looking every
inch champions elect as they tormented their opponents.
Mario Balotelli scored inside two minutes and they should
have been 2-0 up - seeing a decent penalty appeal turned
down in the process - before simply losing their way.
That allowed Raul Meireles to equalise before half-time
after which City simply lost the plot, Gael Clichy picking
up two yellow cards in 11 minutes and Joleon Lescott
handling in his own box to gift Chelsea their winner.
Frank Lampard was the scorer, coming off the bench
to smash home a penalty which ended new manager Andre
Villas-Boas' run of defeats against other big teams
and propelling his side to third place, seven points
behind their opponents.
Victory capped a week to remember for Chelsea - who
beat Valencia on Tuesday to seal their place in the
Champions League last 16 - while defeat sealed a week
to forget for City, who crashed out of the same competition
on Wednesday.
They remain favourites to win their first title for
44 years but will have to cut out the indiscipline which
has seen them pick up three red cards in their last
six Premier League games.
There was no recall for Lampard for what was another
potential do-or-die night for Chelsea and Balotelli
must have been fearing the same fate after breaking
a pre-match curfew.
But the Italian's latest antics failed to deter Roberto
Mancini from picking a man who had scored on his previous
four Premier League starts this season and took just
two minutes to do so again.
The goal owed everything to the brilliance of Sergio
Aguero and a slip from Branislav Ivanovic.
Aguero received the ball on the right with his back
to goal, carried it inside from the right and played
in Balotelli, who shrugged off the wrong-footed Ivanovic,
rounded Petr Cech and nonchalantly stroked the ball
home.
City were tearing into Chelsea, forcing errors in their
opponents' half, and although the hosts looked to have
got a grip when Meireles' drive was deflected over in
the 10th minute, they should immediately have been 2-0
down.
Ashley Cole gave the ball away, allowing Aguero to
race goalward and leave the recalled Jose Bosingwa in
a heap before drilling wide.
Bosingwa got away with dangling his leg in the box,
prompting David Silva to go down, with referee Mark
Clattenburg waving away the appeals.
Clattenburg also failed to spot an altercation between
Yaya Toure and Juan Mata which might have seen either
player carded, before Didier Drogba forced the first
save of note from Joe Hart in the 25th minute.
City's workrate had dipped and they paid the price
when former academy graduate Daniel Sturridge brilliantly
laid on Chelsea's equaliser.
The ball was sprayed to the forward out on the right
and he tricked his way past Clichy and crossed for the
arriving Meireles to crash into the net on the volley.
No-one ran to the bench to celebrate, putting paid
to suggestions Chelsea's players had been asked to.
Clattenburg's yellow card was soon out, with Meireles
and Vincent Kompany both booked before half-time and
Clichy just after for hauling back Sturridge.
The left-back then tripped the onrushing Ramires two
minutes before the hour mark to earn a deserved second
booking and leave City down to 10 men.
Chelsea poured forward but Oriol Romeu - who had become
increasingly influential - was carded for felling Balotelli
before Kolo Toure was sent on for Aguero.
Chelsea introduced Lampard for Meireles in the 73rd
minute shortly before Ramires became the latest player
to see yellow for an ugly tackle on Balotelli.
Silva was then replaced by Nigel de Jong and Drogba
was booked for going through the back of Pablo Zabaleta.
Chelsea eventually made the breakthrough seven minutes
from time, after Lescott handballed. Lampard smashed
the penalty straight down the middle and sent Stamford
Bridge into ecstasy.
Florent Malouda replaced Mata, Edin Dzeko came on for
Lescott and Sturridge was withdrawn for John Obi Mikel
- but the game was already up for City.
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