A couple of weeks back, Thomas Tuchel left experts thinking about their analysis by knocking Manchester City out of the semifinal of the FA Cup and when the Blues of Tuchel halted Real Madrid from their favourite event – Champions League – surely, there remained no doubts over the galvanization of Chelsea under the German.
The Premier League roster against City yesterday was dubbed as the preparation for the final of the Champions League 3 weeks later. And, Tuchel tamed Pep Guardiola again.
When it was announced that Sergio Aguero would be leaving Etihad at the end of the season – the talk about a fitting farewell started to gain momentum, but after the miss of his shocking Panenka miss yesterday, the talks about that fitting farewell lost its momentum and whether he should feature in Istanbul or not has become a matter of concern.
With City leading 1-0 in first-half stoppage time and knowing victory would secure the Sky Blue and the Argentine a fifth Premier League title, Aguero was handed the ball after Billy Gilmour fouled Gabriel Jesus inside the penalty area.
But when his attempted Panenka looped into the arms of Edouard Mendy, everyone was astonished and Aguero even took the social media for an apology.
Well, that Aguero heroic against Queens Park Rangers nine years had been forgotten.
Football can be cruel and when Aguero witnessed the comeback of the Blues, he certainly felt the cruelest nature of this game.
Tuchel and his boys needed something to maintain their fight for the top four and of course, they needed something to lay down a psychological marker before the Istanbul contest.
They regrouped in the second half.
Chelsea made inroads on that left side of the field before the break and after, they took the opposite channel to turn the table around with Reece James, in particular, making life uncomfortable for Benjamin Mendy.
Pep had tried the 3-3-2-2 formation against Tuchel’s 3-4-3.
The Pep formation was for Ferran Torres and Sterling to tuck inside and allow the wing-backs, João Cancelo and Mendy, to push high and wide. In the second half, Tuchel had things under control and the idea of Pep started to feel the heat – the spaces were closed.
Hakim Ziyech’s equalizer followed a cut-back from the right by Cesar Azpilicueta and, at the very end, the substitute Callum Hudson-Odoi played in Timo Werner up the same area and his cross was scrambled home by Marcos Alonso.
The closing stages were full of actions: Hudson-Odoi had a goal ruled out for an offside following a James cross while, before the Sterling penalty appeal, Zouma had made a fabulous saving challenge on him. The City substitute Phil Foden also flicked wide and Alonso, just before his winner, sent a chip narrowly off target.
When the dust had settled, Tuchel bagged back-to-back victories against a much-more superior opponent and master tactician that could be a morale-boosting while for Pep, the defeats might keep him out of the limelight and plan better for the final at Istanbul.
Note: This article has been posted at Cricketsoccer as CSdesk on 09/05/2021 Chelsea tame Manchester City again
Thank You
Faisal Caesar
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