(Football news) Chelsea’s poor Premier League season continued as they lost 1-0 to reigning champions Manchester City in the Premier League. Pep Guardiola’s team capitalised on Arsenal’s draw against Newcastle United and reduced the deficit to five points when Riyad Mahrez found the back of the net from Jack Grealish’s assist in the 63rd minute. Chelsea’s Carney Chukwuemeka hit the post in the 44th minute but looked utterly toothless otherwise as City went on to claim their fourth consecutive victory against the Blues.
Surprisingly, Manchester City talisman Erling Haaland did not find the scoresheet this time around but City went on to win their first Premier League game for the 11th consecutive time. Chelsea will now take on City again in the FA Cup at the Etihad Stadium on Sunday but the signs are not looking good for Graham Potter as Raheem Sterling and Christian Pulisic are injured. Chelsea have only managed to get six points from their last eight games which is their worst run since 2010 and the team are 10th in the Premier League table, 10 points behind Arsenal.
“The situation we’re in, we need to focus on the next day or the next game. Keep together, keep the performance level we’ve shown today, and try to move forward. [The injuries] don’t make it any easier. Raheem’s was a strange one. Christian, it’s contact with his knee. Mason got a kick yesterday as well. I’ve never experienced anything like it and wouldn’t want to experience it ideally here. But we have to carry on.
“The expectation is where it is, you want to have all your players available, a fully-fit squad and be able to compete. It’s frustrating for everybody at the moment. There was a lot right today in terms of the performance. We were playing against a top side, it was competitive, we hit a post, we had courage in attack, we suffered in defence, there was a lot to like. We took a step forward today in terms of our performance.” – Chelsea manager Graham Potter
“It was not good first half, it was sloppy, we didn’t create much, our pressing was so poor, we were not well organised and in the second half with Manu and Rico, with the quality to not just play good, to help others play better, Rico has the talent to do this. Since we came back he’s been playing and he’s a key player for us. The impact in the second half of all four players was so important, they changed the game. In the second half, it was a completely different Man City, a different rhythm. Rico changed his dynamic from minute one.
“There are 63 points still left to play for, we have to continue to improve ourselves. We handle in our mindset that people believe in November we’re going to be champions and this is impossible. Arsenal and United don’t have this pressure. After four [Premier League wins] in five years it’s not easy to push them again, that’s why I’m satisfied. We prefer to be closer but the way Arsenal have played they deserve to be there.” – Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola
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