Chelsea vs Manchester City (1-1): 3 Key Talking Points
Chelsea held Manchester City to a 1-1 draw and maintained their five point lead at the top of the table. In a first half, Loic Remy scored against the run of play to give the Blues a lead they scarcely deserved. But Mourinho’s side were unable to going into the break with a lead as David Silva expertly deflected Sergio Aguero’s shot after Thibaut Courtois spilled Jesus Navas’ cross. Although City piled on the pressure in the second half, the Blues held on in a second half in which was devoid of any goalmouth action.
Here are the major talking points from the game.
1. Mourinho settles for the draw
In the absence of the injured Fabregas and the suspended Diego Costa, Jose Mourinho was more than happy to take a draw on Saturday. When his side took the lead on Saturday, a lead which they scarcely deserved, the Portuguese manager would have been completely delighted. But a rare mistake from Courtois, albeit one that was the result of James Milner flashing past him meant that that lead didn’t last for very long.
If there was any doubts about what Mourinho wanted before the game, then the second half served as a reminder of just why he is so good in the big games. The Blues sat back almost in their own half and soaked up the pressure. Gary Cahill’s arrival with a few minutes to go, when there were already two center backs, merely showed that in a crucial game, that had so much riding on it, all he wanted was not to lose and his team certainly did that.