The title race isn’t over yet, but Chelsea have avoided disaster and prevented Manchester City from gaining ground. In a match that looked to be more about not losing than putting City away for the hosts, Chelsea did enough, grinding out a 1-1 draw.
3 things we learned from Chelsea’s 1-1 draw against Manchester City
The title race isn’t changing.
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City started the brighter of the two sides and looked like they might be able to threaten Chelsea’s goal early, but Jose Mourinho’s side eventually settled in and started to defend well.
The visitors' first shot on target came in the 24th minute, when Thibaut Courtois made a stop on Sergio Aguero after youngster Kurt Zouma did well to shuttle the Argentine away from the center of the box. Chelsea's first good chance came in the 30th minute after Loic Remy picked the ball off Vincent Kompany, eventually leading to a shot for Oscar, but he didn't get much power behind it and Joe Hart saved easily.
Both teams could have scored during a wild sequence a couple of minutes later. Chelsea appealed for handball when City blocked a Ramires pass into the box, and were caught out when the referee waved play on. John Terry misplayed a long ball over the top, allowing Aguero to run onto it, but he surprisingly pulled his shot wide of the far post.
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As has been the case in many of their big games during Mourinho's second spell in charge, Chelsea lost the possession battle comfortably in the first half but found the opening goal. Remy was the scorer, but merely applied the finish on a brilliant team goal. Willian won the ball back for Chelsea, who eventually worked it to Branislav Ivanovic. He switched to Eden Hazard, who volleyed a low ball across the six-yard box, and Remy was perfectly positioned to finish.
But City were able to find an equalizer before halftime, and in surprising fashion. Courtois flapped at a Jesus Navas cross and missed, then didn't quite get himself back into perfect position to tip Aguero's shot away. It was heading towards the far post before it met David Silva, who redirected the ball into the back of the net.
As much action as there was in the final 20 minutes of the first half, there was very little throughout the second half, with both teams looking afraid to gift the other team extra points. City had the better of the chances, but never looked much like scoring. Fernandinho forced saves from Courtois in the 55th and 68th minutes, while James Milner pulled a good effort just wide four minutes from time, but Chelsea held on for a draw fairly comfortably.
Chelsea: Courtois, Azpilicueta, Terry, Zouma, Ivanovic, Matic, Ramires, Hazard, Oscar (Loftus-Cheek 90'), Willian (Drogba 80'), Remy (Cahill 87')
Goals: Remy (41’)
Manchester City: Hart, Clichy, Demichelis, Kompany, Sagna, Fernando (Lampard 77'), Fernandinho, Milner, Silva (Jovetic 90'), Navas, Aguero (Dzeko 84')
Goals: Silva (45’)
3 things
1. Courtois’ error was an odd one - Usually, in the case of spectacular 22-year-old goalkeepers, bad errors happen occasionally and their teams are willing to live with them because of their stellar shot-stopping ability. But bad errors are very rare for Thibaut Courtois, and were when he was a teenager at Atlético Madrid as well. His complete whiff at Navas’ cross that led to City’s goal was extremely uncharacteristic, and Chelsea might have hung on for a 1-0 win on most other days.
2. Vincent Kompany's poor season continues - While Vincent Kompany has turned in plenty of great performances this year, he's had more shockers. And in this game, he was the man most responsible for Chelsea's goal and for a few of their other decent chances. He pulled his leg out of an attempted block of Hazard's cross on the goal -- seemingly scared of scoring an own goal -- allowing Remy to score easily. Someone wake him up. He used to be the best in the world.
3. We still haven’t answered the Fabregas question - Chelsea appeared to miss Cesc Fabregas’ creativity in midfield a bit, but his absence due to injury means we still don’t know whether or not he’s shaken that big game problem. He was poor against top sides in the second half of the season for Barcelona throughout his run with the Blaugrana. His form this season suggests he’s shaken that off, but it’s a lingering question we’re left waiting for an answer to.
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