De Bruyne stunner sends Manchester City top after Chelsea win

Chelsea’s welcome of Manchester City was arguably the most hotly-anticipated game of the season so far. After Tottenham and Manchester United both won earlier in the day, neither team could afford to drop points. The spectacle on offer didn’t fail to live up to expectations either. This was a game that promised fast flowing attacking football and duly delivered, if more so from the City side. Following their emphatic, if energy sapping, win in Madrid on Wednesday night, Antonio Conte was always going to be the more pragmatic of the two managers at Stamford Bridge, particularly against a City outfit that played the previous night on home turf. 

While the fixture schedule was unfair on Chelsea, they retained the defensive solidity instilled in them by Conte, at least until the 67th minute when man of the match Kevin De Bruyne rifled in the only goal of the game against his former club. To say it had been coming would be an understatement as the brilliant Belgian picked up the ball 25 yards from goal before drilling past compatriot Thibaut Courtois. It was symbolic of a dominant City performance and one that undoubtedly will have appeased Pep Guardiola. 

The Spaniard is always looking to dominate opponents and while the extra day’s rest will have helped his side, his players carried out his gameplan to perfection. The scoreline may not have reflected what was a commanding performance by City, but Guardiola’s team were more than deserving of their three points at Stamford Bridge. Up against the more pragmatic Chelsea, they retained possession well and held their own at the back to frustrate the Blues. 

Conte set his side up similar to the way he did against Tottenham earlier in the season, where they came away 2-1 winners having sat deep to hit Spurs on the counter at Wembley, yet against City, it failed to have the desired effect. The decision to sit deeper allowed for full-back duo Kyle Walker and Fabian Delph to push into midfield to congest the pitch and the decision to do so paid dividends for City. 

The full-back duo were key to City’s success in the end as they allowed the away side the lion share of possession (62% to 38%) and cut the supply lines between the Chelsea midfield and attack. Indeed, Delph (7.81) and Walker (7.67) were second and fourth, respectively, for the top-rated players in the encounter at Stamford Bridge. The performance of Delph, though, certainly proved a number of doubters wrong. Having been included in Gareth Southgate’s England squad, many questioned the decision to hand the 27-year-old a recall, yet he silenced his critics with a commendable showing as Benjamin Mendy’s deputy at left-back.  

Delph had more touches (101) than any other player, while none made more tackles than the City man (5). This came despite Chelsea’s attempts to have N’Golo Kante play a similar role to the one seen against Atletico Madrid, with the Frenchman tasked with bursting down the right to help punch a hole in the defence. That did not deter Delph, however, who was on hand to counter Kante’s runs down Chelsea’s right, in what was a very mature display from him. "I'm so happy for him," Guardiola said of Delph after the victory.

His willingness to get forward from the left and push into midfield also when City were in possession played a vital role in the victory as it forced Chelsea to needlessly sacrifice the ball, noted in their pass success rate of just (79%). That the hosts managed just four shots on goal, two of which were on target, highlighted just how effective City were at stifling the champions as they moved level on points with Manchester United at the top of the table. 

With the international break now upon us, it gives Conte the perfect chance to regroup after a testing defeat to the title favourites. The injury to Alvaro Morata in the first half of City's 1-0 win naturally had a negative impact on the game for Chelsea, with the Spaniard’s suspected hamstring problem robbing the Blues of their primary attacking outlet. That being said, City were excellent in minimising the space at the back for Chelsea to exploit and retaining the ball to maintain pressure on the champions it what could well be their best performance to date under Guardiola.