Manchester City moves closer to Arsenal after thrashing Chelsea 1-0

• Goals from Jack Grealish and Riyad Mahrez secure crucial three points for City.
• The result cuts the gap to five points on Premier League leaders Arsenal to one.
• It also drops Chelsea to the bottom of the standings while Manchester City moves to 2nd spot.

Following a 1-0 victory over Chelsea at Stamford Bridge on Thursday, Manchester City reduced the distance to Premier League leaders Arsenal to five points and dropped Chelsea to the bottom of the standings.

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After City struggled to gain ground in the first half with a new formation, Jack Grealish and Riyad Mahrez connected on a goal in 63 minutes that allowed the Algerian winger to tap it in and secure a crucial three points.

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Both teams had earlier come close to scoring, but it was Guardiola’s personnel changes and decided to forego the three-at-the-back starting formation that proved to be the difference-maker.

With the victory, City can take advantage of Arsenal’s first home loss of the year in Tuesday’s draw with Newcastle. However, Chelsea’s dismal run of play under new manager Graham Potter continues, leaving them with just 25 points from 17 games and placing them as near to the bottom four as they are to the relegation zone.

There was more bad news for Potter before the FA Cup replay between the two teams on Sunday at the Etihad Stadium as Raheem Sterling and Christian Pulisic were both forced off with early injuries to add to Chelsea’s growing list of absentees.

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The United States international Pulisic was injured as a result of a strong but masterfully performed tackle by John Stones that kept him from taking advantage of one of the few clear chances of the first half.

But before halftime, Pulisic’s replacement was the one who came the closest to breaking the tie. Carney Chukwuemeka, making only his fifth Premier League appearance for the team, cut in deftly on his right foot and blasted a low drive in the 44th minute that took a deflection from Rodri and rebounded off the post.

Late in the time period, there were also signals of life on the other end. Erling Haaland made his first significant contribution by latching onto an Ilkay Gundogan through pass but missing the mark with a snap effort.

At halftime, Guardiola made two substitutions in an effort to make a difference, replacing Kyle Walker and Joao Cancelo with Rico Lewis and Manuel Akanji, respectively, and switching to a more accustomed formation.

They nearly immediately reaped the benefits, but Nathan Ake’s back-post header from Kevin De Bruyne’s cross hit the crossbar. Moments later, De Bruyne came dangerously close to scoring himself, forcing Kepa Arrizabalaga to make a diving save.

On the hour mark, Guardiola made two additional substitutions, and three minutes later, the newcomers worked together to give City the lead.

De Bruyne’s pass to Grealish to the left was the best passing play of the game; he perfectly sliced off Chelsea’s defense and goalie to set up Mahrez for a straightforward finish at the back post.

Chelsea was unable to respond as Potter was forced to use more inexperienced underclassmen who were on the bench. Their final chance was lost in stoppage time when Lewis Hall, a left defender who is 18 years old, fired wildly off-target.

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