Pep Guardiola's Manchester City team are the real deal but Chelsea's home form is not that of title contenders - FIVE THINGS WE LEARNED

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Manchester City made a major statement in this season's Premier League title race with a 1-0 victory at Chelsea on Saturday.

Kevin De Bruyne's goal in the second half was enough to secure Pep Guardiola's side three points at Stamford Bridge.

Sportsmail reflects on the action with suggestions for five lessons we could learn from the match... 

Manchester City's players celebrate with Kevin De Bruyne after his winning goal at Chelsea

City are the real deal this season

Pep Guardiola finally has the team – and the squad – to carry out his instructions and play the sort of football he craves. 

The successful introduction of Fabian Delph as a left-sided defender in the past two games has showed that the structure is in place for the manager to tweak his side as he sees fit, and even without key players such as Aguero and Mendy, they can still take on the reigning champions and beat them in their own backyard.

Pep Guardiola celebrates his first victory at Stamford Bridge as a manager on Saturday

Chelsea should never have let De Bruyne go

The Belgian is now one of the best all round players in the Premier League, if not Europe, and again he showed his value to City with the only goal of the game and a man of the match performance. 

De Bruyne has the sort of versatility that Chelsea are missing, a midfielder who is equally comfortable defending or going forward, able to tackle, pass and most importantly score when it matters.

De Bruyne came back to haunt his old club and showed Chelsea just what they are missing

Antonio Conte does not trust Michy Bathsuayi

When Alvaro Morata limped off after 35 minutes, the Belgian was the obvious replacement as the only striker on the bench, but Conte sent on Willian and pushed Eden Hazard up as a false-nine.

It did not work as Chelsea failed to score. Batshuayi eventually went on in the closing stages but the young striker must know he is not considered up to the job by his manager. 

And if Morata is out for a few games, as is likely, he may be needed.

Michy Batshuayi was not sent on by Antonio Conte to replace the injured Alvaro Morata

Chelsea must do better at home

Like Tottenham, they have looked superb away but this is already their second defeat in four league games at Stamford Bridge, from which they've only taken a total of four points, and that is not the sort of form that wins titles. 

Remember when Jose Mourinho made this stadium a fortress? 

To have any chance of overtaking the Manchester clubs or Spurs, Chelsea need to do that – and quickly.

Conte cuts a concerned figure as he watches the action from the sidelines at Stamford Bridge

The pace of the Premier League just gets quicker

Even before the light rain in the second half that made the ball zip around even faster, it was played a lightning pace, the ball being pinged around with breathtaking speed by two teams capable of superb one-touch passing. 

This is why the Premier League is so widely watched around the globe – brilliant football played at a breathtaking pace.