Stay up to date with notifications from The Independent

Notifications can be managed in browser preferences.

Chelsea vs Manchester City player ratings: Eden Hazard looks off the pace as Kevin De Bruyne takes centre stage

Man-for-man marking from Manchester City's 1-0 victory at Stamford Bridge

Evan Bartlett
Saturday 30 September 2017 20:08 BST
Comments

Manchester City inflicted a heavy blow to Chelsea's hopes of retaining their Premier League title with a 1-0 victory over Antonio Conte's sides, in which the gulf between the two teams this season for the first time became truly apparent.

It was the home side that started the match in buoyant mood off the back of Wednesday's fantastic 2-1 victory at Atletico Madrid, but they were immediately up against it as Pep Guardiola's City players looked to attack.

Chelsea's quest was made all the more harder when striker Alvaro Morata was forced off the pitch in the 36th minute with what looked to be a hamstring injury, and the second half looked to be the turning point for City as they went on the attack and tried to take advantage of Chelsea's lack of a striker - with Willian brought on instead of Michy Batshuayi.

Conte's move backfired, and after facing a barrage of attacks, City finally made one stick as Kevin De Bruyne struck a lovely powerful effort from the edge of the area that beat Thibaut Courtois and proved to be the match-winner.

The victory means City keep pace with Manchester United at the top of the Premier League table with 19 points from seven matches, while Chelsea slip to six points adrift in third behind Tottenham Hotspur.

So how did the players perform? Click on the gallery above to see out player ratings.

Join our commenting forum

Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies

Comments

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged inPlease refresh your browser to be logged in