Result: Chelsea 0-2 Manchester City
- Erling Haaland (18') gave Man City lead with smart close-range finish, assisted by Bernardo Silva.
- Nicolas Jackson's equaliser ruled out for offside just before half-time.
- Mateo Kovacic (84') sealed the win from outside the area.
- Raheem Sterling was left out of Chelsea’s squad.
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Promising signs of Maresca’s identity
As for the Chelsea view, how about this from Andrew C:
💬 “Lot of negative comments and yes, two poor goals to concede. But at least I could see what the manager was trying to do. There is a clear identity (irrelevant if I like it or not) and we certainly look more organised AND we will theoretically improve from today and play teams that aren’t as strong. I’m not happy, but I’m not unhappy…”
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Dedication to be proud, but no Grealish?
Let’s get the pick of your verdicts from our Discuss tab — starting with this from the Manchester City view and Roger N:
💬 “Very satisfying performance, to play at that intensity on the opening game and only make one substitution shows the dedication, professionalism and especially the fitness levels of our players. My only criticism is the performance of Doku! Amazing dribbling but his end balls were dreadful. I was sad Grealish didn’t get any game time. Surely he must be sold like Alvarez.”
Pep gives update on Savinho injury
Pep Guardiola has spoken about the injury that forced Savinho to depart today's game at half-time: "Apparently it's not a big, big problem."
No surprise that Chelsea lacked cohesion
Some of the challenges that Chelsea faced today:
- Romeo Lavia and Wesley Fofana: First Premier League starts in 15 months
- Christopher Nkunku: First PL start in 6 months
- Levi Colwill: First PL start in 5 months
- Nicolas Jackson and Cole Palmer: No starts in pre-season
Maresca on Sterling's omission: Purely a tactical decision
Enzo Maresca was also asked by Sky Sports about Raheem Sterling's statement following the winger's omission from Chelsea's squad today, responding: "To be honest, I didn't see the statement. I have nothing to say. It was a tactical decision, no more than that. In the next day, we will clarify in case we need to. I have been clear, it's a tactical decision. I didn't see it."
GO FURTHERRaheem Sterling seeks ‘clarity’ on Chelsea future after exclusion from matchday squad
Maresca quite happy with Chelsea's performance
Enzo Maresca spoke to Sky Sports after his first game in charge of Chelsea: "I think we competed very well for much of the game. We were similar if not better. The performance was there but we didn't take the chances. Probably the big difference was inside the box. I'm quite happy in terms of performance.
"For me, the important thing is to create chances. We didn't score but we created chances. The first goal for them was almost offside, we almost scored. These things change results but the performance was good overall. It was quite clear, you can see a team trying to keep the ball and dominate.
"We were against the champions today. We will continue and win games. They are a master in this kind of moment, of keeping hold of the ball."
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He gets goals, now he wants assists
More from Erling Haaland here too, who has spoken about where he wants to improve this season. It seems Pep Guardiola has been having the same conversations with him.
Here’s Haaland, speaking to Sky Sports:
💬 “The best players are the best on the easiest things. Touching it with your right and passing with your left (like with his goal). That’s the important thing. Pep says this to me all the time!
“I want to get more involved (in play), that’s what Pep wants. But in games like this, do I need to be that more involved? That’s the million-dollar question.
“I want to get more assists and become a better player.”
Another winning start for City
Manchester City have now won their opening Premier League match in 13 of the last 14 seasons, with the sole exception being a 1-0 loss at Tottenham in 2021.
Pep: I didn't expect this result
Pep Guardiola also spoke to Sky Sports after the match: "I didn't expect it. We are a way from our best so three points is the good news. The bad news is we have 65 games ahead of us.
"We have an advantage, it's our ninth season together so we know each other well. Of course there are mistakes you have to improve but we talked, the difference in being champions was our body language, how did we behave?
"It's the bad moments in the season and in the games that define the big teams. For me, it is an honour to be in charge of these guys. I'm so fortunate, I could not say more.
"There is a plan, defensive, offensive. But afterwards it's how we celebrate the good moments and come back from the bad moments.
"That's what defines these teams and no one talks about it. For a while we could never win at Stamford Bridge. This is a big step."
Haaland loves the opening weeks
Speaking of Erling Haaland, the Norwegian clearly loves August. Maybe his country’s shortcomings in making tournaments helps him out?
Since the 2022-23 season and his Premier League arrival, Erling Haaland has scored 13 Premier League goals in the month of August.
Over the same month, Chelsea as a team have managed 11, and Manchester United nine.
Which is quite funny.
Haaland finally gets his own back on Sanchez
Erling Haaland got Manchester City up and running today and rest assured, there is more to come. Speaking to Sky Sports, he said:
💬 “Three points. Perfect start. First games are always hard, for everyone. It doesn’t matter if you had a pre-season or not.
“I had a long pre-season but I don’t feel perfect. I’m not in the perfect state.
“I knew exactly what to do (with the goal). I think it was a really good goal. I remember last year he (Chelsea goalkeeper, Robert Sanchez) made a really good save against me.
“It had been irritating me for a long time, so yeah, it was a perfect goal.”
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Lavia: 'We need to take the positives'
Romeo Lavia spoke to Sky Sports after playing his first game since December: "I think there were a lot of positives to take from the game. We were expecting goals today and we had a lot of chances. We need to take the positives and move on.
"We felt like we had the chance to come out on top and that didn't happen. You can find a lot of reasons why they won today.
"There's something growing and you can see that on the pitch. The result didn't go our way today but the way we played is where we want to be.
"I'm grateful to the club and the medical staff for helping me through the struggles of last season. Pre-season helped me to play today."
Instant analysis of City's win
Liam Twomey and Sam Lee have analysed this game, breaking down the key talking points including:
- Did Chelsea's wingers justify Raheem Sterling's exclusion from the squad?
- How did Mateo Kovacic play in Rodri absence?
- Did Romeo Lavia play well on his return from a long injury layoff?
Follow the link below to check out their analysis!
Kovacic: 'I don't score many goals'
Mateo Kovacic spoke to Sky Sports after scoring against his former club: "We are missing some big players but it's always tough when you miss big players. I had a longer break so I could recover better, I wanted to be ready for the beginning of the season."
On Rodri's absence: "I play today some kind of his role, but we are always missing Rodri because he is, if not the best player, one of the best in the world.
"I don't score many goals and when you score you want to celebrate. But I have a huge respect for Chelsea, I spent five years here. I scored but that is not always the most important thing for me, the most important is winning.
"This team is so hungry and it's a pleasure to be a part of it and win titles."
Penny for Pep’s Palmer thoughts
Not quite the same impact in this fixture here as was the case last season for Cole Palmer.
But I’ll let you guys work out what Pep Guardiola was saying to the Chelsea forward at full time here!
Feel free to email in your suggestions too: livebloguk@theathletic.com
City pick up right where they left off
Manchester City have now won 10 straight Premier League matches by two or more goals dating back to last season, extending the longest such run in the competition’s history.
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City’s midfield ran the hard yards
Manchester City may not have been at their fluent best, but that’s only part of the story.
The discipline with which Bernardo Silva tackled those Rodri-less 90 minutes, the drive provided by Mateo Kovacic — still a remarkably underrated player for me — and then the sight of Kevin De Bruyne chasing back to get goal-side in the final minutes with the game dead and buried…
Those are the things that help you get up and running when a few things are against you.
Fair play to the defending champions.
City's revenge for the 2021 UCL final
Manchester City are now unbeaten in 10 straight meetings against Chelsea in all competitions since losing the 2021 Champions League final to them, surpassing their previous mark of nine without defeat against the London club set from 1936 to 1949.
Full-time stats zone
That felt like a pretty routine start for Manchester City. For Enzo Maresca, it is just the start of his Chelsea project. Here are the full-time numbers…
FT: Chelsea 0-2 Manchester City
- Possession: 48% — 52%
- Shots: 10 — 11
- On target: 3 — 5
- XG: 1.23 — 0.82
- Big chances: 1 — 1
- Blocked shots: 4 — 3
- Duels won: 33 — 45
- Dispossessed: 10 — 12
A fair few of those Chelsea shots and chances came when the game was effectively dead, so the gap was bigger than they project. I’m not even sure City ventured out of second gear.
