The fixture list just got a bit less congested, as Chelsea's run in the FA Cup has ended in the fifth round. It's hard to find too much to argue with after that performance, as Chelsea were mostly poor while Manchester City played relatively well.
The first half was a fairly dull affair, with Chelsea continuing to look overworked and under-rotated. City missed a fantastic chance to go 1-0 after Petr Cech fumbled Yaya Toure's shot early on, but made up for the mistake minutes later when Stevan Jovetic placed a shot perfectly into the left corner.
Jose Mourinho started the second half with a fairly surprising move, pulling Samuel Eto'o off and replacing him with Mohamed Salah. While most fans were likely expecting a change of some sort, I doubt too many thought that one would be the one we ended up seeing. Fifteen minutes later, Chelsea were still struggling to create any chances, and brought Fernando Torres on for Ramires.
City would double the lead within ten minutes, as a nice combination between David Silva and Samir Nasri ended up with the ball in the back of the net. Silva appeared to be offside when the first ball was played, but it was close enough that Chelsea fans really shouldn't feel too hard done by.
City held on for the win, but at no point did this game look like it was ever in danger of becoming a rout. That said, improvement will be required if Chelsea want to finish above City at the end of the season.
Thoughts:
- It's nice to see that Gary Cahill was fit enough to play, even if he didn't appear to be 100% today. Getting Cahill and Terry in the center of the defense again will be a big boost to our title hopes.
- Speaking of center backs, this was one of those games where David Luiz didn't inspire much confidence. If he's going to continue being very aggressive when going after the ball, he has to be considerably better at winning his challenges. Also, let's not stop and ask (rightfully) for an offside call and allow players to run into the space you should be filling anymore, ok?
- While Chelsea looked poor again, the talent on the pitch for City today likely amplified this a bit. That's a very good squad, and many of their players played very well today. There's no shame in being outplayed by City once in three meetings.
- Mourinho really needs to work with the squad on their throws.
- Thankfully, Chelsea now have a full week to rest before taking on Everton next weekend. The squad really looks like they could use the time off. It's probably time to cross our fingers for a draw between Arsenal and Liverpool, just for the replay.