The Citizens Vs The Blues (Is the wait over for The Reds to win the title?).

Manchester City Vs Chelsea

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Since the Premier League returned, fans have been entertained with continuous fixtures as the league is towards its completion. As we witnessed the first big fixture of Manchester City and Arsenal, there is a list of competitive fixtures that were yet to be played. It was more exciting as the next fixture of Manchester United and Tottenham Hotspurs. With Liverpool close to achieving the dream, this fixture was the ultimatum that decided the fate of the title. Similarly for Chelsea, a win against Pep's men would boost their hopes of qualifying for next season's UEFA Champions League. 

This encounter was always expected to be entertaining whenever teams from the big 6 played against each other. The momentum of the clubs was slowed down as the league was suspended due to ongoing pandemic. It was also interesting to see how the result would favor the sides. Since the return of the league, the defending champions have been dominative and a powerful force as they defeated their opponents (Arsenal and Burnley) convincingly with a stellar performance. Meanwhile, Chelsea won against the struggling side Aston Villa who is on the brink of being eliminated. With the odds favoring the Citizens, it was a difficult task for Lampard's men.

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Unexpectedly, the hosts prevailed against the visitors which boosted their hopes for finishing in the top 4. Frank Lampard was successful in avenging his side's defeat in the previous encounter this campaign when they visited The Etihad. The match was indeed very interesting as there was drama to witness in the second half which would be discussed below as the talking points. Meanwhile, it was a disappointing night for Pep's men as they lost despite dominating possession. Now let us discuss the below-talking points and what was the drama which unfolded. 

Talking points:  

1. Manchester City's early opportunities: 

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We all know that a team that is managed by Pep Guardiola always has a blistering start when the whistle blows. Frankly, it was normal as we expected how the visitors would start the match which shows their hunger to win games. As the whistle blew, Pep's men started the game with several passes back and forth and began to apply pressure on the hosts.

 Within the early minutes, the defending champions were close to breaking the deadlock as the ball landed on Silvas's feet and blew his chance as he took a ground shot that fell safe into the hands of the keeper. Pep's men again responded with Mendy attacking and whipped a cross that was punched away by Kepa as there were no City's players to rebound. The defending champions again responded as they won a freekick. Mahrez whipped a beautiful cross that was headed by Fernandinho and Kepa reacted brilliantly to deny them a goal. 

2. Chelsea reacts from the counter :

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Chelsea had their ideas as they also began to threaten the visitors by using counter-attacks. Normally to win against Pep's team, there is no choice but to wait for the right opportunity as it is impossible to dominate possession against a side which is coached by the former Bayern Munich boss. The Blues won a corner after Willian began the attack and passed the ball to Mount whose shot was deflected by Gundogan who stretched to make a block. 

This was one of the signs which showed that Chelsea might be a treat as Ross Barkley also had a chance to score when Laporte's attempt was poor which prompted the ball to land on his feet and struck the ball which was deflected by Fernandinho. Towards the half-hour mark, Willian delivered a stunning cross from a corner kick which was headed by Christiansen to which Ederson reacted brilliantly by pulling off a brilliant save 

 

3.Pulisic breaks the deadlock for Chelsea thanks to Mendy:

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Both sides did create chances and put up a solid performance. While City were firm on threatening the hosts, Chelsea also responded on their own. All seemed well for both the teams as the score was 0-0 until one moment that changed the favor. Kevin De Bruyne delivered a cross from his freekick which was cleared and the ball was headed towards the half-line were Gundogan and Mendy were waiting.

 As the ball was closer to them, there was a lack of coordination between both the players as they were waiting who would clear the ball among them which lead to confusion. Fortunately, this incident favored Chelsea as Pulisic took advantage of this confusion and sprinted past Mendy's tackle, and calmly curled the bottom towards the bottom corner.   

4. A spectacular freekick by KDB to equalize: 

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The second-half began with Chelsea leading and City began to look more threatening by applying more pressure. Ultimately, it paid off for Pep's men when Kante fouled Mahrez 25-yards from the goal. It was a dangerous position as this type of freekicks are scored by expert set-piece specialist. Kevin De Bruyne stood up and struck a venomous shot that wobbled and dipped viciously before landing in the top corner. Kepa was wonderstruck as he had no idea what was going on. 

5. Citys weak backline: 

Since the start of the campaign, Pep's men have struggled in terms of defending. With the departure of their captain Vincent Kompany honestly, there is no right leader in the locker room. There was no doubt that the Belgian center-back was a great captain for the Citizens and to add woes, Aymeric Laporte was injured which proved to be a major blow for them. These issues were highlighted in a lot of matches as City lost a lot of matches. Chelsea did use this as an advantage as they found it easier to threaten Pep's men. During the match, Ederson's awful clearance favored Mason Mount who surged inside the box only to slice the ball towards the side net. 

6. VAR to the rescue:

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With both the sides reacting brilliantly, it seemed that there would be no winner and we all expected that the points will be shared. But unfortunately for the visitors, there were other plans. Towards the end, Willian began the counter. As we all are aware that Willian's blistering pace always causes a problem. The Brazilian used his pace and passed the ball to Pulisic.

 The former Dortmund man's shot was blocked and the ball landed towards Abrahams's feet who reacted by shooting as his attempt was blocked by Fernandinho. But, Abraham's shot that was cleared was the highlighting incident that unfolded the drama. The VAR showed that the ball cleared by Fernandinho was a clear hand-ball and he was sent-off. The Blues were awarded a penalty and Willian scored the match-winning goal. 

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The final whistle blew as The Blues celebrated the win as they avenged their previous loss in this campaign. Meanwhile, it was a night to forget for the visitors as they were left stunned. There was one moment that was in awe as there was a crucial goal-line clearance by Kyle Walker when Pulisic ran through Fernandinho who could not keep up with the pace and smoothly went past through Ederson. Pulisic was close to bagging his second goal of the night as he slid the bass to the net only for the England right-back to storm and clear the ball off the line. Coincidentally, it was similar to John Stones's important clearance from last season's fixture against The Reds. 

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In general, it was a great match and it was worth it. Despite the visitors started strongly, mistakes proved very costly that lead them conceding. The Blues broke the deadlock when Pulisic capitalized on Mendy's error and scored the goal. The defending champions eventually equalized when De Bruyne scored a spectacular freekick to keep their hopes alive. Unfortunately, the decisive moment was the VAR which showed Fernandinho used his hand to clear the ball and was sent-off. Thanks to Willian's efforts that lead to the penalty, he took up the responsibility and converted the penalty to secure 3 points. 

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As I mentioned earlier about the ultimatum, the wait was over. Liverpool were champions. The dream came true as The Reds won the title for the first time in 30 years and it was the 19th overall title which put them one title below The Red Devils. Since the arrival of Jurgen Klopp from Dortmund, the progress has been very successful and their hard work has paid off. After narrowingly losing the title last campaign, they have responded very well by starting very strongly since the beginning of the campaign and dropping points only once against the Hornets. 

Previously, Chelsea have been the decider for the title in the past as well. The Reds were close to winning in the title in the 2013/14 season when that famous slip occurred against Chelsea which ultimately sealed their fate. In the 2015/16 campaign, their victory against Spurs was the fairytale ending as Leicester City were crowned as the winners of the Premier Leauge. Luckily, this time their victory against Pep's men made Liverpool the champions after 30 years. Congratulations to the Reds on being crowned as champions of England. With this victory, the Blues hopes of finishing in the top-4 have been boosted and no doubt that they are one of the favorites sides to claim their spot in next season's Champions League. 

Author,

Zaid