Manchester City earned a deserved 2-1 win over Chelsea to overtake them in the table. Kante gave Chelsea the lead but goals from de Bruyne and Mahrez were enough to secure three points for the home side.
For the first 20 minutes, Manchester City seemed to suffer a hangover from their Liverpool loss. They were out fought and outplayed by Chelsea - which Liverpool did for the entire match - who posed a huge threat on the counter attack.
Kevin de Bruyne went close in the first chance of the match and Willian dragged a similar chance wide for the visitors. Chelsea were hugely impressive in the first quarter, showing no signs of being overawed like they had been in their previous visit to The Etihad. They were rewarded for their positive start with a goal, as Kovacic picked out a forward run from Kante. The Frenchman managed to sneak the ball past Ederson and it trickled slowly over the line.
Chelsea had looked calm in possession and coped well with the occasion. After their goal, their passing wasn't as crisp which allowed City to gain a foothold in the proceedings. Their equaliser came from a deflected de Bruyne effort off Zouma and Mahrez, cutting in from the right, hit a low shot into the corner of the net. City were now dictating the game and Chelsea could not prevent them from doing so.
Individual errors continued to halt Chelsea getting back into the encounter and almost resulted in a goal. Arrizabalaga, taking too much time with the ball, kicked a pass straight to Aguero but the Argentine hit a good chance off the bar and David Silva couldn't take advantage of the rebound.
The second half provided more of the same for Manchester City. Mahrez was again a threat coming off the right flank and hitting a shot wide. Arrizabalaga was forced into a fine double save and, in added time, Raheem Sterling put the ball in the net but VAR was once again ruled that him armpit was offside (SUCH A BRILLIANT ADDITION TO THE GAME).
Chelsea still had chances in the second half to get an equaliser, though, and Lampard may think his side could have come away with a point. Fernandinho blocked a goalbound Kante effort and Mount struck a free kick from miles out agonisingly wide which was the phase of play before Sterling scored.
Manchester City showed why many still class them as title contenders and never mentioned Chelsea in the same breath. Their attacking talent speak for itself and they were worthy winners. Injuries to David Silva and Rodri may take the shine off the win but winning was so important today, and that's what City did and the gap between them and Liverpool is still eight points.
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