In the 25th round of the English Premier League, in the early morning of February 18, Beijing time, Manchester City drew 1-1 with Chelsea at home, ending its 11-game winning streak in official matches. In the standings, Liverpool lead the table with 57 points, followed by Arsenal with 55 points, and Manchester City are third with 53 points with a game in hand. The three powerhouses are close on points, with teams on the same points in the Premier League determining their standings by goal difference, with Liverpool having a goal difference of 35, Arsenal having a goal difference of 36 and Manchester City having a goal difference of just 31.
Although Chelsea are unlikely to finish in the top four of the Premier League this season, they can still play the role of spoiler, with City drawing only two league games against Chelsea. Chelsea hosted Manchester City in the Premier League on 13 November in a magical 4-4 draw, with Manchester City veteran Raheem Sterling scoring the back of the net and another Manchester City veteran Palmer converting a late penalty in stoppage time.
When the two sides met again, Raheem Sterling and Palmer started again for Chelsea in two wingers, with Jackson playing as central striker. Chelsea's three midfielders Conor Gallagher, Enzo and Caicedo have basically honed into a more fixed combination. Manchester City beat FC Copenhagen 3-1 in their last Champions League game, but the opponent's "logging" style of play was very draining for Manchester City, and Chelsea did not need to participate in European competitions to become an advantage against Manchester City again.
Raheem Sterling was particularly active up front, giving Chelsea the lead in the 42nd minute with a volley past Walker on the left, and it was Jackson who assisted him on a quick counter-attack. Although Palmer did not score in this game, they played an important role in defence, and together with right-back Gusto, they limited Manchester City's wide explosive Doku.
Manchester City centre-forward Erling Haaland has been out of form and despite his recent hard work on headers, his header was more like a header clearance. De Bruyne, the attacking engine, was heavily defended by Chelsea and failed to perform as well as he should. City trailed for a long time until the 83rd minute when Rodri fired a furious shot to equalise for City.
Manchester City boss Pep Guardiola relieved Haaland after the game: "I've only scored 11 goals in 11 years of my career, an average of one goal a season. I'm not the right person to give advice to a striker. We created chances and next time he will take them. Manchester City midfielder Bernardo said after the game: "The current situation in the table is very entertaining for the fans, but it is a setback for us and the title race is very tight now. ”
In the renewal of Manchester City's forward line, Raheem Sterling, the "happy boy" was sold to Chelsea in July 2022, and he proved himself by knocking on his former club in both league meetings this season. Sterling said after the game: 'We can be happy with the result, but at the same time we are a little disappointed and we have a chance to put an end to the suspense. Man City are a very good team on the ball and sometimes we need to use our brains and unfortunately we didn't get a better result. ”
Arsenal are aware of the importance of goal difference in the Premier League this season, with 11 clean sheets in the last two rounds, beating Crystal Palace and Burnley 6-0 and 5-0 away respectively, with Bukayo Saka scoring twice in a row. Bukayo Saka has scored 12 league goals this season, just four behind Erling Haaland, who is the top scorer. Former Manchester City captain Vincent Kompany's Burnley have recently lost 3-1 at Manchester City and Liverpool in back-to-back Premier League top three, and were even more helpless at home to Arsenal in the early hours of 18 February.
Text reporter Liu Yi.