Ancelotti’s all-conquering Blues were handed their first defeat of the season by Mancini’s men operating with a meticulous game plan, executed to perfection. Chelsea’s sense of deja vu would’ve been tingling to no end, as that eternal thorn in their side, Carlos Tevez once again denied the Blues a point.
Defanged
Having lost to Manchester City for the third time in a row, Chelsea can no longer afford to ignore the proverbial elephant in the room. The champions are officially City’s whipping boys now. Losing a single game can very often merely be a function of probability, while losing two to the same opponent suggests the presence of a characteristic flaw in team strategy. Losing three games, however, simply removes all room for doubt.
Chelsea, like any other major club, are prone to human error and are susceptible to the odd embarrassment. On a bad day, even the Premier League’s most potent striker can be throughly tamed and put on a leash. Didier Drogba was a shadow of himself, with Kompany and Yaya Toure keeping the big Ivorian at bay till his substitution. Nicolas Anelka, another of Chelsea’s world-class strikers, was also kept at arm’s-length throughout the duration of the game by a make-shift City backline. The champions’ imperious midfield was overrun by their lesser-accomplished clad in sky blue. Chelsea were convincingly, albeit narrowly, out-classed, out-played and out-maneuvred by an ultra-defensive Manchester City outfit.
The scars of a scandal
For a side that managed to do the double over the erstwhile Big 4, Chelsea certainly have found the going hard against a blow hot-blow cold side like City. At the root of this unlikely disadvantage, are last-season’s explosive revelations involving Manchester City left-back Wayne Bridge’s ex-girlfriend and Chelsea’s captain and figure-head John Terry. The ensuing media fracas, and bad blood between the two sides has resulted in a newfound and uncharacteristic animosity (despite the overt displays of friendship at half-time).
Unsurprisingly, in the wake of the scandal, City’s players rallied around their flag (“Team Bridge”) feeling aggrieved, while Chelsea’s players with their allegiance to Terry inevitably took on the role of the ‘guilty party’ in this dirty dance. Guilt, real or imagined, can ruin anybody’s peace of mind and this imagined sense of having inflicted pain on the other has left an indelible scar on the team’s psyche. It is this feeling that gives Manchester City, such a substantial mental edge over The Blues.
Sting like a bee
Tactically, Chelsea were undone by Mancini’s patient defensive style, absorbing Chelsea’s blows like Ali’s rope-a-dope tactic. It is not without a touch of irony that Chelsea, in its latest free-scoring avatar, lost its first points to a side exemplifying rules from Mourinho’s defensive handbook. With a host of defensive midfielders ready to do his bidding, Mancini set up his team to precisely take apart the champions at their weakest moment.
Against an ultra-defensive side, capable of out-muscling them, it was inevitable Chelsea would apply a high-backline looking to crank up the pressure. Tevez’s goal came off a brilliant counter-attack courtesy a missed pass from a hapless Ramires. Clearly struggling to fill Lampard’s shoes in the midfield, Ramires is easily dispossessed, often finding himself spread-eagled on the grass pleading with the referree for a foul.
It remains to be seen how Lampard’s presence could help against the likes of sides like City who can suck up spaces, and prevent Chelsea’s talisman from making one of characteristic late runs into the box. Chelsea were also undone by the absence of Yossi Benayoun and Saloman Kalou – two lithe and dynamic attacking talents, whom City would’ve had a tougher time negotiating with. With Ashley Cole adding another dimension to Chelsea’s offense, and at one point even mopping up at right-back, it was only a matter of time before he was caught out of place.
Future Imperfect
The Blues now head back to Stamford Bridge to take on Marseille, in their Champions League group encounter. A clash with perennial title challengers Arsenal, is also on the cards. As anyone will attest, the relative weakness of the French league, does not mean Marseille will be pushovers. Bereft of Didier Drogba, Chelsea’s potency up front does come under question every now and then. Daniel Sturridge failed to impress in the Carling Cup outing against Newcastle United and against Manchester City. It remains to be seen if Ancelotti and Wilkins will call on the services of Josh McEachran. The 17-year old has been the most impressive of Chelsea’s youth, and has surprisingly even outperformed Ramires.
The French champions have it in them to upset the apple-cart, and with Stamford Bridge no longer viewed as the impregnable citadel of yore – an upset could very well be on the cards. What could add to Ancelotti’s woes is that Arsenal have suddenly begun talking up captain Cesc Fabregas’ chances of making it back in time for the Chelsea-Arsenal encounter. Currently missing their own midfield maestro, Frank Lampard, the Blues will be hoping to deal with a weaker Arsenal side – minus the Spaniard.
The true impact of Chelsea’s loss to Manchester City will need to be viewed in retrospect, after both clashes are done with.