Buoyed by their midweek Champions League victory over Paris Saint-Germain, Manchester City thrashed Chelsea 3-0 on Saturday to cement their place in the Premier League top four.
Manuel Pellegrini’s men churned out a convincing performance against Chelsea, with Sergio Aguero scoring a hat-trick to pile more misery on the Blues.
Meanwhile, it was yet another disappointing match for the under-performing Chelsea side, who suffered only a second league defeat under interim manager Guus Hiddink in 15 games.
Player Ratings
Chelsea FC
Thibaut Courtois (5.5/10): Courtois did make four saves in the game, but one moment of madness ruined the match for him when he brought down Fernandinho.
Baba Rahman (6/10): It was a horrible evening for the Chelsea defenders who had to see Aguero pump three goals into their net, but Rahman was one of the better performers. The Ghanaian full-back put in three successful tackles in the match.
Branislav Ivanovic (5.5/10): Chelsea’s stand-in captain had a poor outing against City, and was exposed several times by the Sky Blues’ attack. He also got uncharacteristically bullied in the air, managing to win only one aerial duel in the entire match.
Gary Cahill (5/10): The England international also had a poor game, but he was showing some promise early on in the match. His inability to handle the Aguero threat led to the second and third goals.
Cesar Azpilicueta (6/10): In a game riddled with defensive errors, Azpilicueta also put in a relatively good performance, making three successful tackles like his fellow full-back on the opposite flank.
John Obi Mikel (4/10): Mikel had a horrendous time on the pitch, and this could result in him losing his place in the starting XI in the following matches. He failed to protect his defence, being directly responsible for the opening goal when he allowed Kevin De Bruyne to launch a swift counter-attack.
Cesc Fabregas (6/10): The Spaniard is one of the few players who had a decent match, but found himself operating in front of a completely dysfunctional defensive setup.
Ruben Loftus-Cheek (6/10): It was a big game for the 20-year-old, and he found himself being closed down by the City defence on several occasions. However, Loftus-Cheek did show quite a bit of promise in the early exchanges.
Pedro Rodriguez (6/10): The former Barcelona man had an average game, being dispossessed twice during the match and failing to make an impression.
Willian (6/10): Willian completed just 26 accurate passes in the entire game, and was kept quiet by Kolarov. He has been one of the better players for Chelsea over the course of the season, but was ineffective in this match.
Diego Costa (5.5/10): Returning to action after a three-match ban, Costa did trouble the City defence in the early exchanges. However, as the minutes wore on, Mangala managed to keep him quiet.
Manchester City
Aleksandar Kolarov (6.5/10): The Serbian internation did a job on Willian, keeping Chelsea’s best player of the season in check. He also contributed a lot in attack, with a 77% pass success rate.
Eliaquim Mangala (7.5/10): Although Diego Costa was coming back to action after a three-match ban, Mangala did well to keep him in check, earning him a 7.5 rating.
Nicolas Otamendi (7.5/10): The Argentine centre-back had a brilliant time on the pitch, teaming up perfectly with his defensive partner. While Mangala kept Costa quiet, Otamendi neutralised Chelsea’s aerial threat.
Pablo Zabaleta (6.5/10): While Kolarov kept Willian quiet on the left flank, Zabaleta dealt with the threat posed by Pedro on the other wing, making two successful tackles in the match.
Fernandinho (8.5/10): The Brazilian did his job of being the midfield destroyer perfectly. Not only did he keep the Chelsea creative players quiet, he also contributed in attack, earning the penalty that led to the third goal.
Yaya Toure (8/10): Although he was dispossessed a couple of times in the game, Toure completely bossed the midfield.
Kevin De Bruyne (7.5/10): The Belgian playmaker had a huge role to play in the opening goal of the match, as he dispossessed Mikel to launch a swift counter attack.
Samir Nasri (8/10): The France international was out of action for some time with an injury but has done well to get back to top form in recent matches. He even produced an assist, threading the ball through to Aguero for the second goal of the match.
Jesus Navas (6.5/10): Navas was the quieter of the two City wingers, but he also managed to link well with Zabaleta on the right flank. However, he had an average game, being dispossessed twice.
Sergio Aguero (9.5/10): The star of the night was undoubtedly Sergio Aguero, whose hat-trick gave Manchester City this thumping win over Chelsea. He terrorised the Chelsea defence throughout the game and took his chances ruthlessly.
City well on their way to giving Guardiola Champions League action
However, they are four points clear of the Red Devils and have even managed to put Arsenal’s top four ambitions under threat, as they replaced the Gunners in the third spot. With their league campaign back on track, City can now concentrate on preparing for their Champions League semi-final against Real Madrid.
Meanwhile, the season is more or less over for Chelsea, as they look to keep themselves in the top half of the table. It definitely does not look like they will be able to qualify for Europe next season. However, the players will be looking to put in good performances in the remaining matches to impress incoming manager Antonio Conte, while Guus Hiddink continues to experiment with younger players like Baba Rahman and Loftus-Cheek.