The gap between Premier League leaders Arsenal and defending champions Manchester City is just five points after Pep Guardiola’s men pulled a 1-0 win out of the fire at Stamford Bridge on Thursday, showing that their bench could be the difference in the long run. Chelsea were the better side for the first half and might have harmed City had Raheem Sterling and Christian Pulisic not been forced off during the opening 20 minutes or so.
As it turned out, the Citizens were much better in the second 45 and hit the woodwork through Nathan Ake before finally breaking through thanks to Riyad Mahrez. The Algeria international, off the bench, notched his second goal since the post-FIFA World Cup restart which was teed up by fellow substitute Jack Grealish just moments after they came on in London.
Erling Haaland could have doubled City’s tally before the final whistle while Kevin De Bruyne was below his usual dazzling best on a night when John Stones excelled. Guardiola saw the opportunity to get Mahrez into decisive positions as City’s second-half improvement became apparent.
“We did not play good in the first half,” he admitted. “I said thank you to Joao Cancelo for his effort, playing in not his usual position. But we decided to go with a lineup where our players could adapt on the pitch if they decided to go five at the back. In the second half, we were miles, miles better in every department — it is a big result for us.
“Riyad, I knew the space would be there for him. He is good one-on-one in the final third … he played [extraordinarily] in the World Cup and he can adapt perfectly with three or out wide. He is playing at the best level, maybe for the first time in seven years since we arrived together. When he is playing like this it is so good.”
The result hinted at how the title race could be decided by squad depth and rotation as we count down to Arsenal and City’s mid-February…
