Reworded: Mauricio Pochettino’s greatest achievement was taken away by Rodri’s last-minute save against Chelsea.

The most recent instance of Chelsea defeating Manchester City was when Rodri was a substitute on the bench. He did not play in the 2021 Champions League final, but since then, his and Chelsea’s fates have drastically changed. In 2023, Rodri scored the winning goal in the biggest club game in Europe, while Manchester City finished in the lower half of the Premier League. However, it was a key player’s timely intervention that extended two unbeaten streaks.

Because of his goal that tied the game, City has not been defeated by Chelsea in the last eight matches that followed. They have not lost at home in 34 games, which has been a span of 462 days. Despite this, even though his efforts helped limit the damage, it was still a day where City experienced some harm. Liverpool and Arsenal both achieved impressive victories, leaving City in third place in a competitive race. Their streak of 11 consecutive wins has come to an end. This serves as a reminder to everyone that winning is not always guaranteed.

Mauricio Pochettino experienced feelings of missed opportunities and near misses as his team showed their strength on a night to remember. His time at Chelsea seemed to be leading up to a major victory until Rodri’s powerful half-volley deflected off substitute Trevoh Chalobah’s knee and found the back of the net, earning the defensive midfielder his seventh goal of the season. And with plenty of time left in the season, there is still more to come.

Chelsea is starting to make a difference in the competition for the championship title. This may not be exactly what Todd Boehly had in mind when he purchased the club and spent a large sum of money on players, but Pochettino’s team has proven themselves capable of competing against the top teams. Despite being former champions, they now have the potential to play a role in determining the outcome of the title race and could even challenge the contenders for the throne. They have already tied with each of the top three teams in previous matches. Their recent victory against Manchester City, who are currently aiming for their fourth consecutive title, was made possible by some of Pep Guardiola’s former players. This has resulted in City losing four points due to their former players’ performances.

In November, Cole Palmer scored a last-minute goal to tie the game at Stamford Bridge. Raheem Sterling also scored for City in the 4-4 draw. Guardiola has a history of being willing to sell players to rival teams, but Chelsea’s drop in the standings may have changed that. As Sterling scored another goal, City’s previous decisions proved to be expensive.

They have rarely had cause to regret selling him, while Chelsea might rue buying him. Yet on a return to a familiar haunt, instead of the expensive underachiever Chelsea have seen, Sterling resembled the player transformed by Guardiola. His goal was a case in point. It was also an indictment of a long-time teammate as Kyle Walker allowed a former teammate to cut inside and shoot too easily. Their duel was to go Sterling’s way again when he survived a VAR check for a penalty at the other end.

Prior to this, Sterling gracefully walked past Walker and curved a shot beyond Ederson, following a pass from Malo Gusto to Nicolas Jackson who then passed to the winger. However, this was not the only instance where City was caught on the counterattack. Jackson should have scored earlier, but his heavy touch allowed Ederson to make a block after a combination play between Palmer and Gusto had created an opening in City’s defense.

In the blink of an eye, Ederson came up with a crucial save from Sterling’s close-range shot, followed by Chilwell’s attempt being stopped on the goal line. The catalyst behind this play was once again Gusto, who has been exceptional on counterattacks and stands out as a valuable signing during the Boehly era. Jackson’s quickness also posed a threat, although his performance can be unpredictable at times.

Pochettino’s strategy of holding back and utilizing Chelsea’s speed for counterattacks proved to be successful as Conor Gallagher’s precise passing almost broke through the City defense. The game had the potential to be a robbery, with a carefully thought out plan that was executed brilliantly.

However, Chelsea was faced with a difficult challenge, enduring both a literal storm and the rainfall in Manchester. Manchester City took numerous shots, totaling to 29, although most of them were not very threatening. Chelsea’s makeshift defense put up a strong effort in the final moments of the game.

Axel Disasi headed off his own line to spare Jackson an own goal. The Frenchman and Levi Colwill had precious little experience as a partnership but, in the absence of the injured Thiago Silva, they coped admirably. Colwill had to survive an injury-time review for a penalty when the ball slid down his arm but each was excellent as Chelsea flung bodies in the way of the ball.

The team from City relied on pressure and urgency rather than smoothness to secure their victory. They seemed disorganized and focused on attacking directly, even adopting a 4-2-4 formation at times. However, this lack of control left them vulnerable to counterattacks. Despite having multiple opportunities, Erling Haaland was unable to score a goal and ended the night with 10 unsuccessful attempts. He missed a header from a cross by Julian Alvarez, had a powerful shot saved by Djordje Petrovic, and miscalculated another header from a pass by Kevin De Bruyne.

This largely encapsulated City’s performance: they appeared to lack direction and their usual precision. This led to their reliance on Rodri. Once again, he proved to be reliable.

The source of this information is from independent.co.uk.