Rodri’s last-minute save denies Chelsea of their greatest achievement under Mauricio Pochettino.

When Chelsea last defeated Manchester City, Rodri was on the bench as a non-playing substitute during the 2021 Champions League final. Since then, both his and Chelsea’s fortunes have significantly changed – with Rodri scoring the winning goal in the 2023 Champions League final while his former team finished in the bottom half of the Premier League. However, it was Rodri’s recent critical contribution that helped extend two unbeaten streaks.

Due to his game-tying goal, City has managed to avoid losing to Chelsea in the past eight matches. They have also not been beaten at their home stadium for 34 consecutive matches, which adds up to 462 days. However, even though his efforts to minimize the damage were successful, it was still a day of disappointment for City. Both Liverpool and Arsenal achieved strong victories, leaving City in third place in a close race. This serves as a reminder that achieving success is never guaranteed.

Mauricio Pochettino experienced a mixture of missed opportunities and near-success on a night where his team displayed impressive strength. The most significant victory of his time with Chelsea seemed within reach until Rodri scored from a half-volley that grazed Trevoh Chalobah’s knee and went into the goal, marking the defensive midfielder’s seventh goal of the season with more games left to play.

Chelsea have made their presence known in the competition for the top spot, although not in the manner that Todd Boehly had envisioned when he acquired the club and invested £1 billion in players. Nevertheless, Pochettino’s team has proven themselves capable of competing against the best. Former champions, they have the potential to affect the outcome of the title race, even if it means causing trouble for those vying for the throne. They have already managed to draw with each of the top three teams. The points they took off City can be attributed to Pep Guardiola’s former players. As City aims for their fourth consecutive title, they have dropped four points due to their former players.

In November, Cole Palmer scored a goal in the 95th minute at Stamford Bridge to tie the game. Raheem Sterling also scored in the 4-4 draw. While Pep Guardiola is usually willing to sell players to rival teams, Chelsea’s recent drop in the standings may have changed that. As Sterling scored another goal, City’s history came back to haunt them.

Selling him has rarely been a source of regret for them, but Chelsea may regret buying him. However, upon his return to a familiar place, Sterling did not resemble the underachieving player that Chelsea had seen. Instead, he looked like the player who had been transformed by Guardiola. A prime example of this was his goal, which also highlighted the failure of his former teammate Kyle Walker to defend against him easily. The two clashed once again when Sterling was able to avoid a penalty after a VAR check.

Prior to that, Sterling strolled past Walker and curved a shot beyond Ederson, with an assist from Malo Gusto who passed to Nicolas Jackson, who then centered for the winger. However, this was not the only instance where City was vulnerable to being attacked on the counter. Jackson missed an opportunity to score earlier, as his first touch was too heavy and Ederson was able to block the shot, after Palmer and Gusto had expertly opened up City’s defense.

Ederson came close to making a save, blocking Sterling’s shot before Chilwell’s attempt was stopped on the goal line. The player responsible was Gusto, who was exceptional on the counterattack. He has proven to be a valuable signing during the Boehly era. Jackson’s quickness also caused trouble for the opposing team, although he can be inconsistent at times.

Pochettino’s gameplan of sitting back and looking to use Chelsea’s pace to spring breaks yielded a menace: Conor Gallagher almost unlocked the City defence with his passing. It had the makings of a heist: meticulously planned, largely brilliantly executed.

However, Chelsea had to endure a difficult situation, including the rain in Manchester. City managed to take a lot of shots, totaling 29, although a majority of them were not dangerous. Their makeshift defense put up a strong effort in their last-ditch defending.

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 city team was rescued by the intensity and urgency of their play, rather than their smoothness. They appeared disorganized and focused on attacking directly, with their formation resembling a 4-2-4 at times. This led to a lack of control and vulnerability to counterattacks. Despite having 10 attempts, Erling Haaland had a frustrating night without scoring a goal. He missed a header from a Julian Alvarez cross, had his strong shot saved by Djordje Petrovic, and miscalculated another header from a pass by Kevin De Bruyne.

This largely encapsulated City’s performance: a strange sense of aimlessness, lacking their usual accuracy. This is why they relied on Rodri. And, as expected, he delivered once more.

Source: independent.co.uk