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Manchester City thumped Chelsea 3-1 at Stamford Bridge to lay down a marker in the Premier League title race on Sunday night.
In what was arguably their best performance of the season, Ilkay Gundogan, Phil Foden, and Kevin De Bruyne struck apiece in the first half as the Blues lost for the fourth time in the last six games.
Callum Hudson-Odoi came off the bench and struck in stoppage time to reduce the deficit, but it was nothing more than just a consolation strike as further pressure mounts on manager Frank Lampard.
The defeat leaves Chelsea in eighth with just 26 points after 17 games, whereas City climb up to fifth with a game in hand.
Let's take a look at the hits and flops.
Hit: Phil Foden (Manchester City)
Despite his impressive record in all competitions, Foden hasn't really hit the ceiling in the Premier League this season, but he well and truly upped the ante tonight.
With a goal and an assist to his credit, the 20-year old Manchester City fireball left the Blues in the dust.
He assisted Gundogan for the opener with a simple pass after brilliantly controlling De Bruyne's cross, before nonchalantly rounding off the Belgian's another floating cross from the near post.
Even though Foden's impact waned slightly after the break, his energy and off-the-ball movements were a constant source of concern for the home side.
Flop: Timo Werner (Chelsea)
There's more to Werner's game that is concerning than just the lack of goals. Because far from even finding the net, the German left a lot to be desired with his work rate too.
When the Skyblues cut a swathe through Chelsea in the first half, he stationed himself far up the field in the hopes of receiving service.
He didn't get himself involved in trying to regain possession or even drift out of his position to help out his teammates on the flanks.
Even though the ex-RB Leipzig striker was relatively more active after the break, there was nothing to write about his performance overall.
Werner's drought in the Premier League now extends to nine games, and that should worry Lampard and Chelsea.
Hit: Kevin De Bruyne (Manchester City)
New year, same old Kevin De Bruyne. The Belgian wizard weaved his magic once again tonight to get the better of his former side Chelsea.
He was involved in all three of City's goals, including two directors, as he assisted Foden with a superb cross from the left flank before slotting home a rebound from Sterling's effort.
De Bryune's best one remains his ability to pick out passes for all his facets, as Chelsea had no answer whatsoever.
He's now scored three consecutive times against them in the league, and at this rate, will also be hoping to finally surpass the assist-record he came so agonizingly close to breaking last season.
Flop: N'Golo Kante (Chelsea)
We could've gone with Ben Chilwell, too, for the Chelsea full-back was bad enough. However, Kante was uncharacteristically sloppy and made a mistake, leading to City's third goal against Chelsea.
His poor back pass was headed forward, culminating in a counter-attacking move launched by Sterling and finished by De Bruyne, effectively putting the contest to bed.
And if that wasn't enough, the Frenchman then went into the books for a poor challenge on the England international, earning him his fifth yellow card of the season, which means he'll miss Chelsea's next game.
However, Kante could use this downtime to get his act together as he's started every single game of the league so far and perhaps needs a rest.
Hit: Ruben Dias (Manchester City)
We end the list with someone who's been quietly raking up the numbers with a series of high-quality performances since arriving last summer.
Dias, who cost a whopping €56.6 million from Benfica, has slotted in seamlessly in Guardiola's setup, while his partnership with John Stones has garnered plenty of superlatives too.
Even though Chelsea snatched away from their clean sheet tonight with a late strike, the Portuguese international was superb at the back for most of the game.
His leadership qualities and maturity on the pitch is too advanced for his relatively young age of 23 as Dias turned in another colossal shift in the defense to keep out the home side.
He reads the game well and has the knack of turning up at the right place at the right time to make a block or jump into a tackle.
City's defense has improved manifold ever since Dias has joined the fold, and he'll be hoping to elevate his game further in the coming weeks.
