Chelsea 1-3 Manchester City: 5 hits and flops as the Blues are thumped at home | Premier League 2020-21

Hit: Kevin De Bruyne (Manchester City)

De Bruyne now has eight assists in the Premier League from 14 games.

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.

⚽️ Kevin De Bruyne is the first Man City player to score in 3 successive PL apps v Chelsea since Carlos Tevez, Dec 2009 - Sept 2010⚽️🅰️ De Bruyne has scored & assisted in the same PL game 9 times since the start of last season pic.twitter.com/gltJg1yp2W

— Sky Sports Statto (@SkySportsStatto) January 3, 2021

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)

A night to forget for the otherwise reliable Frenchman.

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)

Another defensive masterclass from Dias tonight

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.

Ruben Dias vs. Chelsea:◉ Most clearances (6)◉ Most blocks (4)◉ Most recoveries (3)Putting in a shift. pic.twitter.com/YYbfA5oRXx

— Squawka Football (@Squawka) January 3, 2021

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.