Chelsea collected a massive three points in their quest for a fifth Premier League title after beating Manchester City at Stamford Bridge. In an exciting duel between the two Premier League giants, all three goals were unorthodox. Hazard’s opener took a minute deflection off Vincent Kompany, wrong-footing keeper Willy Caballero in the process.
City then equalised after Courtois saw a weak clearance travel straight towards the feet of David Silva, whose shot was initially saved but converted on the rebound by Sergio Aguero. The hosts regained their lead after Fernandinho was adjudged to have tripped Pedro inside the box, prompting referee Mike Dean to point to the spot.
Hazard saw his initial shot from 12 yards saved by Caballero but gobbled up the rebound. The result keeps Chelsea 7 points clear of Spurs in second place with eight league games remaining.
Here are the player ratings from the encounter at Stamford Bridge:
Chelsea
Thibaut Courtois – 6.5/10
The Belgian shot-stopper made a terrible mistake to gift City their goal but quickly atoned with a number of crucial saves in the second half.
Kurt Zouma – 7/10
Starting his first league game in over a year, Zouma had a solid 45 minutes, impeding the likes of Leroy Sane from running into space in the penalty area.
David Luiz – 7.5/10
Apart from a couple of moments of brain-fade by running out of his penalty area to win a duel, Luiz was excellent at the back. He made confident clearances from low crosses whipped into the box.
Gary Cahill – 7.5/10
A last-ditch tackle to prevent Aguero from scoring in the second half was one of the highlights of an impressive display from the England defender.
Cesar Azpilicueta – 7/10
Playing at right wing-back in the first half, Azpilicueta was seen making a number of runs up the pitch and linking up with Pedro. He provided the cross for Hazard to score Chelsea’s opener. In the second half, he returned to centre-back to fill the void left by Zouma, who was substituted at half-time, and excelled in that position as well, reading crosses delivered into the penalty area.
N’Golo Kante – 7/10
Kante had his usually quiet influence on the game. He mostly manoeuvred the ball in midfield to help Chelsea enjoy a spell of possession.
Cesc Fabregas – 6.5/10
Fabregas occasionally used his vision to pick out the right pass and put City’s defence on their toes. He hit the woodwork once and fluffed a couple of further chances to find the back of the net.
Marcos Alonso – 7/10
Alonso enjoyed dashing down the left wing to get involved in the game on an attacking front. The presence of Navas – who is not a natural right-back – greatly helped his cause.
Pedro – 7.5/10
Pedro’s passing in the attacking third – especially his switches to Hazard – was absolutely phenomenal for pretty much the entire game. His clever shift of play from left to right helped him win the spot-kick which Hazard would later convert from a follow-through.
Eden Hazard – 8/10
Hazard continues to shine for title-chasing Chelsea. His fleet-footedness caused multiple problems for Navas at right-back and any other City team-mate looking to double-man him. He scored both Chelsea goals – the second a follow-up from a missed penalty.
Diego Costa – 5/10
It was another off day for Costa, who struggled to get a shot away on goal in the whole game.
Substitutes
Nemanja Matic – 7/10
Matic was introduced at half-time to add some defensive cover and he didn’t disappoint, making vital clearances in the proximity of the penalty box to maintain Chelsea’s lead.
Willian – 6.5 /10
Willian came on for the final 10 minutes and managed to thump in a couple of teasing crosses to test the City defence.
Reuben Loftus-Cheek – N/A
He replaced Hazard in the 90th minute.
Manchester City
Willy Caballero – 6.5/10
Caballero could have done better to deal with the first goal despite the ball taking a deflection, but was helpless to stop the second goal from being scored after his penalty save saw the ball fall straight into Hazard’s path.
Jesus Navas – 6/10
Navas found the Hazard-Alonso duo a nuisance to deal with and often had to rely on one of the holding midfielders to occupy his slot at right-back while he surged forward – his natural instinct.
Gael Clichy – 6/10
Clichy was guilty of giving Azpilicueta the space to run across the byline in the build-up to Chelsea’s first goal. He offered little going up the pitch as well.
John Stones – 7/10
Stones looped a shot from 6 yards over the crossbar late in the game. Defensively, he was focussed and didn’t make any obvious errors.
Vincent Kompany – 6.5/10
The club captain saw Hazard’s shot take the slightest deflection off him and past Caballero. His performance was robust in the first half, but his prolonged lack of action showed in the later stages of the game, making a couple of defensive errors and taking a wild swipe at Hazard in an attempt to win the ball – earning him a yellow card.
Fernandinho – 6.5/10
Despite a hard-working effort in defensive midfield, Fernandinho’s game will be remembered for his foul on Pedro which resulted in the penalty.
Fabian Delph – 6.5/10
Delph was impressive in midfield on his rare start, moving the ball across midfield without conceding possession.
Leroy Sane – 6/10
The German was ineffective at Stamford Bridge, not being able to get into space in the Chelsea defence to threaten a goal-scoring chance.
David Silva – 7.5/10
Silva was City’s most vibrant and sharpest outfield player. He drove the ball forward on countless occasions and located his colleagues in space with some sumptuous through-balls.
Kevin de Bruyne – 6/10
The Belgian had a below-par game, failing to provide the final pass in the attacking third or meeting his intended targets with crosses.
Sergio Aguero – 7/10
Aguero scored City’s goal thanks to an error by Courtois. The Argentine came mighty close in the dying stages, only to see his volley from Nolito’s cross well saved by the Chelsea goalkeeper. He managed to get a few more shots at goal, but most of them were comfortably saved.
Substitutes
Raheem Sterling – 5/10
The pacey Sterling was thrown on for the last 15 minutes but could not provide the spark Pep Guardiola was desperately in search of.
Nolito – 6.5/10
He was on the pitch for the last five minutes and nearly made his presence felt with a brilliant cross into the box for Aguero to attack, only to see his volley parried away by Courtois for a corner.
