Premier League: Mahrez fires Manchester City past Chelsea

• Chelsea hosted Manchester City at Stamford Bridge in the Premier League match week 18
• Chelsea needed a win to increase their hopes of the top four, while City needed to close the gap on Arsenal
• Riyad Mahrez’s only goal sealed all the points for City, and Potter’s Chelsea continued poor run

Manchester City defeated Chelsea 1-0 at Stamford Bridge to cut Arsenal’s Premier League lead to five points thanks to Riyad Mahrez.

Pep Guardiola’s team was able to benefit from the Gunners’ goalless draw with Newcastle United on Tuesday, despite the fact that the reigning champions weren’t at their best in the first half.

Following the halftime, Carney Chukwuemeka and Nathan Ake both hit the goal frame, despite the fact that neither team had many clear-cut opportunities.

With a close-range goal in the 63rd minute after coming off the bench, Mahrez altered the situation and will make Arsenal nervous going into what is expected to be a crucial month.

Raheem Sterling and Christian Pulisic were lost throughout the first 20 minutes, adding to Chelsea’s injury woes. The latter problem occurred when the American attacker was stopped by a pin-point tackle by John Stones following the Blues’ first serious shot on goal.

Chelsea forward Cristian Pulisic was subbed off early in the first half after Raheem Sterling with an injury in the Premier League clash against Manchester City. | PHOTO: Sport Illustrated |

The greatest effort came from substitute Chukwuemeka, who cut onto his right foot outside the box and beat Ederson with a low shot that rebounded off the left post.

Manuel Akanji and Rico Lewis were substituted for Joao Cancelo and Kyle Walker by City manager Pep Guardiola at halftime, which gave the reigning champions a boost. Ake hit the post, and Kevin De Bruyne forced Kepa Arrizabalaga into a low save.

Another opportunity was created by Bernardo Silva’s deft movement, setting up De Bruyne to shoot wide, before more changes were made at the hour mark with the entrance of Jack Grealish and Mahrez.

Three minutes later, the same two linked, with Grealish sending a pass across the goal mouth from the left for Mahrez to tap in with ease.

Manchester City forward Riyad Mahrez came off the bench to score the winner against Chelsea in the Premier League on Thursday, January 5 2023. | PHOTO: 90 MIN |

Chelsea fell 10 points behind fourth-placed Manchester United in the race for Champions League football as City hung on to secure what might be a crucial victory in the title race.

City Pressure Arsenal

Guardiola discussed the difficulty of cutting an eight-point gap with Arsenal before the game, but the victory cuts the difference to five in what may be a crucial month in the Premier League title race.

The upcoming weeks for the Gunners include difficult tests against Tottenham and Manchester United, followed by trips to Everton and Brentford at home, before their match versus City on February 15—which was previously postponed—which is a challenging test.

The title scenario might be very different in mid-February because City plays two of the same opponents in, Spurs (who they face twice) and United in the four weeks leading up to that match, with their other games coming against Aston Villa and Wolves.

Poor Aubameyang

Aubameyang has been unable to regularly display the form that terrorized Premier League defences during his prolific time at Arsenal, and this was just another chance lost for the Blues to make an impact against City.

Aubameyang was substituted in for the injured Sterling early in the game. Before being taken off midway through the second half, he had just 14 touches of the ball, and only one of those touches took place inside the City box.