Enzo Maresca lost his first Premier League game in charge of Chelsea as Manchester City beat them 2-0 at Stamford Bridge, beginning their latest title defence in style.
Man City’s superior quality and game management ultimately won out in a battle between Pep Guardiola and another coach formerly under his tutelage.
It took just 18 minutes for back-to-back Premier League Golden Boot winner Erling Haaland to open his account for the new season. He collected a pass from Bernardo Silva – who survived a VAR check for offside – before bulldozing past the Chelsea defence and firing home his 91st Man City goal on his 100th club appearance.
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Erling Haaland shows immense strength to hold off the Chelsea defence and score his first goal of the Premier League season to give Manchester City the lead
The Blues thought they had equalised just before the break. Ederson uncharacteristically spilled Cole Palmer’s shot, with a lurking Nicolas Jackson netting the rebound. However, VAR intervened and the goal was ruled out for Jackson’s offside.
The second half saw both sides trade blows and chances as impressive debutant Pedro Neto provided a spark for Chelsea. In the 65th minute, Man City thought they had added another as Rico Lewis smashed home, but a foul from Erling Haaland on Levi Colwill in the build-up ruled the goal out.
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Former Chelsea man Mateo Kovacic coolly sends the ball down the middle, past Sanchez and into the back of the net to extend Manchester City’s lead
Another Chelsea penalty appeal went unanswered soon after as Malo Gusto’s attempt to send the ball back into the area hit Mateo Kovacic’s elbow. And the former Chelsea midfielder showed his former side what they were missing when he doubled their lead in the 84th minute.
After another loose Chelsea midfield pass, Kovacic cruised to the top of the area before firing past Robert Sanchez, who for his part should have done better. The Croatian did not celebrate against his former side, but helped his current one to all three points, extending Man City’s unbeaten run to 24 Premier League games.
Sterling ‘gaining clarity’ on future at Chelsea
Raheem Sterling was left out of Chelsea matchday squad, and in a statement, said he is seeking further clarity on his future at the club.
It read: “Raheem Sterling is contracted to Chelsea Football Club for the next 3 years.
“He returned to England 2 weeks early to conduct individual training, and has had a positive pre-season under the new coach, who he has developed a good working relationship with.
“He is committed, as ever, to delivering at the highest level for Chelsea and the fans, who he holds in high regard, and given his inclusion in official club pre-match material this week, our expectation was that Raheem would be involved in this weekend’s fixture in some capacity.
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Enzo Maresca defends his decision to omit Raheem Sterling from the starting Chelsea line-up ahead of their Manchester City clash, saying it is purely a ‘technical decision’.
“As a camp, we have always had positive dialogue with, and assurance from, Chelsea in relation to Raheem’s future at the club, so we look forward to gaining clarity on the situation.
“Until then, we will continue to support Raheem’s desire to start the new season positively.”
From Chelsea’s perspective, it was a technical decision made by Enzo Maresca with full club support to leave Sterling out and that decision was communicated to the winger on Friday.
And speaking to Sky Sports before the game, Maresca said: “The manager has to take decisions that people and players doesn’t like – it’s normal. We will see in the next days.”
