Chelsea 1 - 2 Manchester City: Thoughts and Ratings

By Adam Bailey

My thoughts

All eyes will be on the Hart - Nastasić bust up, but on days like this, it's far more rewarding to take the positives out of the game. My opinion has been scrutinised  by the majority of my Twitter followers, but I do feel Nastasić played a bigger role in Chelsea's winner. Hart, wrongly of course, darted out of his goal too early. However, the Serbian saw him coming and still proceeded to head over the top of him into Torres' path. Any other direction and the goal is averted, but too much discussion has been centered around the issue and I want to leave it there.

As for Fernando Torres, he was magnificent. He'll never return to the form he hit in his days at Liverpool and every experienced pundit knows that he won't, but it makes a decent headline at the end of the day. He terrorised Gaël Clichy all evening and I'd be lying if I said I wasn't slightly concerned with the Frenchman's form of late. He seems to have lost his pace and concentration and dare I say it, Aleksandar Kolarov seems to be a better option at the moment.

Photo: Official MCFC Facebook

One thing every fan can say is that Pellegrini's team selection was sensible and it definitely worked in suppressing Chelsea's attacking midfielders. City controlled the majority of the play in a game where Fernandinho and David Silva excelled. Agüero's work rate was admirable although I feel Álvaro  Negredo's towering presence would have aided the little Argentine. Despite that, his goal was sensational and I can't see his goalscoring run ending any time soon. Javi Garcia was surprisingly comfortable in front of the defence and did little wrong in the game which also gives me confidence.

Conclusively, I feel a draw would have been a fair result. Both sides were relatively cautious and we looked relaxed until Chelsea's late winner. It's defensive bloopers that are plaguing our season and Pellegrini knows we have to iron out the stains. Although I feel Hart should be dropped in order to restore his form, I still feel Manuel will stick by the England stopper.

A bad day at the office, but we move on knowing that we have the ability to kick on and head towards the top of the table.

Player ratings

HART: Was at fault for Chelsea's winner in a moment of communicational madness. Has to be dropped in order to restore his form of old.

TSBV rating: 5/10

ZABALETA: Much better than his teammate on the left hand side and offered City a valuable option when attacking.

TSBV rating: 7/10

DEMICHELIS: His first start in a City shirt was satisfactory. Not bad, but not great either. Lost Schurrle for Chelsea's opener.

TSBV rating: 6/10

NASTASIC: Not a day to remember for the young Serbian. Needs Kompany's influence alongside him and presented Torres with a horror header to score the winner.

TSBV rating: 5/10

CLICHY: Extremely poor. Looks to have lost his pace and was terrorised by Torres all afternoon. 

TSBV rating: 5/10

FERNANDINHO: The main reason for City's domination in the second half. He'll continue to get better as he adapts to his surroundings.

TSBV rating: 7/10

GARCIA: More comfortable in his favoured midfield role and despite the many critics, he played reasonably well with a number of timely interceptions and tough challenges.

TSBV rating: 7/10

YAYA TOURE: The aim was to allow Yaya to press forward by putting Garcia and Fernandinho in the holding role, but the big Ivorian failed to show up. 

TSBV rating: 6/10

NASRI: Looked positive going forward and troubled Chelsea with his skill. Substituted too early.

TSBV rating: 7/10

SILVA: City's best player in the first half and always looked like he was going to split Chelsea's defence. Unfortunately, he never did.

TSBV rating: 7/10

AGUERO: Needed Negredo's height to help him but he battled on commendably and terrified Chelsea's back line. Another stunning goal for the Argentine, but our unbeaten record when he scores is now gone.

TSBV rating: 8/10

Substitutes

NAVAS: Helped City retain possession

TSBV rating: 6/10

NEGREDO: No time to make a mark.

No rating

KOLAROV: Made no notable impact

TSBV rating: 6/10

Note: All pictures above from MCFC Official Facebook page

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(c) The Sky Blue View 2013