Chelsea-Man City: Matters arising

WHEN I predicted a 1-1 draw for this match in my weekly predictions last week, many Chelsea fans sneered and boasted they were going to wallop Manchester City at Stamford Bridge. Ok many didn’t talk about wallop, though they were sure the London Blues were going to extend their lead on the log to eight points. I didn’t only predict the outcome correctly, I got the scoreline perfectly, bull’s eye.

But it wasn’t difficult to predict really, knowing Chelsea boss Jose Mourinho’s desire for ultra caution in matches of this magnitude. Add the suspension of league’s top scorer, Diego Costa, and the unavailability of his chief ammunition maker Cesc Fabregas plus the fact City didn’t have talismanic Yaya Toure while their other inspiration Sergio Aguero was yet to find his mojo since returning from that month-long injury layoff, then there could only be one outcome from what was supposed to be the biggest clash in the simmering title race – a stalemate.

The only thing I didn’t predict correctly was that both teams would adopt conservative approach. While Chelsea played to Mourinho’s catennacio standards, to their credit, City attacked and tried to win the match, just that they didn’t have enough in their arsenal to blow Chelsea away and return firmly in the title race.

The stalemate meant both managers left the Bridge not dissatisfied, while the neutrals were pleased that the title race was still very much alive. Given the manner of their last two league title successes, the reigning champs would think being five points adrift with 15 matches to go isn’t an insurmountable task, especially when Toure and new acquisition Wilfried Bony arrive safely from African Nations Cup duties later this month.
 

But talking about the two goals in the match, I think City Captain Vincent Kompany would not forgive himself for Chelsea’s opener. The Belgian international had all the chance in the world to clear Edin Hazard’s low cross but bizarrely left responsibility for his goalkeeper Joe Hart to deal with it. Unfortunately the goalkeeper failed to act, obviously expecting his skipper to do the “normal” thing and clear the danger. In their hesitancy, Hazard’s cross sailed unhindered to lurking Loic Remy who tapped into a yawning goal from close range.

Interestingly, Kompany’s decision making this season has been sometimes suspect this season. I recall the poor penalty he gave away in their last league match which set Arsenal on the way to that surprise 2-0 victory at the Etihad.

Kompany has been a great servant to City. But on the evidence of his recent slew of costly errors, I think boss Manuel Pellegrini would do well to sort his captain out quickly either by resting him for some games or by dropping him to the bench altogether until he regains his lost composure.

If Kompany was absolutely guilty for Chelsea’s goal, impressive Blues goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois would admit he could have done better dealing with the cross that led to City’s equaliser. Courtois rushed out for the cross then bizarrely pulled out while under pressure. The ball fell to Aguero who rifled a low shot home which the Blues goalie failed to deal with again before David Silva applied the fatal touch.

There were questions whether City deserved to have been awarded the throwing that started the build-up to their equaliser. But after watching the replays severally, I agree with the officials that Hazard failed to keep the ball from crossing over the touch line. Hence the decision to award City the ultimately crucial throw-in was correct.