Why Man City’s draw vs. Chelsea gives Arsenal, Liverpool hope

MANCHESTER, England — Manchester City and Chelsea played out an entertaining and sometimes chaotic 1-1 draw at the Etihad Stadium on Saturday, and both teams subsequently managed to take both positives and negatives.

City showed the occasional vulnerability of their high defensive line to concede the opening goal, scored by Raheem Sterling, and managed just one goal thanks to Rodri's late equalizer despite 31 shots. But once again, Pep Guardiola's side showed their character and determination to score an 18th point despite being in a losing position. Only Liverpool have won more from behind this season.

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For Chelsea, the big positive was their performance in the opening hour, and that might have been enough to win the game if they had taken more chances when they were on top. Missed chances have been a familiar problem for Mauricio Pochettino this season, but he remained a contender for Chelsea's best result since the Argentine coach took charge last summer.

“I’m so happy,” Pochettino said after the match. “The effort has been enormous and the spirit is how we want to compete with the talent we have. I believe we will, one day, reach the levels we expect. Playing against the best team in the world is not never easy and today the character and my personality made me very happy.”

On the other hand, Guardiola was unhappy with City's first half performance, but on another day – with Erling Haaland in top form – they would have still won comfortably. For the first time since arriving in England, Haaland has had nine shots in a match without scoring and the Norwegian striker will not want to see his chance repeat midway through the second half.

Kevin De Bruyne's cross from the left was accurate and as it headed towards Haaland, the Etihad Stadium began to rise in anticipation of the net swelling. But this is not the case. His header went over the crossbar to sum up a day where the 23-year-old, who has scored 21 times this season, looked a little out of sorts.

“It's good to have nine shots and next time he will score,” Guardiola said. “I played for 11 years and scored 11 goals. One goal per season. I am not a suitable man to give advice to strikers. We create chances and next time he will score. I don't give him advice don't want it. As “A team and a group, the first half was not like us.”

Not only will the first half encourage Pochettino that he can possibly make Chelsea a title challenger, but it will also encourage Liverpool and Arsenal to believe that City can be beaten.

Sterling's goal just before half-time came from a sequence of clever passes down the right and Nicolas Jackson raced into acres of space behind City's back four. His cross allowed Sterling to dive inside Kyle Walker and score against his former club for the second time this season.

Chelsea probably should have already been ahead by then when the same move on the same side of the pitch released Malo Gusto, but Jackson's touch in the middle was heavy and Éderson snuffed out the chance. Chelsea had another opportunity early in the second half, once again overtaking the City defense, and Éderson had to make a terrific save from Sterling's point-blank shot.

Liverpool and Arsenal, who won their matches earlier on Saturday, will both face City in March and you can be sure that Jurgen Klopp and Mikel Arteta will be watching replays of that match as they prepare.

“I'm going to invite you to the training ground because it's hard to explain [our plan] in a few words or sentences,” Pochettino said.

“We know very well how Manchester City play more at the Etihad and that is important [for them] to maintain the capacity for domination. They force you to go deep. If you're not brave enough afterwards, you have the ball and you force them back. For us it was a really important game to keep the momentum and realize that we are on the way to progress. We're still not at Manchester City's level but it's our game.”

Speaking at his pre-match press conference on Friday, Guardiola called the visit of Chelsea “one of the most difficult games between now and the end of the season” and he was ultimately proven right. Yet it took a day off for City and a good day for Chelsea to pose a threat to an unbeaten Premier League home record that dates back to November 2022.

Despite the positives and negatives of both teams, the traveling Chelsea fans celebrated the final whistle as if it was a victory while the City fans moved leisurely through the Manchester rain.

“We didn't play to our level in the first half,” Guardiola said. “When we play teams with the composure and prestige of Chelsea, you have to give your best for 95 minutes.”

On a good day for Pochettino and a rare absence for Guardiola, Chelsea showed they are still playing catch-up and City proved once again why they remain the team to beat this season.