Chelsea vs. Manchester City: A Proof of Pep’s Squad Depth
Written by Reananda Hidayat PermonoCompleted Master of Science - MS, Petroleum Geology from Curtin University, Perth, Australia.
Exploraphones.com
After winning the Chelsea vs. Manchester City game at Stamford Bridge, the Citizen moved to within five points of the league leader Arsenal.
Coming off the bench in the second half, Riyad Mahrez and Jack Grealish presented an excellent combination in a 1-0 win.
Chelsea battled as tough as they could since they lost Christian Pulisic and Raheem Sterling to injury. Sterling did hurt his hamstring in the opening minutes.
Meanwhile, Pulisic couldn’t recover after a robust challenge from John Stones that denied Pulisic’s chance for the opening goal.
After all, City were firm favorites against Potter’s Chelsea, who had won just one of six matches before this meeting.
However, The Blues seemed the more threatening side in the first half as Carney Chukwuemeka almost put Chelsea in front.
Pep Guardiola changed his personnel and system at halftime, and City began to take control.
Besides, Mahrez and Grealish, he also brought Rico Lewis and Manuel Akanji in.
In the 63rd minute, Grealish sent a low cross from the left, and Mahrez tapped it at the far post.
Interestingly, that goal occurred just three minutes after both were subbed on for City.
A significant squad depth is everything in the Premier League.
Unlike Mikel Arteta, Guardiola had a bench full of solutions when he needed one.
That’s why after winning the Chelsea vs. Manchester City game, City is still a title favorite even though they are five points behind Arsenal.