Chelsea 2-1 Man City player ratings: City lose heads as Liverpool secure title

 

Manchester City had to beat Chelsea in order to prolong Liverpool's wait for their first league title in 30 years but Pep Guardiola's side shot themselves in the foot time and time again to hand their arch-rivals the title.

 

As for Chelsea, however, a 2-1 win and three points against City is a huge boost in their pursuit of Champions League football next season.

 

Chelsea (6.62 rating)

 

Kepa Arrizabalaga (6.19) - It was another unconvincing performance from Chelsea's underfire goalkeeper, who almost gifted City the opener in the first half with a poor kick straight at Riyad Mahrez. The 25-year-old made just one save and was fortunate to see Raheem Sterling's effort at 1-1 come back off the post.

 

Cesar Azpilicueta (6.90) - The Spaniard was not spectacular but did the job, as ever, completing more tackles than any other player on the pitch (5), while also chipping in with two interceptions and as many clearances.

 

Antonio Rudiger (6.39) - Failed to make a single tackle or interception but was important from defensive set-pieces, often rising the highest to clear danger. The German centre-back made three clearances and won one aerial duel.

 

Andreas Christensen (7.82) - Forced Ederson into a great save in the first half and almost turned provider for Christian Pulisic in the second half when his long ball avoided everyone and put the American straight through. Christensen also completed two dribbles and made four tackles.

 

Marcos Alonso (6.21) - Did just enough to deal with the threat of Riyad Mahrez even if he was not entirely convincing at left-back. Pushed forward well to help create space for Christian Pulisic to cause real problems for City's defenders.

 

Mason Mount (6.35) - Had two attempts at goal but neither hit the target, particularly wasting a good opportunity in the second half, and failed to create a single goalscoring chance for a team-mate

 

N'Golo Kante (6.61) - Back in his old defensive midfield role, N'Golo Kante surprisingly struggled, although perhaps not surprising give his poor form this season. Kante failed to make a single tackle and conceded the free-kick from which City scored from.

 

Ross Barkley (6.32) - Was a surprise selection in midfield ahead of Mateo Kovacic and Jorginho and could have scored at least once had it not been for two important blocks from Fernandinho.

 

Willian (7.31) - Deserves great credit for staying on his feet when so many would go down and was rewarded with not only scoring the winning goal but also getting a City player sent off, effectively ending the game. The 31-year-old also registered three key passes.

 

Olivier Giroud (6.58) - Played an important role without really doing much. His presence gave City's back four the confidence to press higher but that only left more space for the likes of Christian Pulisic to exploit.

 

Christian Pulisic (7.88, MotM) - Christian Pulisic played another crucial role in Chelsea's second 2-1 win post-lockdown. Pulisic took full advantage of poor City defending to put the home side ahead with a well-taken goal and was denied a second by an outstanding goal-line clearance from Kyle Walker in the second half. Pulisic had more shots on target (3) than City as a team (2) and also completed at least twice as many dribbles as any other player (4).

 

Subs: Tammy Abraham (6.30), Pedro (6.15), Mateo Kovacic (6.14), Billy Gilmour (6.08).

 

 

Manchester City (6.39)

 

Ederson (6.80) - Only on two occasions in the Premier League this season has Ederson made more saves than against Chelsea this evening (5) but still conceded twice.

 

Kyle Walker (6.78) - Offered little but was on red alert to complete a stunning goal-line clearance to deny Christian Pulisic and Chelsea their second of the game. It proved meaningless, however, as the home side ended up scoring moments later.

 

Fernandinho (5.90) - Was actually playing an important role for City at the back prior to his dismissal. He cleared off the line (legally) and blocked a couple of dangerous Ross Barkley efforts but conceded a penalty and was sent off for deliberately handling on the line

 

Aymeric Laporte (6.44) - Made the most passes (90) and ranked third for most touches (95) despite coming off with more than 17 minutes remaining and completed 92.2% of his attempted passes, though failed to really influence the game at either end of the pitch.

 

Benjamin Mendy (5.40) - Supported the City attack well but without a recognised striker up front his crosses were wasted (4 attempted). He wasn't quite as effective as a defender, however, as his poor-decision making cost City the opening goal of the game. He was subbed off with less than an hour played.

 

Ilkay Gundogan (6.45) - Started the game extremely brightly with great awareness of space and Chelsea players but lost his way after playing a hand in the game's calamitous opener. A lack of communication between Gundogan and Mendy led to Chelsea's first of the game.

 

Rodrigo (6.68) - Was typically efficient on the ball, completing 94.4% of his attempted passes, struggled to make a lasting impact on the game before being replaced in the 55th-minute.

 

Kevin De Bruyne (7.44) - Appeared to set City up for a dramatic comeback with a stunning free-kick against his former club in the second half but generally struggled to influence play aside from that. Only registered two key passes, down from his seasonal average of 3.5.

 

Riyad Mahrez (6.72) - Was a buzz of energy and appeared to have Marcos Alonso's number but lacked cutting edge in the final third. He still managed to create the most key passes (4) but unusually went for power over control with the top left corner of Chelsea's goal crying out.

 

Bernardo Silva (6.42) - Struggled as City's false nine, wasn't as effective as he has been in that role previously this season against likes of Manchester United. He failed to hit the target with two of his shots, most notably scuffing a decent opportunity in the first half before being replaced before an hour had been played.

 

Raheem Sterling (6.39) - Could have given City a 2-1 lead only to watch his effort come back off the post. Only then to curl a spectacular effort just wide of Chelsea's far post with Kepa well beaten. Two moments that would have given City control of the game

 

Subs: Gabriel Jesus (6.25), Nicolas Otamendi (6.14), David Silva (6.04), Oleksandr Zinchenko (5.93)

Chelsea 2-1 Man City player ratings: City lose heads as Liverpool secure title