The Blues took the lead against City at the Etihad on Saturday evening when N’Golo Kante finished off a fine pass from Mateo Kovacic. However, a deflected effort from Kevin De Bruyne got City back on level terms and a fantastic solo effort from Riyad Mahrez gave Pep Guardiola’s men all three points. We look at the three things we learned following Chelsea’s defeat.
Chelsea need to sign a left-back
Emerson got the nod ahead of Marcos Alonso to start at left-back against Manchester City but was shaky and could have done better when Mahrez cut inside him before firing in with his trusty left foot.
The Brazil-born Italy international was then taken off after 59 minutes for Reece James. Emerson took one shot which was on target, had a pass accuracy of 89.5%, took 49 touches, and made two clearances.
Chelsea has been linked with a £60million transfer for Leicester City’s Ben Chilwell and judging by Emerson’s recent showing Lampard will do well to strengthen in that position.
Chelsea are ‘coming’ indeed
Frank Lampard fired a warning to Premier League title challenge Manchester City and Liverpool that his side ‘are coming’ and based on Saturday’s performance Chelsea is coming indeed. It was Chelsea’s first defeat in the league since Liverpool beat them at Stamford Bridge in September but they matched City for large portions of the defeat and left the Etihad with 54% possession.
If Chelsea can strengthen in the transfer window particularly in defensive positions Chelsea is going to be title contenders next season.
Kepa needs to cut out risky passes
Kepa could not do much better with both Manchester City’s goals but was lucky not to concede more goals. Kepa was incredibly lucky to not cost the Blues a goal after a shocking error in that evening. In the 42nd minute of the clash, Kepa drilled the ball directly to Sergio Aguero and the Premier League talisman somehow missed a glorious chance to extend City’s lead. The 25-year-old hasn’t been as good as he was last season, he seems to be making regular errors as a result of his willingness to play out from the back.
Kepa needs to cut out the Edersonesque passes from his game if he needs to convince Lampard he is going to be Chelsea’s goalkeeper for the next decade.
