Erling Haaland helped Manchester City move one point clear at the top of the Premier League but Pep Guardiola was left with plenty to ponder after his defence went missing in a crazy 4-4 draw with Chelsea at Stamford Bridge on Sunday evening.
The Norwegian put the visitors ahead from the penalty spot after winning a highly contentious spot-kick but the Blues came storming back, equalising through Thiago Silva, who was left criminally unmarked at a corner, before Raheem Sterling put the finishing touches on a brilliant breakaway.
Manuel Akanji headed City level before Haaland struck again, with the the Norwegian bundling a Julian Alvarez cutback over the line shortly after the restart. Ederson gifted Chelsea a leveller when he spilled a Conor Gallagher shot at the feet of Nicolas Jackson but City looked to have one the game when Rodri’s speculative effort from outside the area found the back of the net courtesty of a deflection off Thiago Silva.
However, Guardiola’s defence let him down again in injury time, with the usually flawless Dias putting the seal on a shocking display by giving away a penalty that City academy graduate Cole Palmer stuck away to earn the hosts a deserved draw.
Below, 90minsoccer rates all of the City players on show during a wild evening in west London…
Ederson
Nothing he could have done about the first two goals but he was to blame for the third, for parrying the ball back into a central area.
Kyle Walker
Not one of his better games from a defensive perspective and was also poor in possession.
Ruben Dias
Saw plenty of the ball but the Portuguese wasn’t his usual impeccable self. On the contrary, he was a liability for once and it was no surprise to see him give away at penalty in injury time.
Manuel Akanji
Probably City’s best player at the back (although that’s not saying much), with the Swiss capping a solid showing with a well-taken headed goal.
Josko Gvardiol
The Croat never looked comfortable. Really doesn’t look anything like one of the most expensive defenders in the world.
Rodri
A typically composed performance and thought he’d won the game with a deflected effort.
Bernardo Silva
A constant threat as usual, with the highlight of another industrious display the pinpoint cross that Akanji headed homed.
Jeremy Doku
A real box of tricks but took too much time on the ball on several occasions. No surprise, then, to see him hooked midway through the second half.
Julian Alvarez
Wasn’t involved as much as he would have liked but still teed up Haaland for a goal just after the break.
Erling Haaland
A goalscoring machine, the Norwegian looked like scoring anytime the ball went near him. As well as scoring twice, he was also involved in everything City did going forward, with his hold-up play particularly impressive.
Phil Foden
A joy to watch at times but, for once, there was no real end product from the Englishman.
Jack Grealish
Brought on just before the hour mark but made no impact.
Mateo Kovacic
Only introduced for the last 10 minutes for Alvarez as Guardiola looked to shore things up in midfield.
Pep Guardiola
City never looked comfortable, particularly at the back, and the Catalan failed to gain control of a wild game with his changes.
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