London is Blue Dispatch #080

In an increasingly frenetic race for top Chelsea could not have asked for a more auspicious start. City’s rejigged backline smelt of frailties, crisis and inexperience. 20-year-old debutant Khusanov’s miscued header allowed Nico Jackson to nip in and set up Madueke for a priceless lead. And as is usually the case these days, the Blues did not long to toss it away.

Only a few days ago, PSG responded to City’s provocations with relentless industry and bite, snapping at the rot and sapping away their blood and breath. PSG, a side that underwent arguably a bigger metamorphosis after losing three of the biggest stars of this generation in Neymar, Messi and Mbappe, also rebuilt with youth – only 3 outfielders that took the stage vs City were over the age of 25. While a teenaged wing pair of Barcola and Doué dazzled on the flanks, Neves and Vitinha overwhelmed City’s rusty engine cogs.

Chelsea came with the exact opposite blueprint. They found a lucky lead, and then stood off, allowing a title-winning outfit with a history of rousing comebacks to recover from the blindsided blow and catch their breath. It is surprising that the Blues still haven’t learnt that when their gameplan involves waiting for a mistake to happen these days, it is usually they themselves that make it.

It is not to say that the idea from Maresca was wrong; it is one that tends to work against City – quickly retreat into a midblock, protect the central space and force City to go wide. Should they try to breach the middle, win the ball back and exploit the space on offer. A second Chelsea goal could and should have come when a ball played through the middle was stolen by Chalobah and quickly turned into a throughball for Palmer running through on goal. Palmer’s square pass to Jackson that vital bit of assurance, and an under-fire Jackson could not muster enough courage for a first time shot on his weak foot.

City quickly understood that the spaces were out wide and set about using them. The first big chance came when a ball found Gvardiol free on the left flank, with Madueke caught hopelessly out of position. A zipped cross narrowly missed the other debutant, Marmoush, steaming into the box to get to the end of the pass. A second opening came the way of the fullback on the other side, with Nunes holding width and sneaking away from Cucurella to receive unmarked at the edge of the box. Luckily, that chance cannoned off multiple players before Enzo Fernandez hoofed into touch. Gvardiol then capitalized on confusion between Madueke and Reece James to find himself 1v1 vs Sanchez; his effort trickled just past the post and was the last time the Croatian would be generous. 

Seeing Gvardiol's growing influence, Madueke dropped to a wingback position to offer better protection. He would unfortunately play a vital part in City's equalizer. First, he strayed too deep and kept everyone onside; he then failed to track Gvardiol's little run inside. Pep's plan had worked – with one fullback assisting the other. Once the cracks appeared, it was only a matter of time before the rest shattered.

Perhaps here it is easy, perhaps convenient, to point fingers at Robert Sanchez. He has after all, committed an error leading to a shot or a goal in three successive appearances. He sits atop a list of 2500 players in Europe’s top 5 leagues for errors leading to goals, with five, 17% of the goals conceded in the league this season. There is no escaping it.

However, there are far more graver concerns escaping attention over what feels like the lowest hanging fruit. City’s double made it 19 goals conceded in the 2^nd halves of games this season; 11 have gone in in the first half of games. Chelsea have now made 25 errors leading to shots; that’s one more than they managed in all of last season and there are 15 games to go. A collapse – physical, psychological – feels inevitable in second halves, especially when the result isn’t decided as yet.

A lot of other players are failing to deliver on their promise as well – Sancho and Madueke proved wasteful against a midfielder at rightback and an error prone centerback at leftback. Both endured tough outings against PSG but looked very comfortable here. Keeping aside the bit of good fortune for the opener, Jackson’s torrid run in front of goal continued, mustering only two shots and an xG of under .3. He has now failed to score in seven consecutive games. Nkunku strolled about for half an hour against a side he had scored a hattrick against a few years ago – a faint hologram compared to the spirit that haunted City in that CL tie. Neither him nor the equally frustrating Neto offered anything of note. Was the magic in this Chelsea attack disenchanted or an illusion in the first place? There is a third of the season to find out.

This was an opportunity to make the perfect statement; to rough up the shaken champions, to build on last season’s scintillating draws against City and raise the banners high. What Maresca and Chelsea delivered instead was a white flag.