By James Ducker at Etihad Stadium
Pep Guardiola rested most of his best players and still watched Manchester City ease past Chelsea as they marked their title coronation with a 12th consecutive Premier League win.
Thousands of City fans – some letting off blue flares– stormed the pitch at the final whistle as security staff rushed to get the players to safety at the Etihad Stadium before the trophy parade.
A title race that had threatened to go to the wire only seven weeks ago ultimately turned into a procession for City as they secured a fifth title in six seasons with three games to spare.
Julian Alvarez’s goal extended City’s unbeaten run to 24 matches but any jeopardy on the day had been removed the night before after Arsenal lost at Nottingham Forest to hand the title to Guardiola’s men.
The atmosphere was in stark contrast to 12 months ago, when anxious City supporters had to watch their team City come from 2-0 down on the final day to beat Aston Villa late on thanks to three goals in five minutes and pip Liverpool to the title by a point. This time around, City fans could bask in the warm sunshine knowing the title was already under lock and key, and potentially with more silverware to follow in what could be a historic season for the club.
“The Treble Is On, 1 Down 2 To Go” read one banner as City now look forward to an FA Cup final against Manchester United on Saturday week and the Champions League final against Inter Milan in Istanbul seven days later.
They must first conclude the league campaign with games away to Brighton and Brentford when it remains to be seen if Guardiola again opts to shuffle the pack.
Guardiola started with £484 million of talent on the bench, with Erling Haaland, Kevin De Bruyne, Jack Grealish, Rodri, Bernardo, captain Ilkay Gundogan, Ruben Dias, John Stones and Ederson all substitutes, but City’s second string were still too strong for their opponents.
For Chelsea, the misery is almost at an end. If this season had been another six weeks longer, they could have found themselves sucked into a relegation so poor has their form been since the turn of the year.
This was their 10th defeat in 21 Premier League matches, during which time they have mustered just 19 points, despite the most expensive transfer splurge in football history over the past year.
There has been just one win in their last 10 league outings and the campaign can finish quickly enough for Frank Lampard and his sorry group of players.
Man City 1 Chelsea 0: as it happened
07:02 PM
De Bruyne speaks
It is more tough mentally than physically because you have to go again, again, again. But this team is hungry. I’ve been here eight years. This is my home. The amazing moments, they keep coming.
You perform the best you can do. Maybe when I’m older I’ll be reflective but now I just want to keep going.
06:50 PM
Here’s the captain
06:45 PM
Sky is forced to apologise
When Grealish invites Erling Haaland over to have a word and he bellows ‘I f—— love you’ into the mic.
06:42 PM
Grealish speaks
I feel back to myself. Imagine if someone said to you that to win the league you need to win 12 games in a row. It was going to be difficult. We’ve got so much talent in the squad that, at this moment, we feel unstoppable really.
I feel so much more confident now. Fitter. It doesn’t stop here. We’ve got some massive games coming up.
I can’t put my finger [on a turning point for City]. Since the international break we have been amazing. Over the moon. Buzzing.
06:37 PM
Guardiola sprays the champagne
Cue Hey Jude.
06:37 PM
Ilkay Gundogan has the trophy in his hands
He walks over to the dais and raises it, jumping along with his team-mates while singing ‘Campeones’.
06:35 PM
Five appearances earn a medal
So there are first champions’ medals for Cole Palmer, Julain Alvarez, Rico Lewis, Kalvin Phillips, Sergio Gomez and, of course, Erling Haaland.
One in the post for Joao Cancelo, too.
06:30 PM
Time for each player to get his moment in the sun
Their names are announced and they walk up to receive their medals, each serenaded with their own song.
06:29 PM
Here come the champions
Man City’s entire staff is decked out in shirts with a golden 23 on the back, forming a guard of honour. Pep Guardiola leads his first-team squad out to slap hands and hug all of them.
06:05 PM
Fans still taking selfies on the pitch
So there will continue to be a delay until they are presented with the trophy.
06:01 PM
Opta’s post-match stats pack
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Manchester City have won each of their last six games against Chelsea in all competitions without conceding a single goal. The Citizens have become just the second team to beat Chelsea four times in a single season, after Manchester United in 2010-11.
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There are 15 instances of a side winning 12 consecutive games in English top-flight history, with Pep Guardiola’s Manchester City side accounting for five of those runs.
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Chelsea have lost 15 Premier League games in 2022-23 (W11 D10), their joint-highest tally in a 38-game season in the competition (also 15 defeats in 1997-98).
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Manchester City have scored 100 goals at the Etihad this season, equalling the record (set by themselves in 2018-19) for most home goals scored in all competitions in a single season by an English top-flight club.
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Since the start of last season, Chelsea have won none of their 15 Premier League games against sides starting the day above them in the table (D4 L11), losing each of their last four.
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Julián Álvarez (17 goals) is Manchester City’s second-highest goalscorer in all competitions this season behind only Erling Haaland (52). At the Etihad, the Argentine has been directly involved in 15 goals across his 12 starts (12 goals, 3 assists), finding the back of the net in all but two of those starts.
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Cole Palmer has won all 16 Premier League games he’s appeared in for Manchester City – the best 100%-win rate of any player in the competition’s history.
06:00 PM
Kalvin Phillips speaks
It’s been unbelievably tough, the lowest point confidence-wise in my career but the leaders around me, like Kyle, have pushed me, and kept me working as hard as possible. They told me I would get a chance and today I did.
05:58 PM
A pitch invasion of sorts means the players head back to the dressing rooms
For now, at least. Presentation team waits in the wings until the pitch is cleared. Fans in the stands boo those on the field.
05:56 PM
Full time: Man City 1 Chelsea 0
City coasted towards their coronation. Chelsea made chances but couldn’t take any. They have the players for rapid improvement if they get their appointment right.
05:55 PM
90+3 min: Man City 1 Chelsea 0
Foden stops Azpilicueta equalising with a firm challenge at the back post as the Chelsea captain followed in a left-wing cross.
05:53 PM
90+2 min: Man City 1 Chelsea 0
Julian Alvarez is named man of the match. Kalvin Phillips, Phil Foden and Cole Palmer must have run him close.
05:51 PM
90 min: Man City 1 Chelsea 0
Only three more minutes of this shadowplay to come.
05:51 PM
88 min: Man City 1 Chelsea 0
Chukwuemeka robs Phillips and slips Mudryk down the left of the box but he flays his shot high, wide and hideous.
05:47 PM
85 min: Man City 1 Chelsea 0
Haaland and Azpilicueta exchange vigorous views as they wait for a corner from the right which ends with Palmer’s shot being blocked and Alvarez blazing the rebound over.
05:45 PM
83 min: Man City 1 Chelsea 0
Koulibaly holds off Haaland. The Chelsea sub doesn’t look remotely happy though. Pochettino ought to get the best out of him.
05:43 PM
80 min: Man City 1 Chelsea 0
Good run by Loftus-Cheek to break past Lewis and Phillips and then steer the pass out to the right for Madueke. The winger zips a cross through the six-yard box but Havertz, who had made a near-post run, fails to reach it with the flick it required.
Two more Chelsea substitutions:
Chukwuemeka ⇢ Loftus Cheek
Koulibaly ⇢ Hall.
05:39 PM
77 min: Man City 1 Chelsea 0
Lap of honour time:
Rodri ⇢ Laporte
De Bruyne ⇢ Gomez.
05:36 PM
75 min: Man City 1 Chelsea 0
Alvarez tries to tee Haaland up with his first kick, sliding him down the left of the penalty area with a diagonal pass. He meets it with a left-foot shot but skewers it wide.
05:34 PM
73 min: Man City 1 Chelsea 0
Here he comes: Haaland ⇢ Mahrez.
05:33 PM
No goal
Yes, he hit it with his wrist to bunt it on before squaring for Alvarez to tap in.
05:33 PM
VAR checking for handball
From Mahrez in the build-up to knock the ball on after Hall slipped.
05:32 PM
GOAL!!!???
Man City 2 Chelsea 0 (Alvarez)
05:30 PM
Double Chelsea substitution
Madueke ⇢ Sterling
Mudryk ⇢ Gallagher.
05:30 PM
68 min: Man City 1 Chelsea 0
Mahrez converts Alavarez’s pass, rolling it past Kepa from 12 yards but the whistle had already gone for Alvarez’s push on Fofana.
05:27 PM
65 min: Man City 1 Chelsea 0
Booking for Fernandez for booting the ball away when a decision does not go his way.
05:27 PM
63 min: Man City 1 Chelsea 0
John Stones hooks Sterling’s right-foot shot off the line – Sterling was eventually flagged offside but it would have gone to VAR had he scored. Sterling did well to diddle Ortega when running through with the ball on his left then selling him a dummy while switching to his right to shoot.
05:24 PM
61 min: Man City 1 Chelsea 0
Palmer loops back on Azpilicueta then burns away from him, gliding down the left until he cuts in and slips.
05:22 PM
59 min: Man City 1 Chelsea 0
The game’s alive: City free-kick swung in by Mahrez and Phillips bludgeons a header into the foot of the post. Chelsea counter down the middle through Sterling and Hall who draws a good save from Ortega with a low, left-foot shot arrowing towards the bottom corner.
05:18 PM
57 min: Man City 1 Chelsea 0
But lo! What’s this. A massive chorus of Johnny, Johnny Stones to herald the first substitution:
Akanji ⇠ Stones.
05:17 PM
56 min: Man City 1 Chelsea 0
The crowd has gone to sleep, And so has the game.
05:13 PM
53 min: Man City 1 Chelsea 0
Chelsea free-kick 35 yards out. Fernandez swings it to the back post from the left and Chalobah heads it weakly at Ortega.
05:12 PM
51 min: Man City 1 Chelsea 0
Sterling picks off Palmer’s misplaced pass and goes on a 40-yard burst, dribbling, head up. Hall is to his left, keeping pace, and he eventually feeds him a pass. Hall cuts in on to his right and smacks a right-foot shot straight down Ortega’s throat.
05:10 PM
49 min: Man City 1 Chelsea 0
Gallagher makes good ground through the centre-right but, instead of shooting, tries to pass to HAvertz who could not have been more surprised.
05:09 PM
47 min: Man City 1 Chelsea 0
Laporte, with a fetching blue rinse, slides a pass out of play. Got his angles wrong. Gomez doesn’t give him a glare. Guardiola probably did.
05:07 PM
46 min: Man City 1 Chelsea 0
The half a billion-dollar bench is warming up and receiving warm applause.
04:52 PM
Half-time: Man City 1 Chelsea 0
City may not have their normal intensity but have the look of a side that can pick this disjointed and haphazardly assembled Chelsea side off at will, particularly down the flanks. Chelsea have woken up and strung a few decent moves together latterly but have the look of a side that have no confidence or established passing patterns.
04:50 PM
45 min: Man City 1 Chelsea 0
Chelsea free-kick that Havertz hammers into the wall and bounces invitingly towards Sterling but Lewis, an insanely talented player, was alert, read the bounce and snapped in to out the ball behind and stop him getting the shot away.
04:46 PM
43 min: Man City 1 Chelsea 0
Alvarez gets to the byline, checks back and rolls the ball back to Gomez who squares it to Phillips. He takes a stride and puts his laces through a shot that fades past the right post.
04:44 PM
41 min: Man City 1 Chelsea 0
Very quiet out there. Perhaps the fans have been on the lash since 7pm last night and are dozing in the afternoon sun.
04:44 PM
39 min: Man City 1 Chelsea 0
Phillips and Lewis are doing well in that double pivot role. Phillips’ range of passing is broad but his accuracy not in Rodri’s elite class yet.
04:39 PM
37 min: Man City 1 Chelsea 0
Better from Chelsea and a fine cross on the run from Hall. Gallagher stoops to head it beyond the far post and Ortega keeps it out with the help of the woodwork.
04:38 PM
35 min: Man City 1 Chelsea 0
Chelsea free-kick 30 yards out, right of centre. Fernandez takes it and aims for the back post and Thiago Silva. Walker stops the run and the ball floats out for a goal-kick.
04:36 PM
33 min: Man City 1 Chelsea 0
Sterling is sent down the inside-left by Gallagher’s pass. He takes it couple of strides forward, pursued by Akanji, then shoots with his left foot. Ortega spreads himself and saves with his left boot.
04:35 PM
31 min: Man City 1 Chelsea 0
Chelsea have good players but are a bad team. Like a rich man’s Leeds who have poor players and are a bad team.
04:34 PM
28 min: Man City 1 Chelsea 0
Great pass from Phillips from the centre-circle, arrowing it across the inside-right channel. Foden meets it with an insouciant dink that scares the pants off Kepa as he back-pedals but the ball swerves away from the left post at the death.
04:31 PM
26 min: Man City 1 Chelsea 0
City continue to probe, making it seem as if they can change tempo with such deceptive ease that they could fillet Chelsea whenever they want.
04:27 PM
23 min: Man City 1 Chelsea 0
Chelsea are wide open down the right side of their defence and Palmer combines with Foden to pierce the sinew between Azpilicueta and Fofana to stride into the box and look for the far corner with a left-foot shot that beats Kepa. Chalobah, though, hacks it clear.
04:25 PM
21 min: Man City 1 Chelsea 0
Alvarez crunches his metatarsals on Fofana’s studs but he soon recovers albeit with a hobbling gait for half a minute.
04:23 PM
20 min: Man City 1 Chelsea 0
Gary Neville says Frank Lampard has the air of a manger who doesn’t like his players. Given they have no passing shape or structure, perhaps the feeling is mutual.
04:20 PM
17 min: Man City 1 Chelsea 0
Havertz is booked for a foul on Phillips, his left leg lancing out to send him flying.
04:19 PM
15 min: Man City 1 Chelsea 0
Azpilicueta looks as if he’s wading through treacle as he strives to get back against City’s surgical passing. Only over-playing and elaborate lay-offs, delaying the shot until Mahrez is played in close to the byline on the right, saves Chelsea who are meek and passive beyond belief.
04:15 PM
GOAL!
Man City 1 Chelsea 0 (Alvarez) Chelsea have been garbage and City’s second team easily pick them off. Phillips intercepts Fofana’s pass and rolls a pass up to Palmer. The Chelsea wing-backs are out of position and so is Fofana now. Palmer glides forward down the inside-left then slips the ball to the World Cup-winner to the right of the D and Alavrez finishes with a lethal shot.
04:14 PM
11 min: Man City 0 Chelsea 0
Executive bench
04:13 PM
9 min: Man City 0 Chelsea 0
Foden has a chance from a City corner, trapping the ball with a fine touch, then lashing his shot wide.
04:10 PM
7 min: Man City 0 Chelsea 0
Sterling makes a near-post run for Azpilicueta’s cross but the Chelsea captain can’t pick him out.
04:09 PM
6 min: Man City 0 Chelsea 0
Chelsea gave Man City a guard of honour on to the pitch:
04:07 PM
4 min: Man City 0 Chelsea 0
From the corner the ball ricochets out to Sergio Gomez who hammers a left-foot shot from 20 yards wide.
04:06 PM
3 min: Man City 0 Chelsea 0
Phillips chips a diagonal out to Palmer, hugging the whitewash on the left. He drives to the byline, leaving Azpilicueta in his vapour trail and stands up a cross that falls to Mahrez who is block-tackled by Fofana. The ball breaks to Phillips 22 yards out and his shot is deflected behind for a corner.
04:04 PM
1 min: Man City 0 Chelsea 0
City sweep the ball from side to side across the defence until Walker chips it long up the right and they move their passing dominance 30 yards forward.
04:02 PM
Blue Moon greets the City players
City are in the huddle. Guardiola sits back in his Stoney. Both sides in their home kits.
03:54 PM
Thanks to Uche Amako for holding the fort
I’ve been trying to keep a lid on my own bile on the West Ham-Leeds blog.
Here’s Raheem in a different kind of blue:
03:43 PM
Gary Neville on Guardiola and City
I have enjoyed watching this Man City team more than in previous seasons or when Pep Guardiola was at Barcelona because l felt as though that was a repetitive, technical machine.
This one has power, strength and on set-pieces they have a team of monsters.
This is a very different Pep Guardiola team in terms of physicality. I like that they are not as perfect on the ball as they were but I think it makes them more dangerous.
I don’t think they would have been able to achieve what they are achieving if they didn’t have that power and physicality and Haaland presence.
The football isn’t technically as perfect but l think it is more entertaining.”
03:38 PM
Pre-match stats
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Manchester City have won their last three Premier League games against Chelsea, all by a 1-0 scoreline.
They’ve never won four in a row against the Blues in their league history. -
Since beating them 1-0 in the 2021 Champions League final, Chelsea have lost their last five meetings with
Man City in all competitions without scoring a single goal. The last team they lost more consecutively
against was Blackburn (7 between 1993 and 1996), while they’ve never lost six in a row against a team
without scoring. -
Manchester City have won all three of their meetings with Chelsea in all competitions this season – the
only side to beat the Blues four times in a single campaign are Manchester United, who did so in 2010-11. -
Manchester City have won their final home league game in eight of the last nine seasons, with the
exception being a 2-2 draw with Arsenal in 2015-16. Their last such defeat came against Norwich in 2012-
13.
03:30 PM
Party time at the Etihad
03:21 PM
Nine changes by Guardiola
Man City: Ortega, Walker, Akanji, Laporte, Gomez, Lewis, Phillips, Foden, Mahrez, Alvarez, Palmer
Subs: Dias, Stones, Gundogan, Haaland, Grealish, Rodri, De Bruyne, Bernardo Silva, Ederson.
Chelsea: Arrizabalaga, Chalobah, Thiago Silva, Wesley Fofana, Azpilicueta, Fernandez, Loftus-Cheek, Hall, Gallagher, Havertz, Sterling.
Subs: Pulisic, Joao Felix, Mudryk, Mendy, Ziyech, Koulibaly, David Datro Fofana, Chukwuemeka, Madueke.
With the title wrapped up, the City boss can wrap his players in cotton wool with the FA Cup and Champions League finals to come.
City have 90 goals on their bench and there’s just 23 in Chelsea’s starting XI.
03:05 PM
Chelsea starting XI
03:04 PM
Man City starting XI
12:58 PM
Preview: Coronation day
Manchester City captain Ilkay Gundogan praised their collective effort after Pep Guardiola’s side were crowned Premier League champions once again following Arsenal’s 1-0 defeat by Nottingham Forest.
“To have helped the club win a third straight Premier League title is something very special,” Gundogan said. “The Premier League is without doubt the most demanding and competitive league in the world so that tells you everything about what an achievement this is.
“This squad is so talented and so special and to have been captain this season has been an enormous privilege. I would also like to thank Pep, all the backroom staff and everyone who works across this football club.
“Every single day they help provide us as players with everything we need in order to try to be successful. There is no way we could have won this title without all their support.
“To have won this trophy three times in a row and five times in six years is incredible. That quality and consistency helps sum up what Manchester City stand for and ensures the club will continue to strive for success going forward.
“It has been a season I will never forget. Our amazing fans have been with us every single step of the way.
“Without their amazing backing I don’t think there is any way we would have been able to achieve what we have done these past six seasons.”
Erling Haaland, whose goals helped fire City to the title, wrote on Twitter: “Always give your best. Always believe. It pays off. C’mon City!”
City defender Aymeric Laporte posted: “What a season tho. Credit to absolutely everyone involved from top to bottom.
“Every one of use fought for this. More to come soon hopefully but we can already be proud of this one.”
Kyle Walker added: “Arsenal pushed us right to the limit they’ve been fantastic, so all credit to them. We just went on an incredible run, they had a few hiccups and we capitalised on it and we’ve managed to end up where we have now.
“It’s the players we’ve got. We’re a bunch of lads who have achieved so much over the last number of years and we understand the standards we’ve set. We achieved so much over the past five or six years, but we knew the bar wasn’t high enough at the start of the season.
“The standards of the Premier League have gone up, but this is what this club is built for, certainly that’s how it’s been for the six years I’ve been here, so fair play to everyone involved.
“You’ve got to be ready at the business end of the season because that’s what this club is all about and what we are built for.”
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