Manchester City overturned an early deficit to secure a 3-1 victory over Chelsea at the Etihad Stadium on Saturday, with long passes proving pivotal in their comeback.
Chelsea struck first through Noni Madueke, but City responded with goals from Josko Gvardiol, Erling Haaland, and Phil Foden—all stemming from direct passes—to seal a morale-boosting win.
This result lifts Pep Guardiola’s side to fourth in the Premier League on goal difference, helping them recover from their midweek Champions League setback against Paris Saint-Germain.
Meanwhile, Chelsea’s struggles persist as they drop to sixth, having managed just one victory in their last seven league outings (D3 L3).
Guardiola handed debuts to new arrivals Abdukodir Khusanov and Omar Marmoush.
Khusanov, however, endured a challenging introduction to the Premier League. Within three minutes, the young Uzbek misjudged a pass back to Ederson, gifting the ball to Nicolas Jackson, who teed up Madueke for an easy tap-in to give Chelsea an early lead.
Khusanov’s woes continued when he received a yellow card in the fourth minute for bringing down Cole Palmer. It was clear the debutant was finding the occasion tougher than anticipated.
Chelsea nearly doubled their advantage on a counterattack, but Palmer’s final pass to Jackson went astray. Khusanov redeemed himself by blocking Enzo Fernández’s resulting effort.
Marmoush, on the other hand, offered bright moments with his runs troubling Chelsea’s defense.
Yet it was Gvardiol who came closest to equalizing in the first half, skying an effort from the left side of the box in the 25th minute.
City thought they had leveled in the 34th minute when Marmoush followed up a spilled save by Robert Sánchez from Ilkay Gündogan’s shot, only for the goal to be ruled offside. Gvardiol wasted another opportunity moments later, stabbing wide after latching onto a ball over the top.
Persistence paid off for Gvardiol in the 42nd minute. Gündogan sent a ball over Chelsea’s defense for Matheus Nunes, whose duel with Sánchez saw the ball deflect off Marc Cucurella and land perfectly for Gvardiol to slot home.
After a difficult debut, Khusanov was replaced by John Stones early in the second half, while Marmoush continued to cause problems for Chelsea.
The Egyptian forward narrowly missed the target midway through the half after being set up by Haaland.
Minutes later, Haaland turned the game on its head. A long pass from Ederson allowed the Norwegian striker to outmuscle Trevoh Chalobah, and with Sánchez far off his line, Haaland calmly lobbed the ball into the net to give City the lead.
City sealed the win in the 88th minute. Another Ederson long pass reached Kevin De Bruyne, who flicked it on to Haaland.
Holding up play expertly, Haaland laid the ball off to Foden, whose driving run sliced through Chelsea’s defense before he finished coolly past Sánchez. This marked Foden’s sixth goal in four league matches.
With crucial fixtures ahead—needing a win over Club Brugge to stay in the Champions League and a visit to Arsenal looming—this victory came at a vital time for Guardiola’s men.
