It was a high-energy game at the Etihad on Saturday as Chelsea visited Man City under the floodlights.

City are in pursuit of the Premier League title for 4th season in a row and the 6th time in 7 years, while Chelsea’s main goal is finding consistency and fighting for a place in Europe. 

The game was off to a fast start under heavy downpour in Manchester, and it was Raheem Sterling who opened the scoring just before half-time, when Walker allowed him to go inside to his favourite right foot to make the picture of the goal bigger. It looked like that could have been the decisive goal with Man City missing a few key chances to get them back in the game.

De Bruyne and Haaland both came close to scoring but Chelsea held to their lead well, with Haaland missing a header from just 6 yards out deep into the second half. City kept piling on the pressure and their goal did come when Rodrigo smashed the ball home in the 83rd minute.

There was a late penalty call for City that went to VAR review but was ultimately turned down, meaning it was all level and a point each.

The draw means the reigning champions remain third in the Premier League table on 53 points, two behind Arsenal who won with ease against Burnley at the weekend, with the scoreboard reading 5-0 at full-time. Liverpool also beat Brentford 4-1, and remained top of the league on 57 points.

City do have an important game in hand on both teams above them and can leapfrog Arsenal and close the gap on Liverpool to one point with a win.

Meanwhile Chelsea are in 10th place, two points behind Newcastle with both of those teams hoping to climb the table in the second half of the season. But holding Man City at the Etihad will be considered a great result for Chelsea and something to keep building on.

That was the result that should help Chelsea’s confidence going into the Carabao Cup Final this weekend against Liverpool. This game is one of the most important of the season for Chelsea, knowing the club wants European football every season, and winning some silverware could deliver that. #mmlove