(Manchester City-Chelsea 2-0) Erling Braut Haaland (22) sat on the bench throughout the match, watching his Manchester City teammates manage a controlled advance in the League Cup against Chelsea.
The equal first half was replaced by two goals from Manchester City after the break, and there was no doubt as to where the victory in the third round of the League Cup would end. Nor was it terribly surprising that Erling Braut Haaland remained an unused reserve, judging by manager Pep Guardiola’s comments the day before.
– It’s still incomplete. I will see you tomorrow. The important thing is that there is no broken bone, only some damage to the ligaments. He said it’s not perfect now Manchester City coach Pep Guardiola About the Norwegian star on Tuesday.
Haaland joined Kevin De Bruyne on the bench, where they were able to see two quick goals after the break, led by Riyad Mahrez after a free kick and the vigilance of Julian. Alvarez, national team member Haaland was allowed to rest the minor ligament injury mentioned by Guardiola on Tuesday.
Manchester City did well against the burdened Chelsea side from the start:
The hosts dominated the pitch, but it was Chelsea and Christian Pulisic who created the biggest chances. The American was given a great opportunity by Hakim Ziyech to send the Blues into the lead, but a dull strike and Stefan Ortega, with his foot remaining, secured a corner kick rather than dashing into the net.
Later in the half, Pulisic got another good chance when he forced Ortega out at full capacity after a shot just outside the penalty area.
Manchester City’s big takeover eventually forced them to get a good chance or two. It was played about half an hour in that time Alvarez finished his goal from a distance of nine metres, but Kalidou Koulibaly was stopped by a good shot.
2004 model Lewis Hall came up with Chelsea’s biggest chance in the half just before the break. The youngster performed a brilliant trick on his counterpart Rico Luis before he had an all-time chance to score. However, the shot was much weaker than the drag and ended up in the middle of goalkeeper Ortega.
But after the break, there was a much bigger difference between the two teams. Nine minutes into the second half, Mahrez hit a free kick from just over 18 metres. While the entire Chelsea wall jumped, Koulibaly remained standing. Had the Senegalese followed his teammates, the goal would have been averted.
A few minutes later, Mahrez and the host team moved again. The Algerian received a torn ball from Alvarez before Mendy’s test in the Chelsea cage. The goalkeeper had to release the ball and Alvarez was the fastest to come back, who could celebrate his seventh goal of the season.
Chelsea had two great chances later in the half to equalize, but it wasn’t the case. Hall had another great opportunity, but Ederson’s replacement Ortega did very well for the hosts on Wednesday.
It’s not just Chelsea who can forget their trip to Wembley on February 26.
The same applies to the two London rivals Arsenal and Tottenham, who both suffered surprising losses.
Arsenal lost 1-3 at home to Brighton, while Tottenham lost 0-2 away to Nottingham Forest.
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