Manchester City have lost ground in the Premier League title race after they were held by an impressive Chelsea outfit in a riveting 1-1 draw at the Etihad Stadium on Saturday evening.
Three months on from their enthralling 4-4 draw at Stamford Bridge, both teams were involved in another action-packed basketball-style contest, in which Raheem Sterling haunted his former club with a 42nd-minute opener to give the visitors a deserved first-half lead.
Man City were surprisingly wasteful in front of goal throughout the match, with talisman Erling Haaland failing to convert any of his nine attempts on goal, but they managed to net a crucial equaliser seven minutes from time courtesy of a thunderous strike from Rodri.
Mauricio Pochettino's men have come up against the might of Pep Guardiola's treble winners twice this term, and twice they have admirably claimed a point, their latest ensuring that they climb back into the top half of the table on goal difference.
As for Man City, they have slipped to third in the top-flight standings as Arsenal's thumping 5-0 win over Burnley has seen them climb to second place, while Liverpool have moved four points clear of the Citizens – who still have a game in hand – following their 4-1 victory at Brentford.
Four days after winning 3-1 away against Copenhagen in the Champions League, Guardiola opted to make three changes to his starting lineup with Manuel Akanji, Julian Alvarez and Jeremy Doku all returning at the expense of John Stones, Bernardo Silva and the injured Jack Grealish.
As for Chelsea, Pochettino made just the two changes to the lineup that began the 3-1 victory over Crystal Palace on Monday – one was enforced with the injured Thiago Silva replaced by Levi Colwill, while ex-Citizens man Sterling was handed a start at the expense of Noni Madueke.
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Both sides made promising starts to the contest, but the first big chance fell to the hosts on the 10-minute mark as Haaland towered above Colwill to meet Alvarez's dangerous delivery from the left flank, only to thump his header over the crossbar from five yards out.
Chelsea responded well and burst down the other end just moments later through Sterling, but his tame effort after cutting inside from the left was comfortably collected by Ederson.
Nathan Ake was then on hand to make a crucial sliding tackle to deny Cole Palmer a shot on goal shortly after Ederson found himself in a spot of bother on the left side of his penalty area where he was dispossessed by Nicolas Jackson.
Chelsea should have opened the scoring on the 21-minute mark when Malo Gusto broke down the right wing and teed up Jackson clean through on goal, but the cross into the penalty box landed just behind the Senegalese striker, and his poor first touch allowed Ederson to smother the ball and make amends for his earlier mistake.
Another big chance fell to the visitors just before the half-hour mark, but Ederson came off his line again to deal with the danger, this time getting the better of Sterling, whose poor touch was intercepted after running in behind City's backline – Doku at the other end then curled a low-driven shot straight at Dorde Petrovic just second later.
Man City were trying to camp themselves in Chelsea's half and they pushed for an opener, but in doing so left themselves exposed, and at the third time of asking, Sterling made the breakthrough for the visitors three minutes before half time.
Jackson began the counter-attack for Chelsea down their right flank and played a perfectly-weighted cross across the penalty area to Sterling, who coolly cut inside and lifted his finish over the challenges of Kyle Walker and Ederson into the far corner.
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Sterling, who also scored against his former club in November's aforementioned 4-4 draw, has become the first player to score both home and away against Man City in a single Premier League campaign having previously played for the Citizens in the competition.
Chelsea's opener enraged Guardiola on the touchline, and although Man City looked to respond quickly before the half-time whistle blew, chances from Haaland and Alvarez were dealt with by a resilient Blues backline, largely thanks to the heroic efforts of Axel Disasi.
Man City made a bright start to the second half and almost restored parity just two minutes after the restart when Kevin De Bruyne's free kick from the edge of the penalty area dipped just past the top corner and onto the roof of the net.
Doku was a livewire down the left wing and almost teed up Phil Foden for a shot at the back post, shortly before the latter turned provider for Haaland, but he was presented with a cross at an awkward height and could only divert his left-footed volley wide.
Another heart-in-the-mouth moment for City occurred on the 56-minute mark when Chelsea came agonisingly close to adding a second. However, Ederson made an exceptional save with his outstretched right leg to deny Sterling from point-blank range before the hosts' scrambled their way to safety.
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The contest quickly became stretched as both teams searched for a game-changing goal; Man City duo Foden and Haaland both had shots blocked in front of goal by Disasi and Colwill, before Petrovic kept out a venenose strike from Haaland with a superb stop at his near post.
Chelsea then missed a glorious chance to score a second, but substitute Christopher Nkunku, just seconds after entering the field of play, looked rusty and opted against a first-time shot inside the box before Enzo Fernandez ran in the way of Jackson's effort on goal which was blazed over.
Haaland was arguably presented with his and Man City's best chance of the evening on the 78-minute mark when he broke clear of Chelsea's backline to meet De Bruyne's whipped delivery into the penalty box; the Norwegian was left unmarked from around six yards out but he somehow powered his header inches over the crossbar.
Man City's relentless pressure in the final third eventually told five minutes later, albeit in scrappy circumstances, as Walker's drilled effort from range smacked into the legs of Haaland before rolling into the path of Rodri, who unleashed a rocket of a shot through a cluster of Chelsea bodies into the back of the net.
The Etihad faithful were on the edge of their seats as the champions pushed for a late winner in stoppage time, but Chelsea held on to claim a share of the spoils, ending Man City's 11-game winning run in the process.
Guardiola and co will look to return to winning ways when they play host to Brentford next Tuesday, while Chelsea shift their attention to the EFL Cup final against Liverpool at Wembley Stadium next Sunday.
Oliver Thomas
