Both Chelsea boss Jose Mourinho and Manchester City counterpart will be confident of winning the Premier League title
Reigning champions Manchester City went to Premier League leaders Chelsea and drew 1-1.
The draw leaves City five points behind the South West London blues, but their second half performance proved that they are still up for the fight for the Premier League title.
Vital
As I stated in yesterday’s article the game at Stamford Bridge could prove to be vital in the race for the Premier League table.
The game was seen as a game that neither team could afford to lose. As expected the game was a tight one.
Settled
Manchester City had slightly more of the second half, dominating possession and looking to win the game, but the Citizens created very little in the way of clear-cut chances against a resolute Chelsea backline.
Chelsea boss Jose Mourinho in typical wily fashion decided to settle for the draw by making defensive substitutions. The decision to settle for the draw and maintain their five point lead at the top of the Premier League.
Mourinho is not regarded as a top boss for no reason. The point against Manchester City could prove to be decisive come the end of the season.
Chance
City may just have missed an opportunity to make up ground on the league leaders in the table, as in the second half the Citizens looked the more likely winners of this game.
The Blues no doubt missed Spanish duo Cesc Fabregas and Diego Costa and the way the game went the home side would have been glad to come out of the game with a point, especially having played 120 minutes against Liverpool on Tuesday night.
The likes of James Milner, Jesus Navas and David Silva all probed the Chelsea defence, but could not create anything clear-cut in the second period.
Manchester City were also missing two key players in Ivorian midfielder Yaya Toure and French midfielder Samir Nasri, so they were not at full strength either. Despite missing player’s City showed that they can still go to a rival teams ground and look to win.
They showed very little fear in the second half, as they looked to find a winner. Unfortunately for them and fortunately for Chelsea they did not have enough cutting edge going forward to score a second goal.
Accustomed
It seems that being the chaser, rather than the chased is a position that Manchester City are now accustomed to and some may say prefer. City claimed the title after closing a gap last season on Liverpool and Chelsea.
It seems that City do like to make life hard for themselves and on both occasions that the Citizens have won the league they have had to recovery big deficits. The champions have been there, done it and bought the t-shirt.
Stronger
City still have the likes of Yaya Toure, Samir Nasri and Wilfried Bony to return to the squad and City will no doubt be much stronger when Vincent Kompany and Sergio Aguero are back to full match fitness.
Manchester City have a history of having strong finishes in recent seasons. They seem to be able to find form when it matters most in the Premier League. They have experienced campaigners who raise their game when needed and never seem to give up.
Favourites
Yesterday’s draw means that Chelsea have to be regarded as favourites to claim the Premier League title. Just like City, Chelsea have experienced players who have won big silverware in the past.
Blues boss Jose Mourinho is also experienced at winning league titles and the big trophies. The Portuguese looks set to sign Colombian international winger Juan Cuadrado, who could be a very useful signing.
There is very few more experienced, or decorated bosses currently managing in Europe. He will be confident that his side can go on and complete the job.
Strangely though, City will also feel confident that they can finish the season in a strong manner and claim the Premier League crown this season. Yesterday’s game taught us very little that we did not already know.
The race for the Premier League title is likely to go down to the wire. Both teams have the experience and quality to win the title. It remains to be seen who will claim the crown.
Did we learn anything from yesterday’s draw?
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