Source: Man_City
Chelsea 2 City 4
Manchester City stunned Premier League leaders Chelsea with an emphatic 4-2 victory at Stamford Bridge. The win sends the Blues back into the top four, for now at least, and reinvigorates their stuttering challenge for a Champions League spot. Much of the hype before the game centred on the handshake between Wayne Bridge and John Terry in the pre-match formalities as the pair came face-to-face for the first since the former England captain's alleged affair with the mother of Bridge's son. It turned out to be a non-event, literally, as the City left back ignored Terry's outstretched hand. When the game finally kicked off, it started slowly with both sides looking sluggish after their physically-draining midweek defeats. Joe Cole hit an early drive which Shay Given parried away and Didier Drogba headed a decent chance over from six yards. As the half wore on Chelsea seized control and almost went ahead when Vincent Kompany sliced an intended clearance over his own bar. Pablo Zabaleta needed treatment following a pretty severe clash of heads that also involved Drogba and Micah Richards and the visitors were slow to respond after a lengthy delay. And Chelsea punished them when Joe Cole spotted Frank Lampard's perfectly-timed run and the England midfielder fired home precisely off the far post. But Carlos Tevez stunned the home fans when he latched on John Obi Mickel misguided header. He turned inside Terry and miscued a shot which trickled past Hilario. And City could have gone in ahead when Joleon Lescott headed wide after finding space in the box. However, Roberto Mancini's men stole the lead at the start of the second half when Craig Bellamy caught Chelsea out with a classic counter-attack. The winger raced clear and took on Mikel before firing past Hilario with his left foot. Chelsea threw on Solomon Kalou and former City striker Daniel Sturridge as they tried desperately to get back in the game. But City were defending defiantly with Bridge exemplary despite being booed by many sections of the home fans. And the visitors caught them out again when Gareth Barry caught Juliano Belletti and drew a foul from the Brazilian as he raced in on goal. Belletti was red carded and Tevez smashed home the resulting penalty. Chelsea were reduced to nine men when Michael Ballack was shown a second yellow card for a late tackle on Tevez. And City added a fourth when Shaun Wright-Phillips broke in a five v three attack and laid the ball across for Bellamy to tap home. There was still time for Chelsea to grab a consolation goal when Lampard fired home from the penalty spot after Barry brought down Anelka.
