MOTD: Chelsea 1-1 Manchester City

By on September 21, 2014

Football.  Bloody hell.  That one famous quote undeniably defined today’s set of Premier League matches – Manchester United lost 5-3 to Leicester, Everton were beaten 3-2 by Crystal Palace, and Tottenham Hotspur lost 1-0 to West Bromwich Albion. On the face of it Chelsea drawing Manchester City 1-1 might seem about as normal as you could get, but it was undeniably weird to see Frank Lampard in a Manchester City shirt, playing against Chelsea. Lampard himself seemed completely overcome with emotion. As the match ended he seemed unsure whether to succumb to tears or hide inside his shirt. Or both.

When Lampard came on for Aleksander Kolarov with ten minutes to go, Manuel Pellegrini certainly had the 36-year-old’s history with Chelsea in mind. What his exact intentions were only he and his assistants may know, possibly to allow James Milner to move to left-back, hardly any of us were expecting, not even the legend himself, for Lampard to come on… and score.

“It’s a tough one. I didn’t expect to come on and score today.” – Frank Lampard

Lampard bowed down from celebrating the goal, and at the end, he applauded, and was applauded off by, Chelsea fans, as well as City fans. It was a touching moment, one that is the kind which make the Premier League.

It had been a well fought match, by all means. But both sides came together, to an extent, at the end. Largely because a draw was probably a fair result for both sides. City opened dominantly, however, Chelsea were set up to attack on the counter-attack. Just a quarter-hour in City had already completed more than twice as many passes as Chelsea, and Yaya Toure had threatened with a header which forced Thibaut Coutois into action. However, their early momentum faded as the first half wore on, yet they still managed to neutralize Chelsea’s breaks well. The Blues’ biggest chance of the half came in the form of a penalty claim as Gary Cahill’s header was blocked by the arm of Yaya Toure.

City’s two full-backs were perhaps their most dangerous points of attack, considering Eden Hazard didn’t drop back and Chelsea’s full-backs were full with the constant rotation City’s forwards and attacking midfielders down the wing. When Milner was out in at left-back, it was him more than Lampard who created the latter’s goal. The versatile player was put in down the left side, and cut it back in the middle to the run of Lampard, who, after a split-second pause, seemed to decided that he should indeed take the chance against his old club, and volleyed it home at Joe Hart’s near post.

It was not against the run of play, as City had been pushing men up as the match neared its end, but more surprising that Chelsea gave away their lead. Mourinho’s side themselves had been up against it early on in the second half, with City pushing forward and Fernandinho blasting wide in the forty-seventh minute, as well as Aguero testing Courtois, but one quick counter and they were up. It was their first fast past, dangerous counter-attack of the math, but it only went to show that Mourinho’s men have discipline as well as the attacking wealth they have shown earlier this season. Eden Hazard combined with Cesc Fabregas before, Diego Costa, who had been overpowered by Vincent Kompany and Eliaguim Mangala for most of the match, played it wide right to Hazard, and the Belgian sent a low far-post cross in which Andre Schurrle tapped home. It was a brilliant counter, and Chelsea briefly were on top, as Costa hit the post. Lampard was the only man who could crack their lead. Ironic, but true.
Man of the Match: James Milner

About Alex Morgan

Alex Morgan, founder of Football Every Day, lives and breaths football from the West Coast of the United States in California. Aside from founding Football Every Day in January of 2013, Alex has also launched his own journalism career and hopes to help others do the same with FBED. He covers the San Jose Earthquakes as a beat reporter for QuakesTalk.com and his work has also been featured in the BBC's Match of the Day Magazine.