Chelsea vs Man City: Guardiola's men punish hapless Blues as Arsenal's nightmare begins

A stunning second-half performance powered Manchester City to a vital 3-0 victory over Chelsea in a major weekend for the Premier League title race.

City started the game probing for an opening and applying pressure in the early stages, but it was Chelsea who got on top and carried the greater threat.

A swift Blues move culminated in Cole Palmer smashing his shot into the side netting, while Joao Pedro saw an attempt deflected wide by Abdukodir Khusanov before finding Marc Cucurella for a goal that was ruled out for offside.

Pep Guardiola's men started the second half with more urgency, and with Erling Haaland already having seen a shot blocked by Jorrel Hato, went ahead within six minutes of the restart.

Nico O’Reilly shrugged off Santos to head home Rayan Cherki’s cross.

Just six minutes later, Cherki took his PL assist tally for the season to 10 when he danced across the edge of Chelsea’s box and found Marc Guéhi with a pinpoint pass that was followed by an equally precise finish from the centre-back.

City compounded Chelsea's woes just four minutes later as Jérémy Doku teamed up with Cherki to dispossess Moises Caicedo and finish, sending the Cityzens 6 points behind Arsenal, with a game in hand.