Chelsea 0-1 Manchester City: Gabriel Jesus fires dominant visitors to victory

Manchester City produced an impressive display to end Chelsea's unbeaten start to the season with a deserved victory at Stamford Bridge.

In the meeting between two sides fully expected to fight it out for this season's Premier League title, the reigning champions dominated against a strangely passive and conservative Chelsea.

Gabriel Jesus settled a tight affair when his 53rd-minute effort took a touch off Jorginho to beat Chelsea keeper Edouard Mendy - but few could question City's right to the win against the team who beat them in last May's Champions League final, and the victory margin should have been far more emphatic.

Jesus almost added a second when Thiago Silva cleared his effort off the line while Aymeric Laporte should have scored but somehow slid a shot wide from inside the six-yard box.

Mendy also produced two crucial saves from the excellent Jack Grealish.

It was the perfect start to a crucial week for City and manager Pep Guardiola as they prepare to visit Paris St-Germain in the Champions League this week then take on Liverpool at Anfield next Sunday.

Man City make a champion statement

Manchester City's start to the season has been mixed in some respects but this was the champions back to their best and letting one of their main title rivals know they will not give up their crown lightly.

Guardiola's side were on the front foot from the first whistle as Chelsea seemed reluctant to commit to attack, the only complaint about their first-half supremacy being an inability to create clear opportunities despite their domination of possession.

All that changed after the break and Jesus made the decisive contribution as his shot in a packed penalty area took that vital touch off Jorginho to leave Mendy motionless and beaten.

It was a deserved reward for the Brazilian striker, who took a real buffeting at the hands of Chelsea's defence, particularly Antonio Rudiger, but took the knocks without complaint and ended up being the match-winner.

Guardiola cut an increasingly agitated figure as the minutes ticked down, presumably because City had failed to finish off Chelsea despite controlling all aspects of the game. The chances came and went, Mendy made saves to keep Chelsea alive, but in the end all was well that ended well for City.

This was a performance with few flaws apart from that lack of ruthlessness, with Laporte and Ruben Dias in total command at the heart of defence, Kevin de Bruyne adding flourishes in midfield and Grealish prompting throughout.

Grealish wears his £100m price tag lightly, playing with freedom and a smile on his face. He could have had two goals - and certainly should have had one when Mendy saved at his feet - and created opportunities for others.

When he was substituted with minutes to go as Guardiola looked to close out the win, he responded to the jeers of Chelsea's fans with a beaming smile.

This was a job very well done by Grealish - and Manchester City.

Chelsea suffer at Guardiola's hands

As Manchester City took total control, Chelsea's misery was illustrated by the grim statistic that they did not muster a single shot on target. And this is a fair reflection of their performance.

Thomas Tuchel's side have looked a powerhouse this season, even winning games when not playing well as they did against Aston Villa, and earning a point at Anfield despite being down to 10 men for 45 minutes.

This, in contrast, was a dreadful display which spluttered throughout, barely getting out of first gear and rarely giving Manchester City goalkeeper Ederson an anxious moment.

Tuchel has rightly been hailed for his tactical acumen since his arrival at Chelsea, particularly when overcoming this same Manchester City side to win the Champions League in Porto.

Here, however, Tuchel was in furious and frustrated mood from the first whistle as Chelsea failed to lay a glove on City, although his set up of three defensively-minded midfield players in N'Golo Kante, Jorginho and Mateo Kovacic did not help.

Chelsea strike pair of Romelu Lukaku and Timo Werner were cut adrift, although the performances and touch of both strikers disappointed on the rare occasions they were able to get into the game.

Player of the match

Bernardo SilvaBernardo Silva

Chelsea

Squad number16Player nameMendy

Squad number7Player nameKanté

Squad number28Player nameAzpilicueta

Squad number6Player nameThiago Silva

Squad number4Player nameChristensen

Squad number2Player nameRüdiger

Squad number12Player nameLoftus-Cheek

Squad number8Player nameKovacic

Squad number9Player nameLukaku

Squad number3Player nameAlonso

Squad number11Player nameWerner

Squad number24Player nameJames

Squad number5Player nameJorginho

Squad number29Player nameHavertz

Line-ups

Chelsea

Formation 3-5-2

16Mendy

28Azpilicueta4Christensen2Rüdiger

24James7Kanté5Jorginho8Kovacic3Alonso

9Lukaku11Werner

Substitutes

Man City

Formation 4-3-3

31Ederson

2Walker3Rúben Dias14Laporte27Cancelo

20Bernardo Silva16Rodri17De Bruyne

9Gabriel Jesus47Foden10Grealish

Substitutes

Live Text

Match ends, Chelsea 0, Manchester City 1.

Second Half ends, Chelsea 0, Manchester City 1.

Rúben Dias (Manchester City) is shown the yellow card for a bad foul.

Foul by Rúben Dias (Manchester City).

Romelu Lukaku (Chelsea) wins a free kick in the defensive half.

Foul by João Cancelo (Manchester City).

Timo Werner (Chelsea) wins a free kick on the right wing.

Offside, Manchester City. Ederson tries a through ball, but Raheem Sterling is caught offside.

Ederson (Manchester City) wins a free kick in the defensive half.

Foul by Kai Havertz (Chelsea).

Attempt missed. Marcos Alonso (Chelsea) left footed shot from more than 40 yards on the left wing misses to the right. Assisted by Antonio Rüdiger.

Foul by Bernardo Silva (Manchester City).

Mateo Kovacic (Chelsea) wins a free kick in the defensive half.

Substitution, Manchester City. Raheem Sterling replaces Jack Grealish.

Substitution, Manchester City. Fernandinho replaces Phil Foden.

Attempt blocked. Timo Werner (Chelsea) left footed shot from the right side of the box is blocked. Assisted by César Azpilicueta.

Antonio Rüdiger (Chelsea) is shown the yellow card for a bad foul.

Riyad Mahrez (Manchester City) wins a free kick in the attacking half.

Foul by Antonio Rüdiger (Chelsea).

Attempt saved. Jack Grealish (Manchester City) right footed shot from the centre of the box is saved in the centre of the goal. Assisted by Phil Foden with a through ball.

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