28-year-old is world class: Three things we learned about Chelsea from win v Man City
By Dominic Toner
Football Insider analyses three talking points from Chelsea’s 3-1 against Manchester City in the Premier League.
Chelsea are title favourites
Chelsea must now be considered the favourites fro the Premier League title. Antonio Conte’s side made it eight consecutive Premier League victories and delivered a perfect away performance against title rivals Manchester City. The Blues hit back from a goal down at half-time to gain a valuable three points, with Diego Costa, Willian and Eden Hazard scoring. They will have dealt a huge psychological blow to Manchester City and are the in-form side in England. The new 3-4-3 formation seems the perfect solution for Chelsea and they have beaten the likes of Manchester City, Manchester United and Tottenham in their winning run.
Costa is world-class
Diego Costa delivered an outstanding second-half performance against Manchester City. Chelsea were trailing 1-0 at the break, but the 28-year-old inspired a remarkable comeback. The striker levelled the scoring after controlling the ball on the chest to get past the defender and cooly slotting home. He then made the assist for Willian’s goal and was unplayable. Costa has found the right balance of aggression this season and is now leading the golden boot race with 11 league goals. The Spaniard was involved in everything good in the second-half and demonstrated his ability to hold up the ball and take on a man.
Chelsea have great options
Cess Fabregas and Willian both proved their importance to the Chelsea squad against Manchester City. Fabregas started the match in place of the injured Nemanja Matic and looked assured alongside N’Golo Kante. The Spaniard reminded his manager of his qualities with a phenomenal assist for Diego Costa’s goal and could be crucial in their title pursuit. Chelsea winger Willian also made a great impact off the bench with a decisive counter attacking goal. He has been restricted to the bench during a winning run, but showed why he the club’s Player of the Year last season.
In other Chelsea news, the player ratings from the win against Manchester City.