Mateo Kovacic made his mark against his former team, Chelsea, by scoring a goal in Manchester City’s victory at Stamford Bridge in what was Enzo Maresca’s first game as Chelsea manager.
The match started with Erling Haaland putting City ahead with a goal in the first half. Kovacic sealed the victory for the champions with a late strike. Bernardo Silva set up Haaland’s goal by passing the ball to him from Jeremy Doku’s cross from the left. Haaland managed to get past Marc Cucurella and chipped the ball past goalkeeper Robert Sanchez.
Chelsea thought they had equalised when Nicolas Jackson scored, but the goal was disallowed due to an offside call. In the second half, City also had a goal disallowed after Rico Lewis scored following a foul by Haaland on Levi Colwill.
Maresca introduced new signings Pedro Neto, Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall, and Marc Guiu as substitutes as Chelsea pushed for a goal. Despite their efforts, Jackson missed a clear chance to score as he couldn’t get the better of Ederson from close range. Additionally, Renato Veiga made his debut after Cucurella had to leave the pitch due to an injury.
Kovacic put the game to bed with his goal after capitalizing on a mistake by Chelsea in possession. His shot slipped past Sanchez, who should have done better to prevent the goal.
The Chelsea lineup included Sanchez, Gusto, Fofana, Colwill, Cucurella (Veiga 81), Lavia (Dewsbury-Hall 67), Caicedo, Fernandez, Palmer, Jackson (Guiu 67), Nkunku (Neto 58). The unused substitutes were Jorgensen, Badiashile, Tosin, Madueke, and Mudryk.
Overall, Manchester City’s victory showcased their strength against a Chelsea side undergoing a transition under a new manager. Kovacic’s goal added insult to injury for his former team, highlighting City’s dominance in the game.
