Haaland failed, Manchester City missed great chance and Liverpool celebrate

Manchester City had the challenge on Saturday to get a win at Etihad Stadium that would allow them to stay close to Liverpool at the top of the Premier League standings. The Reds had played a few hours earlier and had beaten Brentford 4-1. In addition, Arsenal had also won their match against Burnley. So the pressure was on The Citizens, who with a game in hand depended on themselves to reach the top of the league.

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But the mission was not easy. They faced Chelsea, one of the top teams in the country who, despite not having performed convincingly during the season, have top players who can make the difference at any time. And they did. During the first half the visitors found a way to neutralize Manchester City's talented attacking players, making it difficult for the ball to reach Erling Haaland.

And in the offensive aspect The Blues also followed coach Mauricio Pochettino's plan to perfection: at every ball recovery, they attacked with a lot of speed looking to take advantage of the talents of Cole Palmer, Nicolas Jackson and Raheem Sterling. The latter had two clear chances, in the first one he missed and in the second one he redeemed himself and scored the opener with a right foot shot.

After the break, however, things changed. Pep Guardiola's team, needing to find the leveller, took control of the ball and pushed their opponents into their own box. After a few wasted chances, Rodri scored the equaliser with a strong shot that deflected slightly off a Chelsea defender. And then Erling Haaland had a chance to complete the comeback, but missed a header.

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What's next for them?

Next Tuesday Manchester City will play their remaining game against Brentford and, should they win, they will be just one point behind Liverpool in the standings. For Chelsea it will also be a key week, as next Sunday at Wembley Stadium they will face Liverpool in the Carabao Cup final.