Manchester City send warning to leaders Arsenal with Chelsea mauling
What's the story
Manchester City made a major move in the Premier League 2025-26 title race with a convincing 3-0 victory over Chelsea. The win in Matchweek 32 for City puts pressure on league leaders Arsenal and Chelsea's manager Liam Rosenior. Despite a shaky first half, Pep Guardiola's men took control after the break with goals from Nico O'Reilly, Marc Guehi, and Jeremy Doku. Chelsea, who are in a poor run of form in the Premier League, succumbed under pressure.
Match analysis
Cherki shines in City's victory
The match saw City come alive in the second half, with Rayan Cherki playing a key role. He assisted O'Reilly's goal six minutes into the half and then set up Guehi for another six minutes later. Doku scored the third goal in the 68th minute of the contest to bury Chelsea at Stamford Bridge. Despite a promising first half where Marc Cucurella's strike was ruled offside and Pedro Neto tested Gianluigi Donnarumma, they couldn't keep up with City's second-half onslaught.
Team performance
Chelsea's top-five hopes dim with defeat; City chase Arsenal
Chelsea's defeat puts pressure on their top-five bid. The team now sits four points off Liverpool for the final Champions League spot, having lost their last three league games. The Blues own 48 points from 32 games, having suffered their 10th defeat of the season. On the other hand, City have cut Arsenal's lead to six points, having a game in hand. It could soon be cut to three if City win the same. This was City's 19th win of the season.
Stats
Contrasting stats for the two teams
As per Opta, Chelsea have lost back-to-back Premier League games by 3+ goals for the first time since February 2018 under Antonio Conte (0-3 vs Bournemouth, 1-4 vs Watford). Before this contest, the Blues had lost to Everton 3-0 ahead of the international break. When playing within their final 10 games of Premier League seasons, Manchester City have lost just one of their last 43 matches, winning 32 times (D10).
Do you know?
Cherki joins an exclusive club
From 26 Premier League games this season, Cherki now owns 10 assists and three goals. He is the first player to reach 10+ assists in his debut Premier League season since Dimitri Payet in 2015-16.
Duo
Woes for Chelsea; City enjoying themselves
Chelsea have failed to score in each of their last three Premier League matches. They have shipped in 7 goals in these three games. City have scored 9 goals in their last three games cross three different competitions. They beat Arsenal 2-0 in the Carabao Cup final. This was followed by a 4-0 win over Liverpool in the FA Cup quarters. And now, they tamed Chelsea 3-0.
Information
City's domination against Chelsea at a glance
City are now unbeaten in their last 13 games against Chelsea across all competitions. As per Squawka, City have also won five of their last six away Premier League games against Chelsea (D1). This is more than they had in their previous 26 league visits to Stamford Bridge (D8 L14).