43
18:15
For a change, Chelsea will make representations in the opposing third. However, the overwhelmed Conor Gallagher only managed to get by with a foul against Aymeric Laporte. The attack is whistled accordingly.
41
18:13
For Chelsea, it’s all about getting into the dressing room without doing even more damage. The Sky Blues pick up the pace again and literally sense the insecurity of the guests. The capitals have trouble and need to keep the store running defensively.
38
18:10
Tooor for Manchester City, 3-0 through Phil Foden
Chelsea are completely off the mark and with a perfect attack, Manchester City are 3-0. Mahrez fixes a diagonal ball, waits for Walker to come up and pushes through at the right moment. The cross comes straight into Foden’s run, who only has to put his foot out from six meters and casually pushes the ball over the line. The Londoners are clearly going too fast with this rapid advance.
37
18:08
Another free kick for the Citizens and another fall for Mahrez, who this time lacks precision from 17 meters. Kepa can punch the high ball over the crossbar. The Blues keeper then safely picks the following corner down.
35
18:07
Jorginho dribbles in his own penalty area in the build-up game and promptly loses the ball. Foden then puts through for Álvarez, who misses the 3-0. His somewhat hasty finish clearly misses Kepa’s goal.
33
18:05
Furthermore, there is no reaction from the Blues, who are anything but equal to what is happening. From the game, the Londoners burn little defensively. In the game forward, however, there is also very little. Manchester City are in full control of the game without creating many chances.
30
18:01
Tooor for Manchester City, 2-0 through Julián Álvarez
Julián Álvarez takes charge of the penalty and extends the Sky Blues lead to 2-0. The penalty shot is by no means perfect, but it still wriggles in the net. The ball hits the bottom left corner flat and powerful. Kepa correctly anticipates this and is also on it with his hand, but cannot prevent the impact.
29
18:01
Hand penalty for Manchester City! After a corner from the left, Havertz fists the leather away in front of Laporte with his outstretched arm. The referee didn’t see it at first, but was quickly made aware of it by VAR.
26
17:57
Clearly more needs to come from the blues now. With the lead behind him, the reigning national champion lets the ball run through his own ranks even more safely and wears down passive pensioners a bit.
23
17:55
Tooor for Manchester City, 1-0 through Riyad Mahrez
Out of nowhere the Sky Blues now take a 1-0 lead and it’s a direct free kick that brings the win. Mahrez, who scored the golden goal against Chelsea on Thursday, circles the ball with great power and precision from 24 meters in the top right corner. Kepa has no chance to parry this perfect free kick.
21
17:53
The Londoners are now trying a very simple high ball forward, but it’s a bit too long. Ortega picks up the ball well ahead of Ziyech, who is unnecessarily put down by Sergio Gómez in a duel. The Pensioners demand a penalty, but the referee immediately decides to continue playing.
19
17:51
Now the Sky Blues get to the first right big chance the party. After a high ball from deep, Palmer comes free in front of Kepa and just has to put the ball across to the ready Álvarez. Instead he does it himself, tunneling Kepa but only hitting the side netting. Careless.
18
17:50
Chelsea condenses the center and effectively closes the pass stations. So far, this has taken all the wind out of the sails of the Citizens.
15
17:47
Almost a quarter of an hour has passed and the compelling penalty area scenes are still missing from this encounter. Both teams find it very difficult to create chances against compact defensive lines.
12.
17:47
Gomez puts the ball into the opponent’s box, where the ball ricochets onto Foden. He heaves the ball over his own shoulder as it falls onto the Chelsea goal, which he narrowly misses. However, the referee blows the whistle anyway. A possible hit should at least have been checked.
10
17:42
Mahrez shakes off Hall’s speed dribbling down the right wing and is able to cross from the baseline. The cross, however, is decisively deflected by Koulibaly and therefore comes too close to the goal. Kepa stands well and buries the leather safely under himself.
9.
17:41
After a short pass from Ortega to Rodri, Havertz wants to press aggressively, but clears his opponent from behind. Rodri needs a brief treatment on the field but is able to continue.
8th.
17:40
Also the defensive of the Sky Blues leaves nothing to burn. Havertz is signed off against Akanji in two advances.
5.
17:36
Manchester City put the visitors from the capital under pressure from the start, but the Blues’ defense was extremely stable in the first few minutes. The home side still can’t get through.
2.
17:34
The Citizens attack from the right, but Bernardo Silva lets the attentive Bashir Humphreys boil him just before the cross. Strongly defended by the 19-year-old.
1.
17:32
Kick-off at the Etihad Stadium. The Sky Blues will compete in their usual light blue shirts over white shorts. The guests from London are dressed all in dark blue. Here we go.
17:07
In total, Manchester City have met Chelsea FC 173 times. The Londoners lead the direct comparison with 71 wins (39 draws, 63 defeats), but since the memorable 1-0 win against the Sky Blues in the Champions League final in 2021 they have all lost the subsequent four competitive games against the Citizens and have done so not scored a single goal against the reigning national champions.
17:02
The Citizens only returned from the World Cup break with a 3-2 home win over Liverpool in the EFL Cup and then also collected seven out of nine possible points in the Premier League. Pep Guardiola is opting for maximum rotation this afternoon compared to the recent 1-0 win at Stamford Bridge. With Walker, Rodri, Silva and Foden, only four players are back in the starting lineup. Among the seven newcomers is substitute keeper Stefan Ortega, who came from Bielefeld last summer.
16:56
The two teams just faced each other in the Premier League last Thursday. Chelsea lost 1-0 to the Sky Blues at London’s Stamford Bridge after Riyad Mahrez’s golden goal. In the FA Cup duel at the Etihad Stadium, Graham Potter therefore changes his starting lineup to six positions: Chalobah, Jorginho, Mount, Humphreys, Hall and Gallagher are preferred to Thiago Silva, Zakaria, Azpilicueta, Cucurella (all four benches), Pulišić and Sterling (neither in the squad).
4:50 p.m
Although things initially went up for Chelsea under Graham Potter, the successor to Tuchel, and the pensioners were even fourth in the table for a while, the situation at Stamford Bridge is tense. The Blues have won just one of their last six competitive games in all competitions (one draw, four defeats) and after the Winter World Cup they only picked up four out of a possible nine points in the Premier League.
16:42
In the Premier League, only Manchester City has done well so far. Pep Guardiola’s side are five points behind Arsenal, but are second in the table with 39 out of a possible 51 points. Chelsea are 14 points behind in a sobering tenth place. The transfer offensive in the winter is correspondingly large for the Londoners. With Benoît Badiashile, David Datro Fofana (both are on the bench for the first time today) and Andrey Santos, the first three new winter signings have already been announced. Other players could follow.
16:36
Manchester City last won the premier English football trophy in 2019, while Chelsea are the overall winners of the 2017/18 season. The Blues were also in the FA Cup final last summer, but lost to Liverpool on penalties. The Citizens and the Blues last faced each other in a direct duel in the 2020/21 season in the FA Cup. At that time, the Londoners managed a 1-0 home win against the Sky Blues.
4:30 p.m
Good day and welcome from Etihad Stadium. Here at 17:30 Manchester City and Chelsea face off in the third round of the FA Cup.