Pep Guardiola expressed surprise at Manchester City’s 2-0 victory over Chelsea on Sunday, despite a disrupted preseason. The win marked a successful start to City’s Premier League title defense.
Erling Haaland and Mateo Kovacic scored the goals that secured the win against Chelsea, managed by Enzo Maresca in his first match in charge. City’s squad was missing all four of their Euro 2024 finalists—Rodri, Kyle Walker, John Stones, and Phil Foden—who were given additional recovery time. Despite this, players like Kevin De Bruyne, Bernardo Silva, Ruben Dias, and Manuel Akanji, who had returned late from training due to the Euros, participated for the full 90 minutes.
City’s victory was notable as Chelsea was one of the few teams they did not defeat in the league last season. Guardiola remarked, “I really didn’t expect it. I know what these guys can do, but the first day and lack of training… We had two or three days to prepare, but we solved this lack of many things with our commitment. You cannot imagine how privileged and fortunate I am to live these experiences with this incredible group of players.”
Chelsea’s new manager Maresca faces the challenge of integrating a large squad, which includes 43 players and over 50 overall, including those on loan. Raheem Sterling’s camp expressed disappointment over his exclusion from the matchday squad. Ben Chilwell was also omitted, while Conor Gallagher and Romelu Lukaku did not receive squad numbers. Surprisingly, none of Chelsea’s nine summer signings were included in the starting lineup, and Enzo Fernandez, despite recent social media controversies, was named captain.
Manchester City, contrastingly, maintained their consistency. Haaland, having had a summer without international duties, scored in the 18th minute. Jeremy Doku’s low cross was deflected by Bernardo Silva to Haaland, who scored with a chip over Chelsea goalkeeper Robert Sanchez.
Chelsea had opportunities to level the score before halftime but were thwarted by Ederson’s save and Nicolas Jackson’s offside position. Foden was called into action earlier than anticipated due to an injury to Savinho. The game’s pace was slower than usual for a Premier League clash, reflecting the impact of disrupted pre-season preparations.
Chelsea pressed for an equalizer but left opportunities for City to extend their lead. Maresca commented, “I think we competed very well for much of the game. We were similar if not better. The performance was there but we didn’t take the chances. Probably the big difference was inside the box.”
Sanchez made a crucial save to deny Haaland a second goal but was at fault for Kovacic’s decisive strike. Kovacic advanced through the midfield unchallenged and scored from a long-range effort that Sanchez failed to adequately challenge.
