Chelsea's Premier League campaign began on a disappointing note as they succumbed to a 2-0 defeat at home against Manchester City.

The match, held at Stamford Bridge on Sunday, August 18th, 2024, marked Enzo Maresca's first Premier League game in charge of the Blues.

Despite creating several chances and having penalty appeals turned down, Chelsea were ultimately outclassed by the reigning champions.
Erling Haaland opened the scoring for City in the 18th minute with a neat finish after receiving a pass from Jeremy Doku.
Mateo Kovacic sealed the victory with a late strike in the 84th minute, driving past Moises Caicedo and curling a 25-yard shot into the net with the help of Robert Sanchez's palm and the post.
Chelsea's performance was not without its moments. Wesley Fofana, playing his first Premier League match in 448 days, volleyed over from a corner early on.
The Blues also had two penalty shouts waved away in quick succession just before half-time when Enzo Fernandez and Christopher Nkunku went over in the box.
Additionally, Chelsea came agonizingly close to equalizing on multiple occasions, including a point-blank save by Ederson to deny Nicolas Jackson's acrobatic volley.
Despite the loss, Maresca remained optimistic about his team's performance, stating, "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."
Manchester City's victory was a confident start to their pursuit of a record fifth-consecutive Premier League crown.
The match statistics reflected a closely contested game, with City having 52% possession and 11 shots compared to Chelsea's 10. However, City's superior finishing made the difference, as highlighted by their five shots on target to Chelsea's three.
The attendance at Stamford Bridge was 39,818, and the match was officiated by referee Anthony Taylor. Chelsea will now turn their focus to the UEFA Conference League Play-Off first leg tie against Servette on Thursday night.
Commentaires