Chelsea 0-2 Man City: Player ratings as Blues lose Enzo Maresca's first game in charge

Chelsea began life under Enzo Maresca with a 2-0 defeat at home to reigning Premier League champions Manchester City.

The Blues didn't relent on their new head coach's principles and gave a good account of what they could be moving forwards, but ultimately ended Sunday as losers at Stamford Bridge.

City had to do without Rodri in west London, while many of their Euro 2024 stars were only fit enough to make the bench or play reduced minutes, and so three points away at Chelsea meant a little bit more this time around.

How the game unfolded

Chelsea were impressively resilient in the opening exchanges of the game, but fell behind with 18 minutes on the clock. Jeremy Doku's pass infield was prodded on by Bernardo Silva and into the path of Erling Haaland, who danced past Levi Colwill and Marc Cucurella before deliciously dinking the ball over Robert Sanchez.

Kevin De Bruyne was having his way with the Chelsea midfield early on and he went close to adding City's second soon after, arrowing a shot narrowly wide of the post.

The hosts were aggrieved they weren't awarded a penalty when Savinho clattered into the heels of Enzo Fernandez, with referee Anthony Taylor telling the Blues skipper to get to his feet.

Sanchez was forced into his first meaningful save of the afternoon when Doku's 25-yard strike looped up towards the top corner, with the Spaniard reacting quickly to push his shot over the top.

Chelsea had the ball in the net just before the break. A curling strike from Cole Palmer was spilled by Ederson and into the path of Nicolas Jackson to tap home, but the flag went up for offside and the goal was chalked off.

After the break, Haaland brought a fine save out of Sanchez when afforded space to fire on the edge of the Blues' box as City sought to double their lead before Chelsea could peg them back.

Down the other end, Ederson was called into action when Romeo Lavia's header angled over the City backline to Jackson, whose stretching volley was palmed away.

Rico Lewis thought he had scored City's second when he fired in after Levi Colwill blocked Haaland's initial close-range strike, but the Norwegian was judged to have fouled the Chelsea defender on the follow through.

After 84 minutes, City got the clincher they were after. Former Blue Mateo Kovacic ghosted past the Chelsea midfield and let fly from 25 yards, and Sanchez could only palm the strike into his own net off the inside of the past.

Chelsea player ratings (4-2-3-1)

GK: Robert Sanchez - 3/10 - Made a couple of decent saves but limited how quickly Chelsea could build from the back with wayward distribution, while Kovacic's goal was soft to concede. Hard to imagine summer signing Filip Jorgensen will have to wait much longer for a competitive debut.

RB: Malo Gusto - 6/10 - For the most part slowed Doku down after he switched over to his flank. Spent a lot of time tucking inwards to midfield, nullifying his usual threat down the wing.

CB: Wesley Fofana - 6/10 - His first appearance since May 2023 following a serious injury, but welcomingly appeared as sharp as ever. Relished getting into physical battles with Haaland.

CB: Levi Colwill - 5/10 - Rolled a little too easily by Haaland for City's opener, but he won't be the last defender to suffer such a fate.

LB: Marc Cucurella - 5/10 - Forced Doku to change wings early on but didn't get as much luck against Savinho, while Haaland did not quite 'tremble' in his presence as he so predicted post-Euro 2024. Withdrawn with injury in the final ten minutes.

CM: Moises Caicedo - 6/10 - Took time to find his feet at Chelsea during his debut season but started with a spring in his step here, never afraid to do the dirty work and leave one on City's stars.

CM: Romeo Lavia - 6/10 - Remarkably his first start for Chelsea since joining from Southampton last summer due to his injury woes of 2023/24. Didn't look out of place in midfield and complemented the aggression of Caicedo with his effortless grace.

RW: Cole Palmer - 6/10 - Not the natural winger that Maresca craves but was still impactful, firing incisive passes into the penalty area but without a natural finisher to convert them.

AM: Enzo Fernandez - 5/10 - Looked lost playing in the hole. Punished for a string of heavy touches and ill-timed pressing. More at home in central midfield but then allowed Kovacic to peel away and score City's second.

LW: Christopher Nkunku - 5/10 - While Palmer was able to find a way to thrive without totally compromising Maresca's principles, Nkunku couldn't find a way into the game whether coming inside or out. Replaced for a more natural fit in Neto in the second half.

CF: Nicolas Jackson - 5/10 - Energetically wasteful would be the apt way to describe Jackson's performance. Continually offside when he shouldn't have been but kept City on their toes because of that restlessness.

Substitutes

SUB: Pedro Neto (58' for Nkunku) - 5/10 - His usual pristine touch was off on a jittery debut.

SUB: Marc Guiu (67' for Jackson) - 5/10

SUB: Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall (67' for Lavia) - 5/10

SUB: Renato Veiga (80' for Cucurella) - 5/10

Subs not used: Filip Jorgensen (GK), Tosin Adarabioyo, Benoit Badiashile, Mykhailo Mudryk, Noni Madueke

Manager

Enzo Maresca - 6/10 - Chelsea obviously weren't perfect but they were hardly self-destructive either. Their downfall was mainly down to a lack of clinical finishing, which was also a problem last season.

Manchester City player ratings (4-3-3)

GK: Ederson - 5/10 - Got away with a woeful lapse in concentration in the first half, gifting Jackson a free shot from a close distance.

RB: Rico Lewis - 7/10 - Usually a tidy player who keeps the ball safe, this was one of Lewis' more adventurous performances, both coming into midfield and bombing on down the wing to overload Chelsea.

CB: Manuel Akanji - 6/10 - Nothing too outrageous either way for Akanji to shout about. Sometimes allowed Jackson to wriggle free though this didn't harm City in the end.

CB: Ruben Dias - 7/10 - When City were under the cosh, it was often Dias who came up with the defining block, tackle or interception to spare their blushes.

LB: Josko Gvardiol - 6/10 - Chelsea's lack of natural width made Gvardiol's task a fair bit simpler, even if he did fail to close down Palmer on a few occasions.

DM: Mateo Kovacic - 8/10 - Doesn't quite provide the same defensive sturdiness that Rodri brings, which is a given and to be expected. Tidy enough on the ball to make up for that lack of presence, and came up with the decisive goal to cap off a fine return to Stamford Bridge.

CM: Bernardo Silva - 8/10 - Pushed high into the final third and was often the one to play final passes at the end of moves, notably resulting in Haaland's opening goal.

CM: Kevin De Bruyne - 7/10 - Played the game at a slower pace than usual, allowing the game to follow suit and deny Chelsea the chance to quickly break away.

RW: Savinho - 6/10 - Started on the left but swapped with Doku early on. Showed glimpses of real quality before being substituted at half-time with a knock.

CF: Erling Haaland - 7/10 - Marked his 100th City game with his 91st goal for the club. Hardly involved from that point onwards.

LW: Jeremy Doku - 6/10 - As pleasant to watch as he is frustrating. So often dribbled his way into great areas before bringing an attack to an end with a wayward pass or cross.

SUB: Phil Foden (46' for Savinho) - 5/10 - Only returned to training a few days ago and essentially used this match just to get back up to speed again. Didn't try anything too brave.

Subs not used: Stefan Ortega (GK), Kyle Walker, John Stones, Nathan Ake, Nico O'Reilly, Matheus Nunes, James McAtee, Jack Grealish

Pep Guardiola - 7/10 - City showed exactly why they've won four titles in a row, outlasting Chelsea through the final stages of the game and landing the killer blow.