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CHELSEA 0-3 MANCHESTER CITY: Full Blues player ratings from Stamford Bridge after Liam Rosenior's side fell to defeat against Pep Guardiola's men on Sunday afternoon
Chelsea have suffered a big blow in their bid to qualify for the Champions League, with Manchester City closing the gap on Premier League leaders Arsenal with a 3-0 win at Stamford Bridge.
The chastening defeat means Liam Rosenior's Blues remain four points off fifth-place Liverpool with just six games of the league season remaining.
It looked to be the perfect start for Chelsea, who had the ball in the back of the net early on through Marc Cucurella, but the assistant referee had his flag up. Replays show how incredibly tight it was after VAR checked it momentarily.
It was a very even first half and Chelsea made a good account of themselves but City blew them away in the second period. Nico O'Reilly headed in from close range after Rayan Cherki's delivery on 51 minutes. And just a few moments later, Chelsea fell two goals behind when academy graduate Marc Guehi finished expertly into the bottom corner.
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It was 3-0 not too long after when Jeremy Doku robbed Moises Caicedo of possession in a dangerous area and the Belgian winger smashed it into the bottom corner. It finished 3-0 to City but it could have been more.
Bobby Vincent brings you the full Chelsea player ratings from Stamford Bridge:
Robert Sanchez - Does well in the first half to keep out a close-range effort from Bernardo Silva. No chance with the opening goal but maybe could have done a bit better for Guehi's strike. 6
Malo Gusto - Had a difficult challenge against the tricky and speedy Jeremy Doku. Acquitted himself quite well overall against Doku but Gusto was the man originally marking Guehi for his goal. 5
Wesley Fofana - Locked in a physical battle with Erling Haaland which is always a difficult challenge. While he didn't win every fight, he did well to pressure the dangerous Norwegian. Won some crucial headers in the second period. 6
Jorrel Hato - Did well. Looked assured when on the ball and was often to asked to press high up the pitch. Defended really well at centre-back. A few may have raised an eyebrow seeing him there when the teams got announced but the Dutchman did well. 7
Marc Cucurella - A great finish early on but he was marginally offside. Offered a threat in an attacking sense but seemed to be more defensive than normal. 6
Moises Caicedo - Captain for the day but he started the game in a really sloppy fashion. City's high press caught the Ecuadorian out a couple of times and his passing was off. That showed in the second period where the ponderous Caicedo was caught in possession by Doku, who fired in City's third of the evening. 4
Andrey Santos - The Brazilian was playing very deep, even deeper than usual. Often he would basically be the centre-back alongside Fofana, with Hato pushing up to press. Santos passed it very well and dealt with City's high press well. However, Santos was tasked with marking O'Reilly for his goal. 5
Estevao Willian - Picked up a needless early booking for petulantly kicking the ball away. The Brazilian struggled on the right-hand side. He couldn't force any sort of impact on the game and he gave it away at times a bit unnecessarily. Should have done better to prevent Cherki's cross for O'Reilly's goal. 4
Cole Palmer - Created Chelsea's first half chance of the game but shot against the side-netting from a tight angle. Quiet. 5
Pedro Neto - Started really well. From the left-hand side, Neto was causing City more problems than any other Chelsea attacker. Not as influential in the second half. 6
Joao Pedro - Struggled to get involved in the game. He did well to pass it to Cucurella for the offside goal and was unfortunate that the flag went up on the far side. Quiet. 5
Romeo Lavia (on for Santos 68') - Passed it well when he came on. 6
Alejandro Garnacho (on for Estevao 68') - Failed to make an impact after coming on. 5
Liam Delap (on for Joao Pedro 81') - Not enough time to make an impact. N/A
Dario Essugo (on for Caicedo 81') - See above. N/A
Josh Acheampong (on for Gusto 88') - A few minutes. N/A
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