3 reasons why Chelsea lost 6-0 to Manchester City | Premier League 2018-19
A slew of words may not be capable of recounting what happened at the Etihad Stadium when Chelsea visited Manchester City. Beaten? Thrashed? Battered? Not quite. Chelsea were scourged by Pep Guardiola's troop and were sent back to West London with a suitcase full of nightmares.
A hat-trick from Sergio Aguero it seems was enough to haunt the nightmares of many away players, but that was not all they had to face. A couple of beautifully crafted goals from Raheem Sterling and a solitary effort from Ilkay Gundogan tripled Chelsea's misery
Since the turn of the year, the Blues have lost three away league games on the trot, without having found the back of the net even once. In the same period, they have now shipped a total of 12 goals.
Right from the outset, City looked like a team ready to pounce on a bunch of ill-prepared professionals. They pushed the opposition on the back foot right from the third minute, when Sterling reacted to a loose ball in the box to fire home the opener.
What followed was absolute chaos from the Chelsea. Goals came rushing in, and the motivation levels dropped. As a result, the visitors left with nothingb to show for themselves. Subsequently, following their worst drubbing in over two decades, the Blues have now slipped to sixth place now the Premier League table.
On that note, let's look at the the three prime reasons behind Chelsea's shambolic defeat.
#3 Individual errors
If one were to ask Chelsea supporters to name one player to blame for the defeat, they'd point ten fingers each at Marcos Alonso. And for most who witnessed the game, it wouldn't be a far-fetched accusation.
Now let's break down the Spaniard's mistakes alone before the first goal. When Kevin De Bruyne stood in front of the dead ball, he sighted a run from Bernardo Silva. At that moment, for some inexplicable reason, Alonso kept jogging towards the center back. Silva received the ball and played it in and of course, Alonso didn't get back in time.
Given the six goals that were scored, Aguero's one-yard miss that shocked the world seems like a long time ago. However, consider this — when City were working the ball around the left flank, Aguero was in the center. Who was marking him? Alonso. The Argentine striker drifted to the far post, but Alonso stood deathly still.
Moving on to the skipper, Cesar Azpilicueta. The Spaniard, who is widely regarded as one of the most robust defenders in the league was done for by Raheem Sterling. The winger's pace, footwork and ability to deceive proved to be too hot to handle.
And how can we not mention Ross Barkley? When David Luiz leaped to head the ball to Barkley, the midfielder headed it back, hoping for either Antonio Rudiger or Kepa Arrizabalaga to make contact. Indeed, the one who made contact was Aguero. And you know what happened next.
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