The Londoners lost to the current champion of England in their debut match under the leadership of Enzo Maresca.
“Manchester City” beat “Chelsea” in the central match of the 1st round of the English Premier League (EPL) 2024/25 season. The match at Stamford Bridge in London ended with a score of 0:2.
Josep Guardiola's team took the lead in the 18th minute of the match. Erling Haaland scored, for whom this match was his 100th for the Citizens – the Norwegian forward won the fight with Marc Cucurella after a pass from Bernardo Silva in the penalty area and shot past the Blues' goalkeeper Robert Sanchez.
Before the break, the Londoners had a good chance to equalize. Ederson parried a long-range shot from Cole Palmer in front of him, after which Nicholas Jackson finished the ball into the goal. However, after reviewing the video replay (VAR), the referee team recorded an offside.
The current champion of England finally settled the question of the winner of the match at the end of the second half. In the 84th minute, former Chelsea player Mateo Kovacic completed his run towards the opponent's penalty area with a shot into the near corner.
Chelsea's Ukrainian winger Mykhailo Mudryk spent the entire match on the bench.
Chelsea vs. Manchester City match review
It is worth noting that this was Enzo Maresca's debut match as Chelsea head coach. Last season he headed Leicester, with whom he won the Championship (the second-ranked football division in England – ed.) and led the club to the Premier League.
In the second round of the Premier League, Mudryk’s team will meet Wolverhampton away on August 25, and the Sky Blues will host Ipswich a day earlier, who returned to the top division after a 22-year absence.
