Friday 30 January 2015 10:37, UK
Ahead of Saturday's title showdown between Chelsea and Manchester City, we look back a five classic Premier League matches between the two teams at Stamford Bridge.
They've not always been at the top of the table and sometimes the pre-match handshakes have received as much attention as the goalmouth action, but it's been a fixture that's produced plenty of drama over the years.
From Fernando Torres and his stoppage-time winner in 2013 to Mike Sheron's brace in the first ever Premier League season twenty years earlier, here are five of the best...
Fernando Torres was the central figure in this fixture last season, going from zero to hero with a stoppage-time winner for Jose Mourinho’s Chelsea. Torres had earlier been guilty of a woeful miss but did help set up Andre Schurrle for the opener, allowing the home side to go in a goal up at the break. Sergio Aguero soon changed that with a stunning left-footed rocket beyond Petr Cech and as both teams pushed for the winner it was an error that decided the game.
Indecision between Matija Nastasic and Joe Hart was punished by Torres and Chelsea claimed the first of two wins over Manchester City that season to go four points above them in the table. However, by the end of the season the four-point advantage belonged to City with Manuel Pellegrini’s men showing the greater consistency over the course of the campaign.
Wayne Bridge refused John Terry’s handshake before the game, but there was plenty of drama after kick-off too. Frank Lampard gave Chelsea the lead just before the interval, but Carlos Tevez latched onto a long ball to level things up in first-half stoppage time. That proved to be a turning point because Craig Bellamy put City in front after the restart and when Juliano Belletti was sent off for tripping Gareth Barry in the box, Tevez added his second and City’s third.
Chelsea went down to nine when Michael Ballack was shown a second yellow and Bellamy made it four late on with Lampard’s second providing little consolation. It was the first home defeat of the season for Carlo Ancelotti’s side. “We are disappointed but we have to look forward,” he said afterwards and his team did just that – going on to win the title while Roberto Mancini’s men had to settle for fifth.
This spectacular victory for Chelsea was their fifth in a row as they showed they could bounce back from Jose Mourinho’s controversial exit the previous month. Michael Essien was threaded through by Frank Lampard for the first and another brilliant Lampard pass set up Didier Drogba to make it two. The Chelsea striker then grabbed another after the break when Lampard’s shot was only parried into his path. Joe Cole and Salomon Kalou added further goals and there was even time for Andriy Shevchenko to score the sixth having come off the bench.
“We forgot how to defend,” said City boss Sven-Goran Eriksson. Naturally, Chelsea coach Avram Grant was more positive. “In the last month we have improved in every match,” he said, before adding pointedly: “The fans know now we are trying to play positive football.” Grant took Chelsea all the way to the Champions League final only to lose on penalties to Manchester United, while City finished ninth under Eriksson. Both managers departed their positions at the end of the season.
City were in their first season back in the top flight after winning promotion under Kevin Keegan and this trip to Stamford Bridge proved something of an ordeal for the Manchester men. Jimmy Hasselbaink volleyed Chelsea into the lead after great work by Gianfranco Zola. It was a typical of the Italian maestro’s performance with Keegan saying afterwards: “He has brains, talent and commitment. I haven't got anything quite like that in my squad.”
Terry headed home from a corner to double the lead just before the break and while Niclas Jensen wasted a great chance to pull one back for City, Mario Stanic’s volley made it three soon after. Carlton Cole set up Frank Lampard for the fourth and William Gallas added the fifth for Claudio Ranieri’s team. Chelsea went on to secure third spot and Champions League football for the second time ever, while City also made it into Europe through the UEFA Fair Play ranking after a ninth-place finish.
The first Premier League meeting between these sides at Stamford Bridge was played out in front of 15,939 and resulted in a miserable defeat for Ian Porterfield’s Chelsea. David White opened the scoring for Manchester City from Niall Quinn’s quick free-kick and Mike Sheron then doubled the lead inside the first half an hour. An own goal early in the second half looked to have sealed it for the visitors but late efforts from Graham Stuart and John Spencer looked to ensure a nervy finale for Peter Reid’s team.
Instead Sheron had the final say with three minutes remaining to heap the pressure on Porterfield. “It's been a disappointing week,” he admitted. “It's a crucial time of the season and we have let ourselves down because we are not defending well.” The following month, Porterfield became the first ever manager to be sacked in Premier League era. Chelsea recovered sufficiently under former hero David Webb and finished in mid-table – just a point behind City in ninth.
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