Manchester City vs Chelsea: Premier League Match Report

Manchester City moved back into the top four of the Premier League with an impressive 3-1 win over Chelsea at the Etihad Stadium on Saturday.

Pep Guardiola's side issued the perfect response to the demoralising Champions League defeat to Paris Saint-Germain to come from behind against Chelsea thanks to goals from Josko Gvardiol, Erling Haaland and Phil Foden.

City handed debuts to winter transfer signings

City handed debuts to winter transfer signings Abdukodir Khusanov and Omar Marmoush from the start -- and Khusanov endured a nightmare debut, gifting Chelsea the opening goal inside three minutes. The £33.6 million signing from RC Lens missed a bouncing ball and then saw his weak header back to Éderson incepted by Nicola Jackson, who squared for Noni Madueke to tap into an empty net.

Gvardiol equalises before halftime

Gvardiol had two good chances to equalise before taking his third opportunity just before halftime. Matheus Nunes latched onto Ilkay Gündogan's ball over the top and with goalkeeper Robert Sánchez rushing out to meet him, the ball fell into Gvardiol's path to score with a simple finish.

Haaland and Foden seal the win

City were the better team in the second half and eventually got a second goal through Erling Haaland. Ederson's long ball forward was flicked on by the Norwegian, who chased it down and wrestled off Trevoh Chalobah. With Sanchez stuck in no-man's land, Haaland lifted his finish over the Chelsea goalkeeper and into the net for his 18th league goal of the season.

Phil Foden wrapped up the result in the closing stages, collecting Haaland's clever pass to run through from the halfway line to score his sixth goal in his last six games.

What next for Manchester City and Chelsea?

Manchester City's comeback win -- staggeringly, only their sixth victory in 20 games across all competitions -- was enough to put Guardiola's side back in the top four and may signal a turning point in what has been a shockingly bad season thus far.

With UEFA's co-efficient system looking likely to award a Champions League spot to fifth place, City are suddenly right back in contention having now gone unbeaten in the league for a month. Coming just three days after their capitulation to Paris Saint-Germain, City's league position will offer a degree of comfort to Guardiola, particularly given he threw in two debutants here and watched his team fall behind.

Chelsea, by contrast, end Saturday in sixth place -- a remarkable fall from grace, which fully extinguishes any talk of Enzo Maresca's side being part of the title race.

They have now won one game in seven and their gameplan was undone in troubling fashion. The high defensive line, which initially caused City problems, ended up being badly exposed as Madueke allowed Gvardiol to run in behind one too many times to equalise. Haaland and Foden later also beat Chelsea's offside trap too easily to find the scoresheet.

In truth, the Blues' response after falling behind was almost non-existent -- an attitude made all the more surprising given this result could represent an important swing in the race for Europe. -- James Olley