Chelsea vs Manchester City (1/3/2021):

Tactical analysis of Pep Guardiola's sky blues as he defeats Lampard's Chelsea 3-1:

On paper, City lined up in a 4-2-3-1 with Sterling playing up top while Gundogan and Rodri lined up in the usual double-pivot we have seen this season.

On paper, Chelsea lined up in their usual 4-3-3 with Werner finally playing in his favored position as the central striker while Pulisic and Ziyech started on the wings. This was the front three many Chelsea fans couldn't wait to see start together.

Build Up:

As usual under Guardiola, City has looked to build up from the back starting with the keeper (Steffen), and passing around the back with their excellent ball-playing defenders. Since Chelsea started with a high block, City usually started the build-up with Ruben Dias-

dropping into the 18-yard box to receive the pass from Steffen to initiate the build-up. Since Chelsea didn't press aggressively, the CIty defenders were able to play out the back and push up the pitch with ease. However, when Chelsea's forwards decided to press aggressively,-

Ruben Dias and John Stones would easily distribute the ball to the wing-backs and eliminate Chelsea's press. After getting the ball to the wing-backs and killing Chelsea's press, the wide passing lanes would be opened and Chelsea's players on the wings would be outnumbered.

Unlike most people's thoughts about City's lineup, De Bruyne started as City's main striker but dropped back into midfield as a false-nine whenever Chelsea started to press more effectively, which led to Rodri dropping into the backline, while De Bruyne dropped into midfield to-

form a 5-3-2 shape with De Bruyne, Gundogan, and Silva in midfield, while Foden and Sterling stayed up top.
When City was able to beat Chelsea's press, Rodri was able to push higher up the pitch and from a midfield diamond with De Bruyne as a false-nine, Silva, and Gundogan.

This diamond allowed Gundogan and Bernardo to push higher up the pitch and forced Chelsea's midfield three to track back and sit deeper which gave Rodri much more space in the midfield. When Mount or Kovacic pressed Rodri, De Bruyne would drop deeper and receive the ball which-

would create space for Sterling if a center-back followed De Bruyne into midfield.

Wing-backs and width:

When Sterling made runs cutting inside from the bi-line, Cancelo would push forward up the pitch and create the width on that side of the pitch with his overlapping runs.
However, when Sterling stays wide on the wing, Cancelo would join the midfield-

which allowed De Bruyne to stay up the pitch as a traditional center-forward. Which allowed for more chance creation through the midfielders.

Where City have excelled the most during the game was on the left-hand side with Zinchenko, Gundogan, De Bruyne, and Foden creating overloads and outnumbering Chelsea's players which made it easier to initiate attacks and create chances which led to City's first two goals.

Overall, City dominated the game, and Pep clearly outclassed Lampard as he puts the sky blues ahead in the title race, and it's safe to say that it was a game of boys against men.

Thank you for reading this thread, likes and retweets would be appreciated, and I apologize if it wasn't worth the read since this is my first time doing this.