Manchester City 4-0 Chelsea: Player Rating as Potter unable to conjure cup magic in sorry Etihad defeat

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Manchester City were made to work for a win by Chelsea on Thursday but had no such trouble second time around at the Etihad Stadium.

Chelsea’s poor run under Graham Potter continued as Manchester City cruised to an emphatic 4-0 victory in the FA Cup third round.

Three days after losing 1-0 to City in the Premier League at Stamford Bridge, Chelsea capitulated at the Etihad Stadium.

Riyad Mahrez’s stunning free-kick, Julian Alvarez’s penalty and Phil Foden’s close-range finish had City all but behind by half-time on Sunday.

Mahrez’s late free-kick secured a fourth as City look ahead to a possible fourth-round meeting with league leaders Arsenal – who must beat Oxford United to earn a draw – while Chelsea gave no indication that immediate improvement under Potter is on the horizon.

Cole Palmer should have done better early on but City didn’t have to wait long to take the lead – Mahrez curling a superb free-kick into the top-right corner after being fouled by Lewis Hall 25 yards from goal.

Kai Havertz’s desperation handball gave City a second chance after a VAR review and World Cup winner Alvarez’s penalty went under Kepa Arrizabalaga.

Mahrez was key to a superb third goal to put the tie to bed, slipping a perfectly balanced pass to Kyle Walker whose cut-back was deftly converted by Foden.

Chelsea didn’t score for the first time until the 55th minute, but Stefano Ortega was hardly troubled by Mason Mount’s effort.

At the other end, Chelsea couldn’t avoid further damage when Kalidou Koulibaly knocked on Foden late on.

Mahrez made no mistake from the spot, striking high up the middle to cap off a fine win and a miserable day for Chelsea, who were promoted in the third round for the first time since the 1997-98 season.

Manchester City player ratings (4-3-3)

GK: Stefan Ortega – 6/10 – Rarely needed but solid enough when he was.

RB: Kyle Walker – 6/10 – Played most of the game in second gear, but that is all that was required.

CB: Manuel Akanji – 6/10 – Another decent performance.

CB: Aymeric Laporte – 6/10 – Very comfortable, but rarely tested.

LB: Sergio Gomez – 6/10 – Played his part before being taken off around the hour mark.

DM: Rodri – 6/10 – Would have been expecting a much tougher test after the game at Stamford Bridge.

CM: Bernardo Silva – 6/10 – Customarily immaculate in possession.

CM: Phil Foden – 7/10 – Scored a fine goal and won a penalty. Certainly made his presence felt.

RF: Riyad Mahrez – 8/10 – The best player on the pitch. Great free-kick and a confidence-boosting penalty.

CF: Julian Alvarez – 6/10 – Tucked the penalty home nicely despite Kepa nonsense.

LF: Cole Palmer – 6/10 – Some good, some bad, but an encouraging performance.

Substitutes

SUB: Kalvin Phillips (58′ for Rodri) –

SUB: Joao Cancelo (58′ for Sergio)

SUB: Rico Lewis (86′ for Bernardo)


Manager

Pep Guardiola – 6/10 – Put out a team able to win the match and got City into the next round, Can’t really ask much more than that, even if the opposition was awful.

Chelsea player ratings (4-2-3-1)

 

GK: Kepa Arrizabalaga – 4/10 – Didn’t really do anything wrong, but marked down for the ‘pound shop Emi Martinez’ antics on the penalty.

RB: Trevoh Chalobah – 4/10 – Tough afternoon for the youngster, but players will greater experience were far more culpable.

CB: Bashir Humphreys – 4/10 – Talk about a baptism of fire. Not offered any protection on the day.

CB: Kalidou Koulibaly – 2/10 – Chelsea needed him to step up as the leader at the back, and he didn’t deliver.

LB: Lewis Hall – 3/10 – Not nearly cavalier or dynamic enough, although he rarely had many options when on the ball.

LB: Lewis Hall – 3/10 – Not nearly cavalier or dynamic enough, although he rarely had many options when on the ball.

CM Jorginho – 4/10 – Largely ineffectual

CM: Mateo Kovacic – 3/10 – A very long way short of his best.

AM: Conor Gallagher – 1/10 – Given another big opportunity and wasn’t able to take it. Made things worse for his Chelsea prospects, if anything. Wasn’t helped by a second-half switch to right wingback, must be said.

RF: Hakim Ziyech – 5/10 – One of the few Chelsea players to at least try to offer something.

CF: Kai Havertz – 2/10 – Only real contribution was to give away a penalty.

LF Mason Mount – 3/10 – Looked completely lost.


Substitutes

SUB: Denis Zakaria (46′ for Kovacic)

SUB: David Datro Fofana (46′ for Havertz)

SUB: César Azpilicueta (63′ for Jorginho)

SUB: Omari Hutchinson (63′ for Ziyech)

SUB: Carney Chukwuemeka (73′ for Mount)

Manager

Graham Potter – 3/10 – The buck always stops with the manager, but he will feel very let down by his players and justifiably so.


Player of the match: Riyad Mahrez

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