Marcos Alonso scored in the 93rd minute to help Chelsea secure a 2-1 victory at Manchester City, meaning that the Citizens will have to wait to be crowned Premier League champions.
Raheem Sterling gave the hosts the lead and the match should have been out of reach for the Blues but Sergio Aguero failed to convert a penalty with the last kick of the first half which inspired a comeback.
Chelsea were much improved in the second half and they drew level thanks to Hakim Ziyech’s powerful strike before Alonso stole all three points in the final minute of the match.
The victory sees the Blues leapfrog Leicester into third position in the table and further solidifies Chelsea’s push for the Champions League places, moving six points clear of the fifth-placed West Ham.
Meanwhile, Manchester City still need two points to secure the Premier League title but Manchester United play three times before the Citizens’ next fixture and should they fail to win any two of those matches then Manchester City will be crowned champions.
Tuchel gets the better of Guardiola again
Thomas Tuchel has now won both of his fixtures against Manchester City since taking over at the Blues. However, he refused to accept that the result gives Chelsea an advantage over the Citizens ahead of their clash in the Champions League final.
Tuchel said: ‘We almost threw it away in the final five minutes of the first half but what a performance it was in the second half and I think we deserved to win after the second half performance and I’m very proud of the reaction of my players.
‘The only thing this gives us before the final is confidence because it is all about performances to build confidence.
‘This result will not change the final, the final is a very unique game and you cannot predict what will happen so we will need to be well prepared.
‘Both teams will have different teams for the final but we can now arrive into the final with the knowledge that we are capable of beating them.’
City fail to press home advantage
Both managers made numerous changes from the teams that helped both sides qualify for the Champions League final to ensure the players were well rested ahead of their clash for the European crown.
Manchester City started the brighter however could have seen Sterling sent off for a late challenge on Timo Werner but referee Anthony Taylor only deemed the challenge worthy of a yellow card.
Werner picked himself up and thought he’d given his side the lead on the half-hour mark tapping in Reece James’ shot only to correctly be judged offside goal offside.
For all of the hosts’ possession they failed to regularly breach Chelsea’s defence and Sterling had their first effort on goal with a speculative volley from 20 yards out which was comfortably saved by Edouard Mendy.
The Blues then went close in the 43rd minute through Ziyech’s curling effort from 25 yards out which was well saved by Ederson.
Yet, it was the Citizens who took the lead just a minute later as Gabriel Jesus capitalised on a mistake from Andreas Christensen to steal in on goal before setting up Sergio Aguero whose loose touch was eagerly tucked away by Raheem Sterling.
A couple of minutes later Billy Gilmour brought down Jesus in the box but Aguero’s chipped penalty was easily stopped by Mendy to keep Chelsea in the match at half time.
Chelsea handed a lifeline
The Blues looked to capitalise on their lifeline and started to dictate proceedings in the second half.
Christian Pulisic gave the hosts a warning as he found space on the edge of the box but blazed his shot high and wide from a promising position.
Just three minutes later, space was again found on the edge of the box and this time it was Ziyech who made no mistake as he unleashed a powerful half volley into the bottom corner to draw the scores level midway through the second half.
In chase of a winner both sides made attacking substitutions and Chelsea’s substitute Callum Hudson-Odoi had the ball in the back of the net but the goal was correctly disallowed for a marginal offside.
Manchester City’s substitute Phil Foden also went close as the midfielder arrived into Ilkay Gundogan’s low cross but couldn’t make the desired connection as his shot went narrowly wide of the far post.
The hosts then claimed for another penalty as Sterling fell to the ground under pressure from Kurt Zouma but referee Taylor waved play on.
As the Citizens pushed more men forward, Chelsea’s threat on the counter attack grew and Alonso broke through on goal in the 89th minute but his speculative lob went wide of the post with Ederson off his line.
However, the Spaniard was not left to rue his missed opportunity as he arrived in the box a few minutes later to loop Werner’s cross into the goal in the dying embers of the match.
