Manchester City overcame a nightmarish debut from Abdukodir Khusanov to bounce back from a midweek defeat in Paris and secure a hard-fought victory over Chelsea.
Khusanov was named in the starting line-up for the first time by Pep Guardiola alongside Omar Marmoush, but initial nervousness led to a mistake that gave Chelsea the lead in the third minute thanks to Noni Madueke.
But Josko Gvardiol equalized before half-time and Erling Haaland took advantage of some haphazard goalkeeping from Robert Sanchez to give City the lead midway through the second half.
Chelsea’s early adventure had long since fizzled out and Phil Foden added City’s late third goal.
It was an impressive response from Guardiola’s men, who need to beat Club Brugge on Wednesday night to progress into the Champions League play-offs after a 4-2 defeat at Paris Saint-Germain three days ago.
Early howler from the new boy
Khusanov’s first real involvement saw him make the mistake that led to Chelsea’s opening goal.
The Uzbek centre-back, who joined from Lens for £33.8m this week, failed to fend off a long striker and after letting it bounce he could only nod the ball into the path of Nicolas Jackson, who sent the ball for Madueke cleared home to push off.
Noni Madueke capitalizes on Abdukodir Khusanov’s mistake and Chelsea take the lead within three minutes! 🫨 pic.twitter.com/xqg0b6tea5
— Sky Sports Premier League (@SkySportsPL) January 25, 2025
The 20-year-old was completely at sea and another mistake, an under-hit pass from Mateo Kovacic two minutes later, resulted in a yellow card after he lunged at Cole Palmer to win the ball back.
It seemed as if the ball would follow Khusanov across the Etihad pitch, but he earned a warm applause from the home fans after 10 minutes when he made a great block to prevent Jadon Sancho from scoring the second goal after a pass from the former City player :0 to score Jackson.
City slowly got into the game and Foden fired a shot against the post a minute later after Sanchez was beaten.
Gvardiol should have done better shortly afterwards than wastefully firing over the bar after being caught by Haaland’s shot.
Unlike Khusanov, Marmoush looked dangerous and the Egyptian thought he had equalized with his debut goal after 34 minutes.
The former Eintracht Frankfurt striker reacted quickest after Sanchez could only direct Ilkay Gündogan’s volley into a dangerous area, but the offside flag dampened the celebrations.
Guardiol level
Gvardiol’s runs from deep caused Chelsea a problem and the Croatian defender fired a half-volley wide before scoring a deserved equalizer for the home side three minutes before half-time.
Gündogan’s sharp pass found Matheus Nunes, and although his shot was blocked by Sanchez, Gvardiol grabbed the loose ball and fired into the net.
Joško Gvardiol shoots into the empty goal and equalizes for Manchester City! 💥 pic.twitter.com/LeY5IKzCQC
— Sky Sports Premier League (@SkySportsPL) January 25, 2025
Guardiola replaced Khusanov with John Stones, who came on as a substitute, nine minutes into the second half.
However, Marmoush remained in action and remained a threat to Chelsea’s defensive line. And after 67 minutes he almost scored his first goal again when he shot centimeters over the goal after a beautiful combination with Haaland.
His finish lacked precision, something rarely attributed to Haaland, and the big Norwegian showed him how it should be done a minute later.
Haaland benefits from Sanchez’s poor positioning
After Haaland tied Ederson’s long ball forward, he beat Trevoh Chalobah, parried it with his left foot and fired a beautiful shot over the miserably positioned Sanchez and into the net.
Erling Haaland catches Robert Sanchez on his line and shoots him in! 🎯 pic.twitter.com/IkucihpVmd
— Sky Sports Premier League (@SkySportsPL) January 25, 2025
Kevin De Bruyne replaced the impressive Marmoush with 16 minutes left and played a role in City’s third goal, nodding the ball for Haaland and slotting it through to Foden, who fired it home.
