Chelsea 0-3 Man City 

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Pep Guardiola is dreaming of a seventh Premier League title with Manchester City after a pivotal weekend in the title race tilted the stakes in their favour. The Catalan coach once again enjoyed victory against Chelsea as he witnessed his City side click into gear to stroll past the struggling Blues 3-0 at Stamford Bridge.

In doing so, his side capitalised on Arsenal’s shock loss at home to Bournemouth to put them right back into contention for the title.

The first half passed by without too many clear-cut chances, although the hosts had the better openings. Marc Cucurella’s goal was disallowed for a narrow offside after he beat Gianluigi Donnarumma, and that proved to be a turning point in the game as Chelsea curiously retreated into their own half.

City began to dominate the ball and they started the second half in the same vein of dominance. Nico O’Reilly shrugged off Andrey Santos to head home the opener from the excellent Rayan Cherki’s cross shortly after the interval. City doubled their advantage through the former Chelsea academy product Marc Guéhi, and it was game over when Jérémy Doku robbed Moises Caicedo in his own half before finishing beyond Robert Sanchez to make it 3-0.

In overcoming Liam Rosenior, it means Guardiola has beaten every Chelsea head coach he has faced in the Premier League at Stamford Bridge since Clearlake’s takeover in May 2022. The last manager to overcome him in the capital was Frank Lampard, who guided the west Londoners to a 2-1 victory during the Covid-delayed campaign in 2019/20. Guardiola’s unbeaten record now stretches to six games since that defeat on June 25, 2020.

Will Manchester City win the Premier League?

The result is a crucial one for City, who are now six points behind Arsenal with seven games to play. If they beat their title rivals at the Etihad Stadium on April 19, Guardiola’s men will have the opportunity to go level on points if they also win their game in hand against Crystal Palace.

Even by the Catalan’s standards, it would represent an incredible comeback – but also a questionable collapse from their title rivals and his former protégé Mikel Arteta. But they have the know-how; the likes of Bernardo Silva and Phil Foden have been here many times. Erling Haaland is the top goalscorer in the league with 22 goals. They have a new homegrown hero in O’Reilly and in-form wingers in Cherki and Antoine Semenyo.

If this title fight is about momentum, the wind is blowing in City’s direction at the moment. For now, there is a six-point gap between the teams and the fate of the Premier League crown very much lies in Arsenal’s hands. But City are hunting them down in search for a seventh league title under Guardiola’s reign, and this statement performance is proof that they are back in the fight.