Manchester City will have to wait to top the Premier League standings after being held to a 1-1 home draw with Chelsea on Saturday, while title rivals Liverpool and Arsenal secured big wins earlier in the day.
Thanks to a late goal from Rodri, City remain unbeaten at home, with their most recent loss dating back to 15 months ago against Brentford in November 2022. They now sit third on 53 points with a game in hand, two points short of Arsenal and four behind leaders Liverpool. Chelsea are 10th with 35 points.
Raheem Sterling (R) of Chelsea celebrates after scoring a goal in a Premier League clash against Manchester City in Manchester, UK, February 17, 2024. /CFP
City paid the price for parking themselves in Chelsea's half before halftime, when an unmarked Raheem Sterling rounded City defender Kyle Walker and keeper Ederson to open the lead for his side after a cross from Nicolas Jackson.
"We countered them well so I think it is a fair result in the end," Chelsea midfielder Conor Gallagher told Sky after the match. "The lads were brilliant and defensively we were very focused. We were very tired but we saw it through and we are happy with the performance."
Rodri equalized for City in the 83rd minute after Walker's shot was blocked with a thunderous shot that deflected off Trevoh Chalobah into the net.
"Good game. First half we didn't perform too good, second half really good," said City manager Pep Guardiola. "We had chances and in the second half we were better." That said, City had only five shots on target among their 31 attempts throughout the match. Their top scorer with 16 league goals this season, Erling Haaland, failed to convert any of his nine shots.
"I'm so pleased," said Chelsea manager Mauricio Pochettino. "I told the players I feel so proud. In the last three games we've started to create a very good spirit."
"We only conceded one chance – against a team like Manchester City who, for me, are the best team in the world," he added.
Elsewhere in Europe, Kylian Mbappe contributed a late penalty coming off the bench to Paris Saint-Germain's 2-0 victory over Nantes after he made headlines earlier this week by informing the club that he plans to leave this summer when his contract expires. Lucas Hernandez's put PSG ahead on the hour, with the victory extending their leading edge to 14 points clear of second-placed Nice.