Manchester City can attribute their 1-1 draw with Chelsea on Saturday to Rodri, whose late goal salvaged a crucial point.
Despite a smart first-half strike from former City player Raheem Sterling putting Chelsea in the lead, Rodri’s late goal masked over an unusually lackluster performance from Pep Guardiola’s team.
Erling Haaland had two excellent headed chances and missed another opportunity, highlighting City’s struggles throughout the game.
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Here’s how the match unfolded:
In the first two minutes, Julian Alvarez struck wide as City started energetically. Haaland then missed a header that should have been an easy tap-in.
Chelsea posed a threat on the counter, with Conor Gallagher’s dangerous cut-back and a smart through-ball to Cole Palmer well cleared. Sterling found space but could only manage a tame effort.
Nicolas Jackson had a one-on-one chance with Ederson 20 minutes in, but the City goalkeeper made a crucial save. Later, Sterling had a similar miss, but an offside flag spared him.
Sterling made amends on the stroke of half-time, capitalizing on another counter to score.
The second half saw another great chance for Haaland, but he couldn’t control his strike. Ederson saved a close-range effort from Sterling, and the follow-up from Ben Chilwell was cleared by Ruben Dias.
City pressed hard from the hour mark, leaving space behind them. Haaland had another golden opportunity from a Kevin De Bruyne cross, but his header went wide.
With eight minutes left, Rodri delivered the breakthrough with a powerful volley that found the net after a deflection from Trevoh Chalobah.
Late drama ensued as Chelsea survived a VAR check beyond the four minutes of added time, securing a result that could significantly impact this season’s title race.