Man City beat Chelsea 3-0 as Rayan Cherki matches Premier League assist record

Man City beat Chelsea 3-0 as Rayan Cherki matches Premier League assist record

Manchester City claimed a 3-0 victory at Chelsea in the Premier League on Saturday afternoon, keeping the pressure on leaders Arsenal.

City have now reduced Arsenal’s lead at the top of the standings to six points, following the Gunners’ 2-1 home defeat to Bournemouth on Saturday.

Marc Cucurella thought he had given the Blues the lead after he slotted past Gianluigi Donnarumma in the 16th minute, but his effort was ruled offside.

Shortly after, Donnarumma produced a great save to deny Pedro Neto from breaking the deadlock.

City’s first genuine attempt came after the hour mark when Nico O’Reilly cut the ball back for Bernardo Silva, whose first-time effort was saved by Robert Sanchez.

Antoine Semenyo saw an effort deflected behind for a corner before Andrey Santos headed over from close range just before the break.

City started the second half strongly and went ahead in the 51st minute, with Nico O’Reilly heading Rayan Cherki’s cross past Sanchez.

Semenyo came close to netting a second for the visitors after running behind, only to be denied by Cucurella’s block.

Marc Guehi doubled the Cityzens’ lead in the 57th minute, receiving a pass from Cherki, before slotting home.

Cherki has now registered 10 assists this term, making him the first player to reach that figure in his debut league season since Dimitri Payet in 2015/16.

Chelsea’s first attempt in the second period came after the hour mark when Guehi made a vital block to deny Palmer from getting a shot away.

Moments later, Jeremy Doku added to City’s advantage, dispossessing Moises Caicedo before advancing into the area where he side-footed into the net.

The result condemned Chelsea to their third straight league defeat, leaving them four points behind fifth-placed Liverpool.