Pep Guardiola admits he made an error, and may well have corrected Manchester City’s course towards a third consecutive title. If that seems premature, or overstated, this is when the champions’ runs have generally started. These are also the sort of hard-fought and hard-thought wins that change mentalities and change the moods of title races.
An injury-ravaged Chelsea had actually been the better team and looking on the brink of a badly needed victory, until Guardiola realised something different was required. Kyle Walker and Joao Cancelo – of all players – were first hauled off. That first changed the game, before the next step won it. A quarter of an hour later, Jack Grealish and Riyad Mahrez were brought on, and the two combined to make it 1-0 and cut the gap to Arsenal back to just five points.
