MOURINHO MACHINE HALTS CITY JUGGERNAUGHT

It was all chest bumps and high fives for the Chelsea contingent when all was said and done at the Etihad last night. Jose Mourinho's men secured a massive 0-1 victory against title favourites Manchester City. A cagey game, as some had predicted, Chelsea managed to take a lead, sit on it and never gave City a true sniff. Branislav Ivanovic's left foot of all things is what gave the Londoners the lead they defended so well. Setting up with a flat back four and a lone striker, Mourinho copper-fastened his midfield by selecting a classic defensive midfielder in Nemanja Matic, a centre-back turned midfielder in David Luiz and an all-round workhorse in his Brazilian compatriot Ramires. A defensive outlook but an example of tactical mastery given City's free-scoring home form. The midfield trio bolt-locked City's possession game although a huge factor was the loss of Fernandinho to injury. Martin Demichelis had to be pushed up from defence to become a makeshift midfield partner for Yaya Toure and it never seemed to click. City saw plenty of the ball but without Fernandinho, they didn't appear to have that box-to-box movement that have made them so deadly this season.

Branislav Ivanovic celebrating Chelsea's goal versus Manchester City at the Etihad Stadium on the 3rd of February, 2014

Mourinho played it cool in the aftermath. He insisted that Chelsea were not better than City as a team though they were better on the night and you could clearly see it meant so much to his players. Their squad morale will be sky high at the moment and City will look at their next six league fixtures as must-wins in order not blow what has been an incredible effort so far. Manuel Pellegrini was his usual pragmatic self in his post-match interview. A manager of high intelligence, he knows there's a long way to go in this title chase and points will be dropped along the way. Their goal difference is staggering and they are still the best side in the league at thrashing the so-called weaker opposition. One wonders how the City board would react if Pellegrini can't secure the title. He has introduced some of the most devastating attacking football ever seen in the Premier League but you have to look back at his spell at Real Madrid where he helped them secure a record 96 points only to be pipped to the La Liga post by Pep Guardiola's Barcelona, probably the greatest European side since the AC Milan sides of the late '80s and early '90s. Despite that, Real still gave him the heave-ho. The Special One, on the other hand, has no such worries. Regardless if they win the league or not, his job is secure and Abramovich will continue to pump huge sums of transfer cash into the club.

The title race gets very interesting from here on in. Chelsea, City and Arsenal are the realistic contenders right now. People are assuming the Gunners will fall away due to their lack of January signings, especially in attack, but there are many twists and turns ahead. Chelsea seem not to have a real top class striker either but Mourinho has managed to win many trophies without having to rub massive egos in his front line. We will all watch with interest as this fascinating season develops.

D. Ray Morton, 4th February 2014.