Chelsea took the lead with just over two minutes on the clock as good work from Nicolas Jackson teed up Noni Madueke for an easy finish.

The Blues created a number of other chances in the opening 45 minutes but the impressive Josko Gvardiol equalised just before the break to ensure the teams went in level.

Erling Haaland then put the hosts in front with 22 minutes remaining and Phil Foden rounded off the win late on as the Blues chased an equaliser.

Three changes

Levi Colwill and Enzo Fernandez returned from injury for the Blues, with Jadon Sancho also coming into the XI, as Tosin Adarabioyo, Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall and Pedro Neto dropped to the bench.

It meant the Blues had three Academy graduates in their defence in front of Robert Sanchez, as Reece James, Trevoh Chalobah and Colwill joined Marc Cucurella in the back four.

Enzo joined Moises Caicedo in midfield, with Cole Palmer, Madueke and Sancho supporting Jackson in attack.

What a start!

The opening ten minutes of the game was relentless.

City's new signing Omar Marmoush stung the palms of Sanchez inside the opening minute - although the offside flag went up - before Chelsea went ahead with just over two minutes on the clock.

As has been the case since his arrival in the summer of 2023, Jackson gave the opposition defence no peace as he challenged another of City's new arrivals, Abdukodir Khusanov, in the air and when the hosts tried to head back to Ederson in goal, the Senegal striker intercepted and laid the ball off to the unmarked Madueke to score in the empty net.

James then struck a dangerous free-kick wide before the Blues almost added a second on nine minutes when Palmer was put through on goal but as the recovering defender drew close, the former City man attempted to square to Jackson. His right-footed pass was a little too far in front of the striker and after Jackson pulled the ball back, Sancho's close-range shot was blocked.

City went straight up the other end and could have scored had it not been for a last-gasp block by Chalobah.

The chances kept coming, as Phil Foden struck a powerful shot from outside the box against the post and a Sancho cross was just intercepted by a City defender.

The hosts enjoyed a positive spell, as Gvardiol almost picked out the sliding Marmoush in the box and the City defender then fired over the bar from eight yards after cutting inside Madueke.

Chelsea continued to pose a threat though. Palmer cut inside his man to strike a powerful shot which was deflected into the arms of Ederson, and Jackson had a shot saved when one-on-one, although the offside flag went up.

The offside flag at each end continued to be raised at key times as Chelsea were grateful to see it go up when Ilkay Gundogan's shot was fumbled into the path of Marmoush to score, as his potential debut goal was ruled out.

City equalise

Gvardiol pushing forward from left-back was posing a problem throughout the first half and another of his runs forward resulted in the equaliser. Sanchez did well to rush out and save from Matheus Nunes when one-on-one but the ball rolled to Gvardiol to tap home the equaliser.

The half finished as it started, with Chelsea having an attack as some neat build-up play ended with Madueke cutting inside and firing over the bar from 20 yards.

The end-to-end nature of the match continued initially in the second period. After a Chelsea attack where Enzo almost got a shot away, City countered and Haaland had a shot parried by Sanchez.

Chelsea then went straight down the other end and Cucurella fired over the bar from close range following Sancho's pull-back.

Another Blues counter saw Jackson have a shot saved and it was to be the Senegalese's last action of the day as Christopher Nkunku came on for the final half an hour as we chased the winner.

City take the lead

Haaland's impact grew in the second half and after a long ball forward, the striker turned just outside the box and curled the ball over Sanchez, who had started to come out of his goal as he attempted to intercept the through-ball, to make it 2-1.

Pedro Neto and Malo Gusto were then introduced as Maresca continued to search for our second goal, with James and Sancho making way.

However, the number of chances reduced significantly after City's second as the hosts became harder to break down.

City grab a third

The Blues continued to search for a way back into the game and City managed to grab a third on the counter with three minutes of normal time remaining when Foden was put through one-on-one and coolly slotted into the bottom corner.

Chelsea kept going and Madueke flashed a shot across the face of the goal as we entered injury-time, before Colwill fired over from close range but the game ended 3-1.

What it means

The Blues had entered the weekend fourth in the table but following Newcastle United's 3-1 win over Southampton earlier in the day, we started the match fifth, with City two points behind us in seventh.

Today's result means we are now in sixth but just one point below City in fourth and Newcastle in fifth, with only four points separating us and Nottingham Forest in third.

What's next

Chelsea now have a nine-day wait for our next game as we welcome London rivals West Ham United to Stamford Bridge on Monday 3 January.

The teams

Chelsea: Sanchez; James (c) (Gusto 73), Chalobah, Colwill, Cucurella; Caicedo, Fernandez; Madueke, Palmer, Sancho (Neto 73); Jackson (Nkunku 61)
Subs not used: Jorgensen, Acheampong, Disasi, Tosin, Dewsbury-Hall, Guiu
Bookings: Colwill 25, Caicedo 58
Scorer: Madueke 3

Man City: Ederson, Nunes, Khusanov (Stones 53), Akanji, Gvardiol, Kovacic, Gundogan, Bernardo (c), Marmoush (De Bruyne 73), Foden, Haaland
Subs not used: Ortega, Grealish, Reis, Savio, O’Reilly, Lewis, McAtee
Bookings: Khusanov 4, Bernardo 79, Kovacic 83
Scorer: Gvardiol 42, Haaland 68, Foden 87

Referee: John Brooks