Chelsea v Manchester City LIVE: Premier League result and final score after Mateo Kovacic scores stunner

These two sides met three times last season, contesting an FA Cup semi-final as well as their two league games.

The first meeting threw up one of the games of the season at Stamford Bridge, with Cole Palmer scoring a late penalty to equalise against his old side.

The second match was slightly less exciting, though no less interesting, ending in a 1-1 draw at the Etihad.

So the FA Cup tie was the only match where one side could find something to separate themselves from the other – City won that match 1-0, though Chelsea were kicking themselves come full-time as they had plenty of chances to win it themselves.

All the most recent evidence suggests that we’re in for a cracker this afternoon!

The transfer merry-g-round continues at Chelsea, with the Blues reportedly close to signing Joao Felix on a permanent transfer. Conor Gallagher would likely be going the other way, with the purported transfer of Samu Omorodion falling through.

Chelsea have also been linked with a host of other players, from heavily reported links to Victor Osimhen to less believable links such as Jadon Sancho.

In terms of players leaving, Ben Chilwell has been touted for a move, with Trevoh Chalobah almost certain to leave too after reportedly being banned from the first-team facilities.

Incomings:

Pedro Neto – £54m

Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall – £30m

Filip Jorgensen – £20.7m

Omari Kellyman – £19m

Marc Guiu – £5m

Aaron Anselmino – £17m (loaned out)

Renato Veiga – £12m

Caleb Wiley – £8.5m (loaned out)

Tosin Adarabioyo – free

Outgoings:

Ian Maatsen – £37.5m

Lewis Hall – £28m

Omari Hutchinson – £20m

Diego Moreira – £1.5m

Hakim Ziyech – free

Thiago Silva – free

Malang Sarr – free

Lesley Ugochukwu – loan

Alfie Gilchrist – loan

With City having sold Julian Alvarez while losing Oscar Bobb to a long-term injury, there’s plenty of speculation around the club’s potential transfer targets. The only major signing they have made so far is Savio (who is now known as Savinho) from Troyes – to much irritation in some parts.

The Cityzens have been linked to both Ebere Eze and Bruno Guimaraes, but with the window closing soon and both of those players commanding huge fees, don’t be surprised to see City go with more under-the-radar signings.

In terms of outgoings, Kalvin Phillips has now gone out on loan to Ipswich, while it remains to be seen whether Joao Cancelo will be of use to Guardiola this season.

Incomings:

Savio – £21m

Outgoings:

Julian Alvarez – £82m

Taylor Harwood-Bellis – £20m

Sergio Gomez – £8.4m

Tommy Doyle – £4.3m

Kalvin Phillips – loan

A little bit of background on Enzo Maresca then, as alluded to in that article.

The Italian, who had a playing career with teams including Juventus, Sevilla and West Brom, took his first managerial role with Parma in 2021, subsequently being dismissed after failing to reach the promotion spots in Serie B.

But his first job in management had actually come the season before – he was hired by Man City as the head of their Elite Development Squad in August 2020, and won the PL2 title while there.

After his failed stint at Parma, he returned to City as Guardiola’a assistant in June 2022.

One year later, he was appointed Leicester manager, and his successful stint there led to Chelsea appointing him earlier this summer.

Pep Guardiola’s closest challenger last season was his former assistant, Mikel Arteta. The Bundesliga was won by a team managed by one of his former players, Xabi Alonso, just as the previous season’s LaLiga had been, in Xavi. The Carabao Cup in 2023 and the FA Cup in 2024 were claimed by Erik ten Hag, who was nicknamed “mini Pep” when he was in charge of Bayern Munich’s second team while the Catalan looked after the senior squad.

The Guardiolaisation of football is most apparent in England. The Manchester City manager’s greatest rival, and stylistic opposite, Jurgen Klopp is gone and his replacement is a self-professed Guardiola fan, in Arne Slot. Tottenham are under a graduate of the City Football Group, in Ange Postecoglou; so are England, temporarily, with Lee Carsley having arrived in Manchester in the same summer as Guardiola.

Pep Guardiola admitted he would take greater satisfaction this season from seeing Manchester City improve than in winning another Premier League title.

Six titles in seven years and a record-breaking four in succession have changed the 53-year-old Spaniard’s perspective.

His contract at the Etihad expires next year and speculation on his future will continue to mount until he decides whether or not to extend it.

The first meeting between these two sides came in 1907, with 177 matches played since.

Chelsea have won 77, with City winning 66 and 41 ending as draws.

The two teams drew in both their league meetings last season, playing out one of the matches of the season as Stamford Bridge as they drew 4-4. They also met in the FA Cup semi-final, with City running out 1-0 winners.

The most famous match between the two came in the Champions League final in May 2021, where Thomas Tuchel’s Chelsea won their second trophy courtesy of a Kai Havertz goal.

That final was the last time Chelsea beat City in any competition.

Chelsea head coach Enzo Maresca has urged fans to be patient with the team, promising it is only a matter of time before they are ready to challenge at the top of the Premier League table.

The Italian is the sixth coach to have led the team since Todd Boehly’s Clearlake Capital consortium bought the club two years ago, and he is preparing to kick off his tenure at home to Manchester City on Sunday 18 August.

“With time, we are going to close the gap. Hopefully it can happen very soon,” Maresca said in his pre-match press conference, adding that he wants Chelsea fans to be the “12th man” this season.

Manchester City start their quest for an unprecedented fifth Premier League title in a row when they travel to Chelsea on Sunday.

Pep Guardiola’s side became the first club in the history of the English top-flight to win four titles in a row, but Kyle Walker believes it is already theirs “to lose”, despite finishing just two points above Arsenal last season.

“I wouldn’t say it’s an ego, but we’ve done this four times in a row – this is our trophy to lose,” Walker told BBC Radio 5 Live’s Monday Night Club.

Chelsea are winless in their last six Premier League meetings with Manchester City (D2 L4), since a 2-1 away win in May 2021.

Overall, City are unbeaten in their last nine meetings with Chelsea (won seven, drew two).

No team has earned more points from their opening matches of the Premier League season than Chelsea , with 67. Only Man United have picked up more wins (21) than the Blues (20).

This is the first time Chelsea have begun a top-flight season with a match against the reigning champions since 1971-72, when they lost 3-0 against Arsenal.