Chelsea boss Frank Lampard tweaked his midfield to face Manchester City at the Etihad Stadium, as he started the trio of Jorginho, Mateo Kovacic and N’Golo Kante.
Lampard’s starting midfield was fluid and kept a hold of the ball better than City, even though the Blues would eventually lose the game.
Chelsea had more possession at the Etihad Stadium, which is a rarity for a Pep Guardiola side as it has never happened before in his managerial career.
OptaJoe report: 46.74 – Man City’s possession figure of 46.74 today is the lowest recorded by a side managed by Pep Guardiola in any of his 381 top-flight matches in charge.
Pep Guardiola conceded after the game that the Chelsea midfield trio were superb as he said: “There is always one thing in your lifetime that hasn’t happened. So, OK, I have another record, I won one game without possession. They are incredible team with Kanté, Kovačić, Jorginho, so it can happen.”
Explaining why he dropped Mason Mount from the starting lineup for this game, Lampard revealed that he believes he used his best team to face City.
“It’s a nice problem to have. Mason has been so good for us. There will be areas of rotation,” Lampard told Sky Sports before the game.