Chelsea got off to a terrible start against Manchester City, but they've recovered nicely to level the score at 1-1 at halftime. This match has experienced some serious momentum swings in both directions, and it's anyone's guess what's going to happen in the second half. Mario Balotelli was the man who scored the opener, but Chelsea answered late in the half through Raul Meireles and Daniel Sturridge.
The Chelsea back line was to blame again for the conceded goal, and it's likely that the high line meme is going to be repeated by the football talking heads yet again. John Terry gave City plenty of pace after he closed down the ball way too high up the pitch, leaving Branislav Ivanovic one-on-one with Mario Balotelli. David Silva played a through ball from 50 yards out, giving Balotelli plenty of space to run into. Ivanovic reacted slowly and was was beaten badly, with Balotelli running right by him. Petr Cech charged out for the ball, but Balotelli rounded him easily, then tapped the ball into the back of the net.
For the next 20 minutes, City continued to pour it on while the Blues' defense continued to look sloppy. They were struggling to pass the ball as well, and they're quite lucky that the Citizens didn't nick a second goal. David Silva almost drew a penalty in the 14th minute, going down on a challenge by Jose Bosingwa, but the referee waived play on. There was some contact, but David Silva appeared to leave his feet in an attempt to draw the penalty before Bosingwa went in.
Yaya Toure got involved in some shenanigans a few minutes later, committing a couple of bookable offenses against Juan Mata. He's extremely lucky he didn't see at least a yellow, as he gave Mata a slight kick when he was down in the 20th minute, then shoved him a minute later when Mata asked him about the kick.
City had most of the possession in the first half as Chelsea struggled to create chances, but they converted the one clear-cut chance they did create. Meireles was the goal scorer in the 34th minute, but all of the magic was in the assist by Sturridge. While running at the defense, Sturridge went around Gael Clichy and put a ball across the face of goal. Meireles' late run went unchecked and he was wide-open for a tap-in, sending the two teams into the locker room tied 1-1.
For more on the two teams, check out Chelsea FC blog We Ain't Got No History and Manchester City blog Bitter And Blue.
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