In one of the most important fixtures of the season, it was the form team that emerged victorious as Chelsea came from behind to defeat Manchester City at the Etihad Stadium on Saturday lunchtime in a heated affair.
Chelsea were forced to make a change, their first in eight matches, with Cesc Fabregas replacing Nemanja Matic. The first half was all Manchester City, with Jesus Navas beating Marcos Alonso and putting a cross into the box only for Gary Cahill to deflect it wildly into his own net as it span past Thibaut Courtois.
Fabregas produced the catalyst for the turnaround, as his remarkable 40 yard pass gave Diego Costa the opportunity to coolly slot past Claudio Bravo in the City goal to equalise against the run of play. Chelsea repeated that again not long later, with Willian racing clear and beating Bravo again to give his side the lead.
With the Citizens then applying the pressure late on, it was Eden Hazard who grabbed the final goal in the last minute of normal time on the counter attack with yet another composed finish.
Tensions and frustrations boiled over in the dying moments, with Sergio Aguero sent off for a dangerous challenge on David Luiz and Fernandinho following him down the tunnel for his role in a brawl involving both sets of players and coaching staff of both teams on an important day for both clubs.
Read on over the next few pages to see what we can take from the game…