Chelsea 0 – 2 Manchester City (Aguero 13, 58)
Sergio Aguero reached a club milestone, scoring his 200th goal in all competitions, after netting twice
for Manchester City in a convincing win over Chelsea in the Community Shield at
Wembley.
The Premier League champions continued where they left off
from last season by producing a commanding display that saw them comfortably defeat
a lethargic Chelsea side. Aguero opened the scoring in the 13th minute after collecting the ball on the edge
of the area from Phil Foden before beating Willy Cabellero with a fierce strike
into the bottom corner.
Aguero’s second came in the second half, latching onto a
through ball from the impressive Bernardo Silva and beating Cabellero again
with another low precise finish into the bottom near corner.
The seasons curtain raising event, ahead of the Premier
League’s return next weekend, demonstrated to the rest of the league that City
continue to look imperious and the team to beat. Yet it left a lot to ponder
for new Chelsea boss Maurizio Sarri as they posed no real attacking threat.
Both teams were without some of their star players, with
Kevin De Bruyne and David Silva both missing for City whilst Chelsea were
missing their most pivotal player in Eden Hazard. Yet City’s quality and strength
in depth of squad appeared to be much stronger than Chelsea’s, with their most
notable signing of the summer Riyad Mahrez looking already comfortably settled into
their side.
Chelsea were simply outclassed and posed little attacking
threat throughout, with striker Alvaro Morata completely isolated for lengthy spells
during the match. It was clear to see that City looked much sharper, fitter and
quicker despite playing fewer games during pre-season.
New Chelsea signing Jorginho struggled to impose himself in midfield
but 17 year old Callum Hudson-Odoi produced a lively display, proving to be his
sides most attacking threat with a couple of long distance efforts. More questions
than answers for Sarri, who now only has a week before the new season kicks off
to translate his style of play into a winning formula.
On the contrary, City boss Pep Guardiola will be incredibly
satisfied after such a convincing display going into the new season. The only criticism
of City was that they weren’t very clinical in front of goal. Every time they
went forward they looked like scoring and after producing countless attempts, they
really should have scored more than twice.
Man of the match: Sergio Aguero
