"This is a huge blow. Gündoğan injured himself with that tackle. The referee gave a yellow card and awarded Chelsea a penalty!

From the replay, there's really no disputing the penalty. Gündoğan didn't touch the ball and brought down Pedro, who was about to receive the ball and shoot.

Well, Pedro seems to be okay to continue. Gündoğan's foul… earned a penalty and his own injury.

The key thing is that Manchester City's attack is missing a player to receive and distribute the ball. Their offense will be greatly affected. Fernando or… ah?

Guardiola didn't bring on Fernando, but instead brought on Delph.

What kind of tactic is this?"

Guardiola on the sidelines looked extremely serious. He stood next to Delph and explained a few things. Delph nodded repeatedly, kicking his legs to warm up.

"Delph has only made two substitute appearances in the Premier League. He has started in cup games though, and his performance in the last League Cup was indeed good, but… he's not a defensive midfielder. He's a central midfielder, or maybe he can temporarily fill in as an attacking midfielder. Guardiola's substitution is certainly questionable."

On the field, Hazard was already holding the ball, standing at the penalty spot.

He placed the ball and took two deep breaths before his run-up.

Stamford Bridge fans stared intently, while Manchester City fans in front of the screen had already collapsed on the sofa.

They had prepared beer and pizza, waiting for Manchester City to win the game and create more glory.

But before they could even enjoy it, Chelsea had overtaken them, and now Chelsea had another penalty.

Gündoğan, who had been playing well in attack, was also injured.

Everything bad happened at once.

The Manchester City fans sat there, heads down, hands on their foreheads, praying silently.

They hoped for a miracle, that Bravo could save the penalty, or that Hazard would miss, or that the post would come to the rescue!

Anything but a goal.

God must have heard the prayers of the Manchester City fans, but there were more Chelsea fans praying. Hazard kicked the ball into the upper right corner of the goal with great speed and a perfect angle. Even if Bravo had guessed the right direction, he wouldn't have been able to save it. Besides, he dived to the left.

3-1!

"Chelsea, playing at home, take a 3-1 lead over Manchester City in the 42nd minute with a penalty from Hazard!

This is the first time this season in the Premier League that Manchester City has been overtaken after taking the lead! And they're now down by two goals. Manchester City's situation is very bad!"

Stamford Bridge fans sang loudly. If they could stop Manchester City in this round, they could surpass Leicester City and complete the comeback.

Three wins and two losses at the start of the season had almost dropped them out of the race. Many media outlets were bearish on them, even suggesting that only Leicester City could pose a threat to Manchester City.

Now, Chelsea are telling everyone that the invincible Blues are back!

In the Premier League, this season, the team that can stop Manchester City is not the Blue Foxes, but the Blues!

Guardiola was a little discouraged. This was what he had been worried about. Once the attacking players were out of form and they faced a truly top team, Manchester City would be in big trouble.

In the Champions League, if Zhao Gang hadn't been so amazing, Real Madrid would have beaten Manchester City badly.

How could a Manchester City like this go far in the Champions League against teams like Barcelona, Bayern, or even the high-pressing Dortmund?

"Manchester City's players are indeed a bit out of form. Maybe Guardiola shouldn't have been so careless in the last League Cup, making hardly any rotations, which led to the players not having enough rest for this league game.

Zhao Gang scored the first goal, almost entirely through individual ability, forcing his way past Fàbregas and shooting with a half-turn.

Football is a game of eleven players. Individual heroism exists, but it won't always happen. He needs the help of his teammates, whether in attack or defense. Today, Manchester City has some problems, both big and small.

Of course, this may not be a bad thing. When everyone is praising Manchester City, Manchester City itself will become intoxicated with it. This game can allow Guardiola to see the team's problems.

These problems didn't just appear in this game, they existed long ago, but they are only being exposed now."

"Chelsea's two full-backs have put a lot of effort into the defense in this game, which can limit the performance of Manchester City's two wingers. They have also abandoned their previous tactic of central players covering the flanks, and are tightly marking Zhao Gang, so after conceding a goal, they haven't allowed Manchester City to find another scoring opportunity.

Guardiola didn't bring on Fernando, who is more adept at defense, but instead added an attacking midfielder. Obviously, he hasn't given up on this game. Let's see if Manchester City can bring about some changes next."

The commentators weren't optimistic about Manchester City. Chelsea's defense was almost impenetrable, and their counter-attacks were very sharp. Manchester City had to be wary of Hazard, Pedro's breakthroughs, and Costa's movements at all times.

Most importantly, Chelsea were now leading by two goals.

The situation was very difficult for Manchester City.

Manchester City fans were hopeful, but they also felt that their hope was somewhat unrealistic.

Chelsea had been in great form recently, while Manchester City's condition had declined.

With one up and the other down, and now trailing by two goals at halftime, how could they turn things around?

They could equalize and overtake Burnley, but was Burnley Chelsea?

Burnley's two goals were more like luck, while Chelsea's goals were sharp counter-attacks, precise passes, and unstoppable individual ability.

There was no comparison.

After Delph came on, Manchester City's ball control ability didn't decrease, but it could also be seen that Delph's coordination with his teammates wasn't very smooth. He needed some time to adapt to the rhythm of the game.

Manchester City's attack was a bit stagnant. They could control the ball in midfield, but when they reached the danger zone, the space became smaller, and the players were crowded together, making it a bit stagnant.

In contrast, Chelsea were still able to launch efficient counter-attacks.

In the final moments, Alonso crossed the ball, and Costa jumped high, heading the ball into the goal.

If it hadn't been for an earlier elbow foul, Manchester City would have been truly doomed.

Costa complained incessantly, arguing that Otamendi had faked the foul and that his goal should have counted.

He almost received a yellow card.

At the end of the first half, Chelsea's players looked very excited.

Their tactics were very successful, limiting Manchester City's attacking players, and their counter-attacks were deadly and concise.

If this continued, it was uncertain whether Manchester City could score in the second half. They might even be able to extend their lead!

As the players walked towards the tunnel, Fàbregas deliberately approached Zhao Gang and muttered something.

"I hope you can put on a better performance. You haven't even broken a sweat defending you. I still have plenty of energy to organize the attack."

Zhao Gang ignored him. Fàbregas couldn't defend him at all. The purpose of these words was to mess with Zhao Gang's mentality, and also to vent some frustration.

After all, Zhao Gang's first goal was greatly related to his defense, and he had been yelled at by Conte on the sidelines. Being yelled at in front of so many teammates, he naturally lost face.

Now, seizing the opportunity to vent his anger was also good.

Zhao Gang's impression of Fàbregas was very good at first, because he liked Arsenal back then, but later his impression became so-so.

His departure from Arsenal was understandable. It was normal for professional players to seek better platforms and higher heights.

But the fact that he paid his own money to leave Arsenal was a bit off-putting. The poor old professor felt sorry but couldn't do anything about it.

The reputation of "paying out of his own pocket Fàbregas" spread like wildfire.

Now, it seemed that this guy was also petty and a bit cowardly.

After losing face, he didn't try to get it back on the field, but could only resort to trash talk to find a sense of presence.

In the locker room, the Manchester City players were silent.

This season, they had been getting everything they wanted in the Premier League, sweeping all before them, and hadn't encountered any opponents at all.

They had been playing too smoothly and had forgotten what it was like to lose.

The Burnley game had made them a little nervous, but the comeback at the last moment had made them even more convinced that Manchester City had no rivals in the Premier League.

In this game, after halftime, their mentality had exploded a bit. Chelsea's defense had left them helpless, Agüero was limited by the three center-backs and couldn't do anything, and the two wings couldn't open up the game.

The few shots they did have were all off target.

Gündoğan's long shot was a bit threatening, but he was injured and had to leave the field.

Just as Manchester City's attack was showing signs of improvement, Gündoğan was injured. It seemed like luck was also on Chelsea's side.

Chelsea's counter-attacking level was too high, directly kicking them to a 3-1 deficit.

Even if they could find reasons, such as being out of form, being a little tired, and playing in the League Cup without enough time to rest and prepare for Chelsea.

They could even say that luck was on Chelsea's side.

But, being behind was being behind. The result was the most important thing, and all the reasons were for cowards.

Guardiola clapped his hands hard, and the players looked over.

"I know you're already very tired, but you are all professional players! When you choose this path, when you go on the field, you should do your best to do your job!

Where is your running, where is your attention? Why can Hazard shake you off so easily, and no one can catch up with him? Why can they break free from our defense, and our attack is always blocked?

It's not that your ability is poor, but that you simply haven't put your full effort into this game!

When Zhao scored a goal, you all thought that Chelsea was nothing special, and that we could easily win this game, just like we've done before.

You've become complacent, you've gone from confidence to arrogance!"

Guardiola looked at the defenders, feeling extremely angry.

Zhao's emergence has raised Agüero to another level, and he has even brought this Manchester City to a height that it doesn't belong to.

This Manchester City has never been an invincible team.

But these players really think they're invincible.

It's as if they can always score more goals than the opponent.

Winning against Real Madrid in two legs made them even more cocky.

Maybe it would have been better if they had lost those two games completely.

"You on the field, know more than me, the coach, and can run around as you please, regardless. Okay, now you tell me, how can we play in the second half to win?"