Chelsea 2-1 Manchester City: Conte's resilience won out against Guardiola's indecisiveness

Foreign coaches have conquered the Premier League. “Gegenpressing” and “Tiki-Taka”, at least in a very watered down version, have invaded the English game, “Fergie time” and “playerish” football have long been fixed notions in English parley. The conveyor belt of international intellectuals heading to England is incessant. Who is next? Dortmund’s Thomas Tuchel or perhaps Sevilla’s Jorge Sanpaoli?

This summer, Antonio Conte and Pep Guardiola were the latest arrivals. They are theorists and tacticians, who have carried ideas and dogmas that diverge from the traditional maxims of English football, where a mediocre army of gum-chewing coaches has forever perpetuated the 4-4-2, other incarnations of physical football and outdated visions of kick and rush.

Even more strangely, coaches from distant shores have won the Premier League in their first season – Jose Mourinho, Carlo Ancelotti and Manuel Pellegrini had never worked in England before and went on to achieve league glory. Conte may soon feature in that list, not Pep Guardiola.

That was in evidence again as Chelsea defeated Manchester City 2-1 at Stamford Bridge on Wednesday. This season, the projected narrative had been that the unique Guardiola was to sweep the Premier League with his avant-garde football and take City to silverware on a canter, but the Premier League, like many leagues elsewhere, is an unforgiving zero sum game and only the victorious are lauded and fleetingly elevated to deities.

Not how Pep Guardiola imagined it

Chelsea sit top proudly top. City flounder in fourth position. Conte and Co were scarcely majestic against City, but there were marked differences between the two sides. Chelsea were clinical and ruthless, City in particular indecisive, always with the promise of what could be before an inexplicable drop-off.

The returning Vincent Kompany strengthened City’s much-maligned rearguard. The prince of the Etihad Stadium has forever struggled with injuries and little niggles this season in a protracted melodrama of a once potent defender clearly in demise. The imposing captain was energetic, his bulking presence and fleshy mass shoring up the defence.

Kompany also offered his aerial presence in the opponent’s box, but by then he had delivered a decisive header in his own penalty box. After twelve minutes, Cesar Azpilicueta pulled the ball back to Eden Hazard, who, left in far too much space, side-footed the ball goal-wards and with the slightest of deflections, off that shimmering and shinning gigantic forehead of Kompany, deceived City goalkeeper Willy Caballero. One of the league’s best players, not Kompany, but Hazard – spot the Belgian thread throughout the match – further stamped his authority – no, his wonderful right on the match.

Kompany’s return offers hope, but not much else

But that was also facilitated by Guardiola’s starting formation. Jesus Navas at right back, a repeat from the Arsenal match, against Hazard was never going to work. Hazard roamed free, dropped deep, demanded the ball and, in that most nonchalant of manners, dictated the game.

At the other end, David Luiz contained Sergio Aguero with much ease, apart from a defensive Chelsea blip in the 26th minute. The collective blackout was farcical and emanated from goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois. He dabbled on the ball and knocked it to David Silva, the prelude to Aguero’s simple tap-in in front of an open goal.

But that was Aguero’s sole contribution to the match. It’s perhaps the highest praise for Conte that he has transformed the wonky Luiz, with his even wonkier hair and Mineirazo-induced PTSD, into an exacting and uncompromising central defender, who would befit Juventus’ back line. Under Conte, Luiz has become the focal point of Chelsea’s three men defence, the ultimate triumph for Italian craftsmanship. Even the mediocre Garry Cahill has been rejuvenated.

Conte has worked excellently with the players that he has at his disposal, something Guardiola has failed to do at Manchester City. Arguably, Nicolas Otamendi, John Stones, Gael Clichy and Aleksandar Kolarov do not have the requisites to play the build-up football that Guardiola so envisages, but in football the system must be adapted to the qualities and limitations of the players. Vice versa doesn’t work.

A lack of creativity has cost City

With this squad, City can’t play very expansive football. That should however not be an epiphany to Guardiola, the football neurotic who divides the pitch in twenty sections during practice and wants his players to adjust their position and game according to which zone the ball is in, progressive zonal marking and pioneering zonal attacking. For all the pseudo-science, the Spaniard hasn’t dealt well with the footballing paucity in his team.

City had little response when Conte brought on Nemanja Matic to protect a 2-1 lead, courtesy of Hazard’s penalty rebound. They created little. They ran too little of the ball. At best, City enjoyed sterile domination. It was not how Guardiola had envisaged the 90 minutes.

Not that Chelsea were great. Much about their game was laboured, lacking the panache and pedigree that has so accompanied their dashing 3-4-3 formation, the result of that zany afternoon at the Emirates Stadium back in the autumn. Against City, they were a bulldog guarding their kennel, but not much more.

In recent games Chelsea have struggled to be dominant. They no longer seem their bullish self. Opponents may simply be finding out Conte’s 3-4-3 formation, the way Guardiola’s game, the overexposure of positioning, pressing and possession at FC Barcelona, no longer represents a groundbreaking revelation. The Italian is contemplating a switch to a 3-5-2 system. For now, the surprise element is still persuasive enough. Foreign coaches innovate in the Premier League and the reward is often the title.