Erling Haaland scored and set up Phil Foden for another as Manchester City came back to beat Chelsea 3-1 at Stamford Bridge on Saturday, sweeping the Londoners and moving into the top four.
Noni Madueke scored early off a Nicolas Jackson assist after debutant Abdukhodir Khusanov had a very slow start, but Josko Gvardiol leveled the score before half and Haaland took over in the second half.
[ MORE: Pep Guardiola and Erling Haaland reaction | Enzo Maresca reaction ]
City are unbeaten in six Premier League matches and sit fourth with 41 points, above Newcastle on goal differential and six behind second-place Arsenal. The champions remain 12 points behind Liverpool.
Chelsea will finish Week 23 a point behind City and Newcastle. The sixth-place Blues are ahead of Bournemouth on goal differential.
Foden finding form while Man City gets healthy is frightening
Perhaps Manchester City have already dropped too far out of the Premier League title race. Perhaps. But when you watch suddenly in-form Phil Foden joining resurgent Erling Haaland and electric new face Omar Marmoush in the same City blue, you can’t help but wonder what’s next for Pep Guardiola’s men. Foden was, after all, the 2023-24 Premier League Player of the Year and contributed virtually nothing — one assist — through the first 16 matches of the PL season. He’s since scored in five of seven Premier League matches including two braces, and it shouldn’t be a surprise that Haaland has five goals in his last five PL outings. City may not be able to chase down Liverpool, but they get the Reds in their next five matches. Arsenal, Newcastle, and Forest are also there. Would you bet against City reeling off four wins and daring those that wrote them off to not find their erasers?
Manchester City vs Chelsea player ratings
(from fotmob.com)

Manchester City vs Chelsea player ratings (from fotmob.com)
Manchester City vs Chelsea player ratings (from fotmob.com)
What’s next?
Man City need to win at home to Club Brugge on Wednesday to reach the Champions League playoff round, then they’ll meet Arsenal at the Emirates on Sunday, February 2.
Chelsea host West Ham at 3pm ET Monday, February 3.
How to watch Manchester City vs Chelsea live, stream link and start time
Kick off time: 12:30pm ET Saturday (January 25)
Venue: Etihad Stadium — Manchester
TV Channel: Peacock
Streaming: Premier League on Peacock
Manchester City vs Chelsea final score: 3-1
Noni Madueke 3', Josko Gvardiol 42', Erling Haaland 68', Phil Foden 87'
Manchester City vs Chelsea live updates — By Nick Mendola
Phil Foden goal — Manchester City 3-1 Chelsea (87th minute)
Haaland wrestles a ball out of the midfield and sends Phil Foden on a 40-yard run to goal.
Foden keeps his cool and slots to the near side of Sanchez.
Subs
Reece James and Jadon Sancho go off, as Malo Gusto and Pedro Neto will enter the fray in the 73rd minute.
Marmoush exits for Kevin De Bruyne. A quality debut.
Erling Haaland goal! Manchester City 2-1 Chelsea (62nd minute)
Ederson’s long hopeful ball finds Haaland, who gets the best of Trevoh Chalobah and finds Robert Sanchez charging out of his goal.
The Norwegian is not put off, putting the ball over the keeper and giving City its first lead of the game.
Jackson off
Enzo Maresca makes a move, too, bringing on Christopher Nkunku in place on Jackson in the 61st minute.
Khusanov’s day ends
It was a 54-minute Man City debut, the first five of which were brutal but the 20-year-old finished well. His speed was not good enough but it would always take some adjustment from Lens into Pep’s system.
John Stones takes his place with it 1-1 in the 54th minute.
Halftime — Man City 1-1 Chelsea
Shots are 11-5 for City, and we’ve seen 3.39 combined xG (City holds 2.10 of that).
Khusanov’s nightmare first five minutes aside, this could be 2-0 to the hosts. But it isn’t, and that will make for a fun second half.
Josko Gvardiol goal! Man City 1-1 Chelsea (42nd minute)
The Croatian back was foreshadowing.
Matheus Nunes wins a 50:50 with Marc Cucurella.
His shot is saved by Sanchez but the rebound goes off Nunes and onto the path of Gvardiol, who finishes from an acute angle into the empty net.
1-1, 42'.
Josko Gvardiol nearly conjures magic
A shoulder touch followed by a chest touch and Josko Gvardiol is behind the back line, but he cuts an outside-of-the-boot finish wide of the far post in the 40th minute.
Omar Marmoush offside goal
City are pushing for an equalizer and Marmoush has it over the line after Ilkay Gundogan’s shot is spilled by Sanchez.
Marmoush didn’t get back onside before charging the rebound and it won’t count.
Still 1-0 to the visitors as we enter the 36th minute.
Marmoush close again!
Kovacic plays in Foden, whose cross toward a possibly-offside Marmoush is too far from the Egyptian and too close to Sanchez.
Still 1-0 Chelsea, 22'.
Chaos
Midfield optional at the Etihad, which chances going back and forth at breakneck pace.
Josko Gvardiol nearly cues up something special for City moments after Chelsea have a break denied by Khusanov.
Now Phil Foden hammers the post from 19 yards.
1-0 Chelsea, 10'.
Noni Madueke goal! Man City 0-1 Chelsea (3rd minute)
Oh no. Another new Man City face, Abdukhodir Khusanov has to act quickly after a long ball falls behind him.
He heads it back toward goal and Nicolas Jackson gets there first, making a deft pass for Madueke to tap over the line.
First minute Marmoush?!
The new big buy from Eintracht Frankfurt gets behind the Chelsea back line for a half-chances.
He puts good power on it but Robert Sanchez makes the save.
Manchester City lineup
Ederson, Nunes, Khusanov, Akanji, Gvardiol, Kovacic, Gundogan, Bernardo (C), Marmoush, Foden, Haaland
Chelsea lineup
Sanchez, James, Chalobah, Colwill, Cucurella, Caicedo, Fernandez, Madueke, Palmer, Sancho, Jackson
Manchester City vs Chelsea preview — By Joe Prince-Wright
Pep Guardiola’s City are reeling after a damaging midweek defeat at PSG as they need to win their final Champions League group stage game to have a chance of advancing to the knockout rounds. City were 2-0 up in the second half but ended up losing 4-2 after another devastating collapse. In the Premier League City have won three of their last four and hammered Ipswich 6-0 last weekend but Guardiola needs to find some answers defensively, especially against the big boys. After adding Omar Marmoush, Abdukodir Khusanov and Vitor Reis in the January transfer window their squad has been reinforced, but there’s still no help in central midfield.
Chelsea have struggled to finish off teams in recent weeks but that wasn’t a problem in their 3-1 win against Wolves on Monday. Enzo Maresca’s side are two points ahead of Man City heading into this game and if you had told them that when these teams met on the opening day of the season, Chelsea would have taken that. There’s still a feeling of disappointment about their poor run over the last month but they create so many chances each game and are a lot of fun to watch.
Manchester City team news, focus
City continue to struggle with defensive injuries as Ruben Dias is out again. It’s all about getting the balance right in central midfield for City, with Kovacic expected to start with Gundogan in the deeper roles. Foden, Haaland and De Bruyne have been back on top form in recent weeks and will get the nod in attack, while Grealish could come into the lineup. New signing Omar Marmoush is also likely to feature off the bench.
OUT: Rodri (torn ACL - MORE), Oscar Bobb (lower leg), Nathan Ake (muscle), Ruben Dias (adductor), Jeremy Doku (knock)
Chelsea team news, focus
The big issue for Chelsea is at center back with Fofana out. Tosin and Chalobah both played well against Wolves, with the latter coming straight back from his loan at Crystal Palace and excelling. Chalobah will probably start alongside Levi Cowill if the latter is fit. Reece James is close to full fitness at right back and looking sharp, while Fernandez may not be fit to start in midfield and with Lavia still out, Caicedo could have a full back lining up alongside him with either Malo Gusto, Cucurella or James moved into that role for a bit of extra bit and defensive solidity.
OUT: Wesley Fofana (hamstring), Mykhailo Mudryk (suspension), Benoit Badiashile (undisclosed), Omari Kellyman (thigh), Romeo Lavia (thigh) | QUESTIONABLE: Levi Colwill (other), Enzo Fernandez (other)