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Talking Points: Aguero and Kompany spearhead decisive win for Manchester City

Manchester City 3 Chelsea 0  Manchester City an aging squad? Pellegrini washed up? On this a...



Talking Points: Aguero and Kom...
Soccer

Talking Points: Aguero and Kompany spearhead decisive win for Manchester City

Manchester City 3

Chelsea 0 

Manchester City an aging squad? Pellegrini washed up? On this afternoon's performance, it was hard to believe that in fact Chelsea were the champions of England.

Vincent Kompany doubled his tally for the season after Aguero opened the scoring midway through the first half. If things weren't bad enough for Chelsea, they were force to retire their veteran centre-back at half-time, what many suspect is due to injury.

Fernandinho completed the scoring in the dying minutes in front of a record crowd at the Etihad Stadium.

This wasn't exactly what was expected of a team favorites to defend their crown.

It'll be interesting to see what the Portugese points the finger at this week, perhaps this time it was the City paramedics who conspired against him when they had to treat Diego Costa because the Chelsea doctors were attending to the busted nose of Gary Cahill.

The Manchester side's doctors entered the pitch - to the glee of the home fans - and Mourinho appeared woefully understaffed.

Oh what he would have done for another an elixir right about then.

But it wasn't to be for the champions and there were a couple of reasons why.

Sergio Aguero - The live wire.

In the opening 20 minutes of the match, the Argentinian striker reiterated why he is by far the most prolific striker in the league.  

He caused numerous problems for Gary Cahill and John Terry, forcing four superb saves out of second string goalkeeper, Asmir Begovic.

But he just kept on knocking and eventually it came. A scramble in the box by the Chelsea backline and a neat one-two with Yaya Toure sent him on his way. He knocked the ball just out of reach of the outstretched Gary Cahill and curled the ball past Begovic.

In truth, the damage could have been a lot worse.

The Bosnian 'keeper chipped in with a couple of smart stops before Aguero had broken the deadlock. With Harry Kane forced off early with an injury yesterday and Wayne Rooney's turgid performance on Friday night, it's difficult to see where the challenge will come from when it comes to this year's golden boot.

Chelsea's defensive woes continue

One of the main reasons Chelsea were crowned champions last year was the fact that they had the best defense in the league.

Sure they relied heavily upon Diego Costa and Eden Hazard for the goals, but even a solitary goal was often enough to see the London side claim all three points.

This was thanks to the diligence of Terry, Cahill, Branislav Ivanovic, César Azpilicueta and to an even greater extent, Nemanja Matic.

This season, they've conceded five goals in two games and look shaky at the best of times.

If they are to turn their fortunes around, they'll need to rethink their defensive strategy and ensure that the midfielder sitting in front of the back four can effectively break down the play.

Joe Hart was arguably game changer

How often have we seen it? Chelsea playing not exactly to the best of their ability, creating very few chances and being overpowered in certain areas of the pitch.

All of a sudden a quick break down the pitch, one big chance in the entire game and Costa or Hazard would put the opposition to the sword.

Most prominently this happened against Manchester United at Stamford Bridge, when Louis van Gaal felt his side were the superior team and pointed to the stats.

The only stat that really matters? The score in the top right hand corner, of course.

Hazard took his chance, Chelsea won the match. 

Today Chelsea broke up the left with Costa and he slipped a ball into the Belgian who had one opportunity to steal the most unlikely of equalizers and change the course of the game... Saved.

Joe Hart got down smartly to ensure Manchester City stayed ahead and in the end proved the turning point in the game.

He may not have been asked to do much, but when he was, the England international had the answers.

Begovic is still an unfinished product

Many thought after his debut in preseason that this was a poor signing. He looked out of his depth against New York Red Bulls and conceded four goals.

Fast forward a couple of weeks and he is thrust into perhaps one of the biggest games of his career. Moreover, he conceded three goals.

What we must remember is his lack of experience in a game of such importance and also that he made four superb saves early on this afternoon.

He was a highly regarded goalkeeper at Stoke City and has come into a squad where he must fill the shoes of the excellent Petr Cech, as well as play second fiddle to one of the world's brightest young net-minders in Thibaut Courtois

If his defenders get their act together and not leave him so exposed, he may yet flourish and compete for the number one jersey.

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