Manchester City got the better of Chelsea for a second time this week after registering a 4-0 win in the third round of the FA Cup on Sunday evening.
FA Cup
Result: Manchester City 4-0 Chelsea
Date: 08 January 2023
Venue: Etihad Stadium
Kyle Walker, Bernardo Silva and Phil Foden were the only players to survive from Thursday's win at Stamford Bridge, as the likes of Erling Haaland and Kevin De Bruyne were reserved on the bench.
The Blues, meanwhile, also shuffled the line-up from that encounter, as the likes of Mason Mount, Jorginho and Conor Gallagher came to the fore.
Pep Guardiola's charges were threatening in the opening exchanges but it took a sumptuous free-kick by Mahrez to give them lead midway through the first stanza after the Algerian angled his curling shot into the top corner.
Chelsea shot themselves in the foot seven minutes later after Kai Havertz's handball in the box was spotted by the Video Assistant Referee (VAR) as City were awarded a penalty.
Julian Alvarez made no mistake from the spot-kick, as he doubled the Citizens' lead with a low strike past the dive of goalkeeper Kepa.
The hosts gained momentum and Foden capped off a mesmerizing attack just before the interval with a close-range finish at the near post and made it 3-0 after a cut-back by Walker.
Graham Potter changed things up in attack at half-time as Denis Zakaria replaced Havertz for a direct approach.
Although City were not under a great deal of attack in the early stages of the second stanza, Guardiola looked for more control shortly before the hour-mark, as Kalvin Phillips and Joao Cancelo were both introduced.
However, Chelsea had spaces to charge forward as Zakaria fancied his chance 12 minutes before time with a curling shot on the edge of the box that deflected off Manuel Akanji and sailed over the crossbar.
As the Blues committed numbers forward, they were caught on a counter-attack in the dying minutes after Kalidou Koulibaly conceded a penalty by bringing down Foden who was going through on goal in the box.
Mahrez stepped up to take the spot-kick and fired an unstoppable shot beneath the crossbar, made it 4-0 for the Citizens and completed his brace.
City passed the ball around with ease in the tail end, as Chelsea chased shadows and Guardiola's men comfortably booked their spot in the fourth round of the tournament and won their fifth consecutive game against the Blues in all competitions.
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