A dramatic late goal by Rodri dramatically rescued a point for Manchester City to earn a 1-1 draw against Chelsea at the Etihad Stadium on Saturday evening.

Even though Liverpool and Arsenal both posted decisive victories earlier on Saturday, City still lost position in the title battle; yet, considering how close they were to losing, this must be considered a point earned.

Just before the half, Raheem Sterling gave Chelsea the lead over his former team by meeting Nicolas Jackson’s cross, cutting inside Kyle Walker, and curling the ball home to cap off a stunning counterattack.

Throughout the entire game, the visitors appeared dangerous on the break. Jackson had earlier missed a better opportunity from Malo Gusto’s cross when Ederson smothered his shot with a heavy touch, and City’s keeper had stopped Sterling from shooting twice from close range.

Even though they were applying more pressure in the second half, City was creating plenty of opportunities but was unable to convert any of them or even put Chelsea custodian Djordje Petrovic to the test.

The primary offender was Erling Haaland, who made the biggest error of them when he misjudged a lovely cross from Kevin de Bruyne.

With seven minutes remaining, Rodri gave the reigning champions their first league home loss since November 2022.

Rodri sent in a fierce first-time strike that was going in anyhow but took a touch from Chelsea replacement Trevoh Chalobah on its way into the net after Walker’s shot was deflected into his path on the edge of the box.

After the stalemate, City drops to third place in the standings, four points behind leaders Liverpool. However, they still have a game in hand, and if they defeat Brentford on Tuesday, they can catch up to and pass second-place Arsenal.

Chelsea remains in 10th place after coming within minutes of winning three straight away games, but they will be riding high after their best performance of a patchy season as they prepare to play in the Carabao Cup final at Wembley next weekend.

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