5 talking points from Manchester City 1-1 Chelsea

Manchester City hosted Chelsea at the Etihad Stadium in one of the most important games of the season for both sides having a look at their position on the league table.

A win for City will put them in touching distance of the league leaders, Liverpool and title contenders, Arsenal. The Reds had earlier gotten a victory over Burnley to extend their lead at the top of the table to five points.

Arsenal also got a victory over Burnley to remain in the conversation of winning the league. That means anything short of a win for the Citizens will be disastrous to their quest to winning the league for the fourth consecutive season.

Here are the five talking points from the game;

(1) Nicolas Jackson:

The Senegalese International has continued to show why he can not lead the line for Chelsea if they want to achieve anything going into the future. The former Villareal player is known for missing more chances than actually getting to find the back of the net. Chelsea needs to sign a profiling striker if they want to have a shot at competing in the league and other competitions.

(2) Raheem Sterling:

The England international has also been criticised lately for his poor form especially when it comes to the final third of the pitch since he moved from Machester City to join Chelsea. However, he showed his new owners that he still had that spark that attracted him to them in the first place.

Sterling scored the opening goal of the match after he connected to a pass from Nicolas Jackson to give the Blues the lead going into the halftime break.

(3) Rodri:

The Spanish international has been a key part of every success Manchester City have enjoyed since he joined the club. The treble winners have 55 games without defeat whenever Rodri gets selected by Pep Guardiola. The midfielder scored the equalising goal that ensured City maintained their unbeaten run at the Etihad Stadium.

(4) Wasted opportunities:

Manchester City and Chelsea will look back at the chances they missed in the game. Both sides could have taken the maximum points in the game but sharing the spoils is something that Pep Guardiola and Mauricio Pochettino will take rather than losing all three points.

(5) Title Race:

The result against Chelsea is a big blow for Manchester City's quest to be in touch distance off the league leaders Liverpool, this is only the fourth time that the Cityzens will drop points at the Etihad this season. However, the Cityzens have a game in hand and they will hope to take all three points in that outstanding game so they can close down on the Reds.

Footnote:

This result is more of a good news for Chelsea as they are looking to build upon and finish in a good position at the end of the season.