Manchester City defeated Chelsea for the second time in four days with a 4-0 win in the third round of the FA Cup to pile the pressure on Blues manager Graham Potter.
City were three up at half-time thanks to Riyad Mahrez’s magnificent free-kick, Julian Alvarez’s penalty and Phil Foden’s tremendous team goal. Mahrez added his second and City’s fourth from the spot late on to further underline the gulf between the two teams.
Pep Guardiola’s team can look forward to a tie at home to Arsenal if the Premier League leaders overcome Oxford United on Monday evening. As for Chelsea, it is the first time this century that the Blues find themselves not among the clubs in the fourth round.
The result adds to the pressure on Potter, who was only appointed in September. Chelsea have now lost six of their last nine matches in all competitions and have not tasted victory away from home since beating Red Bull Salzburg in October.
After some Chelsea fans could be heard venting their frustration towards Graham Potter by singing Thomas Tuchel chants at the Etihad, Pep Guardiola has insisted Todd Boehly should give the Chelsea manager time
It was Mahrez who scored the only goal of the game when these teams met in the Premier League on Thursday and he broke the deadlock again here. His curling free-kick from the right edge of the box arrowed into the top corner beyond Kepa Arrizabalaga’s dive.