David Silva seizes point for Manchester City as Chelsea are checked

Frank Lampard and John Terry shake hands after the final whistle.
Frank Lampard and John Terry shake hands after the final whistle. Photograph: Tom Jenkins for the Guardian

José Mourinho was not willing to offer his verdict on this tense struggle between the two teams at the top of the Premier League. Apparently it was the fault of Jamie Redknapp and all the other rotters in the media that Diego Costa was suspended and Mourinho, in turn, was applying his own ban. It is a siege mentality at Stamford Bridge right now and it is tempting to think they might have boarded up the pressbox and dismantled the television gantry if Manchester City had made the most of their superiority.

As it turned out, Costa was not too badly missed bearing in mind his replacement, Loïc Rémy, scored Chelsea’a goal. Yet they did badly miss Cesc Fàbregas given the way City’s midfield operated with the greater control. It was a strangely dishevelled performance from the league leaders and City had enough of the ball to feel like they ought to have darkened Mourinho’s mood even more.

Manuel Pellegrini’s side could not add to David Silva’s equaliser but they should head back to Manchester feeling encouraged by the pattern of the game and what it said, after 87 minutes, when Mourinho signalled for Remy to come off and brought on Gary Cahill to strengthen their lines of defence. In that moment Chelsea’s manager had virtually abandoned the idea of going for a winner and settled on keeping out a late City onslaught.

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His team survived but when a game between first and second ends this way it does serve as a reminder that City, as their fans like to sing, will fight to the end of this title race.

They were certainly the more rounded team and it was unusual, to say the least, to see Chelsea with home advantage being pinned back into their own half. On other occasions there was a level of carelessness that must have startled Mourinho. Silva’s goal was a calamity for Thibaut Courtois but it was not the only occasion when normally dependable players made individual mistakes in and around their penalty area and it was strange to see such an accomplished group of footballers being so generous.

Chelsea, to give them their due, did start to cut out the defensive lapses as the game went on but they needed to because their opponents were throwing everything at them in those stages and, if anything, seemed encouraged by the message that Mourinho’s Rémy-Cahill switch sent out.

Jesús Navas had their first effort saved by Courtois after only 17 seconds and Pellegrini was entitled to be disappointed his side could not be more ruthless bearing in mind they had a number of chances at 0-0 and the best of the play in the second half without being able to put together a really inviting opportunity.

Chelsea had set out like a team that was reluctant to blur the lines between adventure and leaving themselves open to the counterattack and, by the end, it was a full-on backs-to-the-walls operation. “Boring, boring Chelsea,” the away end sang, along with various other uncomplimentary chants about Mourinho’s tactics. Yet City should also feel aggrieved with themselves because, on the balance of play, there is no doubt it was a missed opportunity.

At one point early on, Nemanja Matic lost the ball to Fernandinho and was fortunate the Brazilian’s shot was deflected behind for a corner. Sergio Agüero had a chance not long afterwards that originated from James Milner dispossessing Branislav Ivanovic and Pellegrini will also reflect on that moment, just after the half-hour, when John Terry misread the trajectory of a long ball from Vincent Kompany. Agüero was free but pulled his shot wide and, despite their dominance in the second half, City did not get a chance of that nature again.

Chelsea opened the scoring with virtually their first attack of real penetration and the goal was a personal ordeal for Bacary Sagna given that Pellegrini had trusted him with the job of subduing Eden Hazard on the left of Chelsea’s attack. Sagna might be marginally quicker than City’s usual right-back, Pablo Zabaleta, but the Argentinian is a better natural defender and it showed when Ivanovic picked out his team-mate.

Sagna had switched off and Hazard returned the ball, first-time, across the six-yard area. Kompany withdrew his leg at the crucial moment, perhaps fearing that he might turn the ball into his own goal, and in hindsight he probably should have taken the risk with Rémy lurking behind him to fire past Joe Hart.

What followed was unusual bearing in mind Chelsea’s reputation – Bradford City aside – as the best team in the country at holding on to a lead. On this occasion it lasted only four minutes and featured the first major mistake from Courtois since his return to his parent club from Atlético Madrid. Milner’s presence might have distracted the goalkeeper as he came to punch Navas’s right-wing cross but it was not a valid excuse for completely missing the ball. Agüero, as usual, was loitering with intent and swung his left foot at the ball. The shot was going wide but Silva was there to apply the decisive touch inside the six-yard area.

After the interval, it was rare to see Chelsea being pinned inside their own half. Milner and Navas impressed on the wings. Fernandinho and Fernando made Yaya Touré’s absence not feel important and Mourinho became so agitated it required a tête-à-tête with Mark Clattenburg on the touchline. Mourinho seems permanently dissatisfied with the refereeing kingdom but Clattenburg officiated the game impressively and it was not his fault – or the fourth official Jon Moss – that Chelsea did not pass the ball with more authority.

Pellegrini sent on Frank Lampard to face his old club but Mourinho had ensured there were an awful lot of bodies to get through.