88 min: Chelsea substitution Josh Achemapong on, Malo Gusto off.

86 min Before today, City had won only five of their 12 league games in 2026. But that team is not the same as the one that has returned from spring break. They are playing with a rhythm and a swagger that looks extremely ominous for Arsenal.

85 min Ait-Nouri fouls Gusto on the edge of the D. Palmer curls a low free-kick around the wall and Donnarumma holds on.

83 min Cucurella runs onto a neat chip from Lavia and powers a header that is pawed away well by Donnarumma.

82 min: Double substitution for Chelsea Liam Delap and Dario Essugo, who is making his Premier League debut, replace Moises Caicedo and Joao Pedro.

81 min: City substitution Mateo Kovacic, who has been out since October, comes on for Bernardo Silva.

81 min Goal difference could be a factor, which is one reason City are hunting more goals. They are now three behind Arsenal.

80 min Semenyo runs at a backpedalling defence but shoots tamely at Sanchez from 20 yards.

79 min “Go on then... will Arsenal blow it?” wonders Max Williams. “I think Arteta’s boys will just slump over the line, primarily because they aren’t as bad and City aren’t as good as recent games suggest. In fact it wouldn’t amaze me if they get a result at the Etihad next week. (And quite possibly drop more points the week after.) Equally, there’s a chance we get a 2023 redux and Arsenal totally fall away, City sealing it with a couple of games to spare. Either way, the Narrative Gods were never going to allow the Gunners an easy run at their first title in 20 years.”

This weekend makes City favourites, right? But if Arsenal win at the Etihad on Sunday they will almost end the title race at a stroke. And their run-in, post-Etihad, is pretty good. But yesterday’s performance was alarming.

78 min Barring a comeback for the ages, Chelsea will finish the day in sixth – four points behind Chelsea and seven behind both Aston Villa and Manchester United. Their Champions League hopes may be over if they fail to beat Man Utd at Stamford Bridge next Saturday.

76 min: Double substitution for City Phil Foden and Savinho come on for Jeremy Doku, who scored the third goal, and Rayan Cherki, who made the first two. Cherki is so much fun.

76 min Khusanov is encouraged to shoot by the away fans. He does, smashing a violent 30-yarder that whooshes not far wide.

75 min “Is Nico O’Reilly the new Chris Lawler?” wonders Steve Bradfield. “Both full-backs - Lawler on the right of course - with a goalscoring knack.”

His timing in the penalty box is immaculate. I suppose that’s no surprise given he grew up as a No10, but it’s such an asset for City and potentially England.

74 min It looks better now: Rodri is back on his feet and the pain has apparently abated.

72 min Rodri is in serious pain after jarring his ankle while being challenged by Lavia. This doesn’t look great.

70 min The camera cuts to a Manchester City fan who is pretending to swig from an Arsenal water bottle. Where’s Roy Walker when you need him?

A fine goal from Jeremy Doku, one that that symbolises City’s ravenous hunger. Sanchez rolled the ball out to Caicedo, who farted around 25 yards from his own goal. Doku, with help from Cherki, nicked the ball and charged through to score with ease.

67 min: Double substitution for Chelsea Romeo Lavia and Alejandro Garnacho replace Andrey Santos and Estevao.

66 min Cucurella races down the left and angles the ball back to Palmer, who sweeps a first-time shot that deflcets behind off Guehi. Excellent defending.

65 min “For pity’s sake,” sighs Charles Antaki. “All that’s needed now is for Rayan Cherki to step forward to do a lap of the pitch doing keepy-uppies, nutmegging each opposition player in turn, doing backflips and then spending the last five minutes sitting on the ball.”

Ah, a good excuse to link to one of my favourite goals. I love the matter-of-fact way the commentator says “Murray having a seat on the ball”, as if it happened every week. Probably did.

64 min: City substitution O’Reilly is replaced by Rayan Ait-Nouri. The body language of all concerned suggest it’s at least partially a precaution, and that he could be fit for the Arsenal match.

64 min Nico O’Reilly is down with a hamstring problem. It looks like a strain rather than a tear, but surely City won’t want to risk him ahead of next week’s match against Arsenal.

63 min “Cherki is such a lovely footballer,” writes Niall Mullen. “It’s funny that a season that looked like it would be won easily by a meticulously coached team reliant on set-pieces might be decided by a free spirit out there living his best life.”

62 min This is the top of table as things stand.

61 min City now have an aggregate score of 8-0 in their last three games, all against English football royalty: Arsenal, Liverpool and Chelsea. Talk about hitting form at the right time.

Manchester City have been quite sensational since the break. Cherki took a short corner on the left, got the ball back from Doku and embarked on a jaunty run across the line of the penalty area. He beat two players before flicking a sudden pass through to Guehi, who took a touch and finished expertly across Sanchez. Beautiful pass, fine finish.

56 min Whatever Pep Guardiola said at half-time has worked, because they are all over Chelsea like a cheap cliche.

54 min City have been brilliant since half-time. Semenyo controls a long pass, chops back inside Cucurella and hits a shot that deflects behind. Cucurella made a really good recovery challenge, though he was then booked for dissent.

53 min Honestly, I’m struggling to recall a full-back in football history who scored centre-forward’s goals with the frequency and timing of Nico O’Reilly. There have been better goalscorers, of course, but full-backs usually score from weird and wonderful angles and distances. O’Reilly is taking the bread from Erling Haaland’s table!

This kid is remarkable and he has given City the lead with another excellent goal. After a patient build-up on the right, Cherki teased a lovely ball towards a crowd of players on the six-yard line. O’Reilly fought his way past Andrey Santos and headed emphatically past Sanchez. Wow.

49 min Having seen a replay, I think that shot from Haaland was going well wide.

48 min Doku wants a penalty after a slight shove from Palmer in the area. Not enough in that.

47 min: Chance for Haaland! Doku angles a sharp pass into the area for Haaland, who gets away an early shot that is crucially blocked by Hato. I’m not certain Haaland’s shot was on target – but if it was, Sanchez wouldn’t have saved it.

Moments later, Cherki’s cross-shot takes a touch and flies wide of the farp ost.

46 min Chelsea begin the second half.

“So far so good, -ish, for the Arsenal fan,” shivers Charles Antaki. “After yesterday, when my lucky rabbit’s foot, four leaf clover, horseshoe and combined prayer wheel/dreamcatcher utterly failed to deliver a decent result against Bournemouth – it’s almost as if groundless superstitious practices can’t be relied on – things are taking a turn for the better here. Of course, this might herald an avalanche of goals from Haaland in the second half, so it’s the voodoo doll out again. He’s a lovely boy, and there’s nothing personal of course, but a dismal afternoon from him and his team is what the witch doctor ordered.”

“As the game wore on, my eyes kept being drawn to the Manchester City kit,” writes Kári Tulinius. “Now, I’m not one to hate on all gry football shirts, City have had some nice ones in fact, but something about the combination of light grey and neon green puts me in mind of a cheap 1990s pocket radio. Speaking of that decade, is that the worst Premier League kit since Manchester United’s one-half wonder in 1996?”

At least that kit looked good with jeans.

Half-time reading

45+1 min Bernardo Silva’s inswinging corner beats everyone and goes out for a goalkick on the far side.

45 min Semenyo bursts into life with a typical run across the face of the penalty area. Eventually he reverses a shot that takes a nick off a defender and goes behind for a corner.

44 min City have had 68 per cent possession, though their performance hasn’t felt that dominant.

43 min Estevao’s first dangerous run is ended by a good tackle from Bernardo Silva. The game needs a goal.

39 min O’Reilly makes good ground on the left and plays a crisp cutback to Cherki. He sweeps a first-time shot from 17 yards that is too close to Sanchez.

38 min Semenyo is booked for a nothing foul on Neto. After a good start, the match has become bitty.

36 min Estevao, who has been booked, is penalised for a clumsy tackle on Doku. Careful now.

34 min Doku finds the underlapping O’Reilly near the byline in the area. His precise cutback is met by Bernardo Silva, whose close-range shot – taken under pressure and therefore not cleanly struck – is well blocked by Sanchez.

33 min Donnarumma runs 20 yards out of his area to stop Joao Pedro running only his own lob forward. Important goalkeeping because Joao Pedro was away.

30 min Neto, apparently boxed in near the corner flag, nutmegs Nunes magnificently. Rodri has to step across to concede a corner.

29 min Gusto’s cross just evades the stretching Joao Pedro, who had made an excellent run to get the wrong side of Guehi.

27 min Doku barrels into a crowded area, but it’s all a bit tight and he eventually overruns the ball.

24 min Now it’s City’s turn to have a dominant spell, and Chelsea’s turn to assume the defensive position.

21 min Nunes sprays a crossfield pass out to Doku. He muscles past Gusto, charges into the area and cracks a shot that is blocked.

19 min Pedro Neto bounces Rodri to the ground – yep – then slithers outside a defender and drives a low shot from the angle that is beaten round the near post by Donnarumma. Chelsea are bossing this, certainly in terms of penetration.

18 min “I don’t like supporting City, but here we are,” hereweares Matt Dony. “Two disappointing Peps. I have a longstanding (and, admittedly, fairly irrational) dislike for Guardiola. And it makes me a little bit sick every time I see Lijnders on that bench. But I need Chelsea to lose. So Blue Moon, Poznan, Oasis and all that. My living room is blue. For a bit, at least.”

16 min: Disallowed goal for Chelsea! Marc Cucurella finishes smartly after a fabulous run from Joao Pedro. The flag goes up for offside, and though it looks very tight to the naked eye, the decision is confirmed by VAR.

13 min Palmer even gets back to make an important tackle on Doku in his own area. It’s been a fun start to the game, with both teams looking bright and breezy in possession.

12 min Chelsea are dominating possession now, with Palmer heavily involved. He is bang up for this.

Estevao is booked for kickinjg the ball away.

11 min “It does look lovely, Stamford Bridge bathing in the sun,” writes Peter Oh. “Enzo Fernandez is even wearing shades in the stands. He’s practically in Madrid!”

10 min Palmer gets the wrong side of Rodri and is cynically pulled back by the shirt. The referee gives a free-kick but surprisingly declines to show a yellow card.

10 min A deflected shot from Palmer, who looks desperate to impress, bounces through to Donnarumma.

8 min Neto pokes a pass through to Joao Pedro, who shoots from a similar position to Palmer a moment ago. This time his shot deflects behind off Khusanov.

5 min Palmer smashes a shot into the side netting after a fine Chelsea break. He started it himself, then got the ball back from Neto and danced past Rodri in the area. By the time he had the shot, the angle was too tight and it rippled the side netting.

5 min It’s been a relaxed, confident start from City, with most of the game taking place in the Chelsea half.

4 min The corner eventually leads to a deep cross from the right and a dangerous header back across goal from Doku. Haaland is sniffing with intent but Fofana gets there first to make a vital clearance.

3 min After a patient City move, Semenyo runs at Cucurella to win the first corner. He has settled so smoothly since joining City in January.

2 min Chelsea’s wingers will probably switch, but for now they’re playing with Neto on thee left and Estevao on the right.

1 min Peep peep! City, in their grey and yellow change strip, kick off from left to right as we watch.

It’s a lovely spring afternoon in west London. Little brisk. But it’s a nice enough day for what is a fascinating contest.

A reminder of today’s teams

Chelsea (4-2-3-1) Sanchez; Gusto, Fofana, Hato, Cucurella; Caicedo, Andrey Santos; Estevao, Palmer, Neto; Joao Pedro.

Subs: Sharman-Lowe, Acheampong, Tosin, Sarr, Essugo, Lavia, Garnacho, Guiu, Delap.

Man City (4-2-3-1) Donnarumma; Nunes, Khusanov, Guehi, O’Reilly; Bernardo, Rodri; Semenyo, Cherki, Doku; Haaland.

Subs: Trafford, Reijnders, Ake, Marmoush, Kovacic, Nico, Ait-Nouri, Savinho, Foden.

Referee Chris Kavanagh.

Match report: Sunderland 1-0 Tottenham Hotspur

Match report: Crystal Palace 2-1 Newcastle

Match report: Nottingham Forest 1-1 Aston Villa

The updated Premier League table

Enjoy him while you can

Enzo Fernández and Rodri would quite like to move to Madrid; many people would. They both said as much in the international break, those special parts of the season when players join up with their national teams and give interviews while apparently unaware that media are global these days: a whisper on Luzo TV can soon become a hurricane in London. But Rodri will line up for Manchester City at Chelsea on Sunday, while Fernández will not, suspended by the club for “crossing a line”.

It’s worth, perhaps, looking at exactly what was said. Fernández expressed disappointment at Enzo Maresca’s departure on New Year’s Day. “It … hurt a lot,” he told Luzo, “because we had a lot of identity, he gave us order, but it’s the way that football is, sometimes it’s good, sometimes it’s bad. But we always had a clear identity when it came to training, playing and obviously his departure hurt us especially in the middle of the season – it cuts everything short.” Sadness that a manager has gone surely isn’t a crime; it could even be supportive of Liam Rosenior and the difficulty of taking over a club mid-season.