Manchester City 0 Chelsea 0
Manchester City became the first Premier League side this season to prevent Chelsea from scoring a first half goal at the City of Manchester Stadium.
In an entertaining encounter, Chelsea full-back Branislav Ivanovic had the best chance of the half mid-way though the first 45 with a header which rebounded off the Man City upright. However, both defences were largely resolute throughout.
Carlos Tevez was presented with the game's first half-chance in the sixth minute, although it was a rather opportunistic effort from the Argentina international.
His speculative shot from outside the area rolled harmlessly wide of Petr Cech's right-hand post, but it was a statement of intent from the hosts, who set their stall out with Tevez playing upfront on his own.
City manager Roberto Mancini deployed five midfielders to pack the middle of the park, as the quintet constantly hassled and hurried the Premier League champions to good effect.
Chelsea, who came into this fixture with an average of four goals per game, were limited to shots from range inside the first 20 minutes and struggled to breach their opponent's makeshift defence.
The game's first shot on target didn't arrive until the 24th minute, when City defender Kolo Toure met James Milner's corner with his head, but Cech was able to comfortably gather.
Man City then survived a huge scare as Ivanovic hit the post moments later. The Chelsea defender was unfortunate not to give the visitors the lead, and from the rebound, headed straight into the arms of Joe Hart.
At this point the game became increasingly stretched. Both defences, who had remained stern in the first 30 minutes, were now coming under increasing pressure.
In the final minutes of the half both sides had half-chances, but the scoreline stayed at 0-0, to set up an intriguing second half.
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