That was the ending of a dramatic 1-1 Premier League match at the Etihad with Chelsea, as Enzo Fernández’s goal deep into stoppage time prevented with visitors and the draw was shared, which brought Manchester City’s winning streak to an end.
The last year for City had been marked with 8 consecutive wins to end the year, but now they have already drawn twice in their first two league matches of 2026. The same goes for Chelsea, who were slow starters in terms of points in the calendar year as they registered their seventh draw in the last ten January season openers.
The first match after the departure of Enzo Maresca was a pretty cautious one as interim coach Calum McFarlane set up the team in such a way that City was being difficult on them. However, the home side got better as the game went on, with Phil Foden and Bernardo Silva nearly finding the net, and Erling Haaland also hit the post with a fine curling effort.
City made their effort count as Tijjani Reijnders’ powerfully shot found the back of the net from a tight angle. Chelsea finally found a rhythm in the second half and almost scored through Pedro Neto, but he wasted a perfect opportunity to score on a counterattack.
City was always looking for a second goal, and injuries to Joško Gvardiol and Rúben Dias affected their defense’s timing towards the end. Chelsea took advantage of Manchester City’s lapses in defense in the stoppage time when Malo Gusto’s cross caused chaos, and Enzo Fernandez was able to pounce on the loose ball to score at the back post.
City now sit 6 points behind the table leaders Arsenal, while Chelsea can take morale from a hard-fought draw after the sacking of Enzo Maresca
