Manchester City were “fantastic” despite suffering a first Premier League defeat of the season at Chelsea, said manager Pep Guardiola.
Chelsea bounced back from the disappointment of losing at Wolves in midweek to end City’s 21-game unbeaten league run stretching back to April, and a sequence of 14 unbeaten games away from home.
The defending champions paid for a lack of ruthlessness as they dominated the first half, only to be struck by a smash-and-grab right on half-time as N’Golo Kante fired high past Ederson from Eden Hazard’s pass.
Chelsea gained confidence and momentum and improved after the break, securing the win with 12 minutes left when David Luiz’s glancing header following a corner bounced in off the far post.
They closed out the win to give Sarri his first triumph over Guardiola, whose team are replaced at the top of the table by Liverpool.
Despite slipping a point behind the Reds, the Spaniard rejected the notion his team had an “off day”.
“If you think that, you didn’t see the game,” he told BBC Sport. “In the first half, we were exceptional.
“In general, we were fantastic. I don’t have any regrets. We came and showed we wanted to win. We created chances. They had one in 44 minutes and we conceded a goal. Sometimes that happens. (BBC)
