Manchester City with impressive win at Chelsea

Manchester City put on an impressive display Saturday at Stamford Bridge as they knocked off EPL top dogs Chelsea 4-2.  The win heldped City lay claim to the all important 4th spot in the EPL as the top 4 get Champions League berths for next year.

The match actually started fairly quietly with both sides probing, but neither able to find the break through until late in the first half.  The main talking point of the early game was Wayne Bridge snubbing the pregame handshake with John Terry.

After the 40th minute though, things really heated up and it looked like a game between two of the top teams in England.  Chelsea were the ones to get the scoring started as Frank Lampard netted in the 42nd minute and Chelsea looked to be on their way.  Manchester City were to have none of it though as Carlos Tevez evened the game just before halftime on a fairly benign shot that Chelsea keeper Hilario failed to save.

The second was crazy for lack of a better term.  Craig Bellamy put City ahead after the restart on another ball that probably should have been saved by Hilario.  Either way Chelsea were in for a long half.  Things got worse when Juliano Belletti was red carded for a foul on Gareth Barry that allowed Carlos Tevez to fire home a third from the penalty spot.

Chelsea were clearly rattled as Man City continued to surge forward leading 3-1.  Michael Ballack showed Chelsea's frustration with a bad tackle in the 81s that earned him his second yellow and a trip to the locker room.  Chelsea were down to 9 men and down 3-1 on the scoreboard. 

Craig Bellamy would rub salt in the wound late on as he made it 4-1 on the day.  Frank Lampard would grab one back from the penalty spot but it was Manchester City's day as they notched a historic 4-2 victory at Stamford Bridge handing Chelsea their first home loss of the year.