Manchester City ease past dour Chelsea thanks to Bernardo Silva strike

Manchester City eased past Chelsea 1-0 on Sunday thanks to a solitary goal from Bernardo Silva.

The midfielder opened the scoring seconds into the second half as he nipped in ahead of Marcos Alonso to squeeze the ball past Thibaut Courtois.

City were largely untroubled as Chelsea failed to muster anything as note offensively, with the Blues hugely disappointing whenever they went forward.

January signing Olivier Giroud was only introduced in the 78th minute whilst record purchase Alvaro Morata was brought on even later, with just a few minutes remaining.

Conte's bewildering negatively leaves Chelsea adrift of rivals. Just as in City's last two victories – 3-0 wins over Arsenal in the Carabao Cup and Premier League – this procession said much more about the losers than it did about Pep Guardiola's juggernaut. Chelsea were bewilderingly negative and the defeat leaves daylight between them and fourth-placed Tottenham, who now have a five-point lead over their London rivals ahead of their meeting at Stamford Bridge on 1 April. Just as he did against Barcelona in the 1-1 Champions League draw, Antonio Conte started with a back five and Eden Hazard as a 'False 9' but it was clear from the early stages that the plan would not work against Guardiola's possession-machine.

Time and again, Chelsea had no outlet when they finally won back the ball and Hazard cut an isolated and miserable figure up-front during the first half. When Bernardo Silva gave City a deserved lead seconds after the restart, it seemed only a matter of time before Conte introduced Olivier Giroud or Alvaro Morata. But the Frenchman did not replace Willian until the 78th-minute, while the club's record signing Morata had to make do with 50 seconds plus stoppage time, despite being stripped off much earlier. Given City's dominance of their rivals this season, it was easy to understand why Conte, an Italian pragmatist after all, started the way he did after the relative success against Barca but it was baffling that he did not make positive changes soon. Even a draw would not have been particularly helpful for Chelsea, who are now adrift in the battle for the top four.

David Silva (Manchester City). As usual, the Spanish playmaker was at the heart of everything City did and he made the crucial goal with a dart to the byline and a fine cross for his namesake Bernardo Silva. He was unlucky not to get on the scoresheet himself, forcing a smart save from Thibaut Courtois.

Man City: Ederson 6, Walker 7, Otamendi 7, Laporte 8, Zinchenko 7, Gundogan 8, De Bruyne 8, D Silva 9, B Silva 8, Sane 9, Aguero 7. Subs: Danilo 6, Foden 6, Gabriel Jesus 6.

Chelsea: Courtois 7, Azpilicueta 6, Christensen 6, Rudiger 6, Moses 6, Fabregas 5, Drinkwater 4, Alonso 5, Willian 6, Hazard 5, Pedro 4. Subs: Emerson 5, Giroud 5, Morata 6.

19' - Chance, Man City! Bernardo Silva nearly scores a replica of his goal against Arsenal on Thursday, cutting inside on his left foot and curling onto the roof of the net. Sane made the opening by bursting into the box with a trademark run.

26' - Chance, Man City! Off the line! Sane brings down Kevin de Bruyne's deep freekick with one touch and fires a shot past Courtois from a tight angle with another. Luckily for Chelsea, Azpilicueta is back on the line to clear.

41' - Disallowed goal, Man City! Otamendi slides in to turn home Aguero's miss-hit shot but the Argentine was flagged offside from De Bruyne's clever freekick.

46' - GOAL, Man City! Around 30 seconds after the restart, Bernardo Silva bundles City ahead. A defensive mix-up gifts David Silva the ball and he bursts to the byline and crosses towards the back post, where his namesake is on hand to finish! Chelsea will have to have a go from here.

53' - Chance, Chelsea! Chelsea fashion their best chance of the match through Eden Hazard and Fabregas. The Spaniard's ball finds Moses in open space on the right edge of the penalty box and he bursts forward but shanks his shot wide.

78' - Sub, Chelsea! Giround finally introduced for Willian.

89' - Sub, Chelsea! Morata finally introduced for Hazard.

Manchester City completed 902 passes, more than any other team has managed in a single Premier League game, since 2003-04 when Opta started counting.