Enzo Fernandez received’t have believed his luck when the ball popped again out to him and he was handed a second chew on the cherry to scrape previous Gianluigi Donnarumma.
Calum McFarlane, their caretaker boss, was left punching the air as Fernandez wheeled away, and Chelsea held on.
For a lot of of their conferences throughout Pep Guardiola’s nearly 10-year reign at Metropolis, Chelsea have been marginal underdogs. Heading into this one, the identical description would have served as a substantial understatement.
As Guardiola took cost of the 1,012th match of his managerial profession, Chelsea’s McFarlane took to the dugout for his first at senior stage.
Seven months in the past, he was a youth-team coach at Southampton. Earlier than kick-off, it was being labelled as the best managerial mismatch in Premier League historical past – and it was arduous to not really feel that abstract was truthful.
However McFarlane held his personal, simply as Chelsea did. They climbed again above Manchester United into fifth place because of their draw.
Odds stacked in opposition to Chelsea
Even except for the very fact they’re within the midst of a managerial change, Chelsea’s robust ask of getting one thing from the sport grew harder nonetheless.
However this gave their followers who had braved the journey as much as the icy north all of the extra cause to get misplaced within the ecstasy as soon as Fernandez nicked Chelsea their draw.
Chelsea present preventing spirit to subsequent boss
Maresca was all the time the primary to chip in and remind those who he was accountable for the youngest squad within the Premier League, however Chelsea’s youth and relative inexperience doesn’t imply they aren’t battle-hardened or hard-working.
Their show on the Etihad confirmed they’re each. They fought fiercely and left the Metropolis faces trying dejected on the finish as they outlasted their hosts regardless of absorbing such stress all through.
Chelsea’s subsequent head coach will likely be accepting a difficult job at a membership that can’t appear to shake its ‘basket-case’ tag for good – however they may also be inheriting a really proficient group of younger gamers.
Amongst them, Fernandez, Reece James, Pedro Neto, and loads of others possess the starvation to go toe to toe with one of the best sides, head coach in place or not.
