Chelsea 2-4 Manchester City: Carlos Tevez And Craig Bellamy Sink League Leaders

A resurgent Manchester City earned a first away win over Chelsea in over a decade, giving credence to their Champions League aspirations and preventing the home side from extending their lead at the top of the Premier League table.

Two red cards, two penalties, and six goals between the two richest clubs in England belied a poor first half showing from both, but there can be no doubt that the away side deserved such an emphatic win after goals from Carlos Tevez and Craig Bellamy strengthened Roberto Mancini's side position in the top four.

All eyes, of course, were on John Terry and Wayne Bridge before kick-off, with the latter refusing to shake the hand offered by his former team-mate in an apparent conciliatory gesture following recent public indiscretions that have led to the City fullback ruling himself out of England international duties.

With both sides having faced arduous midweek challenges in cup competitions it was perhaps unsurprising that the opening minutes were sluggish, causing little hubbub save for the jeers that arose whenever Bridge touched the ball.

Florent Malouda, once again deputizing at left back in the absence of Ashley Cole, had the first shot of note, but his drilled strike from distance veered well over Shay Given's goal.

The effort invigorated the home side who should have done better when a long diagonal ball from Branislav Ivanovic found Didier Drogba on the edge of the six yard area, but the Ivorian, after retaining the ball and deceiving the floored Micah Richards, lacked support and his clipped cross to the far post was easily seen out.

The visitors struggled to get going and lacked certainty in attack, exemplified when Adam Johnson failed to get a touch on a vicious, whipped free-kick from Carlos Tevez whilst reserve keeper Hilario stood stranded on his line.

Chelsea saw much of the ball in the middle of the park, with Joe Cole comfortably cutting inside from the left before firing over with a powerful effort.

City appeared content to allow Frank Lampard, and Michael Ballack to recycle possession, with the Citizens' midfield triumvirate of Gareth Barry, Nigel de Jong and Pablo Zabaleta holding a deep line, stifling creativity in the middle of the pitch.

A chipped Lampard cross found Drogba at the far post, but, under pressure from several defenders, the powerful striker could only head over. The potent totem, however, should have done much better when a fluffed Lampard volley fell at his feet, but a lashed left-footed shot cleared Given's goal by a considerable height.

Nicolas Anelka saw a powerful effort deflected away from goal as Chelsea continued to exert pressure, and it came as little surprise when the hosts finally went ahead following a slick through ball from Joe Cole that slid between Kompany and Richards, leaving Frank Lampard to strike the ball passed Given.

The goal injected more impetus and pace into the game, and the Blues should have doubled their lead, but Joe Cole's tame shot was well saved by Given. The loose ball was collected by Lampard on the edge of the area with the goal gaping, but a poor shot struck the first defender.

The resulting clearance was dreadfully dealt with by John Obi Mikel whose poor header Carlos Tevez, a hitherto peripheral figure, to snatch the ball ahead of Terry in the Chelsea half. The Argentine dribbled beyond the Englishman to the edge of the area, bamboozling Ricardo Carvalho as he did so, before scuffing a shot that somehow trickled beyond Hilario.

It was City's first goal at Stamford Bridge in ten years, a feat that would no doubt have buoyed Roberto Mancini's side as they headed down to the dressing room for half time, whist Carlo Ancelotti would no doubt have rued the disastrous defending that led to the equalizing goal and bemoaned the wasted chances that should have seen his team go into the break with a comfortable lead.

The second half continued the frenetic pace of the latter stages of the opening 45, but it was City who started the brightest, earning a free-kick in a dangerous area that should have yielded more than a blast straight into the wall.

Chelsea's resulting counter attack fell apart, and a pass into space from Barry found Craig Bellamy beyond Mikel who could only look on as the Welshman elected to shoot beyond the hapless Hilario from an acute angle.

Having not scored once at Stamford Bridge in a decade, the away side found themselves in the lead from a losing position, but parity was nearly restored from a deflected Drogba free-kick that dipped just inches beyond the outside of the post.

Ancelotti soon turned to the bench to rectify the situation, bringing Juliano Belletti on for the torrid Mikel, but faced a chorus of boos when he chose to haul off Cole, whose vision created the opening goal, for former City striker Daniel Sturridge.

The away side continued to threaten on the break, with Tevez and Bellamy relishing the high defensive line employed by Chelsea, and a dogged run from the former had Terry rattled, with the pair pushing and shoving before being separated.

City's two forwards combined to nearly stretch the lead, but Ivanovic defended well to prevent Bellamy from firing off a shot within the box after a looping Tevez ball saw him through on goal.

Chelsea came close to equalizing when a Malouda cross found Drogba at the far post, but a bold move from Given blocked the Ivorian's path.

Ancelotti threw on his final substitution, Salomon Kalou for Ricardo Carvalho, with over twenty minutes remaining, necessitating a shift in shape to accommodate the four forwards on the pitch, with the two substitute strikers assuming roles down either flank.

The Italian tactician would surely have looked on with disgust when substitute Belletti tore up the play book and brought down Barry in the box, which left the referee with no option but to send off the Brazilian, and allowed Carlos Tevez to stretch the lead from the spot.

A disastrous day for Chelsea soon took another turn for the worse when the already booked Ballack needlessly scythed down Tevez, and the German had no complaints when Mike Dean produced a second yellow.

But the remaining Blues players continued to take the fight to their Mancunian rivals. A powerful Drogba effort forced a strong save from Given, who stoically guarded his goal once more when Kalou ran through from an angle.

But the effort displayed by Chelsea was matched by City, who took the home side to the sword with a swift counter attack that saw four attackers up against a depleted defence. Wright-Phillips drew Hilario off his line before squaring the ball for Craig Bellamy for a simple tap-in.

But the drama didn't end there, with Mike Dean giving the home side a penalty following a push on Anelka by Barry, but Frank Lampard's injury-time spot-kick gave scant consolation to a Chelsea side who threw away the opportunity to build on their lead at the top of the table.

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