Chelsea played out a 1-1 draw against Manchester City, and Enzo Fernández was Chelsea’s hero on the night.

Fernandez’s goal helped Chelsea avoid defeat after a poor showing in the first half. Chelsea were slow, too careful, and played like they wanted Manchester City to win the game. It was a fresh experience for Callum McFarlane, who just moved up from coaching Chelsea’s U-21 team to facing Pep Guardiola with the men’s senior team.

The lineup was the first worry. Cucurella out injured, Fofana ill, and a bizarre omission on Robert Sanchez, it felt like the game was over before it even began. Chelsea weren’t their best selves in the first half, and they were punished by Tijani Reinjders, who gave City the lead.

It could’ve been worse as Haaland hit the bar and tested the goalkeeper from close range, but Chelsea survived.

Coming into the second half, Chelsea brought on Santos, Delap, and Hato. Interestingly, this was one of the best performances by Delap in a Chelsea shirt. He had the Blues’ first chance on target after Pedro Neto spurned a golden chance earlier.

James, Gusto, Chalobah, and Santos put in good shifts, but Palmer and Neto performed way below their expected levels, especially with Neto looking blank most times when running with the ball and in front of goal.

Palmer was way below his expected standards. He was getting caught in possession, failing to make passes, or even inspiring the team. But despite the poor performance by the team, Chelsea were better than City in the second half, and the one chance they got to run at the Cityzens’ defence, it led to Enzo Fernández’s goal.

His goal puts Chelsea back within the top four conversation and on a pedestal to go into their coming games. With a new coach expected to join soon, the results are expected to get better from here.