THE BLUES were beaten by a single goal from former player Kevin De Bruyne at the Etihad Stadium.
Chelsea made five changes from the side who secured their place in the Carabao Cup final at the expense of Tottenham in midweek.
Marcos Alonso, Thiago Silva, N’Golo Kante, Christian Pulisic and Hakim Ziyech were the players to come in for the Blues.
Raheem Sterling, Jack Grealish and Phil Foden were among the players to return as Manchester City made six changes for their top-of-the-table Premier League clash with Chelsea.
Goalkeeper Ederson also came back in for the leaders following last week’s FA Cup win at Swindon while John Stones and Aymeric Laporte were restored as the central defensive partnership.
The hosts dominated the first half but, with Chelsea sitting deep, they were unable to create many clear-cut chances despite applying near relentless pressure.
Their best opportunity came just before the interval when Mateo Kovacic lost possession and Grealish broke through, but his attempt to lift over Kepa Arrizabalaga struck the keeper and rolled wide.
Chelsea had one decent opening, against the run of play early on, but Romelu Lukaku opted to pass instead of shoot and the chance was wasted. The game remained goalless at the interval.
Despite the game at the Etihad Stadium opening up in the second half, it still took a special moment from Kevin De Bruyne 20 minutes from time to break the deadlock.
The Belgian playmaker broke forward, skipped a crude challenge from Kante and fired home from just outside the area.
Chelsea had 20 minutes to find an equaliser but came up short and are now 13 points behind Pep Guardiola's side who lead the Premier League.
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