Chelsea vs Manchester City: Rating the Chelsea Players

It looked for a while that Roberto Di Matteo's magic tough was going to end Manchester City's amazing home form.

But this was not to be, when a second half typical of Chelsea this season brought City two late goals.

There were positive performances from some of the Blues players and some that will have frustrated the management and fans.

So who were the players worthy of praise, and who were the players that will be fearing for their place on Saturday?

Despite letting two goals in, it was a good performance from Chelsea's No. 1, and he is my man of the match.

His decision making was important in Chelsea keeping a clean sheet for so long, and he made some very important saves to keep his side in the game.

His cross collection was perfect all game, and he stopped many potentially dangerous situations before they started.

There wasn't much to say about Ivanovic's performance tonight considering he was only on the pitch for 20 minutes.

He would be any Chelsea fan's first choice in the right-back position, and if Bosingwa plays like he did tonight in Ivanovic's absence, Chelsea may be shipping some goals.

Apart from his goal to put Chelsea in front, it wasn't a spectacular performance from the ex-Bolton defender, but it wasn't a bad performance either.

He looks more and more comfortable in the Chelsea defence every game he plays, and apart from a few stray clearances, he did a good job today.

It's always a bonus to have a defender that has talent in front of goal, and although it wasn't a contender for goal of the season, it's good to see he can get into dangerous positions and find the net when his team need it.

Two goals in two games is an impressive return for any player, never mind a defender.

Another impressive performance from the Brazilian, but also another defensively solid one.

He has become famous for his marauding forward runs, but today, they were not as successful as in previous games, and he found himself dispossessed and pressure put back on to his team.

At the back, he used his pace and ever-improving defensive skill to make things difficult for the City strikers, and he was in the right place at the right time on several occasions.

Watching Ashley Cole recently, I can't help but notice a decline in his performances, and tonight did nothing to buck the trend.

He looked nervous on the ball, even after the "settling down" period had long finished. Someone of his experience and talent should not be letting any occasion get him flustered, but he looked shaky throughout the match.

His forward play was almost non-existent, and he gave away possession at important times far too frequently.

I have never been a big fan of Mikel, but he didn't have an especially bad performance against City.

This may be due to the fact that many of us have become accustomed to him losing the ball and passing sideways, which was a role Meireles took over today.

He is showing signs of improvement in his passing accuracy, and the fact I didn't notice him much today is a good thing, showing he didn't make too many errors.

I am still not sure how Meireles gets as much first-team action as he does; he gives the ball away more than Mikel did in 2010.

Today, he was unbelievably sloppy in possession and handed Manchester City attacking opportunities when it should have been Chelsea putting City under pressure.

He made a five-yard pass look like it was difficult, and the majority of his long balls looked as if he was aiming for someone in the crowd. 

A poor performance, and I would not expect to see him start against Spurs.

Frank Lampard wasn't allowed to be as effective in the forward areas as he would have liked today, but this is mostly due to the way city pressurised the midfield, so he can't be entirely to blame.

One thing Lampard deserves praise for today is his defensive work. He cleared a number of crosses and moved the ball from defence to the wings on a few occasions.

I'm sure he would like to have been more involved in his attacking role, but he did what he had to for the team today.

Ramires started quite brightly, making a few telling runs down the wing and taking on some City players, but as Manchester City began to control possession, his impact on the game became less effective.

One thing you can guarantee with Ramires is 100 percent effort, and he ran his heart out all the way to the end.

Even when Mata doesn't have one of his best games, he always shows flashes of brilliance. This was the case today, but unfortunately, these flashes didn't come as often as Chelsea would have liked.

A part of his game that has been criticised is his defensive play and his lack of enthusiasm in tracking back. But today, he made a few tackles in the Chelsea penalty area and did a lot of running up and down the left wing.

It wasn't the back-to-back goal-fest we were hoping for, but Torres performed well again today.

His body language looks to be improving again, and he was chasing after everything and looks to have found a yard of extra pace that was lacking a few months ago.

His hunger for goals and better performances appears to be back, and his displeasure at being taken off was justified, considering he was one of the best players in Chelsea's side up until his substitution.

Bosingwa 5: If Ivanovic hadn't picked up a knock at the start of the game, I doubt Bosingwa would have gotten a game today, but unfortunately, he was forced to play the majority of the match. Usually, going forward he is quite effective, but today, he just gave the ball away. Some of his decisions in defence left me screaming at the TV, deciding to do a Cruyff turn when the best option was to clear it upfield.

Essien 5.5: After his long absence from football, I wouldn't expect him to return to his best quite yet, but today, he was well below par. His handball that caused the penalty was possibly a bit harsh on him, but he really didn't need to have his hands in such a precarious position. We have come to expect Essien to be a general in midfield, charging down the pitch and powering past players, but I didn't see enough of this today.

Drogba 6: Drogba was brought on to have an immediate impact on the team, something that didn't quite happen as Roberto Di Matteo would have liked. He did look like he could threaten the City goal had he more time on the field, but with him only having a quarter of the game to do so, his contribution was reduced to a half-cross-half-shot that sailed wide.