Ailing Chelsea in need of a new direction as Man City hit three

Manchester City 3 Chelsea 0

Chelsea's turbulent start to the season continued as the champions suffered a humiliating 3-0 defeat at the hands of title rivals Manchester City, and Jose Mourinho substituted the ageing John Terry for the first time in a Premier League match.

Having opened their campaign last week with a 2-2 draw at home to Swansea, the Blues then became embroiled in an ugly controversy surrounding the team's medical staff and their decision to run on to the pitch to treat Eden Hazard. Whether or not the furore distracted the players is debatable, but clearly something is not clicking this season at Chelsea after their dominance of last season's Premier League.

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City, on the other hand, have hit the ground running with maximum points from their first two games and they are playing with a confidence that bodes well for the season ahead. "Maybe what happened last season was a good experience," reflected manager Manuel Pellegrini, on a 2014-15 campaign that finished with them eight points adrift of Chelsea. "These players are hungry and angry. Now they want to win every game."

City bossed the game from the start and Chelsea keeper Asmir Begovic had to be on his toes to save three times from Sergio Aguero in the first half-hour. Eventually, however, the pressure told and Aguero fired City into the lead on 31 minutes. Though the Citizens continued to dominate it wasn't until 11 minutes from time that captain Vincent Kompany added a second goal, rising to head home David Silva's corner.

There was still time for one further goal, Fernandinho unleashing a thunderbolt from the edge of the penalty area to cap a miserable afternoon for Begovic, deputising for Thibaut Courtois who had been sent off against Swansea.

The result means City are top of the table and Pellegrini couldn't conceal his contentment with the way the club has started the season. "Today we made a complete game," Pellegrini said. "It is impossible to dominate against Chelsea but in their best moments they created just one chance to score. We played in the way I like, to always try to score more. It was a great performance."

Chelsea manager Jose Mourinho admitted his side had been outclassed in the opening exchanges, telling reporters: "When the game started and ten seconds later you have Aguero behind the defensive line and facing Begovic, immediately you get the notion that the start wasn't good."

Admitting he was "disappointed" with his side, Mourinho also explained why he'd substituted 34-year-old captain John Terry at half-time. "The point was not to take John out it was to bring [Kurt] Zouma in," said Mourinho. "I wanted my fastest player on the pitch, not on the bench." Asked how Terry had reacted to being hauled off at half-time, the Chelsea boss replied: "I can tell you that he was not dancing in the dressing-room."

The move prompted speculation that Terry is starting to show his age, while Sky Sports pundit Graeme Souness said the substitution was a message to Chelsea owner Roman Abramovic that Mourinho wants to make new signings, reports the Daily Mail.

With just one point from their opening two games, Chelsea are languishing near the foot of the table, their plight made worse by the fact their leading rivals all won at the weekend. But Mourinho struck a bullish note in his post-match conference, declaring: "3-0 is completely fake... In the second half we controlled every aspect of the game. Then one corner, one mistake and 2-0. The best team in the first half won and the best team in the second half lost."