Chelsea's win at Man City delays the inevitable - but shows gap has been closed

It is fair to say that in the vicinity of the Manchester City bench, there was little Pep Guardiola had not thrown by the time Marcos Alonso scuffed a late winner.

And that probably would have included Sergio Aguero had he been able to get his hands on him.

It certainly would have included Anthony Taylor had the referee passed by.

Taylor ignored a valid-looking Raheem Sterling penalty appeal not long before Alonso's clincher while Aguero tried a Panenka-style kick from one that the official did give and it was casually saved one-handed by Edouard Mendy.

But don't get taken in by any talk of bad luck or injustice.

This was a deserved Chelsea win. Hakim Ziyech cancelled out Raheem Sterling's first half opener and Thomas Tuchel's side were the superior operators for large parts of the game.

Tuchel is a coach who can do no wrong right now. Two wins over Guardiola in recent weeks tells its own story.

Not that the FA Cup defeat and this one will have too much of a bearing on their most important meeting at the end of the month.

This was not so much a dress rehearsal as a bit of a phoney war.

Ederson and Ruben Dias apart, this was pretty much a shadow Manchester City team.

There were a couple of A-listers missing for Chelsea as well but they looked the stronger side on paper and it is not often you can say that when Guardiola's men are in action.

No matter what the outcome of the Champions League final in three weeks' time, the prospect of Chelsea making a serious challenge to City's Premier League dominance is a certainty.

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Tuchel's furious outburst at referee after Chelsea penalty decision

It is easy to forget what a formidable squad Chelsea have assembled.

This is a trophy-ready squad and that is why Frank Lampard was not indulged by Roman Abramovich.

The match between the two benches would have been a cracking nine-a-sider.

Nearly all of Chelsea's recent signings seem to be settling in with some degree of comfort.

Once Chelsea had been let off by Aguero in first-half injury-time, they were the better side.

And if Guardiola learnt anything from the second half, it is that Benjamin Mendy is not up to the standards he demands.

Reece James gave Mendy a torrid time and Guardiola had to eventually replace him.

Can Chelsea challenge for the Premier League title next season? Have your say in the comments.

The winner still came down that flank though in one of City's more sloppy performances.

At least Aguero's temporary ineptitude gave Sterling a lift.

And if one of England's finest footballers needs a tonic, it was Sterling.

These are testing times for a player who, until recently, was seen as indispensable to club and country.

Now, he faces a battle to force his way into the eleven that will start the Champions League final.

If Guardiola has all his attacking options available, Sterling will probably have to settle for a place on the bench.

And there are plenty of observers who believe that should be his berth while on international duty.

But Gareth Southgate has faith in Sterling and there was plenty of evidence here to support that faith.

His goal, his first in 13 matches, came courtesy of Aguero somehow failing to control Gabriel Jesus's wonderfully unselfish pass but Sterling caused enough problems to suggest his struggle for form has been exaggerated a little.

The goals and assists will return and he looked to have drawn a penalty out of Kurt Zouma, only for Taylor to wave play on.

That prompted Pep's tantrums, which were in full flow even before Timo Werner set up Alonso for the winner.

He might have had a point about Taylor's decision but maybe he was just as frustrated with Chelsea having City's measure at the moment.

City will wrap up the title one way or another, but as they head to Istanbul or wherever the big one is held, the advantage, however slight, appears to lie with Tuchel.