Chelsea end Man City's unbeaten run with 2-0 Man City: Hazard assists Kante & Luiz

Update! By Zina Network:

The Belgian is likely to find himself leading the line again after a "very great second half" in a win over Manchester City

Manchester City suffered their first Premier League defeat of the season as N'Golo Kante and David Luiz secured a hard-fought 2-0 victory for Chelsea at Stamford Bridge.

The reigning champions were on top from the outset, but Pep Guardiola's decision to play Raheem Sterling through the middle in the absence of the injured Sergio Aguero failed to pay dividends and they were unable to regain top spot from Liverpool, who beat Bournemouth 4-0 earlier on Saturday to edge a point clear.

Match Events

8' CHANCE! Sterling's shot saved

Sterling! A golden chance for City goes begging as, following a break from Fernandinho, the England international can't tuck a square pass from the penalty spot past Kepa.

32' CHANCE! Sane's shot blocked

Sane! The Germany man is released with a wonderful throughball and puts Azpilicueta on the ground as he turns him inside out. His shot – and Delph's follow-up – are deflected however and Chelsea survive.

45'GOAL! Chelsea 1-0 Man City (Kante)

KANTE FOR CHELSEA! 1-0! An absolute sucker punch of a goal for the hosts! David Luiz finds Pedro out wide on the right with a long cross, who tips it back to the left flank for Willian. Both he and Alonso can't find space to shoot, but Hazard drifts it back to the Frenchman who arrives with a thundering right foot to put it into the roof of the net.

78'GOAL! Chelsea 2-0 Man City (Luiz)

DAVID LUIZ FOR CHELSEA! 2-0! That is an absolutely fantastic header from the defender to get his first goal in 14 months and double his side's lead! Hazard swings a perfectly weighted corner in, the centre-back rises above the rest of the box and puts a looping header over Ederson into the top-right corner.

Line-ups

Chelsea XI: Willian, D.Luiz, Azpilicueta, E. Hazard, Pedro, M.Alonso, M. Kovačić, Jorginho, A. Rüdiger, Kepa, N. Kanté

Subs: Fàbregas, W. Caballero, O. Giroud, Barkley, Emerson, A. Christensen, R. Loftus-Cheek

Man City XI: David Silva, Fernandinho, F. Delph, K. Walker, Mahrez, R. Sterling, A.Laporte, J. Stones, Ederson Moraes, Sané, Bernardo Silva

Subs: V. Kompany, N. Otamendi, İ. Gündoğan, Danilo, Gabriel Jesus, Foden, A. Murić

Chelsea head coach Maurizio Sarri said he would use Eden Hazard as his team's centre forward again in the future after the star impressed in the role against Manchester City.

The Belgium international started up front and set up goals for N'Golo Kante and David Luiz as Chelsea inflicted City's first league loss of the season with a 2-0 win on Saturday.

Sarri is open to using the 27-year-old, who has seven goals and eight assists in 15 league games this campaign, in the same role in the future.

"He had some problems at the beginning of the match, but I think he played really a very great second half. Maybe he deserved to score," he said.

"I think it's a very good option. We will play like today in the future for some matches of course."

Sarri's switch meant Alvaro Morata was left out of the squad, with Olivier Giroud starting on the bench.

The Italian said that was a purely tactical decision as he saw no reason to have two strikers among his substitutes.

"The reason was clear. We played with Hazard as a striker, so if we have to change something there was Giroud," Sarri said.

"I think it was useless to have two strikers on the bench and I prefer to have more midfielders.

"I was in trouble with the wingers. The only option was [Ruben Loftus-Cheek]. I prefer this."

The Blues boss was also impressed with the performance of defender David Luis, who helped keep City's high-flying attack in check.

"I have to say I'm really very happy with him from the beginning," he said of the centre-back.

"Of course, there are matches like this one in which it's easier to stay in the defensive line. The defensive movements are working very well. And there are matches in which it's really difficult to stay in the defensive line, like Tottenham, because the defensive phase of the team is a disaster.

"Today he played a great match, but all the team helped him to play really well."

Chelsea are fourth in the Premier League after their win, eight points behind leaders Liverpool who took over top spot in the table thanks for City's loss and their own 4-0 win over Bournemouth on Saturday.