The Norwegian missed chance after chance on Saturday as Pep Guardiola's side dropped crucial points after wins for Liverpool and Arsenal
This is the Premier League title race that keeps on giving, and with all three title contenders in action on Saturday, fans felt primed for another twist. It came at the Etihad Stadium, where Manchester City were forced to battle back to earn a draw against Chelsea as the defending champions put in a performance that suggested they will not have things all their own way going down the stretch.
For the eighth time in their last 13 league matches, City conceded the first goal as Raheem Sterling returned to the Etihad to haunt his former club, finishing off a slick Chelsea counter-attack three minutes before half-time.
At the other end, the missed chances were beginning to add up for City, and in particular Erling Haaland, who endured an evening to forget. The Norwegian goal machine had 10 attempts on goal during the game, but failed to take any of his chances, with a couple of his headed efforts absolute sitters.
Instead it was left to City's man for the big occasion, Rodri, to rescue a point eight minutes from time, though the result is a far more positive one for Mauricio Pochettino's resurgent Blues as they put in their third encouraging display on the road in succession.
City, meanwhile, now sit four points off the top, with their game in hand scheduled for Tuesday against Brentford. Though they will rue their missed chances, Guardiola will expect much better when the Bees come to town in three days' time.
GOAL breaks down all the winners & losers from the Etihad Stadium…
Getty ImagesWINNER: Mauricio Pochettino
Less than two weeks ago, some Chelsea fans were calling for Pochettino's head after the Blues suffered back-to-back defeats against Liverpool and Wolves in which they conceded four goals on both occasions. The Argentine, it seemed, was about to become the latest victim of Chelsea's infamous managerial carousel of doom.
How things can change. Following 3-1 wins at both Aston Villa and Crystal Palace, the Blues arrived at the Etihad with some confidence brewing, and also knew they had the capability of going toe-to-toe with City after holding them to a 4-4 draw at Stamford Bridge earlier in the campaign. And from the very start, it was clear that the visitors believed they could ruffle City's feathers.
Pochettino opted to deploy Conor Gallagher in an attacking midfield role, with his main responsibility coming when out of possession as he largely man-marked Rodri. That led to the England man forcing a number of turnovers, from which Nicolas Jackson and Raheem Sterling – preferred to the less pacey Christopher Nkunku and Noni Madueke – could look to run in behind.
Chelsea created plenty of chances via this method, and on another day would have scored two or three goals. Instead, they were indebted to their defence (and Haaland's missed chances) for keeping City at bay.
Some have questioned whether Pochettino should switch to a back-three in recent weeks, but he stuck with a back-four here, and both Axel Disasi and Levi Colwill played starring roles in a display that suggested they could form a long-term partnership going forward. Disasi, in particular, shone, making countless clearances and blocks while celebrating his every intervention.
This wasn't a Chelsea team who have quit on their manager, and after a six months to forget in west London, there are finally some signs that Pochettino is figuring out how to get the Blues moving in the right direction again.
AdvertisementGetty ImagesLOSER: Erling Haaland
Haaland was at his clinical best just a week ago when he shot down a rigid Everton that had refused to budge, but here he was at his profligate worst.
Experts like to say that striker's should only be truly concerned when they are not getting chances, but Haaland took that mantra to the extreme by firing nine shots at goal and missing the target completely with five of them, completely misdirecting clear headers in the first half.
Haaland has made a career out of out-performing his expected goals ratio, but here he had an xG of 1.7, and his misses meant City missed out on two points which could prove priceless in the title race. Of course, Haaland has earned the right to have the off day after scoring 52 goals last season and 21 this campaign, even while being out injured for two months.
"Nine shots is a good stat, the next game he is going to score," said Guardiola post-match. "I played 11 seasons and scored 11 goals, one goal a season, so I'm not the man to give advice to the strikers."
But if City do miss out on that historic fourth consecutive league title, they will look back on this game and Haaland's profligacy as a huge factor.
Getty ImagesWINNER: Rodri
Rodri was eight minutes away from surrendering his truly remarkable record of not losing a game with City for over a year. And as Haaland and Kevin De Bruyne looked to be in no fit state to help him out, he had to take matters into his own hands.
The ball was flying around the Chelsea penalty area, and the midfielder struck it perfectly, sending it fizzing towards goal. It may have taken a deflection off Trevor Chalobah, but it was going in anyway.
It was Rodri's seventh goal of the season in all competitions, a hugely impressive figure for someone who is ostensibly a holding midfielder. Only Phil Foden, Julian Alvarez and Haaland have scored more for City in the league.
And few players can rival Rodri when it comes to stepping up on the big occasion. Ten of his 20 Premier League goals have given City the lead in a game, and here he saved them a point that could prove crucial in the title race. And in case anyone has forgotten, it was Rodri who scored the only goal in the Champions League final against Inter, at last ending City's long, long wait for Europe's holy grail.
LOSER: Moises Caicedo
If there was one Chelsea player who did not play to the level of their team-mates, it was Caicedo. The £115-million ($116m) midfielder was brought to the club to control games like these, but the Ecuador international again looked out of his depth at times.
Caicedo began the match by passing the ball straight to City inside the opening minute, and things got little better from there. He was fortunate not to be at least booked for a challenge on Jeremy Doku midway through the first half, and while he picked up a yellow card shortly after, that did not seem to curb his instincts to throw himself into desperate challenges.
More than once, Caicedo gave away free-kicks in dangerous areas, and he was probably one foul away from being given his marching orders. That he was able to stay on the pitch, however, shouldn't be something to celebrate for a player whose fee suggested he was going to be a transformative presence.