Manchester City 2 Chelsea 1: match report Moments of promise spiced the first half but the game was too congested, crying out for some flair, some width. It summed up the inhibition of class that Juan Mata was cautioned for pulling back Yaya Touré as the half closed. It had started deceptively brightly, Touré releasing Nasri for a strong run. The Frenchman charged down the left. Then Pablo Zalabeta exploited a misjudgement by Ashley Cole, rolling the ball back to David Silva, who shot over. Echoing City, Chelsea were also in their 4-2-3-1 formation, seeing John Obi Mikel and Frank Lampard anchoring with Ramires, Raul Meireles and the left-sided Mata pushing forward to Fernando Torres. Chelsea's No 9 looked bright, soon darting away from Zabaleta and Silva, demonstrating that burst of pace has returned. The game was largely congested in the middle, breathing only occasionally. It required a long pass from Micah Richards, playing at centre-half, to send Nasri flying through the middle, eluding David Luiz and Cahill and lifting the ball over Petr Cech. Fortunately for the visitors, Nasri's effort clipped the crossbar and Cech was able to scramble the ball clear. The game meandered from end to end, hardly the greatest advertisement for the Premier League. Too many attacks ran out of steam or ran into trouble. Lampard, Torres and Raul Meireles combined but the move was snuffed out by Kolo Touré. The width was primarily being supplied by the full-back. When Branislav Ivanovic limped off as a precaution, having felt a hamstring tighten, Jose Bosingwa bounded on but hardly added to Chelsea's threat down the right. City then appealed for a penalty when Yaya Touré went down under the slightest of nudges from Lampard. Back came City again, Nasri shooting over after a 1-2 with Yaya Touré. Then City were gifted a glorious opportunity when Mario Balotelli intercepted a Lampard pass and immediately drove through the middle, but Cech saved well. The delivery from the wide pastures was poor, even from Silva, whose corners occasionally failed to clear the first man. One good delivery was whipped in by Ramires but Richards just nicked it clear before it could reach Torres. Normal service then resumed from the flanks. Bosingwa ran the ball out. Ramires ran the ball out. Chelsea then engineered a good chance. Mikel and Mata worked the ball down the left to Ashley Cole, who lifted over a cross to Torres that begged to be hit first time. Torres decided to control it and the moment was lost. Mancini made a change at the break, removing Balotelli and sending on Gareth Barry, which hardly sharpened City's cutting edge. The game continued to be strewn with errors. Cech clawed a Nasri cross on to the bar and then, silencing the Etihad, Cahill scored. In the wake of a Chelsea corner, David Luiz challenged Barry, and the ball rebounded to Cahill, whose shot deflected off Yaya Touré and wrong-footed Joe Hart. As Cahill slid across the turf in celebration, Mancini was already plotting an attempted recovery. Tevez came on to a mixed reception, two-thirds" applause to one-third booing. Some City fans had clearly neither forgotten nor forgiven the Argentine for refusing to warm up in Munich six months ago. Chelsea fans certainly remembered. "That Carlos Tévez, he plays when he wants."" City fans immediately showed their support for Mancini, prompting Chelsea's contingent to sing in praise of Di Matteo and Eddie Newton. Tevez was buzzing around, injecting some energy but still City were vulnerable to the counter. Only Hart's strong hands kept out a Mata drive. Big save. With 10 minutes left, City were level, breathing life back into their title pursuit. Zabaleta fired the ball goalwards, Michael Essien handled and there was Agüero calmly stroking the spot-kick past Cech. Then came Nasri. Chelsea sought to get back into the game but Hart stood firm under brief bombardment. And then came the final whistle, relief mingling with joy. The race continues. Man City: Hart, Zabaleta, Richards, Toure, Clichy, Silva (Dzeko 76), Toure Yaya, De Jong (Tevez 66), Nasri, Aguero, Balotelli (Barry 46). Subs: Pantilimon, Milner, Kolarov, Savic. Booked: Nasri. Goals: Aguero 78 pen, Nasri 85. Chelsea: Cech, Ivanovic (Bosingwa 21), Luiz, Cahill, Cole, Mikel, Meireles (Essien 58), Ramires, Lampard, Mata, Torres (Drogba 73). Subs: Turnbull, Malouda, Kalou, Sturridge. Booked: Mata, Lampard. Goals: Cahill 60. Att: 46,324 Referee: M Dean (Wirral).