MANCHESTER, England (AP) - Manchester City came from behind to beat Chelsea 2-1 and stay within nine points of English Premier League leader Liverpool, but lost Sergio Aguero to a groin injury on Saturday.
All the goals in an end-to-end contest at Etihad Stadium came in the first half as City responded to N’Golo Kante’s 21st-minute strike with goals from Kevin De Bruyne and Riyad Mahrez.
Raheem Sterling thought he added a third for the defending champions but his injury-time strike was ruled out for offside in a very tight VAR call.
Aguero hit the crossbar before halftime, but the game ended with concern for City’s record scorer after he hobbled off 13 minutes from time.
“It doesn’t look good,” City manager Pep Guardiola said of the injury to Aguero which he described as “muscular.”
Chelsea was a constant threat and limited City to less than 47% possession, according to official statistic supplier Opta. Opta said that was the lowest possession percentage recorded by a side managed by Guardiola in any of his 381 top-flight matches in charge.
“OK, I have another record,” Guardiola said. “I won one game without winning possession. They are an incredible team … they played so good so it can happen.”
Chelsea was leapfrogged in the table by City, which moved into third place after scoring twice in eight minutes.
“We went toe to toe,” Chelsea manager Frank Lampard said.
“We were controlling the game, we were playing some great stuff and we felt in control, but you can’t be absolutely in control against Manchester City.”
City enjoyed some fortune for De Bruyne’s 29th-minute goal, the midfielder’s shot taking a deflection and deceiving Chelsea goalkeeper Kepa Arrizabalaga as he dived the wrong way.
Mahrez’s strike was at the other end of the scale as the winger cut inside from the left, went between two defenders, and sent a low shot through the legs of Fikayo Tomori and into the far corner of the net.
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