Two-nil!
Manchester City ultimately defeated Chelsea at Stamford Bridge, thanks to Su Dong's brace.
As the Sky Sports commentator summed it up after the match, following Manchester City's victory over Chelsea, the only thing standing in the Blue Moon's way of winning the first-half title with a perfect record was the legendary Christmas Devil Fixtures.
Fifteen consecutive wins—that set the longest winning streak in Premier League football history.
With this winning streak, Manchester City had shown the entire Premier League, and even the whole of European football, their dominance. Guardiola, thanks to Manchester City's outstanding record over the past year and a half, had also become a world-renowned top manager.
In particular, the possession-based passing style he had developed for Manchester City had sparked a worldwide trend.
Real Madrid and Barcelona had played possession football before, but it had been built more on the strength of their players.
During Real Madrid's Galácticos era, Barcelona's Cruyff Dream Team era, and the Dream Team II eras under Van Gaal and Rijkaard, those teams had all played possession football. Yet none had ever sparked as much discussion as Guardiola's Manchester City did now.
Maintaining, or even surpassing, seventy percent possession in every match—what an astonishing statistic.
More importantly, Guardiola's possession system was incredibly stable, to the point that even the players' own mistakes could be effectively avoided.
As the Sky Sports commentator said, "In the Premier League today, there isn't a single team capable of stopping Manchester City. In fact, I think that if Manchester City maintains this winning streak in the second half of the season, we shouldn't be too surprised."
"Manchester United have too many problems of their own, with issues in all three lines. Chelsea's dressing-room conflicts and squad renewal are also causing problems. Arsenal and Liverpool still lack competitiveness