Steve Nicol has claimed that Manchester City would have lost to Chelsea had Ederson Moraes not made massive saves on Saturday.
The Brazilian goalkeeper saved City’s blushes on three separate occasions during their fifth draw of the ongoing Premier League season.
Firstly, Ederson made a huge stop to deny Nicolas Jackson’s attempt, as he was clean through on goal in the first half.
Steve Nicol says if not for Ederson, Manchester City would have lost to Chelsea
Similarly, in the second half, the 30-year-old made two brilliant saves, first stopping Raheem Sterling’s close-range attempt before miraculously keeping out Ben Chilwell’s strike, which was subsequently cleared by Ruben Dias off the line.
If not for those crucial stops from the £35 million (BBC Sport) man, the visitors would have dismantled Pep Guardiola’s men at the Etihad Stadium.
Steve Nicol gave Ederson the credit he deserves after his heroic display for Manchester City after their 1-1 draw against Chelsea.
“Let’s stick up for the goalkeepers here. This game could’ve finished completely differently. Had Ederson not made the save at 1-0, City weren’t getting anything from this game”, he said [via ESPN FC].
“Anything who listens to us and we talk about having a world-class goalkeeper gains you points during a season, if anybody thought we were being truthful, this is the perfect example because they don’t get anything. Unless Ederson makes that save, they don’t get anything out of this game. They’re not coming back.”
Pep Guardiola and Co. could look back on that Ederson display with a sigh of relief
With City, Liverpool and Arsenal being in a genuine three-horse race for the Premier League title, it is difficult to predict which team will come out on top.
But if Manchester City dust themselves off after their draw against Chelsea and go on to retain the title, the decisive display from Ederson will be looked back upon as one that was worth its weight in gold, as Steve Nicol claimed.
At the business end of the season, dropping any points could derail a title challenger’s entire campaign and as a result, the treble-winners could look at the point they took against Chelsea as one that may have helped them get over the line.
It’s safe to say that Ederson should be proud of his performance and the hope from a Manchester City perspective is that his teammates will operate at similar levels until the end of the season.
