Pep Guardiola’s men had scored more than twice in a league game just once since their opening match of the season, but were 3-0 up by half-time thanks to goals from Ilkay Gundogan, Phil Foden and Kevin De Bruyne.
Browsing: Chelsea
Both teams have accrued 26 points heading into their first match of the New Year, although the visitors do have two games in hand and have enjoyed a far better spell of form than their weekend opponents.
The impact of the Covid-19 pandemic saw overall turnover for the group fall from £446.7 million to £407.4 million for the year ended June 30 2020.
The Sun claimed earlier this month it was reported that Rennes was the most likely destination for out of favour Chelsea centre-back Tomori.
A penalty from Alexandre Lacazette and goals from Granit Xhaka and Bukayo Saka helped a youthful Arsenal side seal their first league win in nearly two months.
The Gunners, who are down in 15th spot in the table, will be searching for their first league victory since the start of November, while Chelsea will be looking to make it back-to-back wins in England’s top flight, having comfortably dispatched West Ham United at Stamford Bridge on Monday night.
The result lifted Chelsea to fifth on 25 points from 14 games, a point behind fourth-placed Everton, while West Ham stayed 10th on 21 points after failing to rack up a third successive away win
Head coach Marcelo Bielsa revealed at his media conference last Wednesday that he has no plans to buy a defender in the transfer window next month, but a loan deal has not been ruled out.
Lionel Messi’s side will take on former team-mate Neymar, with speculation continuing that the Argentine may look to join his friend in Paris next season.
The fullback becomes the first player with a Nigerian passport to win the accolade since the award was introduced for the 2016/17 season.
All three English sides will be seeded in the draw at UEFA’s Nyon headquarters, meaning they will avoid champions Bayern Munich and other big guns such as 13-time winners Real Madrid, Juventus, Paris St Germain and Borussia Dortmund.
Tomori has shown plenty of promise in the early stages of his Blues career, but the 22-year-old has been frozen out under Frank Lampard this season and is being linked with a move elsewhere.
The French forward followed up his four-goal haul in Sevilla in midweek by marking his first league start of the campaign with a brilliant first-time finish on 27 minutes.
Giroud, making his 50th start for the club, was at his clinical best as he took his tally to 10 goals in his last seven away starts in the competition and ensured Chelsea go into the round of 16 as one of eight seeded teams.
The Austria international will be out of contract at the end of the season and could be available on a free transfer next summer.
The Mirror claimed Tomori could swap West London for the Toon after being starved of game time under Frank Lampard.
Chelsea, who won three league titles under Mourinho, spent long periods camped in the Spurs half but struggled to break through the disciplined defending that was a hallmark of the Portuguese coach’s two spells in charge at Stamford Bridge.
An attention-grabbing fixture at any time, this showdown promises to be even more encapsulating than usual with both teams in fine form and flying high in the Premier League table.
With the game at 1-0 heading into stoppage time, Andrew Robertson was adjudged to have kicked the foot of Danny Welbeck in the box, and after going over to the pith side monitor, Stuart Attwell awarded the spot-kick, despatched down the middle by Gross.
The 21-year-old has established himself as a regular member of the Villarreal first team in recent seasons, making 37 La Liga appearances in 2019-20 and featuring in all but one of their matches so far this term.