Prior to their match on Sunday afternoon, Chelsea showed respect to Manchester City’s much-rotated starting line-up by giving them a guard of honour.
Pep Guardiola’s side clinched the Premier League title on Saturday night, after Arsenal‘s defeat to Nottingham Forest meant City could not be caught.
And, in traditional fashion, they received a guard of honour in their next match however a number of City’s main players – responsible for the league title – weren’t present in the line-up.
Instead, the likes of Kalvin Phillips, Rico Lewis, Cole Palmer and Sergio Gomez, who have made just a handful of appearances between them in the season, all started.
Guardiola opted to rotate a number of City’s typical starters such as Kevin De Bruyne, Erling Haaland, Bernardo Silva and Jack Grealish, who were all rested.
Manchester City received a guard of honour from Chelsea before their clash on Sunday
City’s team featured a number of back-up players after Pep Guardiola named a rotated line-up
Long-term servant Kyle Walker led the team through the human tunnel that had been formed by the visiting side, who clapped City onto the pitch.
There was uncertainty as to when City’s league title would be confirmed, with many assuming that they’d would need a result against Chelsea to clinch it.
However, Arsenal’s 1-0 defeat one night before – which came as a result of Taiwo Awoniyi’s first-half strike – meant the Gunners could no longer catch up.
Despite a rotated squad, City stormed into a 1-0 lead against Chelsea after a neat finish from Argentinian forward Julian Alvarez.
Many of the players, who haven’t featured often for City this year, will be hoping to prove their worth ahead of their crucial run-in.
Guardiola’s side can complete a historic Treble this season, with FA Cup and Champions League finals still to play.
They face city rivals Man United in the FA Cup before playing Serie A side Inter Milan shortly after in their European final.
The likes of Erling Haaland (right) and Jack Grealish (left) were left on the bench for the game
