Manchester City vs Chelsea has become one of the biggest games on the Premier League calendar over the last 10 years, with both clubs benefitting from lucrative takeovers during the 2000s.
Between them, they boast some of the greatest and most successful players ever to grace the Premier League. Here’s a look at a classic Premier League combined XI…
1. Petr Cech (GK)
Petr Cech holds the Premier League clean sheet record with 202 shutouts to his name. As many as 162 of those came during his decade as Chelsea number one, which is also the most Premier League clean sheets for any goalkeeper at a single club.
2. Pablo Zabaleta (RB)
Pablo Zabaleta was an unknown prospect when he joined Manchester City from Espanyol the day before the Abu Dhabi takeover went through in 2009, but he became an important part of the club’s success over the years that followed and established himself as a cult hero.
3. John Terry (CB)
John Terry captained Chelsea to five Premier League titles during 17 seasons in the first-team at Stamford Bridge. His rise in the early 2000s arguably mirrored that of the club’s and he was one of the best centre-backs in the world during his peak in the late 2000s.
4. Vincent Kompany (CB)
Despite an injury plagued decade at Manchester City, Vincent Kompany will be remembered as one of the greatest defenders of his generation. He brought incredible leadership and drive to the club and even scored crucial goals in the 2011/12 and 2018/19 title races.
5. Ashley Cole (LB)
Ashley Cole took an already impressive career to the next level when he joined Chelsea from Arsenal in 2006, going on to win the Premier League in a record breaking side in 2009/10, as well as four FA Cups in total, plus the Champions League, Europa League and League Cup.
6. Yaya Toure (CM)
Having seen him operate as a defensive midfielder in Barcelona’s tiki taka system, few understood what Yaya Toure was capable as an attacking driving force before he joined Manchester City in 2010. His goals, especially in 2013/14, underpinned the club’s success during those years.
7. Frank Lampard (CM)
For the perfect example of a goalscoring midfielder, look no further than Frank Lampard. Like long time teammate Terry, he developed as Chelsea did and scored double figures in the Premier League for 10 consecutive seasons between 2003 and 2013.
8. Kevin De Bruyne (CM)
Kevin De Bruyne has brought incredible vision and flawless passing since his transfer to Manchester City in 2015. Critics wrote off the £55m Belgian when he arrived because of his previous failed stint at Chelsea, but they could not have been more wrong about him.
9. David Silva (AM)
David Silva proved to be one of Manchester City’s best early investments following the Abu Dhabi takeover and had won four Premier League titles by the time he left the Etihad Stadium in 2020, 436 appearances later and as a club legend.
10. Sergio Aguero (ST)
Sergio Aguero is the Premier League’s all-time leading foreign goalscorer and is another who arrived relatively early in the Abu Dhabi era. The Argentine is also City’s all-time leading goalscorer by some distance, initially taking the record in 2017.
11. Didier Drogba (ST)
Didier Drogba was a talisman for Chelsea throughout the early glory years of the Roman Abramovich era. The Ivorian legend scored exactly 100 Premier League goals during his first spell at the club, winning four titles across both spells and also scooping two Golden Boot awards.
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Source : 90min