Calum McFarlane, their caretaker boss, continued to punch the air as Fernandez pulled away, and Chelsea held on.
In many of their meetings during Pep Guardiola’s near-decade reign at City, Chelsea were marginal underdogs. Going into this, the same description would have served as a significant understatement.
As Guardiola took charge of the 1,012th game of his managerial career, Chelsea’s McFarlane entered the dugout for his first at senior level.
Seven months ago he was youth team coach at Southampton. Before kick-off it was labeled the biggest managerial mismatch in Premier League history – and it was hard not to feel that summary was fair.
But McFarlane stood his ground, as did Chelsea. Their draw saw them climb back above Manchester United into fifth place.
The chances against Chelsea were piling up
Even putting aside the fact that they are in the middle of a managerial change, Chelsea’s tough ask to get something out of the game became even tougher.
But this gave their fans who had braved the journey to the icy north all the more reason to get lost in the ecstasy as Fernandez had snatched Chelsea their draw.
Chelsea shows fighting spirit to the next boss
Maresca was always the first to contribute, reminding people that he was in charge of the youngest squad in the Premier League, but Chelsea’s youth and relative inexperience does not mean they are not battle-hardened or hardworking.
Their exhibition at the Etihad showed that they are both. They fought fiercely and left City’s faces looking dejected at the end, outlasting their hosts despite being under intense pressure throughout.
Chelsea’s next head coach will take on a challenging job at a club that can’t seem to shake off the ‘basket-case’ label for good, but they will also inherit a very talented group of young players.
Among them, Fernandez, Reece James, Pedro Neto and a host of others have the hunger to take on the best sides, whether they are head coaches or not.
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