Chelsea end Manchester City's unbeaten run

City were in cruise control midway through the first half at wet and windy Stamford Bridge, looking every inch champions elect as they tormented their opponents.

Mario Balotelli scored inside two minutes and they should have been 2-0 up - seeing a decent penalty appeal turned down in the process - before simply losing their way.

That allowed Raul Meireles to equalise before half-time after which City simply lost the plot, Gael Clichy picking up two yellow cards in 11 minutes and Joleon Lescott handling in his own box to gift Chelsea their winner.

Frank Lampard was the scorer, coming off the bench to smash home a penalty which ended new manager Andre Villas-Boas' run of defeats against other big teams and propelling his side to third place, seven points behind their opponents.