What a feisty end to a thoroughly entertaining first half! City have been excellent from start to finish, and Chelsea's defence are really struggling to deal with the hosts' front line. Silva and Aguero have looked particularly impressive, whilst Kolarov has consistently found so much joy when bursting down the left flank. At the other end of the pitch, the reigning champions have really struggled to make a mark, with Costa looking increasingly isolated in front of goal. HALF-TIME: MANCHESTER CITY 1-0 CHELSEA 45' + 3'The game finally resumes once again and City break away on a blisteringly quick attack. Kolarov darts down the left flank and finds Silva with a bouncing cross, but the Spaniard ends up wrestling Willian to the ground in front of goal and, as a result, Chelsea are awarded a free kick and, more importantly, a chance to breathe. 45' + 2'Costa is still on the floor receiving medical treatment, and he certainly looks dazed and confused as a result of that clash with Fernandinho. Meanwhile, Cahill remains on the side of the pitch with a nose that is bleeding profusely. 45' + 1' Fernandinho 45' + 1'Fernandinho rises high and strikes Costa in the head with a flailing arm, leaving the striker in a heap on the floor and in serious discomfort. That knock looked nasty, and it seems as if he's received a painful cut. 45' The fourth official has indicated that there will be two minutes of added time. 44' Cahill received a nasty knock to the face after clashing with Begovic as he attempted to defend City's last free kick, and he's now on the floor with a bloody nose that looks extremely painful. 43' Excellent chance for Mangala! City patiently work their way down the left flank before earning themselves a free kick. It's swung into a great area by Kolarov and finds the aforementioned defender, but his headed effort ends up missing the far post by the narrowest of margins. 42' Fabregas sends a lovely flick into the path of Hazard, who then cuts a pass back to Ramires on the edge of the penalty area. The Brazilian holds onto the ball for slightly too long and is dispossessed by Kompany, but it finds the aforementioned Spaniard once again, and he unleashes a great low shot that flies just wide of the near post. 40' Hazard is clipped from behind by Silva, resulting in a free kick for Chelsea in a dangerous position 30 yards away from goal. Once again, Fabregas sends it deep, but this time it's far too deep and ends up in Hart's hands at the back post. 38' City are all over Chelsea at the moment! They push forward in numbers, putting the visitors' back four under an incredible amount of pressure before Kolarov wins his side another corner with a dangerous cross that is deflected out of play and into the side-netting. Luckily for the reigning champions, the set- piece is poorly hit and is easily dealt with. 36' City break forward again, with Navas and Aguero linking up well on the right-hand side of the Chelsea penalty area. The Argentine quickly tees up Sterling, who immediately unleashes a fierce strike from the edge of the penalty area that flies well over the top of the crossbar. 34' The resulting set-piece is flung by Hazard over to the back post, where it finds Cahill, but, battling with Hart, he ends up sending his close-range header well wide of its intended target. 33' Vincent Kompany 33' Kompany clumsily pushes Costa to the ground, resulting in a free kick on the left wing and a yellow card for the City captain. 31' Yaya Touré 31' Sergio Agüero 31' GOAL! City have taken the lead! The hosts camp themselves inside the Chelsea half of the pitch, with ball after ball being flung into the penalty area. It finally reaches Toure on the edge of the box, and he brings it down well before teeing up Aguero, who then weaves his way through a sea of blue shirts before slotting a lovely shot into the bottom left-hand corner of the net. 30' Willian darts down the left flank before cutting inside and beating three City players. He then unleashes a rocket of a shot from 20 yards out but it's blocked well by Mangala just inside the penalty area. 29' Nacas skips past Azpilicueta before rifling in a low cross that is deflected out for a corner. The resulting set-piece is flung into a dangerous area inside the box but there are no City players there, allowing Matic the time and space to comfortably deal with the danger. 28' Navas holds up the ball well before teeing up Sagna, who immediately fires a dangerous low cross into the box. It's well met by Aguero, who then sends it back to the aforementioned Spaniard, but the winger ends up running the ball out of play for a goal kick. 26' A lengthy series of quick passes from Chelsea ends with Ramires on the right wing, and he then tries to find Costa with a curling cross. It's poorly hit, however, and misses the striker before reaching Mangala in the middle of the penalty area. 24' Costa flies into Toure and catches the City midfielder in stomach, leaving the Ivorian in a heap on the floor. The contact was minimal but he makes the most of it, much to the annoyance of the Chelsea striker. 22' Another great chance for Aguero! Kolarov, who has looked excellent so far, finds the Argentine once again but this time he ends up scuffing his first-time shot from the edge of the six-yard box just wide of the near post. 20' Chelsea quickly win the ball back before Fabregas finds Hazard with a lovely chipped pass. The Belgian sprints into the left-hand side of the penalty area before fizzing a cross towards Matic, who ends up sending his close-range header wide of the near post. 19' Costa is fouled by Fernandinho 30 yards away from the City goal, resulting in a free kick for the visitors in a very dangerous position. Fabregas takes the set-piece and sends it into the middle of the box, but Toure jumps high to deal with the danger. 17' Begovic denies Aguero again! This time the cross comes in from Navas on the right flank, but an almost identical shot from the City striker is stopped once more by Chelsea's second-choice shot-stopper. 16' Excellent save by Begovic! Kolarov finds himself in acres of space on the left wing, allowing him to fire in a great low cross that finds Aguero. The Argentine immediately unleashes a strike from the edge of the penalty area that the Chelsea goalkeeper does well to palm away with a strong stop. 15' Chelsea patiently work their way towards the edge of the penalty area before Fabregas tries to find Costa with a deft chip over the top of the City defence, but the striker switches off and, as a result, the ball lands safely in the hands of Hart. 13' Once again, Kolarov does well to get down the left flank before firing a cross off Ivanovic and out of play for a City corner. It's fired in by the aforementioned left-back but fails to beat Costa, who clears the danger with a strong header. 11' Sterling rolls away from Ramires before sending the ball over to Kolarov on the left wing. The Serbian immediately swings in a cross that falls to the feet of Silva, but the Spaniard is quickly dispossessed by Ivanovic before the Chelsea defender is fouled. 9' Silva is brought down on the left flank, and City are awarded a free kick in a dangerous position as a result. It's curled by Kolarov into the heart of the box, where it flies just past the outstretched foot of Aguero and into the hands of Begovic. 7' Silva twists and turns on the left-hand side of the penalty area before teeing up Silva, but the Spaniard is unable to get the ball out of his feet before wrestling Matic to the ground, resulting in a free kick for Chelsea deep inside their own half of the pitch. 5' City immediately break away on an incredibly quick counter attack, with Silva playing an important role in the move. It almost reaches Aguero just inside the Chelsea penalty area before Azpilicueta deals with the danger with a thumping clearance. 4' Chelsea push forward on their first attack of the game, patiently passing the ball around midway inside the City half of the pitch. They are unable to find a way through the sea of players camped in front of them, however, and Ramires ends up losing the ball on the right wing. 3' Sterling battles hard with Ivanovic down the left flank, but the Serbian comes out on top after winning the ball back near the corner flag. City certaintly have started the game in determined fashion. 2' Fantastic start by City! Silva immediately carves the Chelsea defence in two with an excellent through-ball, but Aguero ends up firing his close-range shot straight into the feet of Begovic. The ball then falls to Navas, who curls a low strike just wide of the far post. 1' And we're off! Chelsea get us underway, attacking from right to left. The two sides are making their way out onto the pitch, with just a few minutes to go until kick-off. Meanwhile, Chelsea boss Jose Mourinho has made two alterations to the side that started at home to Swansea, with Ramires and Asmir Begovic replacing Oscar and Thibaut Courtois, the latter of whom is suspended after receiving a red card last weekend. Manuel Pellegrini has decided to make just one change to the City side that started last weekend’s win against West Brom, with Wilfried Bony making way for Sergio Aguero, who comes into the squad to make his first start of the season. Chelsea substitutes: Blackman, Zouma, Loftus- Cheek, Mikel, Cuadrado, Remy, Falcao. Chelsea XI (4-2-3-1): Begovic; Ivanovic, Cahill, Terry, Azpilicueta; Ramires, Matic; Willian, Fabregas, Hazard; Costa. Manchester City substitutes: Caballero, Zabaleta, Clichy, Demichelis, Nasri, Iheanacho, Bony. Manchester City XI (4-2-3-1): Hart; Sagna, Kompany, Mangala, Kolarov; Toure, Fernandinho; Navas, Silva, Sterling; Aguero. There’s just over 15 minutes left to go until until kick-off, so let’s have a look at how the two teams will be lining up this afternoon… Of all this season’s title contenders, City certainly looked the most impressive on the opening day of the campaign. Their 3-0 win against West Brom showed just how up for the fight they are ahead of a season in which they are almost guaranteed to be constantly fighting alongside current holders Chelsea. Yaya Toure was excellent last weekend and is sure to play another vital role in today’s clash, whilst Sergio Aguero’s return to the starting line-up will no doubt galvanise an already extremely confident team.