Chelsea: Liam Rosenior in London for talks over Blues head coach job

The new Blues boss – presumably Rosenior – will inherit a squad of players who won Chelsea’s second Club World Cup title only six months ago.

Yet they sit only fifth in the Premier League, out of the title race after a major dip in December under Maresca.

There is plenty to play for, though, and Fernandez’s stoppage-time equaliser at Manchester City was just reward for a battling Chelsea performance in difficult circumstances.

Before kick-off, starting goalkeeper Robert Sanchez withdrew after failing to shake off a muscle injury sustained in the warm-up before the midweek draw with Bournemouth, while defender Wesley Fofana missed out through illness.

Chelsea competed well until the closing stages of the first half, when Manchester City took the lead through Tijjani Reijnders.

A series of McFarlane substitutions made a difference after the interval. First, Andrey Santos came on in midfield for attacker Estevao Willian, and a reshuffle pushed eventual scorer Fernandez into a more advanced position.

Midway through the second half, the introductions of Jorrel Hato for Josh Acheampong in defence and Liam Delap for Joao Pedro in attack proved significant when it came to the equaliser.

Malo Gusto moved out to the right and provided the cross, while Delap’s run occupied defenders before Fernandez scored with his third attempt from close range.