The visitors initially applied pressure in the early stages, but it was Chelsea who got on top and carried the greater threat.
A swift Blues move culminated in Cole Palmer smashing his shot into the side netting, while Joao Pedro saw an attempt deflected wide by Abdukodir Khusanov before finding Marc Cucurella for a goal that was ruled out for offside.
Pedro Neto then jinked his way inside and saw off Rodri before his attempt was saved by Gianluigi Donnarumma. Robert Sanchez didn’t have to make a save until the 34th minute but did brilliantly when called upon, as he stopped Bernardo Silva’s effort from a Nico O’Reilly cutback.
O’Reilly was the creator again as Rayan Cherki received the ball in space on the edge of the box, although he fired tamely in Sanchez’s direction.
Antoine Semenyo darted inside before ultimately dragging his shot narrowly wide of the post, while Andrey Santos headed off-target at the other end with the first half’s final touch.
The Cityzens came out of the break on the front foot, and with Erling Haaland already having seen a shot blocked by Jorrel Hato, went ahead within six minutes of the restart as O’Reilly shrugged off Santos to head home Cherki’s cross.
Just six minutes later, Cherki took his Premier League assist tally for the season to 10 when he danced across the edge of Chelsea’s box and found Marc Guehi with a pinpoint pass that was followed by an equally precise finish from the centre-back.
Having started the celebrations, O’Reilly suffered a blow as he was forced off injured, but they continued four minutes after his departure. Jeremy Doku teamed up with Cherki to dispossess Moises Caicedo and finish, inspiring chants of “Are you watching Arsenal?”
Khusanov couldn’t quite find the target with what would have been a spectacular strike, but there was no sign of a comeback from the hosts with Donnarumma stopping Cucurella’s header.
The win saw City break their run of back-to-back Premier League draws to fully capitalise on Arsenal’s defeat to Bournemouth, as they go six points behind the Gunners with a game in hand and a match against the leaders to come next week.
The result also condemned Chelsea to a third consecutive league defeat for the first time since May 2023, which also leaves them four points behind fifth-placed Liverpool.