Manchester City were brought back to Earth in a spectacular fashion as Chelsea registered a convince 3-1 win over the Eastlands club on Saturday.

City and new signing Robinho had got off to a dream start after the former Real Madrid striker scored on his debut against a club that had chased him for much of the summer transfer window. However Chelsea soon struck back to equalize through Ricardo Carvalho and Frank Lampard gave them the lead eight minutes into the second half. Nicolas Anelka added the third in the 69th minute to ensure that there will not be any last minute hiccups as Chelsea secured a comfortable victory over City.

The build-up had all been about Manchester City with fans optimistic that their side will be able to beat Chelsea for the first time in more than eight matches. And they had a great start to the game as Robinho put them in the lead through a deflected free kick in the 13th minute.

However Chelsea were quick to bounce back and leveled the scores two minutes later when Carvalho was the first to react to John Terry's header to slot the ball past Joe Hart. The visitors controlled the match from then on as City desperately tried not to concede another goal before half time.

While they were able to achieve that target, it took Chelsea just eight second half minutes to go into the lead when a great passing move in the middle of the park found Lampard free near the City penalty area and the England midfielder made no mistake in converting his chance.

The match was all but over in the 69th minute when Joe Cole, fresh from his impressive performances for England, raced past the City defense before passing the ball for Anelka who was left with a simple finish from close range.

Chelsea were reduced to 10 men in the 77th minute when Terry was sent off for a cynical foul, though a red card was a bit harsh on the England captain.