And breathe.

We were served up an early game of the weekend contender at the Etihad Stadium between Manchester City and Chelsea as the latter firmly put their marker down as the title favourites on Saturday lunch-time.

Coming into this one many wanted to see how Chelsea were going to perform against a direct rival away from home in their 3-4-3 system and, in the end, they passed the test emphatically.

Whilst City could have won the game with chances for Kevin De Bruyne and Sergio Aguero in the second-half having been gifted the lead by Gary Cahill they could not find the net, and that proved their downfall.

Chelsea got back into it through Diego Costa and from then on only one team looked like winning.

That they did, too, as Willian and Eden Hazard confirmed victory emphatically to take the Blues further clear at the top of the league.

There was still time for a good old punch up, as well, as Sergio Aguero nearly cut David Luiz in half and Fernandinho blew his top with the pair getting straight reds for their troubles.

An insane Premier League contest, then, and here are FIVE things we learned from it...

 Chelsea are the title favourites

This was a performance, in the end, that underlined Chelsea's title credentials and if there was any doubt around them being the favourites for the crown beforehand, there isn't now. The Blues could have ended up getting beat here but City were poor in front of goal and to the Blues' credit, they reacted like champions.

This was a bold performance from the Londoners in the end and they should only get better.

City need to improve at home fast

Incredibly, Manchester City have not won a game since September 17th at home in the league and that lack of confidence really hit home when Chelsea found the net. As soon as the Blues equalised City completely fell apart and their fans fell silent, anxiety had completely gripped the majority of the crowd.

The Etihad used to be a place where you felt City would always win but now that air of invincibility is truly in tatters.

City need extra options

It seems incredible to suggest that a club as wealthy as City need to spend more, but they simply do.

The side that Pep Guardiola put out was decent enough looking going forward but at the back they were distinctively average and that shone through especially in the second half. Pep Guardiola only has a handful of players that can properly play to his liking and this performance highlighted that emphatically.

Chelsea can't be complacent

Manchester City should have won this game long before Chelsea got back into it and at one point you could only see a win for the home side. Nevertheless, the Blues rode their luck at times and eventually got back into it through Diego Costa before scintillating attacks from Willian and then Eden Hazard sealed the deal.

It wasn't the Blues' best performance by a long way and whilst a win is all they'll care about right now, they will have to address some issues.

 Gareth Southgate's got a job on

It might be easy to forget, perhaps convenient even, but England's two starting centre-backs were on show today and both highlighted their flaws.

Whilst John Stones once again highlighted that he simply doesn't know when to play out from the back and when to just clear the ball, Gary Cahill went about showing he has always got a mistake in him. His own goal was comical, yes, but also a pretty worrying signal for the Three Lions.