Temporary boss Calum McFarlane paid tribute to the Chelsea players after they shrugged off a week of turmoil to snatch an unexpected draw at Manchester City.
Enzo Fernandez scored a stoppage-time equaliser as Chelsea, despite the unsettling nature of manager Enzo Maresca’s sudden departure on New Year’s Day, put a dent in City’s title bid at the Etihad Stadium.
Tijjani Reijnders had looked to have secured a hard-fought victory for the home side as they sought to cut the gap to Premier League leaders Arsenal back to four points but Chelsea were rewarded for a resilient display as the game ended 1-1.
McFarlane, the Under-21 coach suddenly thrust into the limelight as interim manager, coped superbly as he pitted his wits against the vastly-decorated Pep Guardiola.
Yet he was keen for the players to take the praise.
McFarlane, who is now expected to make way for Liam Rosenior before Wednesday’s trip to Fulham, said: “There’s a lot of change that’s gone on. Enzo was incredibly successful with this group and some of them were shocked by the decision.
“So the character that they’ve shown in the last two days, and the character that they’ve shown today – Reece (James) is a big one, Tosin (Adarabioyo), Enzo (Fernandez), they’ve really dragged the group together.
“Everyone thought we were coming here to lose. No-one thought we stood a chance.
“But we knew the character and the talent in this group and they’ve really dragged it through. I can’t speak highly enough about the characters in the group.”
Rosenior is currently in charge of Chelsea’s sister club Strasbourg and there is a school of thought that suggests McFarlane could now switch to the French outfit in his place.
McFarlane said: “That’s the first I’ve heard of that, I have no idea.
“When I first took this job I was told that I would take the Manchester City game.
“There’s a chance that the new manager will be in on Monday.”
For City, the result was another blow after their goalless draw at Sunderland in midweek and leaves them six points behind the Gunners.
There was also a further cost with Josko Gvardiol and Ruben Dias suffering injuries to join fellow defender John Stones on the sidelines.
City boss Guardiola said: “We have a lot (of injuries). John Stones is missing for I don’t know how many months. Ruben now will be out, Josko will be out and always we know Nathan (Ake) cannot play regularly.
“It’s the situation but stay strong and we will find a solution. The spirit is there and will be there.”
Asked if the solution could involve signing a defender this month, Guardiola said: “I don’t think so but we’ll see what happens.”
Guardiola felt City paid the price for not taking chances.
He said: “We were extraordinary in all departments except we could not score the second or the third or the fourth.
“In the second half they had nothing to lose and at the end they found the reward.”
