Manchester City missed the chance to close the gap at the top of the table to two points this afternoon as they were held to a 1-1 draw by Chelsea at Stamford Bridge.

The hosts took the lead through Loic Remy towards the end of the first half, but David Silva levelled things up less than five minutes later with what proved to be the final goal of the match.

Here, Sports Mole looks at who stood out during a fascinating battle between the two title rivals.

CHELSEA

Goal

Thibaut Courtois: Usually so reliable, but made a rare and costly error to hand City an quick equaliser. He failed to connect properly with an attempted punch, gifting the ball to Aguero, whose shot was tapped in by Silva. (5/10)

Defence

Branislav Ivanovic: Was heavily involved in the build-up to his side's goal, playing a lovely ball out to Hazard. Was called into action plenty of times throughout and stood firm more often than not. (6/10)

John Terry: Got caught under one long ball to allow Aguero through on goal, but that was the only error he made all afternoon. Another solid performance from the skipper. (6/10)

Kurt Zouma: Justified his selection and should have done enough to keep his place for the next game too. Dealt with the danger of Aguero well and showcased strength, pace and composure in a good performance. (7/10)

Cesar Azpilicueta: Will not have had many tougher games than this. Usually such a strong one-on-one defender, but really struggled against Navas at times, particularly in the second half. (5/10)

Midfield

Nemanja Matic: Another strong performance in the middle of the park, giving good protection to his back four and doing a decent job of keeping Silva relatively quiet for most of the game. (8/10)

Ramires: Did not do much wrong in a good tussle with Fernando and Fernandinho, but could not help being compared to the man he replaced, Cesc Fabregas. He offered nowhere near as much creativity as the Spaniard. (6/10)

Willian: A quiet performance and, not for the first time this season, was more active in his defensive duties than going forward. Failed to have an impact on the game in the final third, but defensively he was sound. (5/10)

Oscar: Another who was virtually anonymous, particularly in the second half. Extra pressure lay on his creative shoulders in the absence of Fabregas and he failed to deliver. (5/10)

Eden Hazard: Looked dangerous in the first half and provided a lovely assist for the opening goal, but was uncharacteristically quiet after the break as City dominated proceedings. (6/10)

Attack

Loic Remy: Was a slightly surprising choice ahead of Drogba, but justified his selection with the opening goal. Got very little service in the second half and yet was always a willing runner. (7/10)

Substitutes

Didier Drogba: Came on for Willian with 10 minutes remaining and failed to have an impact on the game as Chelsea settled for the draw. (6/10)

Gary Cahill: A signal of Mourinho's intent in the closing stages, replacing Remy in the 87th minute to help see out the result. (6/10)

Ruben Loftus-Cheek: His Premier League debut lasted little more than a minute. (6/10)

MAN CITY

Goal

Joe Hart: Nothing he could do about Chelsea's goal and was barely tested apart from that. A quieter afternoon than he might have been expecting. (6/10)

Defence

Bacary Sagna: An unexpected choice ahead of Zabaleta, but put in a good performance to repay Pellegrini's faith. Struggled a few times against Hazard in the first half before comfortably getting the better of that duel in the second and helped Navas down the right flank on numerous occasions. (7/10)

Martin Demichelis: Perhaps could have stayed with Remy in the build-up to the opening goal, but would have still been hard-pressed to prevent the tap-in. Enjoyed a comfortable game apart from that, dealing with any danger that came his way. (6/10)

Vincent Kompany: Seemed to pull his leg away from Hazard's low cross that provided the goal due to the fear of knocking it into his own net. Like Demichelis, perhaps could have done better there, but was solid on the whole. (6/10)

Gael Clichy: A composed and effective performance from Clichy, who prevented Willian and Ivanovic from getting much joy down his flank. Also got forward when possible to give City the sort of width that tired Chelsea out. (7/10)

Midfield

Fernando: Involved in a really good midfield battle and came out of it well. Provided a good shield for his defence and kept the likes of Oscar very quiet. (7/10)

Fernandinho: Looked to get forward whenever possible and put in a performance full of energy that ensured that Chelsea's midfield did not get things their own way. (7/10)

Jesus Navas: Had the beating of Azpilicueta every time for a 20-minute spell at the start of the second half. The only thing missing from his game was a killer ball. He did provide the cross that led to the opening goal, but he could have had several assists today with more of an end product. (7/10)

David Silva: Impressed on the occasions that he managed to escape the attentions of Matic, including for the opening goal as he got a crucial touch to turn Aguero's shot in. (7/10)

James Milner: A typically busy performance down the left flank. Showed the sort of hunger and desire to win every ball that put City on top in the match. (7/10)

Attack

Sergio Aguero: Still not at his best since returning from injury, but did show glimpses of his class. Will pick up an assist for the goal and caused Terry and Zouma a few problems with his movement. However, he did miss a glorious chance that your house would have been on him scoring before his injury. (6/10)

Substitutes

Frank Lampard: The script was written for him to get the winning goal on his first return to Stamford Bridge, but he did not get a chance. Used the ball well when he got it, playing it out wide on every occasion, but had no opportunity to steal the headlines. (6/10)

Edin Dzeko: Replaced Aguero with six minutes of normal time remaining, but never had the chance to make an impact on the game. (6/10)

Stevan Jovetic: A late replacement from Pellegrini and had no time to change things. (6/10)