MANCHESTER City lost the game and its players lost their cool as Chelsea rallied for a 3-1 win in a fiery match to stretch its lead in the English Premier League on Saturday.

    After conceding three goals in the final half-hour, City’s frustrations boiled over in injury time. Sergio Aguero was red-carded for a knee-high lunge on David Luiz, and Fernandinho was sent off for grabbing Cesc Fabregas by the neck and pushing him over an advertising hoarding in the ensuing melee.

    In all the chaos, Chelsea emerged with an eighth straight win and strengthened its claims to be the title favorite.

    Diego Costa was the architect of the turnaround at Etihad Stadium, equalizing in the 60th minute with a league-high 11th goal of the season before setting free substitute Willian for the second goal in the 70th. Eden Hazard clinched victory in the 90th on another counterattack behind City’s stretched defense.

    “We showed our power,” Luiz said. “It also shows our character that we didn’t lose our heads.”

    Chelsea opened up a four-point cushion over City after 14 games and has picked up maximum points since losing 3-0 to Arsenal on Sept. 24.

    City took the lead through Gary Cahill’s own goal on the stroke of halftime and will bemoan not only missing a number of great chances — Kevin De Bruyne contrived to hit the crossbar from close range three minutes before Costa’s goal — but the failure of the referee to miss Luiz’s apparent shove on Aguero in the 30th when the Chelsea defender was last man.

    That perhaps explained the late challenge on Luiz by a frustrated Aguero, who has now been dismissed twice this season and therefore faces a four-match ban. The Argentina striker won’t be seen again in the Premier League until Dec. 31.

    “It is a pity it finished like this ... I apologize,” said Guardiola, who said Aguero’s challenge on Luiz “wasn’t intentional.”

    “We didn’t win because we missed a lot of chances,” he added, “not because of the referee.”

    It was pure opportunism from Chelsea, which was under pressure for much of the game but always looked dangerous on the break with the pace of Hazard and the ruggedness of Costa. The visitors scored from all three of their shots on target.

    (SD-Agencies)