The Brazilian latched on to a brilliant Cesc Fabregas pass early in the second period and nudged the ball home but an errant offside flag denied us a deserved leveller.

Sergio Aguero had put the hosts ahead having already been thwarted by the excellent Asmir Begovic on three occasions, while Diego Costa had a strong shout for a first-half penalty.

We dominated after the interval and after Ramires’s goal was disallowed, Hazard drew a fine stop from Joe Hart. Two late City goals, from Vincent Kompany and Fernandinho, added some gloss to a final scoreline which did not accurately reflect the bigger picture.

Jose Mourinho was forced to make two changes to the side that started against Swansea on the opening day. Asmir Begovic replaced the suspended Thibaut Courtois while Ramires came in for the injured Oscar, allowing Willian to move infield behind Diego Costa up front. The rest of the team was unchanged from last Saturday.

Within 25 seconds of his first Chelsea start Begovic was called upon to make a telling contribution, denying Aguero who had raced clear on goal courtesy of a fine David Silva pass. It set the tone for an assured performance by the Bosnian. He confidently claimed a dangerous free-kick not long after.

We had a good claim for a penalty with eight minutes played when Diego Costa was tripped by Fernandinho inside the box following good forward-thinking play from Ramires, but Martin Atkinson shook his head.