Unstoppable in its opening five matches, Chelsea failed its first major test of the Premier League season yesterday as Carlos Tevez's goal gave Manchester City a 1-0 win over the champion at Eastlands.

The Argentine scored three times in City's league double over Chelsea last season and he again proved a thorn in the side of the London club with a pinpoint shot after 59 minutes to earn his side a victory that will bolster its own title claims.

Defeat would have left Roberto Mancini's expensively assembled team 10 points adrift of Chelsea but it has now cut the gap to four. Arsenal and Manchester United can close to within a point of top spot with wins this weekend.

Mancini suggested on Friday that Chelsea's title defence would be a stroll, but City stifled a Chelsea attack that had scored 21 goals in a perfect five-match start to the season and in Tevez had a player capable of snatching victory in a match where clear chances were few and far between.

Chelsea manager Carlo Ancelotti was critical of his side's performance and had no complaints about a loss that followed hot on the heels of Wednesday's League Cup defeat by Newcastle.

"We didn't play how we wanted," the Italian told Sky Sports. "We were not able to use our quality and were too complicated. City performed well in midfield and won a lot of tackles and they deserved to win."

City rarely threatened in the first half with Tevez a peripheral figure.

Chelsea was the more fluent side and went closest before the break when defender Branislav Ivanovic headed against the woodwork and then saw his follow-up effort saved by England goalkeeper Joe Hart.

Immediately after the break Nicolas Anelka forced a fine low save by Hart while at the other end David Silva forced a rare save by Petr Cech with a first-time shot from a tight angle.

City's winner came completely out of the blue.

There seemed no danger when Yaya Toure passed to Tevez inside his own half but the Argentine was allowed to run unimpeded towards the Chelsea area before jinking right and lashing a shot through the legs of Ashley Cole and beyond Cech's despairing dive.

It was only the second goal that Chelsea had conceded in the league this season and its response was less than convincing, especially after a disgruntled Didier Drogba was substituted.

"We closed all the space for them and when we had the chance we played football," City manager Roberto Mancini said.