Stevan Jovetic and Samir Nasri struck as Manchester City turned the tables on Chelsea to claim a place in the FA Cup quarter-finals.
Twelve days after losing to their Premier League title rivals at the Etihad Stadium, City rediscovered some of their verve to make a firm statement at the same venue.
Jovetic continued his rehabilitation after an injury-hit campaign to open the scoring after 16 minutes before substitute Nasri marked his return after five weeks out with the second. The result kept alive City's challenge in four competitions and also provided manager Manuel Pellegrini with only a second win in 10 attempts against Jose Mourinho.
City may have been helped by the postponement of their midweek clash with Sunderland as Pellegrini opted to field a strong side just three days before the visit of Barcelona.
Yet it was clear City did not want to hold anything back ahead of that Champions League glamour tie as they sought to erase the frustrations of two games without scoring.
The presence of John Obi Mikel for John Terry aside, Chelsea were identical to the side which beat City 1-0 last week after Gary Cahill passed a fitness test.
Yet they lacked the same fluency and although the opening exchanges were cagey, City gradually began to assert themselves and take control.
The home side opened the scoring with a flowing move. David Silva threaded a pass through for Edin Dzeko, the Bosnian turned instantly to sweep the ball into the path of Jovetic who guided a first-time shot past Petr Cech and in off the far post.
In the second half, City looked the more fluid and Jovetic almost broke through but went to ground as he passed Luiz and was booked for diving.
With the spark still lacking, Mourinho sent on Fernando Torres for Ramires after an hour's play.
Pellegrini also made a change, sending on Nasri for his first appearance in five weeks in place of Jovetic.
Nasri's impact was almost immediate as played a one-two with Silva to his left and diverted the return ball home. City's Joleon Lescott had an effort ruled out for offside late on.
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