10 November 2024
Chelsea 1 Arsenal 1
Chelsea welcomed Arsenal to Stamford Bridge with both teams having the opportunity to take advantage of Man City’s defeat against Brighton. It was a battle of the great pretenders in the capital, with pundits lauding the Maresca era as much as they do the work Arteta has done at Arsenal. The only similarities between the two teams is that they have both spent big and have no trophies to show for it.
The visitors welcomed back both Odegaard and Rice to the starting line-up. This meant one of two things, The Gunners should have more solidity and creativity to their midfield and we would hopefully stop hearing Arteta moan about injuries all of the time. They have suffered no worse than other teams in that department, it just shows the lack of depth to their squad by comparison.
Chelsea started positively and Palmer drilled a superb effort from a long way out. Raya reacted well to palm it over the crossbar. It was an early warning for The Gunners that they could ill-afford to give the Chelsea playmaker any time or space on the ball, wherever he was on the pitch. If they did not already know that however, there should be an analyst getting sacked somewhere.
Neto has been a regular starter of late and as a result has started producing the sort of form that tempted Chelsea to splash the cash on him. He turned White one way and then the other before putting a pinpoint cross into the back post. This resulted in an absolute howler by Gusto as he headed over the bar from just underneath it. Big chance wasted.
The Blues tried to play out from the back but just got themselves in trouble. A loose pass from Colwill gifted the ball to Odegaard. He played it to Saka, who cut inside onto his left foot and unleashed a shot which was well blocked. The rebound was worked to Martinelli who had a great chance but his shot was too close to Sanchez which allowed him the opportunity to save.
Maresca’s side were struggling to cope with Saka. He was fouled by Cucurella, resulting in a free kick. Rice took it quickly once he spotted the run of Havertz, who turned towards goal and slotted past Sanchez to give the visitors the lead. He celebrated by holding his finger to his lips as some kind of message to the home fans.
However, it backfired on the German as VAR reviewed the incident and disallowed the goal for offside. The replay made a mockery of the whole process which, as always, took some time. It showed the bright white line of the penalty area, which Havertz was visibly touching. Every Chelsea player had a blatant patch of grass between them and that line. Why did this take so long to decide?
That was about as exciting as the first-half got. After the interval, Madueke put a teasing ball into the back post. Fofana had to improvise to get something on it but his outstretched leg sent his effort just looping over the bar. Raya waved an arm at it like he had it covered but I am not sure he did as missed by the narrowest of margins.
Cucurella then played a terrible ball into Lavia, who was easily dispossessed by Odegaard. The Gunners worked the ball to the edge of the box before the Norwegian clipped a lovely pass over the top of the Chelsea defence. It found Martinelli at the back post with the tightest of angles. It was terrible goalkeeping from Sanchez to get beaten at his near post as he did.
This would prove to be a big win for the visitors if they could hold onto their narrow lead. Sadly for Arteta’s side, it lasted all of ten minutes. Neto picked the ball up outside the box and cut inside onto his left foot. He drilled a superb shot into the bottom corner of the goal with Raya getting nowhere near it, despite his best intentions.
Stamford Bridge erupted as the ball nestled into the back of the net. The Blues had not deserved to be behind in this game, it had been a very even encounter. However, they almost fell behind again as Saka curled a teasing ball with pace into the box. Merino had the chance to convert but just could not react quickly enough to sort his feet out.
Moments later, Jesus got to the byline before cutting the ball back to Havertz, who stepped over it and Madueke nearly put it past his own keeper. Sanchez blocked but the rebound fell to Trossard with the goal at his mercy. The Belgian blazed his effort into orbit and Chelsea had to contact NASA to ask for it to be thrown back from the International Space Station.
With the last attack of the game, Odegaard found Timber out wide. He drilled a ball across the six yard box which Trossard sent wide of the goal. At the back post, Havertz was punching the floor in anger wishing his teammate had left it for him to tap home. The German would have been disappointed if he had, as the replay showed he was clearly offside.
The points were shared in this London derby and the result left The Gunners nine points behind leaders Liverpool in fourth place. Chelsea found themselves the same distance adrift but just ahead of Arteta’s side in third, due to their superior goal difference. The only real winners from this encounter were Arne Slot’s side.
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