Chelsea Edge Arsenal In Derby, As Lukaku Returns With A Bang
It was a tale of homecoming for Romelu Lukaku as Chelsea traveled north to face rivals, Arsenal on Sunday evening. It was the second London derby Arsenal were playing after their first game of the season was also against another London side, this time from the West, Brentford, which they lost 2-0. Much of the pre-match talk was about the return of Lukaku to Chelsea, who was set to make his second debut and how possible it would be for Arsenal to cope with the threat that he posed. As predicted, rightly, the former Inter Milan man was a thorn in the flesh of the Arsenal defence all through the encounter, with Pablo Mari having his hands full in dealing with the striker. It took Lukaku just 15 minutes to announce his arrival back in England with a tap in from close range. Fending off the tug from Mari, Lukaku raced into the Arsenal area, waiting for the ball. Matteo Kovacic, seeing the acres of space afforded them by Arsenal on the left side of their defence, supplied a well-weighted ball to the on-rushing Reece James, who beautifully found the lurking Lukaku with a low cross for the Belgian to slot home for close range. With Arsenal missing Thomas Partey, Ben White, Alexandre Lacazette and captain, Pierre Emerick-Aubameyang, who started from the bench having just recovered from COVID-19 to make the team, it was a struggle for Arsenal to work the Chelsea defence as Gabriel Martinelli was not able to ask questions of them. On the half hour mark, Chelsea doubled their lead, again, exploiting the allowed space on the right. It looked like Bukayo Saka and Kieran Tierney were really not in sync as they allowed Chelsea too much space on the right side of attack, which the Blues effectively exploited. Lukaku leading the charge, he was tackled down by Granit Xhaka, but the referee allowed the advantage, which gave Mason Mount the option to throw a lobbed pass into the free space on the right, where James was waiting. Taking a first touch, he powered a side-footed finish into the top left. Bernd Leno has no chance. Moments after scoring Chelsea's second goal of the game, Reece James would heave a sigh of relief after Arsenal had shouts for a penalty turned down, when it looked like James had clattered into his compatriot, Saka in the area. A quick VAR check agreed with the referee's decision of no penalty. James conceded a penalty the last time both teams met at Stamford Bridge. Arsenal's first real goal-scoring opportunity came after 50 minutes with a 25-yard strike from Saka tipped over the bar by Eduoard Mendy, after the ball was deflected off Marcos Alonso. Rob Holding should have pulled one back for the Gunners just before the hour mark when he had a free header. From a Saka cross, Mari headed the ball back across goal, but his partner at the back couldn't manage to guide his header on target. The chances kept evading Arsenal as they broke down the right side. Nicholas Pepe released Cedric Soares, who plays a low cross into the penalty area. Emile Smith Rowe controls well with his first touch, but a timely sliding tackle from Cesar Azpilicueta denied his strike going on target. Leno had to be on top of his game to keep the scores at 2-0 in the 77th minute. The German goalkeeper made a point blank save from a thumping Lukaku header against the underside of the bar. The Belgian striker could not believe that he had not scored and needed confirmation from his teammates on whether Leno got a hand to the ball or not. He was definitely surprised. The last chance of the game fell to the visitors. Lukaku, who had been everywhere in the attack played Kai Havertz through on goal. Leno, once again denying his compatriot with his outstretched leg. Chelsea held on to win 2-0, their first win over Arsenal in their last three meetings in all competitions, having lost the FA Cup Final to them in 2020 and also the two legs of the league meetings last season. Concluding Thoughts Prior to the arrival of Romelu Lukaku, Chelsea were tagged one of the favoirties for the title. The arrival of the former Everton man has now titled more the odds in their direction. The likes of N'Golo Kante, Timo Werner and Hakim Ziyech, all starting from the bench shows how much quality and depth the team has. Surely they're now strong favourites for the title. Arsenal's problems continue as they are yet to score this season. Reports continue to emerge of unease in the team, with the hierarchy seemingly ready to listen to offers for their captain, barely 12 months after offering him a new deal. More than before, Mikel Arteta's job is under threat and with the club struggling to sell tickets deu to fans' unhappiness with the team's performances, a decisive action my be imminent.
Chelsea Edge Arsenal In Derby, As Lukaku Returns With A Bang
It was a tale of homecoming for Romelu Lukaku as Chelsea traveled north to face rivals, Arsenal on Sunday evening. It was the second London derby Arsenal were playing after their first game of the season was also against another London side, this time from the West, Brentford, which they lost 2-0. Much of the pre-match talk was about the return of Lukaku to Chelsea, who was set to make his second debut and how possible it would be for Arsenal to cope with the threat that he posed. As predicted, rightly, the former Inter Milan man was a thorn in the flesh of the Arsenal defence all through the encounter, with Pablo Mari having his hands full in dealing with the striker. It took Lukaku just 15 minutes to announce his arrival back in England with a tap in from close range. Fending off the tug from Mari, Lukaku raced into the Arsenal area, waiting for the ball. Matteo Kovacic, seeing the acres of space afforded them by Arsenal on the left side of their defence, supplied a well-weighted ball to the on-rushing Reece James, who beautifully found the lurking Lukaku with a low cross for the Belgian to slot home for close range. With Arsenal missing Thomas Partey, Ben White, Alexandre Lacazette and captain, Pierre Emerick-Aubameyang, who started from the bench having just recovered from COVID-19 to make the team, it was a struggle for Arsenal to work the Chelsea defence as Gabriel Martinelli was not able to ask questions of them. On the half hour mark, Chelsea doubled their lead, again, exploiting the allowed space on the right. It looked like Bukayo Saka and Kieran Tierney were really not in sync as they allowed Chelsea too much space on the right side of attack, which the Blues effectively exploited. Lukaku leading the charge, he was tackled down by Granit Xhaka, but the referee allowed the advantage, which gave Mason Mount the option to throw a lobbed pass into the free space on the right, where James was waiting. Taking a first touch, he powered a side-footed finish into the top left. Bernd Leno has no chance. Moments after scoring Chelsea's second goal of the game, Reece James would heave a sigh of relief after Arsenal had shouts for a penalty turned down, when it looked like James had clattered into his compatriot, Saka in the area. A quick VAR check agreed with the referee's decision of no penalty. James conceded a penalty the last time both teams met at Stamford Bridge. Arsenal's first real goal-scoring opportunity came after 50 minutes with a 25-yard strike from Saka tipped over the bar by Eduoard Mendy, after the ball was deflected off Marcos Alonso. Rob Holding should have pulled one back for the Gunners just before the hour mark when he had a free header. From a Saka cross, Mari headed the ball back across goal, but his partner at the back couldn't manage to guide his header on target. The chances kept evading Arsenal as they broke down the right side. Nicholas Pepe released Cedric Soares, who plays a low cross into the penalty area. Emile Smith Rowe controls well with his first touch, but a timely sliding tackle from Cesar Azpilicueta denied his strike going on target. Leno had to be on top of his game to keep the scores at 2-0 in the 77th minute. The German goalkeeper made a point blank save from a thumping Lukaku header against the underside of the bar. The Belgian striker could not believe that he had not scored and needed confirmation from his teammates on whether Leno got a hand to the ball or not. He was definitely surprised. The last chance of the game fell to the visitors. Lukaku, who had been everywhere in the attack played Kai Havertz through on goal. Leno, once again denying his compatriot with his outstretched leg. Chelsea held on to win 2-0, their first win over Arsenal in their last three meetings in all competitions, having lost the FA Cup Final to them in 2020 and also the two legs of the league meetings last season. Concluding Thoughts Prior to the arrival of Romelu Lukaku, Chelsea were tagged one of the favoirties for the title. The arrival of the former Everton man has now titled more the odds in their direction. The likes of N'Golo Kante, Timo Werner and Hakim Ziyech, all starting from the bench shows how much quality and depth the team has. Surely they're now strong favourites for the title. Arsenal's problems continue as they are yet to score this season. Reports continue to emerge of unease in the team, with the hierarchy seemingly ready to listen to offers for their captain, barely 12 months after offering him a new deal. More than before, Mikel Arteta's job is under threat and with the club struggling to sell tickets deu to fans' unhappiness with the team's performances, a decisive action my be imminent.
Chelsea Edge Arsenal In Derby, As Lukaku Returns With A Bang
It was a tale of homecoming for Romelu Lukaku as Chelsea traveled north to face rivals, Arsenal on Sunday evening. It was the second London derby Arsenal were playing after their first game of the season was also against another London side, this time from the West, Brentford, which they lost 2-0. Much of the pre-match talk was about the return of Lukaku to Chelsea, who was set to make his second debut and how possible it would be for Arsenal to cope with the threat that he posed. As predicted, rightly, the former Inter Milan man was a thorn in the flesh of the Arsenal defence all through the encounter, with Pablo Mari having his hands full in dealing with the striker. It took Lukaku just 15 minutes to announce his arrival back in England with a tap in from close range. Fending off the tug from Mari, Lukaku raced into the Arsenal area, waiting for the ball. Matteo Kovacic, seeing the acres of space afforded them by Arsenal on the left side of their defence, supplied a well-weighted ball to the on-rushing Reece James, who beautifully found the lurking Lukaku with a low cross for the Belgian to slot home for close range. With Arsenal missing Thomas Partey, Ben White, Alexandre Lacazette and captain, Pierre Emerick-Aubameyang, who started from the bench having just recovered from COVID-19 to make the team, it was a struggle for Arsenal to work the Chelsea defence as Gabriel Martinelli was not able to ask questions of them. On the half hour mark, Chelsea doubled their lead, again, exploiting the allowed space on the right. It looked like Bukayo Saka and Kieran Tierney were really not in sync as they allowed Chelsea too much space on the right side of attack, which the Blues effectively exploited. Lukaku leading the charge, he was tackled down by Granit Xhaka, but the referee allowed the advantage, which gave Mason Mount the option to throw a lobbed pass into the free space on the right, where James was waiting. Taking a first touch, he powered a side-footed finish into the top left. Bernd Leno has no chance. Moments after scoring Chelsea's second goal of the game, Reece James would heave a sigh of relief after Arsenal had shouts for a penalty turned down, when it looked like James had clattered into his compatriot, Saka in the area. A quick VAR check agreed with the referee's decision of no penalty. James conceded a penalty the last time both teams met at Stamford Bridge. Arsenal's first real goal-scoring opportunity came after 50 minutes with a 25-yard strike from Saka tipped over the bar by Eduoard Mendy, after the ball was deflected off Marcos Alonso. Rob Holding should have pulled one back for the Gunners just before the hour mark when he had a free header. From a Saka cross, Mari headed the ball back across goal, but his partner at the back couldn't manage to guide his header on target. The chances kept evading Arsenal as they broke down the right side. Nicholas Pepe released Cedric Soares, who plays a low cross into the penalty area. Emile Smith Rowe controls well with his first touch, but a timely sliding tackle from Cesar Azpilicueta denied his strike going on target. Leno had to be on top of his game to keep the scores at 2-0 in the 77th minute. The German goalkeeper made a point blank save from a thumping Lukaku header against the underside of the bar. The Belgian striker could not believe that he had not scored and needed confirmation from his teammates on whether Leno got a hand to the ball or not. He was definitely surprised. The last chance of the game fell to the visitors. Lukaku, who had been everywhere in the attack played Kai Havertz through on goal. Leno, once again denying his compatriot with his outstretched leg. Chelsea held on to win 2-0, their first win over Arsenal in their last three meetings in all competitions, having lost the FA Cup Final to them in 2020 and also the two legs of the league meetings last season. Concluding Thoughts Prior to the arrival of Romelu Lukaku, Chelsea were tagged one of the favoirties for the title. The arrival of the former Everton man has now titled more the odds in their direction. The likes of N'Golo Kante, Timo Werner and Hakim Ziyech, all starting from the bench shows how much quality and depth the team has. Surely they're now strong favourites for the title. Arsenal's problems continue as they are yet to score this season. Reports continue to emerge of unease in the team, with the hierarchy seemingly ready to listen to offers for their captain, barely 12 months after offering him a new deal. More than before, Mikel Arteta's job is under threat and with the club struggling to sell tickets deu to fans' unhappiness with the team's performances, a decisive action my be imminent.