Two police horses patrol outside
Stamford Bridge as the game was delayed by 15 minutes following a flare
going off in the away end of the ground
Jack Wilshere was recalled to the
Arsenal midfield, in part to help provide solidity against former
Gunners star Cesc Fabregas, who has started the season brilliantly
Young Arsenal fullback Callum Chambers
takes the ball away from Chelsea's in-form striker Diego Costa in front
of watching England manager Roy Hodgson
Arsenal found a way of stopping the prolific Costa for all of 78 minutes, but it made no difference.
They
did not go down by six, as happened last season, but one would have
been enough and it fell to Chelsea’s man of the match to deliver it.
With
Costa snuffed out for much of the game, Hazard rose to the occasion,
winning and converting the penalty that first separated these teams. He
was exceptional, running at Arsenal, committing them, unnerving them
every time he got in or around the box.
When
Costa did escape the shackles of Arsenal’s back line it was to set up
Hazard who arrived later, Frank Lampard style, but shot over the bar
with 15 minutes remaining.
And
then the moment every Arsenal fan, deep down, had dreaded. Fabregas,
playing his first game for his new club in England against the one that
made his name, playing the sort of pass that used to define games in the
red and white of Arsenal – long and accurate, setting up Costa for a
chance that was only ever going to be a goal.
On
he ran, outstripping Arsenal’s defence before drawing Wojciech Szczesny
and lobbing him, deftly, to out the result beyond doubt.
Chelsea
go into the October international break five points clear of nearest
rivals Manchester City after just seven games. Repeat that through the
season and the title comes to Stamford Bridge before the first blossoms
of spring. The rest must find a way of stopping them. Easier said than
done, in this nick.
Eden
Hazard played mostly from the left, targetting the inexperienced Calum
Chambers.
England manager
Hodgson was at Stamford Bridge to see the likes of Chambers, Kieran
Gibbs, Wilshere and Danny Welbeck for Arsenal, and Chelsea's Gary Cahill
Arsenal's Alexis Sanchez looked bright
for the visitors, getting an early shot away as the Gunners attempted
to right the wrongs of last season's 6-0 thrashing
Thibaut Courtois suffered a heavy blow
when he came out to challenge Alexis Sanchez but played on for a while
despite what looked like a serious injury
Sanchez immediately shows concern for
Courtois as the keeper appeared badly hurt on the pitch and the Chelsea
goalkeeper had to be treated by paramedics after
It
is not just league position or points totals that make Chelsea the
early favourites for this title. When Thibaut Courtois was forced to
leave the field after 23 minutes, the identity of his replacement gave
some indication of Chelsea’s incredible strength in depth.
Petr
Cech, arguably the best goalkeeper of last season, has been reduced to
the understudy role in this campaign. Arsenal were rumoured to have
wanted him, but Chelsea would not sell to a rival on this occasion.
Sunday’s
match showed why. Losing the outstanding Courtois does not seem such a
loss when the man taking his place is as good, just older.
Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger advances
on Chelsea boss Jose Mourinho after the former complained about a nasty
tackle from Cahil on Sanchez
Wenger pushes his opposite number as the two managers, who have had a long-running feud, fought on the side of the pitch
The scrap between the two managers
certainly raised the atmosphere at Stamford Bridge, and Wenger was even
more unhappy when Arsenal fell behind soon after
Hazard goes down under the clumsy
challenge of Koscielny to earn Chelsea the penalty that went a long way
towards winning them the game
Courtois
had soldiered on for 13 minutes before conceding that, yes, a collision
with Alexis Sanchez had affected his vision. He took the full weight of
Sanchez’s thigh on the run to the head and at first looked out cold,
splayed like a boxer on the receiving end of a sucker punch.
Revived,
Courtois continued, but a break in play saw him sit down and call for
treatment, and there appeared to be evidence of bleeding in his right
ear. There has been much discussion of late about the treatment of head
injuries, but one of the complications is that players tend to disguise
the extent of any problem.
Courtois
would no doubt have been asked had he lost consciousness and whether he
could see straight, and would have replied to the medical team’s
satisfaction. It took a while for him to admit the truth. He was
replaced by Cech and taken to hospital for the standard precautionary
tests.
Laurent Koscielny pleads his innocence
after referee Martin Atkinson points to the spot, but his tackle on
Hazard was a clear penalty
Hazard sends Wojciech Szczesny the
wrong way to put Chelsea ahead after his brilliant run through the
centre of Arsenal's defence had earned the penalty
Hazard celebrates with his teammates
after putting Chelsea ahead as they looked to continue their unbeaten
start to the season at the expense of Arsenal
Mesut Ozil, who looked off the pace
again after being returned to the left hand side, tries to hold off
Chelsea right back Cesar Azpilicueta
The
value of Cech was seen almost immediately. Within seven minutes of
coming on he had made a quite magnificent anticipatory save at the feet
of Jack Wilshere, having been put in by a square pass from Santi
Cazorla. By that time, however, Arsenal were no longer searching for the
lead, but an equaliser.
The
breakthrough had come in the 27th minute after a quite brilliant run by
Eden Hazard. There was a touch of the mazy Maradonas about the way he
jinked through Arsenal’s defences, before Laurent Koscielny dashed
across and felled him with a clumsy tackle that earned a booking and,
more calamitously, a penalty. Hazard took it, slipping the ball low to
the right as Wojciech Szczesny dived the wrong way.
It
was a game of high excitement but limited opportunity. Sanchez had a
shot fly harmlessly wide after three minutes, but there Arsenal’s
first-half chances ended.
Chelsea,
too, were kept at bay. Fortunately, while the main event may have been
light on punches thrown, the undercard shaped up nicely.
Hazard gets a foot in to stop Santi Cazorla's progress as Arsenal looked to get back on level terms in the second half
Jose Mourinho tells Brazilian
midfielder Oscar what he expects of him as Chelsea began to sit back and
defend their slender lead at home to Arsenal
Andre Schurrle throws himself in front
of a Chambers clearance as the German worked extremely hard defensively
before being replaced by John Obi Mikel
In
the 21st minute a foul by Gary Cahill on Sanchez brought Arsene Wenger
to his feet in a furious rage. He marched down the touchline towards the
incident, encroaching on Chelsea’s technical area in the process.
This
upset Jose Mourinho who attempted to stop him, at which point Wenger
placed both hands on the Chelsea manager’s chest and gave him a shove.
For a split second, Mourinho seemed a little concerned, as if he might have to summon John Terry or Diego Costa as back-up.
Instead,
the fourth official stepped in and restored order, although Wenger did
seem keen to go back for seconds. He retired to his corner, an amused
smile on his face, with the look of a man who had taken round one on
points at least, if not the fight itself.
Diego Costa finishes over the head of
Wojciech Szczesny to make it 2-0 after being put through by a brilliant
Cesc Fabregas pass with Arsenal committed upfield
Costa celebrates after his goal
wrapped up the three points. It was his ninth goal of the season since
joining Chelsea from Atletico Madrid over the summer
Costa is embraced by John Obi Mikel
after scoring his goal. The Spanish striker was a peripheral figure but
scored when it mattered at Stamford Bridge
No comments :
Post a Comment