Chelsea beat Arsenal 3-2 in a breathtaking EPL London derby on August 19th with exceptional defender Marcos Alonso scoring a 81st-minute winning goal after the Gunners had fully recovered from a 2-0 deficit. In this blog post, I will be analyzing the match between the two teams as well as looking into the vital moments during the game.
Basic Match Stats:
Chelsea:
Shots: 24
Shots on Target: 11
Possession: 63%
Passes: 720
Pass Accuracy: 89%
Fouls: 12
Yellow Card/Red Cars: 0/0
Offsides: 3
Corners: 5
Arsenal:
Shots: 15
Shots on Target: 6
Possession: 37%
Passes: 429
Pass Accuracy: 82%
Fouls: 9
Yellow Card/Red Cars: 2/0
Offsides: 3
Corners: 1
Team Starting Lineup:
Chelsea:
Manager: Maurizio Sarri
Formation: 4-3-3 Standard
Substitution:
- Eden Hazard (10)
- Willy Caballero (13)
- Victor Moses (15)
- Mateo Kovačić (17)
- Olivier Giroud (18)
- Davide Zappacosta (21)
- Andreas Christensen (27)
Starting Line-up:
- Kepa Arrizabalaga (1)
- Antonio Rüdiger (2)
- Marcos Alonso (3)
- Jorginho (5)
- N'Golo Kanté (7)
- Ross Barkely (8)
- Pedro (11)
- Willian (22)
- César Azpilicueta (23)
- Álvaro Morata (29)
- David Luiz (30)
Arsenal:
Manager: Unai Emeri
Formation: 4-2-3-1
Substitution:
- Mohamed Elneny (4)
- Aaron Ramsey (8)
- Alexandre Lacazette (9)
- Lucas Torreira (11)
- Stephan Lichtsteiner (12)
- Bernd Leno (19)
- Danny Welbeck (23)
Starting Line-up:
- Petr Čech (1)
- Hector Bellerín (2)
- Sokratis Papastathopoulos (5)
- Henrikh Mkhitaryan (7)
- Mesut Özil (10)
- Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang (14)
- Alex Iwobi (17)
- Nacho Monreal (18)
- Shkodran Mustafi (20)
- Mattéo Guendouzi (29)
- Granit Xhaka (34)
Game Goal Moments - Summary:
In the entertaining first half, Chelsea were able to step ahead in the ninth minute as Pedro striked the ball from a accurate cross by Alonso. The struggling Chelsea striker, Alvaro Morata, scored to further the lead after the César Azpilicueta magnificent through pass.
For the Aresenal fans, fortunately, Arsenal climbed their way back into the game when Mkhitaryan fired a low and powerful shot that Kepa Arrizabalaga could not deny. Alex Iwobi made an equalizer four minutes later as Arsenal found the weakness in Chelsea's defensive line.
Nevertheless, Chelsea's defender, Marcos Alonso, was able to bring home the three points by smashing the ball into the net after Hazard's astonishing pass in the 81st minute.
Vital Points of the Match:
Eden Hazard sends a reminder of his Worth
Eden Hazard wasn't part of the starting lineup, yet he was clearly able to show the Chelsea fans and the fans of football who he is and once again proved his worth. The 27-year-old showed his soft touches during the match and had enough time to provide a reminder of his superb merit and talent. Hazard grasped on an assist when he was able to escape the defensive line and crossed the ball to Marcos Alonso. Several times during the match, the annoyed Arsenal fans would sing "Eden Hazard, he's off to Madrid". Nevertheless, as the game came to an end, Chelsea supporters constantly shouted his name to praise his efforts.
Jorginho's Impacts On Chelsea
Jorginho was another great contribution to the success against Arsenal. He constantly anchored Chelsea’s midfield area despite N’Golo Kante’s return last week. The advantages of a main midfielder were clearly shown in Pedro’s ninth-minute goal as Jorginho played an excellent ball for Marcus Alonso to cut back behind the defense line. However, his vulnerability and weaknesses in the defensive line was exposed as the Gunners were back in the game with countless opportunities to score. They had a similar tactic, where the Arsenal winger's were getting to the goal line and crossing the ball back into the region where the Italian midfielder had vacated. As most football fans know, Kante is an expert at realizing and finding a solution in those situations. Sarri should reconsider which man fits the center midfielder position the best.
Is Xhaka actually the right choice for Arsenal?
Lucas Torreira, the fresh Uruguayan's absence from the starting 11 was a shock as Arsenal brought Torreira for fortifying the Gunner's midfield and defense line. Emery instead continued with a show of faith in Matteo Guendouzi and Granit Xhaka after the pair faced hardships to stop Manchester City in the 1st round. While Guendouzi showed an improvements in bravery in possession and defense, Xhaka’s match could be summarized as: kick off, kicked the ball out of play, and he was substituted. Torreira is definitely wiser and more of a beneficial choice with his ability to present accurate passes and involve speed into his possession.
Morata ends his Goal Drought
Although, one goal won’t change the tragedy of Morata's Chelsea career, Alvaro Morata has to start somewhere eventually. The Spanish striker could score as some terrible defending by Shkodran Mustafi was shown. This goal was his first goal since April 22 - and his first Premier League goal since April 1. From the opener against Arsenal, he surely would have gained confidence in his shooting. There were reminders of the work still to do yet, as he continously lost control of the ball a few times and ran down the defensive line too often, he was substituted for Olivier Giroud with 15 minutes remaining.
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