Chelsea continued their hard climb back to the top with a 1-0 win over title chasing Arsenal at the Emirates Stadium yesterday. Things fell apart for the Gunners when Per Mertesacker was sent off after 18 minutes for pulling down Diego Costa. Costa struck four minutes later to give Chelsea a lead, which they held on to till the end, despite a gallant fight back by Arsenal.
Cesc Fabregas and Diego Costa’s every touch was greeted by a chorus of boos, but the pair excelled throughout, and showed Blues fans that they can recapture their grandeur of last season. Costa’s first major contribution was to draw the tackle from Per Mertesacker that earned the rangy German defender a straight red card, after being deemed to be last man.
Then, with the Gunners still trying to regroup, Costa darted across substitute Gabriel to fire his side in front. After the interval, the match became an eerie throwback to a Jose Mourinho-esque defensive display, as Arsenal were frustrated by some solid rearguard action as Chelsea held on for the victory.
The script suggested that this was the day the Gunners would secure a long-awaited victory over Chelsea, with the Blues in such disarray, but once again in this fixture, Arsenal came unstuck, and remain in third after missing the chance to return to the top of the table, while Chelsea’s unbeaten run since Mourinho’s departure goes on.
by ROTMANLUV 2023-07-08, 17:34
