Chelsea 3-2 Arsenal: Marcos Alonso scores late winner in
thriller
Marcos Alonso's late goal gave Chelsea a 3-2 win over
Arsenal in a frantic encounter in Maurizio Sarri's first competitive game at
Stamford Bridge.
Alonso swept home from close range after being found by sub
Eden Hazard, meaning Unai Emery's Arsenal have lost two from two this season.
There were four goals in a dramatic first half. Pedro (9)
and Alvaro Morata (20) capitalised on woeful Arsenal defending to put Chelsea
2-0 up, as both Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang and Henrikh Mkhitaryan missed sitters
for the visitors after each goal.
Player ratings
Chelsea: Kepa (5), Azpilicueta (5), Rudiger (4), Luiz (4),
Alonso (7), Kante (6), Jorginho (8), Willian (6), Barkley (7), Pedro (6),
Morata (7)
Subs: Kovacic (6), Hazard (7), Giroud (6)
Arsenal: Cech (7), Bellerin (3), Sokratis (4), Mustafi (4),
Monreal (5), Xhaka (3), Guendouzi (5), Mkhitaryan (6), Ozil (4), Iwobi (6),
Aubameyang (6)
Subs: Torreira (6), Ramsey (6), Lacazette (5)
Man of the match: Jorginho
But Arsenal found themselves level at the break through
Mkhitaryan's 20-yard effort (37) and Iwobi's close-range finish with both sides
visibly neglecting their defensive duties.
Arsenal crumbled again late on to allow Chelsea the winner,
continuing the Blues' 100 per cent start in the Premier League under Sarri.
Chelsea initially had the run of Arsenal and were ahead
through Pedro as Hector Bellerin was caught high up the pitch, allowing Alonso
acres to square for his Spanish compatriot in even more space. He duly swept
past former Blues goalkeeper Petr Cech.
Team news
Eden Hazard started on the bench with Chelsea unchanged
following the win over Huddersfield.
Arsenal made two changes; Nacho Monreal replaced the injured
Ainsley Maitland-Niles, and Alex Iwobi was in for Aaron Ramsey.
Aubameyang was head-in-hands just after, blazing over from
eight yards from Bellerin's centre, and it was 2-0 just 55 seconds later after
Morata was left one-on-one with Shkodran Mustafi from Cesar Azpilicueta's
simple ball from deep.
Morata wrestled Mustafi away, before sliding past Cech as
Arsenal fans got a case of déjà vu at Stamford Bridge, where they now haven't
won in eight.
Mkhitaryan blazed over at the other end in a similar
position to Aubameyang, but the Armenian made up for it with a fierce drive
from the edge of the box, despite Kepa Arrizabalaga getting a touch.
Arsenal leveled through Iwobi's slammed finish from 10
yards, picked out by Mkhitaryan after Chelsea gave him the freedom of west
London, and Emery's side would have gone into half-time ahead if the Nigerian
hadn't blazed over from near the penalty spot in space again.
Space was handed out in abundance again after the break;
Kepa was down low to save from Aaron Ramsey's effort, while N'Golo Kante headed
just over at the other end, but Chelsea got their winner with nine minutes
remaining.
Sub Hazard danced past Alexandre Lacazette with ease on the
left, before finding Alonso eight yards out to sweep through Cech's legs.
It would have been worse for Arsenal had Cech not kept out
Hazard and former Gunners striker Olivier Giroud twice late on, but it ended
3-2 on an evening which showed neither defence in good light.
@OptaJoe
41 - Only Frank
Lampard (90), Didier Drogba (55) and Gianfranco Zola (42) have more Premier
League assists for Chelsea than Eden Hazard (41) Magician.
Man of the match - Jorginho
In a game lacking in defensive discipline of any kind, this
was a difficult award. But Jorginho's showing, alongside a clearly energised
Ross Barkley, was superb.
He won the ball a team-high nine times, touched the ball a
match-high 105 times, and made 99 passes at 91.6 per cent completion, with 56
in the opposition half.
Chelsea fans like what they've seen so far, and they can expect
more of the same to come.
Notes for Southgate
Barkley's clear rise in confidence can only be a good thing
for England and Gareth Southgate. In his 60 minutes, Barkley was happy to drive
at a struggling Arsenal defence, and came close to scoring when his angled shot
was tipped wide by Cech. This was more like the Barkley of old.
