Chelsea beat Arsenal 3-1 at Stamford Bridge on Saturday, Feb. 4. Here are all the highlights from the match.
Recap
Chelsea didn’t win the title against Arsenal at Stamford Bridge on Saturday, but they put in exactly the sort of controlled, dominant performance that has, over the past four months, made it feel like it’s only a matter of time.
The Blues didn’t humiliate Arsenal in the way Arsenal humiliated them at the Emirates back in September, a loss that was the catalyst for Chelsea’s title charge, but that’s partly what makes them so good.
Antonio Conte’s side don’t so much rip teams apart as they do methodically break them, minute by minute, pass by pass, perfectly executed defensive possession by perfectly executed defensive possession.
Arsenal started the better of the two sides, pressing Chelsea high and forcing some uncharacteristic defensive errors out of David Luiz and Thibaut Courtois.
But, as always, Chelsea made their way back into the game, and ultimately took the lead in the 13th minute. Diego Costa drilled Pedro’s cross against the bar before Marcos Alonso barrelled through Hector Bellerin to knock in the rebound.
It might well have been called a foul on another day, but Alonso’s arms appeared to be in a natural enough position as he powered past the Arsenal right back.
Chelsea strangled the game from that point, and while Arsenal created some good chances late in the first half — Shkodran Mustafi hit an open header straight at Courtois, before Mesut Ozil saw a tame shot saved in first half stoppage time — the home side rarely looked like surrendering their lead.
The second half followed much the same pattern, Chelsea’s controlled dominance highlighted by a wonderful individual goal from Eden Hazard in the 53rd minute. The Belgian won the ball at the halfway line before beating five Arsenal players on his way to scoring one of the goals of the season so far.
Arsenal huffed and puffed after that, with Chelsea increasingly happy to play on the break. There was no need for them to do anything more — one of the many luxuries of a nine-point lead at the top of the table.
The Blues’ dominance was underscored in the 85th minute, when Cesc Fabregas capitalized on a poor Petr Cech clearance to make it 3-0. It was a lovely finish, and another reminder, if anyone needed it, how ruthlessly this side wear opposition teams down.
The Gunners weren’t bad — Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain was decent in a central midfield role, Theo Walcott was as willing as always in his return to the starting XI — and probably deserved Olivier Giroud’s stoppage time consolation (3-0 would’ve been a harsh scoreline), but as Chelsea have shown time and time again since September, not bad is nowhere near good enough to trouble them.
The title race may not officially be over, but the rest of the top six would be forgiven for limiting their ambitions to a place in the top four.
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Highlights
The win moved Chelsea 12 points clear at the top of the table, but that could move back down to nine depending on Tottenham’s result against Middlesbrough in Saturday’s late kickoff.
Arsenal remain third, but could end the weekend in fifth if Liverpool and Manchester City both win.