Chelsea vs. Arsenal: Score and Reaction from 2017 Premier League Match
Chelsea cemented their status as the overwhelming favourites for the Premier League title with an impressive 3-1 victory over Arsenal at Stamford Bridge on Saturday.
Marcos Alonso gave the Blues the lead after just 12 minutes before a sensational Eden Hazard strike and a delicate Cesc Fabregas finish in the second half added gloss to a muscle-flexing performance from Antonio Conte's men.
Olivier Giroud pulled a goal back for Arsenal in the dying embers of the match, but it was too little, too late for the hapless Gunners.
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The win temporarily put Chelsea 12 points ahead of Arsenal and Tottenham Hotspur in the Premier League table, with league title looking something of an inevitability.
Arsenal came into Saturday's game fresh off the back of a shock 2-1 defeat to Watford, meaning only three points would be enough to keep them in the hunt for the title.
They started well at the Bridge, but the momentum didn't last particularly long.
Once Chelsea got a grip on the game 10 minutes in, they looked determined to keep hold of it and cemented their dominance two minutes later through Alonso.
Diego Costa headed Pedro's cross from the right on to the bar, with Petr Cech beaten, and Alonso was on hand to win the looping ball at the expense of Hector Bellerin and head home.
The Chelsea man led with his elbow and caught Bellerin—who was consequently forced to leave proceedings—but the goal stood, and Chelsea were in the lead.
Arsenal's recent record at Stamford Bridge doesn't make for pleasant reading, and journalist Piers Morgan jested that the Gunners did well to keep it at 0-0 for 11 minutes:
From then on, Chelsea appeared in control. Hazard was enjoying plenty of the ball on the left flank and terrorising all before him, while Pedro and Costa struck fear into the Arsenal rearguard on the counter-attack.
Yet despite the hosts' dominance, they could well have let their lead slip toward the end of the first 45.
A well-worked corner from the Gunners culminated in a free header for Gabriel Paulista, but Chelsea stopper Thibaut Courtois displayed good reflexes to push the ball out of harm's way.
Journalist Dan Levene was one of many praising the Belgian's save at a crucial stage in the match:
Arsene Wenger's players went in at half-time needing to fire themselves up if they were to get anything out of the game, but the break had little effect.
Chelsea came roaring out of the traps and didn't take long to move into a commanding 2-0 lead thanks to a moment of individual genius by Hazard.
"Not sure if Hazard or Messi..
— GeniusFootball (@GeniusFootball) February 4, 2017"
The Belgian picked the ball up on the halfway line and showed immense strength to shrug off Francis Coquelin before beating Laurent Koscielny and giving himself half a yard to fire beyond Cech in the Arsenal goal.
Hazard is unstoppable when he's in such a mood.
Arsenal had no answer as the minutes ticked by. They were outclassed all over the park and dealt a cruel lesson in tactics for a top-of-the-table clash.
It was a familiar feeling of disappointment for Wenger at Stamford Bridge:
Arsenal did all they could to change the game by making a series of attacking substitutions. One of those introduced from the bench, Danny Welbeck, had a header superbly saved by the Chelsea stopper with 13 minutes remaining.
The Gunners' performance was summarised by a horrible error from the usually reliable Cech, who gifted his former employers their third goal on 84 minutes.
The 'keeper played a dreadful pass out from the back straight into the path of Fabregas, and he accepted the invitation by wonderfully lobbing Cech.
It was something of an uncharacteristic error from the Arsenal goalkeeper, which led betting company Coral to joke that he still has Chelsea in his heart:
Arsenal had a moment to cheer in stoppage time, when Giroud stooped to head his side a consolation, but it could do nothing to heighten spirits of the Emirates Stadium outfit.
The Blues saw out the remainder of the game with minimal fuss as the away section of Stamford Bridge cleared at a rapid rate.
Take nothing away from Chelsea, who were fantastic, but Arsenal provided no indication that they're ready to challenge for the title this season.
Reaction
Following the match, Chelsea captain Gary Cahill told Sky Sports that the victory made amends for the Blues' 3-0 loss at the Emirates Stadium earlier in the season and said that the Blues are in a great position to go on and win the title (via BBC Sport):
"In football you get opportunities to put things right. I remember walking off after defeat at Arsenal. I felt like a bit of a mug after that game.
That result added a bit of desire. We are confident at home and we knew a win was vitally important. Personally I felt after that away game I wanted the chance to put thinsg right. It felt good today.
We practice this formation and tactics. The manager is very thorough. We created a lot. We could have had more goals. Eden scored a special goal. For me that killed the game. We put ourselves in a great position. We knew today was important for that.
"
Midfielder N'Golo Kante, who put in another terrific shift for the champions elect, stayed grounded and told BBC Sport that it's not over until it's over: "The title is not finished. A lot of things could happen. When I was in France, I just wanted to achieve the ambition of staying in French Ligue 1. I didn't expect to one day win a title. Last year, what we did was amazing. This year, we have not won anything."
