Good afternoon and welcome to Nigerianeye's live text coverage of the Premier League clash between London rivals Chelsea and Arsenal at Stamford Bridge.
The hosts come into this match looking to open up a 12-point gap at the top of the Premier League table having drastically turned their season around since a 3-0 defeat in the reverse fixture.
Arsenal, on the other hand, know that realistically only a win will keep their title hopes alive following their shock 2-1 home defeat to Watford on Tuesday.
Make sure you don't miss a moment of the action courtesy of our minute-by-minute updates below.
OFFICIAL LINE-UPS
ARSENAL: Cech; Bellerin, Mustafi, Koscielny, Monreal; Oxlade-Chamberlain, Coquelin, Walcott, Ozil, Iwobi; Sanchez
ARSENAL SUBS: Ospina, Gibbs, Gabriel, Maitland-Niles, Reine-Adelaide, Welbeck, Giroud
It is all over at Stamford Bridge, then - a statement which could apply to both the match and Arsenal's title hopes. Chelsea cruise to a 3-1 win over the Gunners courtesy of goals from Alonso, Hazard and Fabregas, while Giroud pulled a consolation back for the visitors late on. Hazard's stunning solo effort was the pick of the bunch as Chelsea move 12 points clear at the top of the table ahead of the 3pm fixtures. Thanks for joining our live coverage of the match!
90+4 min FULL TIME: Chelsea 3-1 Arsenal
90+1 min Giroud pulls a consolation back for Arsenal in stoppage time as he plants a header into the bottom corner. Courtois got his hand to the ball and will feel that he should have saved it, but there was just too much power on the header.
90+1 min GOAL! Chelsea 3-1 Arsenal (Olivier Giroud)
90 min CHANCE! Chelsea want that fourth goal here. Costa picks the ball up on the left and cuts inside, but with men in the middle he instead goes for goal from a tight angle and fires it over.
89 min CHANCE! Half a chance for Chelsea to grab a fourth as Alonso sneaks into the box at the back post and gets his head to a cross, but it is easy for Cech to collect.
87 min CHELSEA SUB: A third and final change for Chelsea as Kurt Zouma replaces Moses.
85 min Revenge complete for Chelsea. Having lost 3-0 at the Emirates in September, they now lead 3-0 at Stamford Bridge. It is a shocker from Cech to gift Fabregas, of all people, the goal against his former club, just a minute after coming on. The Arsenal keeper gives the ball straight to the Spaniard, who lifts it back over Cech and in.
85 min GOAL! Chelsea 3-0 Arsenal (Cesc Fabregas)
84 min CHELSEA SUBS: A double change from Antonio Conte here as Hazard and Pedro are replaced by Cesc Fabregas and Willian.
82 min As things stand, then, Chelsea will be moving 12 points clear at the top of the table today. Liverpool and Tottenham are both in action later today and will be hoping to reduce the gap back to nine and 10 respectively, but the title is very much Chelsea's to lose now.
80 min Chelsea are back applying pressure now with a couple of corners in quick succession, but Arsenal deal with both of them to prevent further damage.
78 min CHANCES! Two chances in quick succession for Arsenal to pull a goal back! The first sees Welbeck steer a header towards the bottom corner which Courtois is at full stretch to claw away, while from the resulting corner Mustafi loses his marker but can only plant a header wide of the near post when he should have done better.
76 min Less than 15 minutes remaining now, and there really does not seem to be a way back for the Gunners now. This could well be the final throes of their title hopes.
74 min Hazard goes down clutching his head following a clash with Gabriel, who is a little fortunate to get away without a warning from the ref. He gave the Belgian a little knock in the face, and knew exactly what he was doing.
72 min Arsenal win a free kick in a good position and Ozil floats it into the area, but it is easily dealt with by Chelsea and the flag is up anyway.
70 min YELLOW CARD! Welbeck is immediately into the action as he takes on Matic, who is forced to foul him and gets a yellow card for his troubles.
70 min ARSENAL SUB: A third and final change from Arsenal as Danny Welbeck comes on for Walcott.
69 min Chelsea just look so much more dangerous than Arsenal here. The hosts look capable of scoring every time they come forward, whereas it is getting increasingly difficult to see where a goal will come from for Arsenal.
67 min Almost another shooting chance for the hosts as Hazard cuts inside from the right flank and feeds the ball inside. It is Alonso who gets the opportunity, but his effort is well blocked before it can trouble Cech.
65 min ARSENAL SUB: The visitors make their second change of the match as Olivier Giroud comes on in place of Coquelin.
64 min Better from Arsenal as Monreal makes his way down the left channel and plays a low ball right across the face of goal. There is no-one there to put the ball in the back of the net, though.
62 min Concern for Chelsea here as Alonso goes down and requires treatment, but the wing-back should be fine to continue.
60 min We have half an hour left in this one, and Arsenal need to be wary of getting caught on the break now. They have no choice but to go for it, but Chelsea look like cutting through them on the break, even if the hosts' final pass has been lacking a little.
58 min Almost a chance for the visitors to haul themselves back into the match as Walcott makes a good run towards the near post, but he is tracked all the way by Cahill, who makes a crucial challenge when the low ball arrives from the left.
57 min That goal only seems to have pumped Chelsea up more, and right now I would not bet against them further extending their lead before the full-time whistle.
55 min Stamford Bridge is rocking now. That could well be the goal that settles the game as it is increasingly hard to see the Gunners coming back from this.
53 min Brilliant. Just brilliant from Hazard as he takes the ball from the halfway line to virtually the six-yard box before firing past Cech. It is a wonderful solo effort as he impudently shrugs off the challenge of Coquelin before advancing into the box, beating Koscielny and then hitting his finish into the ground to beat the keeper. A moment of magic from the Belgian.
53 min GOAL! Chelsea 2-0 Arsenal (Eden Hazard)
51 min SHOT! Sight of goal for Hazard as he does a trademark turn to beat his man and create a yard of space, but then he leans back and blasts his effort over the crossbar from range.
49 min Wenger will be quite alarmed with how often his centre-backs have been caught out of position in this match. There have been three of four times when it has all suddenly opened up for the hosts, and with a better final ball they could well be out of sight already here.
47 min Crucial challenge from Koscielny as he, as the last man, slides in to dispossess Hazard when the Belgian looked to be through on goal. Costa poked the ball through to Hazard, but he had a standing start while Koscielny was on the move, which allowed the Arsenal defender to beat him to the ball.
46 min KICKOFF: Arsenal get us back underway for the second half, with 45 minutes to salvage any title hopes they may still have.
The referee brings an end to the first half, and it is Chelsea who go into the break with the lead. It is a deserved lead for the home side too, but Arsenal did come back into the match a little towards the end of that first half. They need to turn things around in the coming 45 minutes if they are to keep their slim title hopes alive.
45+4 min HALF TIME: Chelsea 1-0 Arsenal
45+2 min CHANCE! Big chance for Arsenal at the end of the half as the Gunners work the ball to Ozil in space on the right side of the area. The German delays his shot, cutting inside before eventually going for goal, but his effort is too close to Courtois, who gets down well to save.
45 min There will be four minutes of added time at the end of this first half.
43 min Big chance for Chelsea to break here as Pedro tries to find Costa in a two-on-two situation, but Mustafi reads it really well and intercepts the pass. Important piece of defending.
42 min Arsenal just haven't been able to get their key players involved in the game, with Sanchez, Ozil and Walcott all very quiet so far. Sanchez in particularly is being forced to drop deep, which is effectively leaving the visitors without a centre-forward.
40 min It has been better from Arsenal in the last few minutes as they begin to see a bit more of the ball in decent positions. That Gabriel chance will be a warning shot for Chelsea, who will want a second goal to give themselves a cushion.
38 min CHANCE! Just as I say that, the visitors have their best chance of the match so far! Oxlade-Chamberlain lifts a cross into the box and Gabriel, still up from a corner moments before, finds himself unmarked in the area. It is a big chance for the sub, but he puts his header straight at Courtois, who tips it over the top.
36 min Arsenal started this match relatively well, but in truth they haven't posed much of a threat since Iwobi came close in the second minute. By contrast, Chelsea look dangerous every time they come forward, with Arsenal struggling to deal with them defensively at times so far.
34 min Chelsea are putting some real pressure on Arsenal now. Hazard, Alonso and Pedro all combine down the left channel this time before Arsenal concede a corner. The delivery comes to nothing, but the hosts remain camped in Arsenal's half right now.
32 min CHANCE! Decent chance for the hosts as Alonso is found in space on the left flank and pulls a low ball back to Pedro. The Spaniard's effort is not particularly fierce, but Cech can't keep hold of it and spills it behind for a corner.
30 min Oxlade-Chamberlain swings the ball in, but there is too much on it and Courtois collects comfortably. The Chelsea keeper immediately launches a counter and Hazard gives the ball to Costa, who has Pedro in support up against one defender. However, the striker takes too many touches and is dispossessed before he can take advantage of the situation.
29 min Arsenal have a free kick in a good crossing position here as Monreal goes down rather theatrically following a block from Moses...
27 min Hazard doesn't seem to be suffering any ill effects from that tackle, and he is starting to get settled into this one. He darts past one man to create space for a ball back to Matic, whose cross is well dealt with by the defence. Chelsea are starting to gain a bit of control over this one.
25 min Hazard looks to be in some pain following that untidy challenge, which may have exacerbated the injury problem he has been struggling with in recent weeks. He should be able to continue, but Mustafi certainly left his mark there.
23 min YELLOW CARD! The first card of the match is shown to Mustafi, who scythed Hazard down having been beaten by the Belgian down the left channel. No complaints there.
21 min Arsene Wenger may have some complaints over the opening goal as Alonso did lead with his elbow, which is what caused Bellerin to be subbed off. However, it was purely for elevation purposes and, for me, the referee was right to allow the goal to stand.
19 min SHOT! Chelsea go looking for a second here as Costa creates a yard of space in the box before firing a snap shot into the side-netting at the near post. Cech looked to have it covered, but that was sharp play from the Spain international.
18 min Arsenal win a string of corners in succession to put the pressure on Chelsea, but the hosts deal with them all well before Coquelin steers an unorthodox effort over the crossbar.
17 min ARSENAL SUB: Bellerin was clattered by Alonso as the Chelsea man scored the opener, and the full-back is not able to continue here. On comes Gabriel Paulista in his place.
13 min First blood goes to Chelsea! The hosts work their way down the right flank and the ball is crossed in to Costa, who powers a very good header against the crossbar. Cech is beaten as the ball rebounds up into a dangerous area, and Alonso attacks it really well to nod it home. Bellerin was under it waiting for the ball, but Alonso had the run on him and dominated the full-back in the air.
13 min GOAL! Chelsea 1-0 Arsenal (Marcos Alonso)
11 min CHANCE! Chelsea have their first chance of the match as Cahill rises highest in the box from the resulting free kick, but he heads the ball right into the ground and it bounces comfortably into the arms of Cech.
10 min Referee Martin Atkinson is a little lenient here as he turns down a chance to give both Koscielny and Coquelin yellow cards for tackles in the same move. The latter sees the hosts awarded a free-kick in a good position...
8 min Arsenal almost get in behind as Sanchez pokes the ball through for Walcott, who is on 99 goals for Arsenal in all competitions, but just as he is racing through on goal the flag is raised for offside.
6 min Arsenal are seeing plenty of the ball in these opening exchanges, and Wenger will be relatively pleased with what he has seen in these opening exchanges. Unlike in many recent games, his side have started full of energy here.
4 min Chelsea have responded well to that early scare, putting pressure straight back on the home side. This game has got off to a good, quick start.
2 min CLOSE! Almost a dream start for Arsenal as Courtois puts Luiz in all sorts of trouble with a poor pass out from the back. It is quickly pounced upon by Ozil, who works the ball back to Iwobi. The winger steps past Kante but then feeds his shot narrowly wide of the far post.
1 min KICKOFF: Here we go then! Chelsea get us underway for this huge London derby!
Advertise on NigerianEye.com to reach thousands of our daily users
No comments
Post a Comment
Kindly drop a comment below.
(Comments are moderated. Clean comments will be approved immediately)
Advert Enquires - Reach out to us at NigerianEye@gmail.com