Diego Costa and Gabriel Paulista had a nasty coming together where the latter was sent off while the former should also have been giving his marching orders in a match where controversy took centre stage
Chelsea finally seem to have found their long lost form after they notched up two consecutive wins; the first being a mid-week Champions League match while the second was a 2-0 win over visitors Arsenal just yesterday. The game however, saw way more than what the result suggests. This match was the epitome of drama and Chelsea, who were looking for their first League win in a while, looked like they would do anything to grab a result, and they did. In a way, the Blues lured Wenger’s men into self-destructing thereby leaving them with just 9-men to see off the game.
In the early minutes of the clash, the Gunners were looking to make hay while the sun was up and shining at Stamford Bridge until an overtly grateful Diego Costa decided to be the sunglasses in order to turn the match in their favor. In fact, a few minutes before half-time, he blinded opposition defender Koscielny, an incident that spurred a lengthy brawl and saw the first sending off in the form of Gabriel Paulista while Costa surprisingly avoided a red card. Even though this was a legitimate decision, yet not a complete one, this was definitely not the end to the unjustified events that occurred next.
Eight minutes into the second half, Chelsea managed to draw first blood from a clean free kick by Fabregas that was headed past Petr Cech by 20-year-old Kurt Zouma, leaving the 10-men with a difficult state to recover from. Indeed, things were falling in place for the hosts and especially Diego Costa, who kept on with his rough physical game until Remy replaced him as a substitute in the 82nd minute. While Arsene Wenger thinks Costa should have been sent off as well, according to Chelsea manager, Jose Mourinho, Costa was the Man of the Match.
Diego Costa flailed out his arms into the face of Arsenal centre half Laurent Koscielny
As the game progressed Arsenal were looking for a fightback with the limited resources at their disposal. Oliver Giroud and Oxlade Chamberlain were also introduced to bolster their attack and get something out of the game when they were hit with yet another setback. Santi Cazorla, who was already in the book, caught Fabregas with a mistimed sliding tackle and was issued marching orders by referee Mike Dean. Arsenal immediately shifted to a 4-3-1 formation but quite evidently the back four were facing a hard time against the incessant Chelsea attacks. Even though the Arsenal manager just wanted them to keep possession and kill the remaining minutes, the home crowd jeered every time there was a defensive strategy on show. Any remaining hopes of an Arsenal come back were ruined by Eden Hazard, who struck the final blow to double the lead for the Blues. Cech was beaten for the second time when a deflection from his fellow defender, Callum Chambers, saw the ball take the opposite trajectory.
Well, Chelsea supporters would definitely be happy as majority of the decisions did go their way and most importantly the three points saw their team climb their way to the 13th spot. The proceedings at the end of the match also kept things alive for the next Chelsea vs. Arsenal fixture as the managers never shook hands. Arsene Wenger walked into the tunnel undoubtedly unhappy while Jose Mourinho stayed back congratulating his players which was quite a rare sight. The next fixture promises to be as eventful as this and it would be interesting to see how fortune plans to square things off.
