10-Man Arsenal Deny Chelsea At The Bridge
22 January, 2020
English Premier League
Result: Chelsea 2-2 Arsenal
Date: 21 January 2020
Venue: Stamford Bridge
Ten-man Arsenal rallied back on two occasions to earn themselves a point against London rivals Chelsea at Stamford Bridge on Tuesday evening.
The North London outfit were without the suspended Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang as Alexander Lacazette was joined in the attack by Gabriel Martinelli and Nicolas Pepe.
The Blues enjoyed a lot of the possession in the early stages and were unlucky not to have gone ahead after Tammy Abraham's curling effort crashed against the frame of the goal on 16 minutes.
Ten minutes later, the Blues were awarded a penalty after former Blues defender David Luiz brought down Abraham, who was through on goal after latching onto Shkodran Mustafi's poor pass and the Brazilian defender was shown a straight red card.
Jorginho stepped up to the plate and calmly slotted home the spot-kick to hand Frank Lampard's charges a deserved lead with his third goal of the season.
Arsenal, meanwhile, failed to carve out a single clear-cut opening in the final third, with the red card to Luiz certainly proving detrimental to side's attempt to claw their way back into the contest.
However, the Gunners were level after the hour mark as a slip from N'Golo Kante allowed Martinelli to race clear on goal rom the halfway line before calmly slotting past Kepa Arrizabalaga.
Blues manager Frank Lampard responded with two changes thereafter as Ross Barkley and Mason Mount replaced Mateo Kovacic and Kante for the final 20 minutes.
With six minutes remaining in the half, the Blues were able to restore their lead as captain Cesar Azpilicueta turned home Callum Hudson-Odoi's cross at the near post.
The joy was short-lived though as Arsenal managed to secure point three minutes later, with Hector Bellerin bending a low strike into the far corner to silence Stamford Bridge.
Source: www.soccerladuma.co.za