Chelsea kicked off their season at home as they played Arsenal at Stamford Bridge. The Blues were coming off a convincing victory against Huddersfield Town in their first encounter of the season and were looking to continue their winning run in the Premier League alive. On the other hand, Arsenal were also hungry for a victory after their disappointing loss at home against Manchester City in the first match of the campaign.
It was a hard fought affair from the very start as both the teams were looking to dominate each other. The west London side drew the first blood in the 9th minute as Pedro put the ball in the net past Petr Cech off an inch-perfect delivery from Marcos Alonso after a blistering run by the Spaniard down the left wing. Alvaro Morata opened his tally for the season in the 20th minute with a strike to wrong-foot the veteran Arsenal custodian after beating Shkodran Mustafi with his guile.
However, Arsenal didn’t give up and started to fight back with more vigour and the results followed. Henrikh Mkhitaryan scored the opening goal for the Gunners in the 37th minute from a long ranger and then turned provider for Alex Iwobi as the Nigerian scored his first goal of the season with a little flick past the Chelsea keeper Kepa Arrizabalaga.
With things finely poised, the two London giants fought to get the better off each other, and things finally turned Chelsea’s way. Marcos Alonso went onto guide the ball into the net in the 81st minute, meeting a brilliant delivery from substitute Eden Hazard, which sealed all three points for the Blues.
This is how the Chelsea players are rated from their enthralling encounter against Arsenal.
Kepa Arrizabalaga: 5
The pressure of the London derby seemed to get the better of the young Spaniard after an excellent clean sheet in his first match. Could have done more to save both goals.
Marcos Alonso: 8
The left-back made blistering runs down the wing and delivered sumptuous balls in the danger area. His high work rate and ability to counter-attack were too much for the Arsenal defenders to contain.
Antonio Rudiger: 5
The German started strongly in the backline but looked out of sorts as the game moved on, allowing two goals in quick succession to squander the lead for his side.
Cesar Azpilicueta: 6
The defender to be least blamed for the Arsenal onslaught in the later stages of the second half. Turned provider for compatriot Morata as the Spaniard scored the second for Chelsea.
David Luiz: 4
Crumbled under pressure and was slow in reacting to immediate threats. Proving to be a liability for Sarri.
Jorginho: 7
Undoubtedly Chelsea’s best buy in the summer transfer window as he showed grit and prowess on the ball to fight it out in the middle of the pitch.
N’golo Kante: 7
The Frenchman kept running like a well-oiled machine as he always does, ensuring possession stayed with his team.
Ross Barkley: 6
Another inspiring display from the Englishman. Pulled out brilliant saves off Cech on a couple of occasions.
Pedro: 7
Kept his scoring run intact with the opener for his side. Was a livewire on the field whenever the ball was provided.
Willian: 6
Looked to struggle against the Arsenal defenders and was substituted to introduce Eden Hazard onto the pitch.
Alvaro Morata: 8
Inspiring and encouraging display from the Spaniard as he took the Arsenal defence apart with his nimble footwork and shot making. Definitely a boost for Sarri.
Substitutes
Mateo Kovacic: 7
Came on in the 59th minute to replace Barkley and immediately had an impact on the game with his swift runs and possessional ball playing.
Eden Hazard: 7
The Bridge erupted as soon as the Belgian skipper was introduced in the 60th minute. Showed why he is rated so high as he got the better of the opposition players and turned provider for Alonso to score the winner.
Olivier Giroud: 4
An off day on the pitch for the World Cup-winning Frenchman.
