Match Report: Chelsea battle to 1-1 draw with Arsenal despite first half red card

Chelsea battled to a tough 1-1 draw with Arsenal at Stamford Bridge last night after going down to ten men in the first half.

It was a dire first period, as they often are in these big games. Fouls, stoppages, long throws, cards and bickering. What little football there was saw Chelsea have the better of the chances, but it was an ugly game all around.

That was summed up after 40 minutes when Moises Caicedo, who was as fired up as anyone on the pitch, went in with a wild, dangerous tackle on Mikel Merino and was given a red.

It was the 6th dismissal this team have had in all competitions this season, and to be fair to them they seem to be learning how to deal with them. Instead of panicking, Maresca only made two changes in the game. His ten men on the pitch did a superb job of keeping the strongest team in the league at bay.

Reece James was incredible in midfield, and his corner was headed in by Trevoh Chalobah after the break to give the ten men the lead. They weren’t able to hold on for a win, and Bukayo Saka eventually found enough space to deliver a cross for Merino to head in, but a draw from these circumstances was a great result for the Blues, who really restricted Mikel Arteta’s team to limited chances.

The game was hurt as a spectacle by the red, and Chelsea’s chances of winning all but disappeared, but the spirit shown by the players was so impressive that the Blues go into this week on a high.

MOTM – Reece James

Analysis

Chelsea group generic celebrate with Trevoh Chalobah. (Photo by Mike Hewitt/Getty Images)

When the red card came out, many fans would have despaired, but Chelsea simply got to work and did what they needed to do. James was a machine in midfield and the back line held firm against a physical Arsenal side.

To end the game against the league leaders with more shots, despite playing an hour with a man fewer, is really impressive. Rather than just sit deep, Enzo Maresca’s team stayed on the front foot as much as they could, and Arsenal had few answers.

Teams

Chelsea

Robert Sánchez

Malo Gusto

Wesley Fofana

Trevoh Chalobah

Marc Cucurella

Reece James

Moisés Caicedo

de Oliveira Estêvão

Enzo Fernández

Lomba Pedro Neto

João Pedro

Substitutes

Filip Jørgensen

Tosin Adarabioyo

Benoît Badiashile

Liam Delap (s 55′)

Cole Palmer

Jamie Bynoe-Gittens

Andrey Santos

Josh Acheampong

Alejandro Garnacho (s 46′)

Arsenal

David Raya

Jurrien Timber

Cristhian Mosquera

Piero Hincapié

Riccardo Calafiori

Eberechi Eze

Martin Zubimendi

Declan Rice

Bukayo Saka

Mikel Merino

Gabriel Martinelli

Substitutes

Kepa Arrizabalaga

Ben White

Martin Ødegaard (s 57′)

Fernando Gabriel Jesus

Viktor Gyökeres (s 72′)

Christian Nørgaard

Noni Madueke (s 57′)

Ethan Nwaneri

Myles Lewis-Skelly (s 46′)

Stats

Quote of the game

“11v11, I think we were a better team than them. We managed the game, we controlled the game, we created chances and we didn’t concede anything. Then the red card changed a little bit the dynamic, but even with that, I think the way the players dealt with that and were outstanding.” – Enzo Maresca on how his team reacted to going down to ten.