Chelsea 2-1 Arsenal: Nearly Threw it Away..... Again
COME ON CHELSEA
By Since66
January 21 2013
Apologies for the lack of match preview yesterday. What with the weather and the 50% chance of the game being postponed added to the fact that under ‘The Portly One’ it is getting difficult not to repeat the same things in build-up to matches as he does. Although I am still waiting for his classic, as in his Liverpool days, ‘We were the better team, we didn’t deserve to lose.’
Had Chelsea succumbed to Arsenal’s second-half fightback yesterday afternoon, I wonder if those words would have been the first out of his mouth.
Thankfully not.
After a stunning first-half display where Chelsea ran the Woolwich ragged, it was Arsenal’s turn to do the same in the second. Yesterday’s game, was definitely a game of two halves and only a brilliant interception by Cahill on Walcott in the dying embers of the game preserved Chelsea’s lead and much-needed three points.
After the capitulation of Wednesday night and the lack of performance in the second-half yesterday, I wondered what on earth ‘The Portly One’ says at half-time to his performers?
‘Well done chaps. You are two up, the game is won, take it easy and have a breather,’ or something along those lines, because whatever he says simply doesn’t have the desired effect and for the second game in four days at The Bridge, a place that once used to be a fortress, Chelsea struggled.
The other evening, the U18s game against Charlton in the FA Youth Cup changed when Mitchell Beeney pulled off a superb reflex save to deny Charlton a 3-0 lead, Chelsea then went on the win the game 3-2.
I felt yesterday perhaps Chelsea’s home fortunes are changing when Woolwich’s Giroud missed an absolute sitter to give Arsenal the lead then Ramires foul on Coquelin (not spotted by Atkinson) in the build-up to Mata’s goal could be the catalyst to start turning The Bridge back into a fortress, and they say you need luck in football and we had ours and Woolwich had theirs.
Szczesny was booked when he could have easily been sent-off for fouling Ramires leading up to Chelsea’s 2nd goal and Super Frank’s 195th, then prior to Walcott’s goal, Torres was fouled in the build-up.
Arsene: SWINGS AND ROUNDABOUTS SON, SWINGS AND ROUNDABOUTS.
Chelsea: Cech, Azpilicueta, Cahill, Ivanovic, Cole, Ramires, Lampard (c), Hazard (Marin 88), Mata, Oscar (Bertrand 71), Torres (Ba 80)
Goals: Mata 5, Lampard 16 pen
Booked: Mata 65, Cole 86
Arsenal: Szczesny, Sagna, Mertesacker, Vermaelen (c), Gibbs, Diaby (Arshavin 75), Coquelin (Ramsey 58), Walcott, Wilshere, Cazorla, Giroud
Goal: Walcott 57
Booked: Szczesny 15
NEXT UP: Swansea (a), Capital One Cup Semi-Final 2nd leg, k.o.7.45pm
COME ON CHELSEA
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Should have had a second yellow (first for foul on Coq) for simulation.
Specsavers is calling
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