Arsenal beat Chelsea 3-2 in the first leg of the Carabao Cup semi-final at Stamford Bridge, with Viktor Gyokeres among the top performers for Mikel Arteta’s side
Arsenal clinched a crucial first leg victory over Chelsea in the Carabao Cup semi-final, exacting sweet revenge for their previous league disappointment at Stamford Bridge.
The Gunners took an early lead just seven minutes into the game when a Declan Rice corner found Ben White, who didn’t disappoint. Viktor Gyokeres added to the tally after the break, capitalising on a blunder by Robert Sanchez.
Chelsea’s Alejandro Garnacho was quick to respond, finding the back of the net from the far post to keep the Blues in the game. However, their joy was short-lived as Martin Zubimendi curled in a stunning left-footed shot just 14 minutes later.
Refusing to go down without a fight, Chelsea saw Garnacho score again from the far post following a corner.
READ MORE: Robert Sanchez gifts Arsenal Carabao Cup advantage over Chelsea – 5 talking pointsREAD MORE: Chelsea injury update as multiple stars missing from Arsenal tie explained
Here’s how our sister website football.london rated the players:
Kepa Arrizabalaga – The Spanish goalkeeper made a few comfortable saves in the first half hour, notably parrying a dangerous shot from Estevao around the post and handling the subsequent header from the corner well. However, he was beaten at his near post for Chelsea’s first goal and lost out at the corner for the second. 6.
Ben White – The right-back, who has seen limited action this season, opened the scoring with a header from a Declan Rice corner. His pass led to the error from Sanchez that resulted in Arsenal’s second goal of the evening. 8.
William Saliba – Delivered an excellent pass to find Zubimendi on the counterattack for the early Gyokeres chance. He remained strong throughout and demonstrated great composure. 8.
Gabriel Magalhaes – As always, he was a solid presence at the back, especially during Chelsea’s second-half onslaught. He nearly scored himself with a header at the back post. 8.
Jurrien Timber – Made a brilliant challenge to win the corner that led to the opening goal. Despite playing in the unorthodox left-back role and often joining midfield, Chelsea did manage to exploit that side of the Gunners’ defence. 7.
Martin Zubimendi – After delivering a nice pass across to Gyokeres, his volleyed effort went over the bar. However, when presented with a great chance on his left foot, he feinted and then struck to give the Gunners their third goal. 9.
Declan Rice – Yet another perfect corner from the midfielder, finding the head of White. His relentless pressing and tireless running were impressive as he harried the midfield all game. 8.
Martin Odegaard – He was somewhat disappointing in the first half, not really getting into the game despite pressing well. There were gaps appearing in the middle. He had a few moments in the second half but overall it was another quiet game in a big match for him. 5.
Bukayo Saka – Marc Cucurella got booked courtesy of a Saka run, and the question became, would he then test the Spaniard? Immediately, he had the beating of the full-back and found White in the build-up for Gyokeres’ goal; then found Merino in the play for the third too. 8.
Viktor Gyokeres – Had a chance in the first half on his left foot, spinning round and seeing his shot deflected wide. Started the second half perfectly, sliding in to pounce on Robert Sanchez’s error to smash in. He would gladly take his goal courtesy of a Sanchez howler. Then did really well to spot Zubimendi for the third goal. 9.
Leandro Trossard – Lovely weaving run through the Chelsea defence in the first half that could have ended in a big chance, but a block was made. Some bright moments but couldn’t make the Blues pay. 6.
Substitutes:
Gabriel Martinelli – Had a strike from outside the box after some good movement blocked. 6.
Mikel Merino – Straight into the action from the bench, finding Gyokeres in the build-up for the third goal. Thought he’d scored only to be denied by the toes of Sanchez from a volley. 7.
Gabriel Jesus – Came on late in the game. n/a.
Kai Havertz – Came on late in the game. n/a.
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