*Finally, Isak Scores For Liverpool
Arsenal would surely have taken a draw beforehand against a Chelsea team that have emerged as surprise title rivals in recent weeks – and especially when they realised they had to play without William Saliba, who injured himself in training on Saturday.
It was a different story on Sunday, 30 November when, in the 38th minute, Chelsea were reduced to 10 men after Moisés Caicedo’s X-rated challenge on Mikel Merino.
It was one of those that made you wince upon each replay, the stand-in Arsenal striker fortunate to emerge unscathed.
It was Chelsea’s sixth red card of the season in all competitions – not including the one for the manager, Enzo Maresca, in the win over Liverpool in October.
Now Arsenal had to be thinking about all three points; a result to restore their seven-point advantage at the top of the table.
It did not work out like that. Chelsea had been in fire-breathing mood at the outset. Perhaps it was a part of the reason why Caicedo over-stepped so grievously. And they rocked Arsenal when Trevoh Chalobah looped home a header from Reece James’s corner at the start of the second half.
If James was the standout individual, it was an excellent team performance, a continuation of the vibes from last Tuesday’s Champions League dismissal of Barcelona at Stamford Bridge.
Arsenal had to react and they did. It was Merino who scored the equaliser, a tribute to his own tenacity as much as anything else.
And it was him who almost nicked the win towards the end of regulation time, his low shot well saved by Robert Sánchez. The Chelsea goalkeeper jumped up to block bravely on the rebound from the Arsenal substitute Viktor Gyökeres.
And so Arsenal did depart with a point. It might have been more had Jurriën Timber not taken an aerial ball away from Gyökeres in stoppage-time but nobody could say it was not a fair result, with Arsenal below their best. Or a pulsating contest.
This is a derby with plenty of snarl and there were physical markers aplenty in the early running – Marc Cucurella on Bukayo Saka, Caicedo barging over Timber.
The first yellow card was for a Martín Zubimendi foul on James. There would be more. With Gabriel Magalhães also out, Mikel Arteta had started with Cristhian Mosquera and Piero Hincapié in central defence. Both were booked by half-time. So was the Arsenal left-back, Riccardo Calafiori.
Arteta claimed Chelsea targeted his players on yellow cards in order to make it 10 apiece while Maresca was unhappy Hincapié escaped censure for catching Chalobah with an elbow in the 41st minute. Maresca said it should have been red.
It was always going to be a difficult occasion for Anthony Taylor, albeit the referee was a unifying figure on one level. Both sets of supporters see him as a villain. Or words to that effect. There were other descriptions aired about him at various times.
Taylor had no option over the big call of the game when it was put to him by the video assistant referee, John Brooks, that he ought to take a closer look at Caicedo’s challenge on Merino.
It was high and dangerous, a potential ankle-breaker, the definition of excessive force. Caicedo did slip slightly. It was nevertheless a shocker.
Chelsea had been the better team. They bristled with intensity and created a few chances, the biggest one for Estêvão Willian on 18 minutes. It was a poor clearance by Mosquera after a Pedro Neto cross. Estêvão blazed high from eight yards.
Moments earlier, Declan Rice had been required to stretch into a saving tackle on Neto inside the area. A little later, João Pedro hesitated after a slip by Hincapié. He had to shoot first time.
It said everything that the first half ended with Enzo Fernández seeming to swing an arm at Mosquera, leaving his opponent down as the players headed for the tunnel.
How Second Half Played Out Amid Chelsea Red Card
Arsenal wanted to regroup, to work out how to make the extra man count because the pickings had been slim for them.
Saka went close in the 12th minute after a velvety touch and pass from Eberechi Eze while Gabriel Martinelli extended Sánchez moments before the break.
It was Chelsea who bolted out of the blocks upon the restart. From a James free-kick, João Pedro forced David Raya to tip behind. From the corner, Chalobah rose above Rice to flick on for the far corner. To unbridled home delight, the ball sailed in.
How Chelsea Reacted To Red Card
Maresca did not make negative changes after the red card. He stuck with two wingers and a striker. That said, it helped to have James playing like two men in midfield. The captain was a remorselessly driving presence; creative, too. Some of his passing was of the highest order.
Arsenal Equalizer And Aftermath
The Arsenal equaliser had not been advertised. Saka, though, is always capable of making something happen out of nothing.
He ran at Cucurella and when he checked inside, the whipped delivery was on the money. Arsenal had two-against-one at the far post. Merino rose imperiously.
There was a shift in tone after Merino’s goal. Arteta had introduced Martin Ødegaard and the ex-Chelsea winger Noni Madueke just before it.
He would also get Gyökeres on. Rice dropped back to No 6 and Arsenal pushed, coming to dominate in territorial terms.
They had the chances for 2-1 but James was not kidding anyone when he said his team were disappointed with the point. It was the least they deserved.
Lens Climb To Ligue 1 Summit First Time In 21 Years
Florian Thauvin scored a brace to fire Lens to the top of the French Ligue 1 table with a 2-1 victory at Angers on Sunday.
Victory took Lens a point clear of reigning French and European champions Paris Saint-Germain (PSG), who lost surprisingly 1-0 at Monaco on Saturday.
Marseille could also have taken over top spot this weekend, but were held to a 2-2 home draw by Toulouse and sit third.
It is the first time that Lens have been top of Ligue 1 since August 2004, but coach Pierre Sage was not getting carried away.
“We’re very happy that it’s happened, but despite everything, on a CV, being top after 14 matches doesn’t secure you a job, I would imagine,” he said.
“We’re going to aim to keep progressing, to manage our matches better so that we don’t feel at the end that everything is difficult for 10 or 12 minutes,” he added, criticising his team for having wobbled when leading 2-0.
Former Newcastle United flop Thauvin opened the scoring for Lens on the stroke of half-time with a rocket-like left-footed strike that gave Angers’s Congolese goalkeeper Melvin Zinga no chance.
Thauvin, 32, who spent much of his career at Marseille, added the second 17 minutes from time with a deflected shot that wrong-footed Zinga.
But just three minutes later, Harouna Djibirin gave the hosts a lifeline, slotting home the rebound after Lens goalkeeper Robin Risser pulled off a fine save to deny Prosper Peter.
Lens had VAR to thank for holding onto the victory as the television match official overturned a late penalty award to Angers.
It was a fourth straight league win for Lens and seventh in their last eight matches.
It has been a fine return to form this season for Thauvin, a World Cup winner with France in 2018, who spent six years in the international wilderness after suffering a bad ankle injury in 2019.
The forward even scored on his first France appearance in six years after replacing Kylian Mbappe against Azerbaijan.
Madrid Stumble As Barca Top La Liga
Madrid probed for opportunities early on at Girona on Sunday, but were left rather exposed on the break. Thibaut Courtois responded, though, producing a couple of good saves to keep the visitors level.
Los Blancos thought they had taken the lead when Mbappe slotted home, but his goal was correctly chalked off when VAR determined there was a handball in the build-up.
The visitors were then made to pay for a major defensive lapse. Girona were allowed to work the ball down the right, before Azzedine Ounahi swept one past Courtois from the top of the box after a well-timed feed from Viktor Tsigankov.
Los Blancos had their chances to start the second half. They had the ball in the net again on the hour mark, but saw it ruled out again after Vinicius Junior was in an offside position when he poked home.
Madrid got their equalizer from the spot after 65 minutes. Vinicius scampered around his man and was brought down inside the box.
Mbappe coolly tucked the penalty into the bottom corner to ease Xabi Alonso’s nerves on the touchline.
Madrid came close numerous times after. Vinicius missed a couple narrowly. Mbappe was denied from close range.
But there was never a second. Girona were resilient at the back, and Madrid lacked a crucial bit of quality needed to put the game away.
This can be considered nothing other than a chance to go top wasted, with Barcelona holding the initiative at the La Liga summit.
*PHOTO CAPTION: Arsenal’s Merino…after scoring the equalizer.
Results From Other Domestic Leagues Across Europe, Sunday 30 November:
ENGLAND: Premier League
Crystal Palace – Manchester Utd 1:2
Aston Villa – Wolves 1:0
Nottingham – Brighton 0:2
West Ham – Liverpool 0:2
Chelsea – Arsenal 1:1
FRANCE: Ligue 1
Strasbourg – Brest 1:2
Angers – Lens 1:2
Le Havre – Lille 0:1
Lorient – Nice 3:1
Lyon – Nantes 3:0
GERMANY: Bundesliga
Hamburger SV – Stuttgart 2:1
Eintracht Frankfurt – Wolfsburg 1:1
Freiburg – Mainz 4:0
ITALY: Serie A
Lecce – Torino 2:1
Pisa – Inter 0:2
Atalanta – Fiorentina 2:0
AS Roma – Napoli 0:1
NETHERLANDS: Eredivisie
PSV – FC Volendam 3:0
G.A. Eagles – Utrecht 2:2
Telstar – Feyenoord 1:2
Twente – AZ Alkmaar 1:0
SPAIN: LaLiga
Real Sociedad – Villarreal 2:3
Sevilla – Betis 0:2
Celta Vigo – Espanyol 0:1
Girona – Real Madrid 1:1
