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On Sunday, the most interesting match of the second round took place in the English Premier League. In the London derby, the two strongest teams from the previous years clashed - defending champions Chelsea and vice-champions Arsenal. The first victory for the "Blues" against the "Gunners" in the league after a 10-year break was decided by a bizarre goal from D.Drogba in the 73rd minute.
Recently, in the Community Shield matches, Chelsea celebrated a victory against their neighbors, but in the league matches they had last won in September 1995. J.Mourinho's team this time was without J.Cole and R.Carvalho, while A.Wenger's team was missing S.Campbell and J.A.Reyes.
The hosts started the match very actively, and already in the first minute, "Arsenal" goalkeeper J.Lehmann had to rush out and kick the ball away from D.Duff, who was ready to pass it to a free teammate.
After a corner kick, A.Del Horno headed towards the goal, but his shot was cleared off the line by F.Ljungberg. The visitors responded with an inaccurate shot from T.Henry from afar, and in the 11th minute, Ljungberg narrowly missed as his shot flew over the goal.
As the match progressed, both teams struggled to create more dangerous attacks. In the first half, C.Makelele tackled A.Cole in the penalty area, but the referee did not see a penalty there. Luck did not smile on the Arsenal team, as Ljungberg, who soon suffered an injury, had to be replaced by R.Van Persie.
At the end of the first half, A.Robben missed a good opportunity after a pass from Lampard, hitting the ball towards the Arsenal goalkeeper. On the other side of the field, P.Robert Pires struck wide from outside the penalty area.
Arsenal started the second half more actively - starting with an unsuccessful shot from F.Fabregas, followed by a missed opportunity by Henry. A little later, H.Crespo, who replaced D.Drogba during the break, also shot wide into the stands.
After almost an hour of play, Chelsea coach J.Mourinho gave his two newest signings a chance, sending M.Essien and S.Wright-Phillips onto the field instead of E.Gudjohnsen and Robben. However, Arsenal maintained initiative and after a great K.Toure run near the goal, Van Persie took a shot.
Nevertheless, Chelsea managed to break through in the 73rd minute under bizarre circumstances - as Lampard quickly took a penalty shot, Drogba tried to stop the ball in the penalty area, it bounced off him, and after passing Lehmann, it went into the net.
Arsenal immediately responded, and Henry's shot was unable to be saved by P.Cech, while Lehmann had to catch a powerful shot from W.Gallas from 30 yards. With seven minutes remaining, Henry once again shot directly at the goalkeeper, and at the end of the match, a mistake by defender P.Senderos gave Drogba a good chance to double the lead, but he failed to get the ball past the onrushing Lehmann.
Chelsea secured their second victory of the season and remain undefeated in the league for 31 consecutive matches, while Arsenal, just like in the Community Shield two weeks ago, had to acknowledge the minimal advantage of their city neighbors.
In other matches of the day, Everton won away against Bolton. The only goal in this match was scored by Marcus Bent, who soon had to leave the field due to injury. The hosts could have equalized, but at the end of the match El Hadji Diouf hit the crossbar.
