© EuroFootball.com
The leader of the English championship "Chelsea" defeated "Arsenal" in the capital's derby on Sunday and increased their advantage over their main rival from last year to 20 points, maintaining a 9-point lead over pursuing "Man Utd". Meanwhile, in the second day's match between "Middlesbrough" and "Tottenham", a productive draw was recorded.
Despite "Arsenal" showing poor form recently and suffering two consecutive defeats, the match against "Chelsea" at home still promised an intense and intriguing battle between the superclubs' opponents.
The visitors dominated the beginning of the match and had several opportunities to score, but the most dangerous attack was created by the hosts - after a pass from Alexander Hleb in the penalty area, despite pressure from defender Ricardo Carvalho, "Gunners" leader Thierry Henry managed to skillfully strike and save "Chelsea" goal by a whisker.
Soon the ball ended up in the "Chelsea" goal, when receiving a pass from Fredrik Ljungberg, Robin van Persie beat Petr Čech, but the goal was disallowed. Although the Dutchman was not in an offside position, the linesman in that episode spotted a foul where Thierry Henry was not directly involved in the goal.
The tension grew and for some time neither team managed to create more dangerous moments, so the first goal fell seemingly out of the blue. In the 39th minute, Didier Drogba passed to the sprinting Arjen Robben, who accurately shot into the far corner of the goal and put his team ahead.
After the break, "Arsenal" took the initiative, and the visitors were saved by goalkeeper Petr Čech, who deflected a shot by Lauren. As the second half progressed, A.Robben missed two opportunities to double "Chelsea's" advantage, while the hosts' coach Arsene Wenger tried to strengthen the attack by sending in Dennis Bergkamp and R.Pires.
However, this opened up even more space for counterattacks by the visitors, and in the 73rd minute, taking the ball from Lauren, Joe Cole broke through Sol Campbell and scored the second goal from the edge of the penalty area, consolidating the lead of Jose Mourinho's disciples.
At the end of the match, "Arsenal" launched a strong offensive on their opponents' goal and came close to scoring several times, but the result remained unchanged - "Chelsea" celebrated their first victory at "Highbury" stadium after a 15-year hiatus, firmly holding the top spot, while "Arsenal" dropped to eighth place.
A real thriller took place in the second match of the day, where "Tottenham" took the lead away against "Middlesbrough" after Robbie Keane's goal in the 25th minute, but later Yakubu Ayegbeni turned the tables in favor of the hosts with two goals.
After playing for just over an hour, "Tottenham" defender Jermaine Jenas equalized with a penalty shot, but seven minutes later Franck Queudrue restored the host's lead with a header. The final point in this match was scored by the Egyptian Mido, equalizing the result with a header after a corner kick.
After these draws, "Tottenham" surpassed "Liverpool" in third place based on points and "Fulham" as they missed a round due to participation in the FIFA Club World Cup, while "Middlesbrough" passed the "Fulham" team and rose to 13th place.
Sunday match statistics
- Match 1: 3-3
- 25' [0-1] Robbie Keane
- 30' [1-1] Yakubu Ayegbeni
- 43' [2-1] Yakubu Ayegbeni
- 63' [2-2] Jermaine Jenas
- 70' [3-2] Franck Queudrue
- 83' [3-3] Ahmed Hossam Mido
- Match 2: 0-2
- 39' [0-1] Arjen Robben
- 73' [0-2] Joe Cole
Tournament table:
