Chelsea in control but collapse
Chelsea 2 Palmer 15 (pen), Mudryk 48 2 Arsenal Rice 77, Trossard 84
IT was the best of games and the worst of games for Chelsea. It seemed as though the wisdom of the new regime was finally coming to fruition and yet the foolishness of youth was eventually exposed.
At the end of it all, they can delight in 76 minutes of superb football, Arsenal utterly outplayed. And yet they will have to explain how, having the game won and Arsenal in their pocket, they contrived to be hanging on for dear life at the end.
Chelsea were cruising towards three points when Robert Sanchez passed the ball out from goal. Conor Gallagher had switched off and Declan Rice retrieved the ball 25 yards out and promptly passed it back into the net.
Suddenly Arsenal were back in the game. Bukayo Saka, kept quiet by Marc Cucurella until then, was full of life. His cross swung in on 84 minutes and Malo Gusto stood motionless as Leandro Trossard sprinted past him to connect and finish superbly. No one could really believe it, least of all the delirious Arsenal fans.
Until that moment this had been Chelsea’s day. And in particular Mykhailo Mudryk’s. Cross or shot? When it was Ronaldinho, 2002, it was plausible to believe the latter. Mudryk, 2023? His team-mates would have you believe he is capable of the same. And even those who are cynical about that claim should not begrudge him his moment here.
The Ukrainian has had a miserable time since landing in the Premier League in January. This is a player whose own manager was regularly beating in the crossbar challenge they play after training. It would be surprising if his own nation’s trials were not a factor in that bewilderment. But it all finally came together on 48 minutes. Perhaps the greater significance will be just how sloppily Arsenal conceded the ball in midfield.
Cucurella drove the ball on and rolled it to Mudryk. He looked up and curled the ball goalwards, you suspect hoping that Cole Palmer or Raheem Sterling could connect.
Instead, with David Raya scrambling back on to his line, the ball swirled and bent its way into the far top corner. Mudryk’s joy was unconfined. When he left he field on 65 minutes, it was to a standing ovation and an embrace from Pochettino.
He had already contributed his
part to what had been the best half of football Chelsea have played under Pochettino. They looked a coherent unit, solid at the back, dogged in midfield, rapacious down the wings, Sterling especially vigorous. Palmer wasn’t brought here to play centre-forward but the energy he brought to the position, the runs he made and the calm way he scored his penalty made him a more than able stand-in.
The manner in which Cucurella started this game, physical and robust with Saka, demonstrated an intent not to be dominated. Arsenal haven’t often look bewildered this season, yet here they struggled. When they had the ball, the couldn’t break Chelsea’s defensive lines. When Chelsea had it, they were exposed. Oleksandr Zinchenko was relieved of his duties at half-time, Takehiro Tomiyasu coming on to spare him more pain.
That said, the penalty by which Chelsea took the lead had even John Terry somewhat aghast at how the rules are interpreted these days. Sterling’s cross was met by Mudryk’s header. William Saliba, arm outstretched jumped with him and the ball struck his hand from extreme close range. Once we would all have agreed the contact was accidental. VAR Jarred Gillett told ref Chris Kavanagh to check the screen and the penalty was duly awarded. Palmer assumed the responsibility and sent Raya the wrong way.
It seemed an afternoon when elements of the Boehly-Eghbali Chelsea project came into view. In the end, the brittleness and callow nature of their squad was laid bare.