Football is back
Bats ’n’ Willian sink Arsene men
CHELSEA............ 3 ARSENAL............ 0
LEICESTER........... 1 LIVERPOOL......... 2
Arsenal........0 Chelsea.........3
ANTONIO CONTE was without three Chelsea regulars from last season – and ALL of his major summer signings.
No club-record buy Alvaro Morata – the £70million Spaniard could not get a visa in time to join his new team-mates in China – while neither Tiemoue Bakayoko nor Antonio Rudiger featured in the Blues’ line-up.
But you would never have guessed it on the evidence of this pre-season clash in Beijing as the Premier League champions tore FA Cup winners Arsenal to pieces.
Okay, Arsene Wenger’s men were not at full strength, with two homegrown kids, Ainsley Maitland-Niles and Cohen Bramall, initially making up their numbers.
However, that should not hide the glaring gap in class between the London rivals – only 15 days before they meet again in the Community Shield.
Certainly Wenger, who claimed beforehand that this game was “not a friendly”, will want to see a considerable improvement by then.
As for Chelsea, they are only going to get stronger once their trio of new superstars – costing a combined £140m – are added to the mix. That spells bad news for the rest of the English elite bidding to stop Conte’s outfit making it back-to-back titles.
A superb double from Belgium striker Michy Batshuayi and a fine opener from Willian secured their victory at the Bird’s Nest Stadium – but the margin could and should have been so much greater. Chelsea’s performance smacked of a side full of players desperate to stake a claim before Morata and Co turn up.
It could scarcely have been more different from their desperately disappointing display in the FA Cup final defeat to Arsenal back in May.
Meanwhile, the Gunners, in their fourth warm-up match of the summer, were all over the shop from the outset.
Indeed, Chelsea might have scored four times inside the first eight minutes such was their dominance. The best of those opportunities fell to Willian but, with only David Ospina to beat, he flashed inches wide.
Arsenal’s Colombian keeper then produced a fine stop from Victor Moses before the inevitable breakthrough came in the 40th minute. Willian skipped past Nacho Monreal and buried a curling shot in off the far post.
And a minute later Batshuayi, who earlier had been denied a goal by the offside flag, doubled the advantage with an equally lethal left-foot finish.
It was not all good news for Chelsea. Attacker Pedro had to be taken to hospital with suspected concussion following a clash with Ospina.
Wenger was already wearing that familiar troubled frown across his face. His £46m record signing Alexandre Lacazette barely had a kick in 45 minutes, while Mesut Ozil, reportedly close to agreeing a new £250,000-a-week four-year deal, was non-existent.
How Wenger expects this Arsenal side to challenge for honours if, as expected, Chile ace Alexis Sanchez leaves for PSG, is anybody’s guess.
No such problems, though, for Conte. Right now his only dilemma appears to be how to include Batshuayi after the £33m ex-Marseille forward completed the rout with a thunderous 49th-minute drive.
Liverpool.......2 Leicester......1
PHILIPPE COUTINHO lit up Hong Kong with the kind of dazzling display which will no doubt have Barcelona even more determined to lure him to the Nou Camp.
It was also the skilful, stylish performance from the Brazilian which illustrated just why Jurgen Klopp continues to use his persuasive German powers to keep him at Anfield.
After seeing Coutinho inspire Liverpool to beat Leicester and lift the Asia Cup, Klopp was asked what it meant about the player’s mentality, commitment and focus.
He said: “There is no doubt about this to me. Why should he need to prove it to anyone?
“He’s a fantastic footballer, fantastic boy. There were again a few wonderful moments from him offensively.”
Barca may well raise the stakes from an original £72million offer for a player they see as a potential replacement for PSG target Neymar.
But a player who can win games single-handedly is priceless to the Reds’ domestic and European ambitions.
He pulled all the strings as Liverpool captured the Asia Cup with a 2-1 win over Leicester, creating a goal for Mohamed Salah and scoring a blistering one himself. No wonder Klopp insists he is “not for sale”.
The man from Rio led the Foxes defence a merry dance to delight and thrill a packed crowd, most of whom were draped in red shirts and scarves and roaring their approval from start to finish.
His sublime chipped pass through for Salah to head the equaliser, after Islam Slimani had given the Foxes the lead, was world class.
And his trademark cut inside the box and curling rifled shot past poor Kasper Schmeichel just before half-time to give them the lead and ultimately win the game, had the crowd on their feet.
Roma target Riyad Mahrez tried to outshine Coutinho in the first half but was always playing second fiddle.
England midfielder Jordan Henderson came on as a late substitute to continue his recovery from the foot injury which cut short last season for him.
James Milner was substituted before half-time rubbing his left thigh.
He said: “I have a good record of winning trophies in pre-season but sadly nobody remembers them. We were the dominant side and deserve the success.
“This is a nice trophy to get but we still have a lot to do because we must be really ready for the start of the new Premier League season.”
Fellow Reds midfielder Adam Lallana said: “It’s great to get our hands on a trophy like this and give all our supporters in this part of the world something to enjoy.
“The heat was a factor. They may not be as quick and physical as Premier League matches but it’s a good test for our match fitness. We’re going to Munich now for two games there and
work on the intensity.”