(Premier League 2023/2024): Highlights Chelsea - Arsenal

The Premier League is back, and what a way for Chelsea to return. A London derby against Arsenal at Stamford Bridge. Both these teams could be forgiven for wishing the international break hadn't arrived when it did. Arsenal beat Manchester City before the pause, and Chelsea had just won their third game in succession. Maurizio Pochettino makes two changes from the team that started against Burnley. Axel Di Zazee drops to the bench after being an injury down. Malo Gusto is back from suspension. Mikhailo Mujic also comes in. Cole Palmer fit enough to start. And Rhys James and Benoit Badia-Schiel return to the bench. Two changes also for the Gunners. Bukayo Saka fit again and comes straight back in, whilst Gabriel Martinelli starts after returning from the bench last time out. Leandro Trossard and Eddie Nketiah make way. Former Blue Jorginho starts, but Kai Havertz has to content himself with a place amongst the substitutes. Lovely ball from Thiago Silva to find him. Sterling all alone in the penalty area in blue. Now Gallagher's there helping out. Sterling twisting and turning and almost squeezed it through to Gallagher. Zinchenko was nowhere and Zinchenko's giving it away. And here is Conor Gallagher. Any room for a shot? Blocked at source, out to Fernandes. He'll have to wait a little longer for his first Premier League goal. Really good from Caicedo, just snapping into a challenge, keeping that attack alive. Sterling couldn't find a blue shirt initially. Zinchenko, don't know what he's thinking there. Gallagher sorts his feet out really well to get his strike away. And that is another presentable opportunity for Enzo Fernandes. They're stacking up early part of this season from this type of distance. I'm sure they're going to start going in soon. Oh, it's beautiful from Mudrick into Conor Gallagher. Palmer wants it quickly. Sterling's got chalk on his boots right side. Again, the pass not in front of him. Gusto's there on the overlap. Sterling centred in toward Mudrick. Now, what did that hit? Big appeals for handball. Chris Cavanagh had a good view of that. He's looking over at his assistant. Jared Gillett is running the rule over the footage as we speak. Let's see what happens next time the ball goes dead. It's going to go and have a look. It's William Saliba. That doesn't look like a particularly natural position for the arm to be, to me. Now, I don't like these. I don't think they should be a penalty, but in the current landscape, these invariably get given. So consistency is what we're all looking for. So this, to me, is very much a modern day penalty. Referee's assistant acting like a nightclub bouncer, keeping the Arsenal players at bay. Here we go. It's a penalty. Cole Palmer versus David Ryer for his first goal at Stamford Bridge to give Chelsea the lead in the derby. Sends the goalkeeper. Makes it two in two. Perfection from the penalty spot. And he's got his second Chelsea goal and the Blues are ahead early on. A really confident penalty again. I don't think there's kind of that little stutter and waiting to see which way the goalkeeper goes. I think he's making up his mind early. Yeah, these are given, I think, nine times out of ten at the moment. Sinchenko's through ball was a good one. A flick right across the face of goal from Declan Rice. Was he trying to shoot? Was he trying to pass? In the end, he didn't really do either. The first example of Sinchenko coming into the middle third, coming in from fullback and linking the play. Arsenal having the spare man. Rice striding on, didn't trust himself to go on his left side, couldn't open up the angle to bend it. With his right foot. Here's Palmer. Oh, he's going to go for it, Cole Palmer. That's a really good effort. And an inch or so the other way. And he would have squeezed it into the narrowest of gaps between the post and David Riott. Yeah, I love this type of effort because it's all about the player's awareness. It's so clever. Cole Palmer receiving it. Lovely diagonal run. He knows Gabriel's tight. He knows he can probably beat him in a race. So he goes for the snapshot through his legs and just misses by a whisker. It's a brilliant effort. Palmer's flicked delicious into Sterling, who's rolled Sinchenko. Oh, and he's managed to find Gusto. And Gusto will have a putt. And he didn't miss by much. On the swinger as well. I think that Malo Gusto. Yeah, it's a real shame he doesn't come to anything. Palmer, brilliant, round the corner, makes the overlapping run. Sterling doesn't need him. White. Now Gallagher's managed to pinch it from under guard. Palmer getting up to help. Look at the speed of Mudryk as he takes over. Up against Saliba. Oh, Mikhailo Mudryk and he has! Mudryk with his first goal at Stamford Bridge from absolutely nothing. And Chelsea are 2-0 up. And David Rye has got egg all over his face. Yeah, he's not going to want to see that one again. It's a brilliant moment for Mudryk. It's a brilliant moment for Chelsea on the counter-attack. Conor Gallagher breaking up the play initially, driving it forward, waiting for the optimum moment to move it on to Mudryk. Conor Gallagher waits and waits just to play it into Mudryk's path. And I think there's a large slice of fortune here. I think he's just looking to clip that towards Raheem Sterling or Cole Palmer, but it does a hell of a lot better than that. He's looking square, he's looking square. Miscues it somewhat. And it looks absolutely beautiful. He doesn't even look towards the goal. I'm telling you, that's a cross, but it doesn't matter. It's 2-0 Chelsea. Oh, Palmer! What's Ryan done there? Palmer can make it three on. Ryan did just about enough. Boy, he's living on his nerves now, the Arsenal keeper. Goodness me, what a mess he made of that. Yeah, it's nearly an absolute disaster for David Rye. Dear, dear. Declan Rice, though, has halved the deficit from absolutely nothing. Sanchez clearance went straight to the former Chelsea academy player and Rice sent it back with interest. And now we're set for a grandstand finish. The first shot on target they've had and they've scored with it. Yeah, just as I was waxing lyrical about the performance, we've seen a couple of these errors at the opposite end and now it's Sanchez's turn. It's a mess, isn't it, in towards Fernandes. He's not going to be able to get there, but what it is is a brilliant finish from Declan Rice. You think that maybe Chelsea are going to get away with it. He hasn't got a lot to hit. Here's Havertz. Saka. Oh, it's a good ball for Trossard, he's made it 2-2. From nothing, Arsenal have got themselves back level. Trossard off the bench to turn it in, it was a wonderful cross. And Chelsea, who've been the team on top for the vast majority of this game, are pegged back. Yeah, brilliant bit of quality from Saka on the right-hand side. Kukerea has done his utmost to stop that type of forward brilliance from Kai Osaka, but he puts in a dream of a cross, really, and Trossard, it's quite an unorthodox finish. Oh, it can't get worse, can it? And Keti is going through the middle, he's got something on that as well! Oh, my goodness, Mii nearly scored. And from looking home and dry, Chelsea are hanging on. Yeah, he gets in behind Silva there. He's a little bit quicker to move into that space, in behind Polwill, actually, and just tries to steer it towards the far post, it's all he can do, really. Oh, clever, here's Jackson. Offender in his way, managed to get the shot away and put it on target too. Well, it's a point, but it feels like a defeat in the way that it's come about. Chelsea were so good for so much of this game, they were 2-0 up too, Parma's penalty, and Mudrik's miss here. But Rice and Trossard late on pinch a point for Arsenal here. Sam, there was lots to like about this Chelsea performance, such a shame they couldn't hang on. Yeah, bitterly disappointed in the end, but nothing can or should detract from the opening, what, 70 minutes, where I think the tactical set-up and the players' performance was first class. The most complete performance this season, I would say, for a number of ingredients. Just so unfortunate that that first goal goes in from Declan Rice, and then it became just a battle as to whether they could keep hold of those three points. Unfortunately, it's a two-point drop, but so much to like in that first hour, 70 minutes, when they'll reflect in the next few days, I'm sure. Nearly, but not quite for Chelsea. They have to settle for a point in the end. Final score at Stamford Bridge, Chelsea 2, Arsenal 2.