 | « Back to article | Print this article |
Chelsea beat Arsenal 3-2 in a pulsating London English Premier League derby on Saturday with defender Marcos Alonso scoring an 81st-minute winner after the Gunners had fought back from an early 2-0 deficit.
In a hectic first half, Chelsea went ahead in the ninth minute when Pedro buried a cross by Alonso. Out-of-form striker Alvaro Morata scored only his second league goal of 2018, fed by a through ball from Cesar Azpilicueta 11 minutes later.
Arsenal clawed their way back into the game in the 37th minute when Henrikh Mkhitaryan drilled in a low shot that Kepa Arrizabalaga -- the world's most expensive goalkeeper making his home debut -- could not keep out. Alex Iwobi made it 2-2 four minutes later as Arsenal exploited Chelsea's vulnerability on the flanks.
In a tighter second half, neither side could carve out as many chances but Alonso settled the game when Belgium winger Eden Hazard, on as a substitute, carved open the Arsenal defence for the Spanish defender to finish in Chelsea manager Maurizio Sarri's first home game in charge.
Kane finally nets in August as Spurs beat Fulham
Harry Kane finally ended his August goal-scoring drought as England's World Cup luminaries inspired Tottenham Hotspur to a morale-boosting 3-1 Premier League win over newcomers Fulham on Saturday.
At the end of a week when news of their delayed move to their new stadium left fans frustrated, Spurs gave them plenty to cheer at their temporary home with England captain Kane and Kieran Trippier, who scored a glorious free kick, guiding them to victory.
Spurs' first-half dominance was rewarded by Lucas Moura's clinical 43rd minute strike, his first league goal. However, Fulham hit back after the break as Aleksandar Mitrovic, soon after hitting the post, nodded home a 52nd-minute equaliser while on the floor.
Three minutes after Trippier's beauty, a similar effort to his strike against Croatia in the World Cup semi-final, Kane, who had already had an early goal disallowed and hit the bar, at last broke his August hoodoo.
He was delighted that his 77th minute clinical finish ended the statistical oddity that he had never previously scored a Premier League goal in 14 attempts in that particular month.
"Wish every game could be in August," tweeted Kane afterwards, with tongue doubtless firmly in cheek.
"It looked like it would be one of those days for me, but that is the game of a striker," he also told Sky Sports after his goal sealed a second straight win for Spurs.
"I thought we played really well and created a lot of chances. But credit to Fulham. Only after about 60 minutes did we start to take it into more dangerous areas."
Vardy sees red but Leicester ease to victory
Leicester City had Jamie Vardy sent off but it did not stop them from recording a comfortable 2-0 home victory over Wolverhampton Wanderers in the Premier League on Saturday.
The Foxes led at the half-hour mark through a Matt Doherty own goal, the defender heading in just as Wolves were on top at the King Power Stadium.
New signing James Maddison, who impressed in Leicester's opening defeat by Manchester United, curled in his first Premier League goal on the stroke of halftime.
The hosts were reduced to 10 men when Vardy, making his first start of the season, was shown a straight red for a high tackle on Doherty but Wolves were unable to capitalise.
