Chelsea overcame difficulties with one less player, forcing Arsenal to share points

(Dan Tri) - Despite losing a man in the first half, Chelsea still held Arsenal to a 1-1 draw, stopping their opponent's winning streak. The Gunners extended their unbeaten streak to 17 matches in the dramatic London derby.

Despite having to play with one less player for more than half the match, Chelsea still managed to hold Arsenal to a 1-1 draw in the 13th round of the Premier League on the night of November 30, thereby demonstrating their remarkable mettle. As for Arsenal, this result helped them extend their unbeaten streak in all competitions to 17 (14 wins, 3 draws), affirming their position as a team on the rise.

The match was tense from the very first minutes (Photo: Getty).

The London derby was heated from the start, with both teams fully aware of the importance of the result. Chelsea started the game full of enthusiasm after a resounding victory over Barcelona in the Champions League, while Arsenal were also full of confidence after overcoming Bayern Munich. Saka started a dangerous series of chances with a low shot that was blocked by Robert Sanchez, before Chelsea responded. Enzo Fernandez's shot in the 30th minute forced David Raya to show his talent, signaling the game was getting more and more tense.

The tempo of the match continued to be pushed up, with four yellow cards being shown before Moises Caicedo was shown a straight red card in the 38th minute for a rough tackle on Mikel Merino. This was the seventh Chelsea player to be sent off in all competitions this season. The Blues were down by a man but still held their own thanks to Sanchez's excellent reflexes, especially his save from Gabriel Martinelli late in the first half.

Chelsea took the lead at the start of the second half. In the 48th minute, from a set piece cross by Reece James, Joao Pedro attempted to head the ball into the net, and Trevoh Chalobah headed the ball against the post, leaving Raya helpless. Chelsea had opened the scoring in eight consecutive Premier League matches, and they continued to maintain their tempo despite playing with one less man.

Chalobah scored the opening goal of the match (Photo: Getty).

However, that advantage only lasted 11 minutes. Merino fired home a shot from Saka's pass to level the game on 59 minutes. Arsenal pressed hard after equalising, but Chelsea were still resilient in their counter-attacks. Viktor Gyokeres almost got the winner with a dangerous low shot late on, forcing Sanchez to show his talent again. In the end, the two teams shared the points in a dramatic derby that could have implications for the long-term race.

Chelsea have won just one of their last 12 Premier League meetings with Arsenal (D4 L7), but in the current climate, the draw is still a positive result for fans. The Blues remain six points behind leaders Arsenal, while second-placed Arsenal are five points behind going into December.

Source: https://dantri.com.vn/the-thao/chelsea-vuot-kho-trong-the-thieu-nguoi-buoc-arsenal-chia-diem-20251201055519700.htm