In the second half, Arsenal's attacking strategy made Chelsea very uncomfortable in the first ten minutes. Who says Arsenal can't play simple and direct football?
They might not have been very good at this before, but after Lacazette arrived, the problem was perfectly solved.
In the 55th minute of the match, Ramsey, who had just come on in the second half, delivered a very imaginative long pass.
Lacazette's handling of the ball also shows that he is worth his price tag.
After passing the ball forward, he immediately passed it to Sanchez, who was in a better position. This time, Sanchez finally didn't waste the opportunity and unleashed a powerful shot as Lacazette passed the ball to him.
The ball flew almost skimming the grass past Luis and Cahill, leaving the Chelsea goalkeeper once again helpless against the goal.
It was so sudden, so very sudden.
He originally thought the opponent might adjust their position before shooting, but unexpectedly, he chose the most unexpected way.
Conte's face was expressionless at this point, and after the goal, he finally couldn't help but ask for a substitution.
Hazard was sent onto the pitch amidst enthusiastic applause from Chelsea fans, replaced by his former teammate Bakayoko.
Bakayoko's performance in this match was somewhat unsatisfactory, as he allowed Sanchez to take two easy shots on goal, which displeased Conte.
Although they removed one full-back, Conte subsequently swapped Christensen with Morata, so overall their defensive strength was not weakened, but rather slightly strengthened.
With Hazard on the pitch, Chelsea's attack finally came alive again.
Moses passed the ball to Fabregas, and Kanté successfully dribbled past Chamberlain after a collision with him. He then used a skillful pass to find Hazard in the attacking third.
Even before this, Hazard had been sharpening his knives, ready to clash with Arsenal's young goalkeeper. In the first half, seeing Morata, Fabregas, and others suffer setbacks against the opponent, he knew that this game would depend on him.
Hazard's inside cut perfectly showcased his dominance in the penalty area, with two consecutive changes of direction that prevented Koscielny and Mustafi from effectively blocking his shot.
The shot was both concealed and swift, causing many Arsenal fans in the stadium to stand up in tension. However, in the next moment, their hearts, which had just been raised in anxiety, were forcibly calmed down, leaving many of them overjoyed.
In front of everyone, Thunder made another world-class save, making Chelsea fans feel that their luck was absolutely terrible tonight, and making Hazard cover his temple in disbelief.
Damn, is this goalkeeper really that freakish?! In his heart, Hazard was not frustrated by this defeat, after all, there were still more than twenty minutes left in the game, and he still had a chance.
For Chelsea fans, this scene seemed all too familiar.
Once upon a time, didn't Petr Cech, who was sitting on the Arsenal bench, make his opponents feel utterly hopeless? However, they never expected that the tide would turn so quickly, and in the blink of an eye, they were the ones tormented by the goalkeeper.
On the sidelines, Wenger clenched his fists excitedly after seeing Reming's save: "Well done, Reming! That's it! Let everyone see your talent!"
He used to worry that Lei Ming's talent would be seen by the world, but now he doesn't care at all; the more people who see it, the better!
Soon, Lei Ming launched a long ball to Bellerin on the wing, and the game entered Arsenal's attacking phase again. However, this attack was ineffective, as the ball was intercepted by Kanté after being passed to 272.
Therefore, Arsenal made an adjustment during a subsequent wing play opportunity, with Wenger taking off 272 and replacing him with veteran captain Mertesacker.
Surprisingly, 272 seemed somewhat unhappy when he was substituted. He remained almost expressionless throughout his hug with the captain and didn't even greet the head coach after leaving the field.
In his opinion, the head coach had no reason to substitute him. Although he was a bit selfish just now, if he hadn't created so many opportunities in the middle of the field, how could Lacazette have had so many chances in this game?
He felt very unhappy about this.
Wenger frowned slightly as he watched 272 walk toward the bench with a dark expression. Admittedly, he acknowledged that the other player was a very talented player, but if he didn't even understand basic manners, he wouldn't tolerate it.
With veteran captain Mertesacker coming on, Arsenal's defense became much more solid.
But Chelsea's Hazard lives up to his reputation as Chelsea's King of Football, and his versatile attacking tactics sometimes make Mertesacker unable to defend against him.
In the 84th minute, Chelsea had their best chance to close the gap.
After making a run down the wing, Max Alonso delivered an imaginative cross that curved wildly past Mertesacker's block, allowing Hazard to poke it in. However, to his dismay, even this shot couldn't escape the Arsenal goalkeeper's grasp, and the ball was once again collected.
This caused the host on site to throw down his microphone, becoming emotional as he said:
"God, this Arsenal goalkeeper named Ray seems to be our Blues' nemesis. Max's superb pass evaded Koscielny and Mertesacker, but it couldn't escape the eyes of the opposing goalkeeper. His accurate judgment is truly unbelievable."
"At that moment, I completely understood Hazard's feelings as he helplessly collapsed to his knees. I think he really did his best."
"However, what's wrong with the Chelsea management? Why were you nowhere to be seen when such a talented player was first transferred? You've really disappointed us!"
The host was puzzled that Arsenal, their city rivals, acquired such a goalkeeper so easily, and his words reflected the sentiments of the Chelsea fans in the stadium.
When this player was transferred, they all took a look at the transfer, but most of them just glanced at it and thought it was just an ordinary transfer. However, they never expected that this ordinary transfer would bring them such a big backlash.
With the referee blowing the final whistle, the London derby finally came to a perfect end.
Ultimately, even under Hazard's relentless bombardment, Chelsea failed to break down Arsenal's defense. Although Thunder performed well, this was also due to the help of his defensive teammates. It was through everyone's concerted efforts that they were able to keep a clean sheet.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
