Gabriel’s close-range finish from Bukayo Saka’s inswinging corner in the second half was enough to secure a well-deserved and vital win at Stamford Bridge.
It was a full-blooded London derby, and we were the dominant side throughout the afternoon, and could have won by a bigger margin in the end.
The win takes us back to the top of the table, and made it three consecutive league wins away to Chelsea for the first time since the 1970s.
Positive opening
It was a start full of intensity from the visitors, Ben White had our first two sighters on goal – the first blazed over, the second dragged just wide.
Gabriel Martinelli was next to try his luck, shooting over from the edge of the area. Gabriel Jesus had a shot charged down when he burst into the box, weaved past two defenders but Thiago Silva slid in to block.
Our best move of the half resulted in an opportunity for Jesus. He couldn’t stretch quite enough to get his head on the end of a Martinelli cross though. He had beaten the offside trap to find the space, but maybe just checked his run at the vital moment.
It all started outside our own box though, with some excellent, confident playing out from the back to create the space and force the opening.
It was a largely positive opening 45 minutes, but we didn’t manage to test Edouard Mendy, and the end product was lacking.
The second half started in a fairly scrappy manner, with the wet pitch maybe contributing to a disjointed passage of play.
Gabriel breaks the deadlock
Partey headed wide from a clever short corner routine, and from the next flag kick we took the lead.
Jesus won the corner, winning the ball from Loftus-Cheek then shooting at Mendy at the near post.
Saka swung in the corner, which evaded everyone before Gabriel slid in to score virtually on the goalline.
We were good value for the lead, and continued to press forward in the falling rain.
Jesus, who might now be nine without a goal, but he put in another excellent display here. He set up a wonderful chance for Odegaard after a mazy run in the middle of the pitch. The skipper checked onto his left foot but shot over when Martinelli was perhaps better placed.
Oleksandr Zinchenko, back in the side after missing nine games with a calf injury, was replaced by Kieran Tierney for the closing stages.
We controlled the game in the wet, and the work-rate was excellent to see out a statement win in west London.
What it means
Facts and stats
We have become the first side to win 10 Premier League away games against Chelsea, while we're just the second visiting side to win three in a row at Stamford Bridge after Blackburn Rovers (1993/94 to 1995/96).
We have won three consecutive Premier League games against 'big six' opponents for the first time since April 2012.
We remain the only side to have scored in every Premier League game so far this season, while no side have kept more clean sheets than us (6).
Chelsea have lost consecutive Premier League games for the first time since December 2020, under Frank Lampard.
The Blues conceded 20 fouls in this game – only Leeds have committed more in a single Premier League game this season (23 against both Aston Villa and Crystal Palace).
All nine of Gabriel's Premier League goals have come from corner situations, with the Brazilian netting more goals from corners than any other player in the competition since he joined.
What’s next
We’ve got just one more Premier League match before the World Cup hiatus. That’s away to Wolves next Sunday, but before then we’re at home to Brighton in the third round of the Carabao Cup on Wednesday evening. That game needs to be decided on the night, if the scores are level at 90 minutes, we’ll go straight to penalties.
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