Chelsea 1-2 Arsenal

[BlueLion. 21,491]

Chelsea 1 - 2 Arsenal

November 30 2008, Premier League, Stamford Bridge, West London



Robin van Persie scored twice as Arsenal came from behind to snatch victory at Stamford Bridge.

Chelsea had taken the lead through Johan Djourou's own goal as the defender slid in to clear Jose Bosingwa's menacing cross. Arsenal got back into the match when van Persie lashed home past Cech from a clearly offside position, before instinctively finding the target moments later to present Arsene Wenger's team with a much-needed win which keeps their title bid intact for the foreseeable future.

The Blues were very professional in the way they went about their business in the first half, but will be livid for failing to take glorious chances presented to both Frank Lampard and Nicolas Anelka. Missing the likes of Didier Drogba, Joe Cole, Michael Essien and Ricardo Carvalho to suspension and injury respectively, Chelsea were clearly second best after the interval, and van Persie's brace sealed a memorable win as the Blues' form at Stamford Bridge continued to falter.

With the aforementioned out of contention for this London derby, Luiz Felipe Scolari called up Salomon Kalou into the starting eleven, joining Michael Ballack, Deco and Frank Lampard in the Chelsea midfield foursome. Former Arsenal stars Nicolas Anelka and Ashley Cole started the match, and ex-Blues defender William Gallas returned to Stamford Bridge.

Chelsea started the brighter of the two sides, but the first meaningful chance fell to Arsenal and their captain, Cesc Fabregas. The diminutive figure's strike was blocked by Cech, whose clearance evaded the onrushing William Gallas. It was a huge slice of luck for the Chelsea number 1 and his defenders, but the Blues were dangerous on the counter attack and but for a number of poor offside decisions against Kalou - one notably after being played through by the vision of John Mikel Obi - saw play stopped.

Lampard wasted a glorious chance with a header on 23 minutes, directing his effort straight at Almunia, before the breakthrough came eight minutes after. Bosingwa stole in to take the ball after the Arsenal shot stopper had carelessly bowled the ball to one of his defenders, and his cross towards Kalou at the back post was diverted in by an unfortunate Djourou. It was an immense cross from the Portuguese full-back, and had the Arsenal defender not tried to clear the danger, Kalou would surely have tapped in.

The game became more stretched as Arsenal became more direct in their play, and there were chances at both ends that produced an excellent piece of defending from Bacary Sagna to deny Kalou, before Cech snaked out a left glove to stop Nasri's effort. Kalou and Anelka both wasted chances before the half-time whistle; the Ivorian volleying straight at Almunia and Anelka heading wide.

The second half started where the first left off, with the Blues the dominant side. Lampard shot inches wide after a ball had cannoned off of an Arsenal defender, before Anelka wastefully shot wide when a cross to Lampard would have been a better option. Van Persie made the home side pay when he brilliantly shot past Cech on the turn, but replays indicated that the Dutchman was at least a couple of yards offside when he latched on to Denilson's pass from an Adebayor flick.

And the Arsenal striker made it 2-1 just four minutes later as he shot home on the turn beyond the despairing dive of the Chelsea goalkeeper. Deco smashed a shot over on 80 minutes as the Blues' second half performance was a complete polar opposite of the first. They were sloppy in possession, giving the ball away far too often and making the wrong decisions on the ball. Arsenal were performing in trademark fashion, passing the ball around with guile and taunting their opponents with their keep-ball tactics. Miroslav Stoch came on for his debut late on, but it was not enough as Chelsea crashed to a second home defeat of the season, leaving the Blues with just 12 points from a possible 24 at home - not good enough for potential champions.

Liverpool's 0-0 draw with West Ham means the Blues are now a point behind their northern rivals in the title race, but with the Merseyside team going to the Emirates before Christmas, all could change in the Barclay's Premier League.
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Chelsea: Cech, Bosingwa, Ivanovic, Terry, A Cole, Mikel (Malouda), Deco (Stoch), Ballack, Lampard, Kalou, Anelka

Arsenal: Almunia, Sagna, Gallas, Djourou, Clichy, Denilson, Fabregas, Song, Nasri, Adebayor (Bendtner), Van Persie

Attendance: 41,760.