Enzo Maresca‘s Chelsea managed a draw against last season’s Premier League runners-up Arsenal, in a tightly contested 1-1 draw at Stamford Bridge.
Gabriel Martinelli opened the scoring in the 60th minute before Chelsea’s Pedro Neto fired back in the 70th minute.
The Blues held 49% of the ball, but did manage 17 shots, generating 1.28 xG, and creating one big chance.
Meanwhile, the Gunners had slightly more of the ball with 51% possession, taking fewer shots than Chelsea with 13, generating a lower xG of 0.99, but creating four big chances.
The talking point of the game, among the brilliant tactical battle between Maresca and Mikel Arteta, was the wonderful strike from Neto, equalising for Chelsea and making it a more interesting end to the game.
Pedro Neto’s performance vs Arsenal
Neto scored his fourth goal of the season, now making 15 appearances for the Blues since joining in the summer from Wolves for a fee of around £51.4m, plus £2.6m in add-ons.
The 24-year-old has already started multiple games on either wing for the Blues now, playing as a right and left winger, providing three assists alongside his goals for his teammates. But Sunday afternoon’s performance by the Portugal international was brilliant all round.
Alongside scoring the goal, Neto made two key passes, completed three of his four crosses, took three shots, and won three of his six ground duels, working hard to track back and do his bit on the defensive end too.
His all-round quality was key in this game, often isolating the full-back out wide, and finding space to affect the game.
But it wasn’t just Neto who impressed for Chelsea, as there were some top defensive performances too, one of which came from the French defender, Wesley Fofana, who was in top form on the night.
Wesley Fofana’s amazing performance
Fofana was given a 7/10 match rating by The Standard after playing a pivotal part in this 1-1 draw, showing his athleticism, strength, and recovery pace against the Gunners frontline.
The 23-year-old has struggled for fitness in the past few seasons at Chelsea, spending long spells on the sidelines. However, so far this term, the former Leicester man has managed ten Premier League appearances, totalling 867 minutes.
Wesley Fofana vs Arsenal | |
|---|---|
Stat | Fofana |
Minutes | 90 |
Touches | 63 |
Accurate Passes | 47/51 |
Key Passes | 1 |
Successful Dribbles | 1/1 |
Ground Duels Won | 2/2 |
Aerial Duels Won | 1/1 |
Clearances | 6 |
Blocks | 1 |
Stats taken from Sofascore | |
Fofana won 100% of his duels, dealing really well with balls in behind, being aggressive on Kai Havertz to stop him turning, and ensuring Chelsea were solid in and around the box.
Even when the ball did break in the area, Fofana was quick to the scene, making six clearances and making a block.
But he was also important in build-up, recycling play, making accurate passes around the back and into the Chelsea pivot of Moises Caicedo and Romeo Lavia, as well as driving forward at times to keep Arsenal guessing, completing 100% of his dribbles in the game too.
Fofana is clearly an excellent defensive profile, and if Chelsea can keep him fit alongside Levi Colwill, the Blues have a well-balanced duo forming between the pair, with the Frenchman’s aggression and duel-winning ability, alongside the covering mentality and high IQ of his English colleague.
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