Chapter 159
On March 22, Stamford Bridge had become a sea of carnival for Blues fans.
When the referee blew the whistle on his chest and announced the end of the first half, Chelsea was completely ahead of Arsenal with 4:0.
In the first half, Chelsea's forward line was unstoppable and scored many goals into Arsenal's goal.
Eto'o scored the first goal for the team and then scored twice. Li Lei also contributed an assist and a goal. Schurrle followed closely and scored the last goal of the first half.
Arsenal's defensive mistakes were frequent, and Arteta and Cazorla could not continue under Chelsea's tight defense.
Throughout the game, the Gunners could hardly organize an effective attack, and the rhythm of the game was firmly controlled by Chelsea.
In the stands, Chelsea fans shouted the names of the players and sang continuously.
They hugged each other excitedly and cheered for the huge lead established by the team.
Arsenal fans were disappointed, shaking their heads and sighing, and more radical fans had already begun to leave.
Before the game, Mourinho also expected this to be a difficult game, but he did not expect that it would eventually enter the halftime with such a score.
In front of the live camera, Chelsea's coach was so happy that he couldn't close his mouth. Arsenal's performance was far beyond his expectations.
Mourinho was worried that Arsenal would fight to the death, but he didn't expect the opponent to be so weak.
Arsenal deliberately adopted a stable 4-1-4-1 formation to fight in this game. It seems that Wenger had already felt the problem of the team's condition before the game and wanted to avoid disaster.
Arsenal (4-1-4-1)
Goalkeeper: Wojciech Szczesny
Defenders: Baikal Seigner, Per Mertesacker, Laurent Koscielny, Kieran Gibbs
Midfielders: Mikel Arteta, Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain, Tomas Rosicky, Santi Cazorla, Lucas Podolski
Forward: Oliver Giroud
Chelsea (4-2-3-1)
Goalkeeper: Petr Cech
Defenders: Azpilicueta, John Terry, Gary Cahill, Branislav Ivanovic
Midfielders: David Luiz, Nemanja Matic, Eden Hazard, Li Lei, Andre Schurrle
Forward: Eto'o
As it is already the end of the season, both teams have sent out rotation lineups.
But even with the substitutes, Chelsea's strength is far stronger than their opponents.
This is not only reflected in the score, but also in the players' body language and performance on the field.
Just 10 minutes into the game, Chelsea took a two-goal lead. With Li Lei's precise pass, Eto'o scored twice.
In the 15th minute, when Eto'o got the ball again in the penalty area, Arsenal defender Kieran Gibbs directly tackled him to the ground.
This was an obvious foul and a mistake by Arsenal's defense.
Gibbs obviously saw that Eto'o had threatened the goal and took rough measures in a hurry.
This also proved that Chelsea's attack was fierce. Eto'o's body language and running position also put great pressure on the opponent.
The referee showed Gibbs a red card without hesitation and awarded Chelsea a penalty kick. Li Lei took the penalty kick himself and expanded the score to 3:0.
After being tackled, Eto'o rolled on the ground with a painful look on his face. Mourinho immediately replaced him with Torres.
Wenger sighed helplessly on the sideline.
Not long after the game started, Arsenal fell behind 0:3. Gibbs was sent off with a red card and one man less. This start basically determined the fate of the game.
Arsenal's defense was fragile and could not stop Chelsea's attack at all.
The numerical disadvantage made the situation worse. Wenger's face was very ugly. He knew that his team was destined to suffer a disastrous defeat today.
In the second half, Chelsea still maintained an offensive posture.
Li Lei and Hazard broke through Arsenal's door again, and the final score was fixed at 6:0.
This was undoubtedly a disastrous defeat for Arsenal at Stamford Bridge. In fact, Arsenal's current predicament can be understood.
They just stopped in the round of 16 in the Champions League, and lost to their city rival Tottenham in the last round of the league. Their state and morale were at a low point.
And today they have to fight the Blues away from home. Arsenal's fragility has been fully revealed.
In contrast, Chelsea is in an upward period and the players are in full shape.
Playing at home makes the Blues more arrogant, and Arsenal's cowardice is just what they want.
6 goals is Chelsea's best evaluation of the current situation of the Gunners. The complete victory shows that they are just a spent force.
In recent years, Arsenal has just moved into a new stadium and suffered a disastrous defeat in real estate investment. A large number of bank loans have made the team breathless.
Many fans only know that Arsenal fights for the top four every year, but they don’t know that this is because only the top four can enter the Champions League and get higher income to fill the team’s financial hole.
Faced with this situation, even Wenger, who is outstanding in ability, is unable to change the situation. Without funds to buy top players, it is difficult to compete with the giants with the existing lineup.
The Champions League stopped in the quarterfinals, and the league performance has also deteriorated day by day, which has clearly exposed the shortcomings of Arsenal’s strength.
The team’s financial and operational problems have troubled the head coach, but Wenger can do very little.
In the transfer market, Arsenal has long lost the ability to compete with its opponents.
Even if Wenger is far-sighted, he cannot create miracles with limited resources.
This has caused the team to fall into a vicious circle, with reduced Champions League income, more difficult finances, slim hope of buying top players, and weak competitiveness.......There is no ray of hope in the near future.
Chelsea fans reacted even more wildly to the victory over Arsenal
"Six to zero! We completely beat Arsenal, it was awesome! Chelsea's strength in this game completely crushed the opponent, and the championship is in sight!"
"As a Chelsea fan, I was very excited to see the team beat their arch-rivals with such a score. The Blues are so determined to win the championship this year. The championship trophy will soon be back in our hands.!"
"Chelsea is just around the corner to win the championship! Victory over Arsenal is a perfect signal. This Blues team is championship material. I believe the team can maintain its advantage in the remaining rounds. It is only a matter of time before they win the championship.!"
"We are the champions this year! The victory over Arsenal makes me more convinced of this. Thanks to the coach and players for their efforts. We will support you to keep the trophy at Stamford Bridge!" The big win over the arch-rivals made the Blues fans excited. After this game, Chelsea continued to rank first in the standings with a 6-point lead.
In the next few rounds of games, only Liverpool can compete with Chelsea.
If the Blues maintain the current good momentum, they are likely to win the league championship two rounds in advance.
This is a great encouragement and pride for Chelsea fans. This year, the team is strong and in an upward period, and the hope of winning the championship is within reach.
