Chelsea 3 Arsenal 2: Behind the scenes at Stamford Bridge as Maurizio Sarri wins opening battle with Unai Emery

Vaishali Bhardwaj19 August 2018

Chelsea scored three goals for the second consecutive game under Maurizio Sarri as they sealed a hard-fought win over London rivals Arsenal on Saturday.

Eyebrows were raised when Eden Hazard was once again left on the bench but Sarri’s decision was vindicated when the Belgium international came on in the second half to torment the tiring Gunners and set up Marcos Alonso’s winner.

While Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang and Mesut Ozil endured evenings to forget in west London, Unai Emery will have been pleased with the fight shown by his side.

Arsenal found themselves two goals behind after early strikes from Pedro and Alvaro Morata before Henrikh Mkhitaryan and Alex Iwobi drew their side level before half-time.

In Pictures | Chelsea vs Arsenal | 18/08/2018

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But Alonso’s neat finish nine minutes from full time killed off any hopes of a point away from home.

Standard Sport were behind the scenes at Stamford Bridge as the Blues secured the win. Vaishali Bhardwaj takes you through her match day experience and discusses the big decisions that lie ahead for Sarri and Emery after Saturday’s result.

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