English Premier League: Arsenal continues perfect start and catches Chelsea with first defeat under Alonso

In a clash between two teams that had emerged victorious from the first two matchdays, titleholders Arsenal settled their derby encounter against neighbors and visitors Chelsea, overturning a deficit to secure a 2-1 win in the English Premier League on Sunday.

By reaffirming their superiority over a rival that has not beaten the “Gunners” in 12 consecutive matches across all competitions since their 2-0 defeat at the Emirates Stadium on August 22, 2021, in the Premier League, Arsenal and their runners-up Manchester City remain the only two teams with a perfect record this season.

The match served as the ideal preparation for manager Mikel Arteta’s side ahead of their UEFA Champions League campaign, where they travel to face Italian club Napoli on Wednesday, while Chelsea suffered their first defeat under their new Spanish manager, Xabi Alonso.

Chelsea started ideally, with new signing Morgan Rogers giving them the lead in the second minute following a free-kick that caused confusion in the “Gunners’” penalty area. The ball fell to the former Aston Villa player, who struck it powerfully from distance into the right side of Spanish goalkeeper David Raya’s net.

Arsenal thought they had equalized through another free-kick taken by Italian Riccardo Calafiori, after a Brazilian Gabriel shot was brilliantly saved by Argentine goalkeeper Emiliano Martinez, with the rebound falling to Ezri Konsa, who fired against the right post.

However, VAR intervened and disallowed the Italian’s goal after it was determined that Konsa was offside (12).

Bukayo Saka was close to compensating for that missed opportunity with a shot from a very difficult angle, but new signing Martinez excelled in defending his goal (18).

After a long-range effort from Reece James was brilliantly saved by Raya (23), Arsenal responded by leveling the score in the 25th minute through German Kai Havertz, who cut in from the right before firing a low shot from the edge of the box into the net after Martinez reached the ball but failed to stop it.

Chelsea nearly regained the lead before halftime, but fortune deserted Portuguese winger Pedro Neto as his shot deflected off the bottom of the right post (45+3).

With the start of the second half, Arsenal struck to take the lead through Norwegian Martin Ødegaard following a team move and a series of passes, the last of which came from Greek Christos Tzolis on the left to Havertz, who cleverly laid it off to Ødegaard. The Norwegian advanced into the penalty area before firing into the net (50).

Arsenal were close to a third goal after another clever move by Havertz, but Martinez stood firm against Saka (69). The danger then shifted to the other end, where Raya was on hand to deny Brazilian substitute Estevao (89).

At the “Hill Dickinson Stadium,” in a match with a crazy finish, Slovenian substitute Benjamin Šeško thought he had handed his team, Manchester United, their second win, but Everton salvaged a point at home by leveling at 2-2 in the dying moments through another substitute, new arrival Ainsley Maitland-Niles.

United, who finished third last season and thus returned to Champions League participation, began their campaign with a loss away to Hull City but turned a second-round deficit against Ipswich Town into a comprehensive 5-2 victory.

They believed they had secured their second win when Šeško responded to Tyrese Gillespie’s equalizer in the 83rd minute by giving the visitors the lead in the 88th minute, but Maitland-Niles unleashed a brilliant strike from outside the box and saved the “Toffees” from their first defeat.

Maitland-Niles told Britain’s Sky Sports, “We felt as though we had won. We fought hard and ultimately managed to secure a point. The fans were with us, and we battled until the final moment, which is why we achieved such a result.”

Speaking about his goal, he said, “It’s a wonderful feeling. Everyone dreams of a similar start, and fortunately, I got one. The ball came to me just outside the penalty area, so I struck it powerfully, and it ended up in the top corner. I’m very happy with that.”

The first half ended goalless despite a few chances, the most notable being for United captain Bruno Fernandes, who was denied by luck when his shot hit the crossbar (8th minute). The visitors struck early in the second half, opening the scoring with a fine effort from Cameroon’s Brian Mbeumo, who fired from the edge of the box into the bottom right corner of Jordan Pickford’s net (46th minute).

The score remained unchanged despite some tentative attempts from both sides, until the 83rd minute, when Tyrick George unleashed a stunning rocket into the net.

However, the “Red Devils” did not give up. Following a pass from Fernandes to Luke Shaw, the latter delivered a cross that reached substitute Chukwueze, who headed it into Jordan Pickford’s net (88th minute).

As manager Michael Carrick’s team prepared to celebrate the victory, Maitland-Niles, who had come on in the 77th minute, snatched an equalizer with a brilliant strike from the edge of the area into the top right corner (90+6th minute), securing the best start of his tenure with his new club, having joined from French side Lyon on the final day of the summer transfer window.