Chelsea 2-0 Arsenal: Kurt Zouma and Eden Hazard goals settle feisty London derby for Jose Mourinho's side as visitors end clash with nine men following Gabriel and Santi Cazorla red cards

Home Top

West Ham complete stunning hat-trick of away wins as Moses and Sakho strike in first half to down Man City despite De Bruyne goal
South Africa fall to humiliating defeat as 40-1 underdogs Japan score late, late try to clinch victory
Terry has to accept he is near end of his career and will be left out, insists Ferdinand after Mourinho drops his captain for first time in top flight
Pellegrini refuses to use Silva's injury as an excuse for West Ham defeat as City lose unbeaten record
Wenger should stop crying after every Chelsea defeat, taunts Mourinho
Van Gaal admits he's building a Man United team for his successor after splashing £300m on new players
GRAHAM POLL: Costa must be banned by the FA for Koscielny slap
Costa's dark arts see Gabriel sent off while he somehow escapes red card... leaving Zouma and Hazard to seal Chelsea win
Costa should have been sent off TWICE, insists Wenger as Ferdinand labels him a 'petulant baby'
OLIVER HOLT: Just as Keane was Fergie's reflection on the pitch, Costa is Mourinho's fighting spirit
Arsenal went back to the bad old days... lack of discipline and control cost them, not Costa's antics
PLAYER RATINGS: Fabregas shines against old pals but his successor Cazorla has a day to forget
Murray brothers put Great Britain on the brink of historic Davis Cup final after epic doubles victory against rivals Australia
Stoke 2-2 Leicester: Foxes launch ANOTHER fight back from two down as Mahrez and Vardy extend unbeaten run
Swansea 0-0 Everton: Mirallas sent off in final seconds of stalemate
Bournemouth 2-0 Sunderland: Wilson strikes again as Kaboul sees red for miserable visitors
Hull 1-1 QPR: Points shared at KC Stadium as Austin and Dawson net
McClaren under big pressure after Ighalo punishes woeful show from Newcastle
Ireland 50-7 Canada: Sexton stars as Schmidt's men begin World Cup campaign with win in Wales
Henderson KO: Big Liverpool blow as captain is ruled out for two months after breaking his foot in freak incident
Nottingham Forest 1-2 Middlesbrough: Ayala sends visitors second
Sheffield Wednesday 3-2 Fulham: Forestieri and Turner grab first goals
Berahino settles derby with first goal since transfer bid as West Brom edge out Villa
Martial collared by traffic warden while heading for dinner in Manchester... but for a selfie, not a ticket!

Kurt Zouma headed home at the beginning of the first half after latching onto Cesc Fabregas' inch-perfect free-kick
The 20-year France international, who partnered Gary Cahill in defence, sneaked in at the back post to open scoring
Arsenal defender Gabriel received his marching orders at the end of the first half following clash with Diego Costa
Clash between Costa and Gabriel occurred after the Chelsea striker appeared to push Laurent Koscielny in the face
Arsenal midfielder Santi Cazorla was sent off for two bookable offences after fouling former Gunners man Fabregas
The lead was doubled in stoppage time when Eden Hazard's shot deflected in off Arsenal defender Calum Chambers

Published: 08:41 EST, 19 September 2015 | Updated: 11:28 EST, 19 September 2015

1.2k

View
comments

Diego Costa was the subject in question and the conversation went back and forth. ‘Should he have been sent off?,’ Jose Mourinho was asked for a third time.

‘I think you should be speaking about Gabriel Paulista,’ he said, virtually spitting the words out in fury. ‘He made a mistake.’

So what was Mourinho’s assessment of Costa’s role in this game? ‘Man of the match for me,’ he said, again with equal defiance.

And, of course, he was right, just not, perhaps, in the way he intended.

Kurt Zouma rose highest to latch onto Cesc Fabregas' inch-perfect free-kick and head home beyond former Chelsea goalkeeper Petr Cech

Zouma sneaked in at the back post to head his team into the lead after Laurent Koscielny hadn't stepped up like the rest of the back line

Zouma looks understandably delighted with his second-half goal at Stamford Bridge and is closely followed by his Chelsea team-mates

The lengthy brawl at the end of the first half at Stamford Bridge begun after Costa had pushed Gabriel's team-mate Koscielny

The 20-year-old France international is mobbed by his Chelsea team-mates after opening the scoring at the beginning of the first half

The Blue's lead was doubled in stoppage time when Eden Hazard's shot deflected in off Arsenal defender Calum Chambers

Arsenal defender Gabriel received his marching orders at the end of the first half following a clash with Chelsea striker Diego Costa

After initially receiving a yellow card, Costa and Gabriel continue to bicker and the latter then reacts by kicking out at his opponent

Referee Mike Dean prepares to brandish a red card to Gabriel after adjudging the defender to have kicked out at Costa

PLAYER RATINGS, PREMIER LEAGUE TABLE AND MATCH ZONE STATS

CHELSEA (4-2-3-1): Begovic 6.5, Ivanovic 6.5, Zouma 8, Cahill 7.5, Azpilicueta 7, Fabregas 8.5 (Mikel 92), Matic 6.5, Pedro 6.5, Oscar 6.5 (Ramires 69), Hazard 7, Costa 7.5 (Remy 82)

Subs not used: Falcao, Terry, Blackman, Loftus-Cheek

Goals: Zouma 53, Hazard 90

Booked: Ivanovic, Oscar, Costa

Manager: Jose Mourinho 6.5

ARSENAL (4-2-3-1): Cech 7, Monreal 6, Gabriel 4, Koscielny 6.5, Bellerin 6, Coquelin, 6.5 (Chambers 45), Cazorla 5, Sanchez 6.5, Ozil 5.5 (Giroud 75), Ramsey 6.5, Walcott 7

Subs not used: Debuchy, Gibbs, Arteta, Ospina, Oxlade-Chamberlain

Booked: Chambers

Sent off: Gabriel, Cazorla

Manager: Arsene Wenger 6

Referee: Mike Dean 6

Attendance: 41,584

MOM: Fabregas

Cesc Fabregas delivers the ball to Kurt Zouma who heads up. CLICK HERE for all the stats from our Match Zone

This match was the epitome of what the Premier League has become. The theatre was as much in the post-match analysis, both managers trading insults at each other and their respective teams.

And yet there is no doubt that Costa turned this match in Chelsea’s favour. Arsene Wenger’s team were lured into a fight they could never win, a streetwise scrap. They lost their heads and consequently the game, ending up with nine men on the pitch.

Yet even though both Gabriel and Santi Cazorla’s red cards were entirely legitimate, a powerful sense of injustice pervaded. That’s just how it is with Costa; he gets right under your skin. And so it is with Chelsea. With just the one victory in the Premier League, they had to find a way to win; any way would do.

The pivotal incident occurred at the end of the first half. Costa’s arms were all over Koscielny’s face as they battled; another pass came and he aimed slapped at the Frenchman’s face, his first potential red card.

Costa fell but sprung up and body checked Koscielny to the floor, a potential second red card. Gabriel, incensed, grabbed Costa around the neck and aimed a slap. He might have gone for that but Mike Dean decided a yellow card a piece sufficed.

Like squabbling toddlers, each desired the last word. Costa had it, emphatically. Whispering into Gabriel’s ear, he provoked a flick of the foot from the Arsenal defender, reminiscent of David Beckham’s in 1998; not especially offensive but enough to register as violent conduct.

Former Villarreal defender vents his anger at Costa and attempts to confront the striker but is held back by compatriot Oscar

Gabriel is held back by players from both teams as the defender makes his way to the dressing room following his first-half sending off

Costa vents his anger at defender Koscielny and prepares to confront the defender at the end of a relatively low-key opening 45 minutes

After competing for the ball in the Arsenal box, Costa and Koscielny confront each other and the former pushes the defender in the face

The former Atletico Madrid striker aggressively pushes the France defender over and his opponent falls to the turf

The clash between Costa and Gabriel occurred after the striker confronted Koscielny and pushed him to the floor on the stroke of half time

What looked bad for Dean was that he delayed as the Chelsea players harangued him before he produced the red card. When it came, Gabriel could barely control himself and only the constraining presence of team-mates prevented him from doing himself further damage.

‘This is my question,’ said Mourinho, using his favourite trick of turning on inquisitors. ‘I played my first derby in September, 2000: Benfica against Porto. And I told my players before the game you need emotional control. Without emotional control, forget it. We don’t win.

‘If you want to speak about Diego Costa with me it’s just to say he played like he has to play and that’s why you have full stadiums and you sell to television around the world for millions and millions; because the game has to be played like that. That’s why tomorrow I will go to what I consider comparable in terms in dedication and passion: New Zealand and Argentina.

Invoking the spirit of rugby to cover the multitude of Costa’s sins might have been a jarring analogy. Rugby invented bloodgate, but in general it’s never a sport as streetwise as football.

After watching Costa push his team-mate, Gabriel makes his way towards Costa to confront the striker at Stamford Bridge on Saturday

Arsenal attacking midfielder Santi Cazorla, having already been booked, puts a strong challenge in on former Arsenal man Fabregas

Referee Dean sends the Spain international off for two bookable offences following Cazorla's strong challenge in the second half

Arsenal star Alexis Sanchez is challenged by Chelsea midfielder Nemanja Matic during Saturday's lunchtime Premier League clash

Costa undeniably plays with passion but had Dean done his job, he would have been sent off and then who would have been crowing about emotional control?

Unsurprisingly, that was Wenger’s view. ‘Costa can do what he wants and he stays on. Everyone else that responds to him has to be sent off. It’s unacceptable. He always gets away with it. I don’t understand Mike Dean’s decision at all. Why does Diego Costa stay on the pitch and Gabriel is sent off? For me, he is always provoking and also uses the naivity of Mike Dean in this game.

Mourinho had his riposte to hand. ‘I played against Arsenal 15 times and only once he didn’t moan. And that day we lost the game, we lost the Cup. No excuses. Not crying, not moaning.’ The last laugh always seems to go to Mourinho.

Brazil international Oscar beats Arsenal midfielder Santi Cazorla to the ball as he brings the ball forward in an attempt to create a chance

France defender Laurent Koscienly (left) puts in a strong challenge on Chelsea's lone striker Diego Costa at Stamford Bridge

Chelsea midfielder Fabregas was looking to impress against his former team and he wins the battle with Arsenal's Aaron Ramsey

Chelsea attacking midfielder Oscar leaps high above Arsenal defender Koscielny as he attempts to win the ball in the first half

Theo Walcott (left) who led the line for Arsenal on Saturday, attends to Francis Coquelin after the midfielder went down injured

After an absorbing first half which had produced precious few goal-scoring chances, the solidity which Arsenal had shown broke down quickly once they were down to ten men. With Calum Chambers being forced on to replace Francis Coquelin, who had been excellent spoiler, their vulnerabilities were soon exposed.

On 52 minutes, Cesc Fabregas sent over a looping free kick, perfectly-pitched, as only rare talents like the Spaniard can manage. Yet Nachon Monreal and Alexis Sanchez should share the blame as to how Kurt Zouma found himself in quite so much space to head home firmly for 1-0.

Thereafter Arsenal unsurprisingly struggled to get back on the front foot though and when the ball did finally drop for Alexis Sanchez on the hour, after a mistake from Gary Cahill, the Chilean misfired horribly.

Olivier Giroud and Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain were introduced to spark a late flurry. That strategy was wholly undone when Cazorla, doubtless frustrated, slid into win a loose ball outside the box, and caught Fabregas’ shin high on 79 minutes. Having incurred an earlier yellow for a trip on Pedro, the second yellow was inevitable.

A late goal would be added on 90minutes when Eden Hazard snapped up a loose ball and shot against Chambers, who deflected into his own net. But the contest had long since ended by then. Wenger could only despair and rage against perceived injustice. Mourinho? There wasn’t even the merest sign of a smirk.