Chelsea vs Arsenal: Thrilling Draw in the Premier League, Madrid Stumbling in LaLiga

What a weekend of football in the five major European leagues! The Premier League gave us a stellar duel between two London title contenders, which culminated in a 1-1 draw full of intensity. Both Chelsea and Arsenal fans, despite the result, should be satisfied. In Spain, Xabi Alonso continues his work to transform Real Madrid in his style, suffering another setback with a draw against Girona that distances them from the lead. In the European context, Paris Saint-Germain could regret its relaxed approach in Ligue 1 after a new defeat, 1-0 against Monaco, who played with ten men. On the other hand, Napoli remains in the fight for the Serie A title thanks to Antonio Conte’s team’s 1-0 victory over Roma. Furthermore, there were conversation topics at Barcelona (with another close victory for Hansi Flick), Manchester United (celebrating Joshua Zirkzee’s goal), Liverpool (breaking their winless streak in the Premier League), Bayern Munich (with Luis Díaz providing spark) and much more. It’s Monday, so what better time to reflect? Let’s go.

Chelsea and Arsenal: A Satisfying Point

The 1-1 draw at Stamford Bridge generated mixed opinions. However, beyond the criticisms, both Mikel Arteta and Enzo Maresca can see the glass half full. Arteta will regret not having taken advantage of the numerical superiority for an hour after Moisés Caicedo’s expulsion, but this is offset by the important absences the team had, including their starting center forwards, their best passing midfielder and their starting center backs (Gabriel and William Saliba). Defensive chemistry is crucial against a team like Chelsea. The defensive duo of Piero Hincapié and Christian Mosquera had barely played together before the match.

Reaction: The fight for the title between Chelsea and Arsenal generates an exciting match

VAR Analysis: Caicedo’s Red Card

Arteta showed his intention to win by substituting Martín Zubimendi with Martin Odegaard, seeking to maximize Arsenal’s possession. In fact, his team was close to taking the victory at the end. Maresca can be satisfied with the performance of his young team in a physical derby. Three yellow cards in the first 13 minutes say it all. Chelsea’s reaction after Caicedo’s expulsion was encouraging.

Should Arsenal have generated more against Chelsea with 10 men?The importance of Caicedo in the team is undeniable. He is one of the two best players at Chelsea, along with Cole Palmer, and is the defensive brain of the midfield. With Caicedo’s absence, Reece James took on the leadership role. James, Chelsea’s captain, delivered a standout performance alongside Enzo Fernández. A player from the youth academy in a derby full of intensity. Without Caicedo, Maresca opted for Liam Delap, who did a good job. Replacing Estêvão was a wise decision. Chelsea, although only adding one point, demonstrated great value for a young team in growth. Regarding the arbitration, Anthony Taylor was correct with Caicedo’s expulsion. The same opinion cannot be held with Piero Hincapié’s incident on Trevoh Chalobah. The Chelsea coach stated that Taylor told him that “there was no elbow.” Perhaps there was a lack of communication, but VAR should have intervened.

Real Madrid: Another setback for Xabi Alonso

The 1-1 draw against Girona left more doubts than certainties. Real Madrid had the opportunities to win, but settled for a draw. Some tactical decisions were questionable.

Garcia: Real Madrid wasted the first half

Was it the time to align Antonio Rüdiger alongside Éder Militão in defense? Is Fede Valverde a long-term option at right-back? Did it make sense to substitute Arda Güler for Eduardo Camavinga at halftime?

It seems that Xabi Alonso is still experimenting, which is not ideal considering he took over the team in June. The team has one win in five matches and has now lost the lead in LaLiga. That is the pressure of managing Real Madrid.

Are Paris Saint-Germain playing with fire?

They are the champions of Europe and the popular narrative is that they can win all national titles without problems, as their only real challenge is in the Champions League. But after Lens’ victory over Angers, PSG does not lead Ligue 1. In fact, if it weren’t for Olympique de Marseille’s ability to self-harm, they would be third.

Are there mitigating factors? In fact, they are better than in their first 20 matches of last season. And the usual answer is that the Club World Cup, plus the lack of a proper pre-season, have impacted their campaign. Except that three of the 13 victories this season came thanks to goals scored after the 90th minute, which is not ideal for a team that is supposed to be dominant. And the problem with the pre-season excuse is that they actually started very well, with seven wins in their first nine matches.

Injuries matter; of course they do. Ousmane Dembélé (five) and Désiré Doué (seven) have only started in twelve matches between them. Right now, both full-backs (Nuno Mendes and Achraf Hakimi) are out. But other clubs also have players out, and you can’t help but wonder if, perhaps, some people take Le Championnat for granted to the point that even an injured team like Monaco, who are coming off three consecutive league defeats, can defeat them with a bit of good fortune.