Chelsea delivered a spirited performance at Stamford Bridge on Sunday, battling to a hard-earned 1–1 draw against Arsenal despite playing with 10 men for nearly an hour.
The Blues looked the better side early on, but their momentum was disrupted in the 36th minute when Moisés Caicedo was sent off for a studs-up challenge on Mikel Merino. A defeat would have pushed Chelsea nine points behind their London rivals and severely dented their title ambitions.
Instead, Enzo Maresca’s men showed remarkable resilience. Early in the second half, Trevor Chalobah rose highest to nod home the opener, putting Chelsea ahead even with a numerical disadvantage.
Arsenal responded through Merino just before the hour mark, but Chelsea defended courageously, closing spaces and shutting out the league leaders for the remainder of the game.
Reece James praised his team’s attitude and maturity:
“We dominated the game in every area throughout, with 11 men and 10 men. I think that was a big statement on where we are and what we’re fighting for. We’ve come a long way.”
He contrasted Sunday’s showing with earlier red-card matches this season, where Chelsea collapsed against Manchester United and Brighton:
“I’m proud. The team is so young, but we went toe to toe with the team at the top of the Premier League.”
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For Arsenal—now five points ahead of Manchester City—it was a frustrating end to a strong week that included big wins over Tottenham and Bayern Munich. Captain Martin Ødegaard, returning from a knee injury, admitted it wasn’t the finish they hoped for:
“We wanted to come here and finish off the week with a win, but it was a tough battle. They were fighting really hard for it, and we didn’t do enough to win.”
Chelsea walk away with a vital point, but even more importantly, a firm reminder that they remain serious contenders.
