Blues leapfrog Gunners after Drogba-inspired comeback
Didier Drogba helps continue Chelsea's 78-game unbeaten home record
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Sunday, 23, Mar 2008 08:51
Chelsea have gone above Arsenal in the table after a thrilling 2-1 win over the Gunners at Stamford Bridge.
The visitors led through Bacary Sagna's first goal for the club, but a late brace from Didier Drogba has moved the Blues in second place.
Blues boss Avram Grant started with Michael Ballack and Michael Essien replaced Paulo Ferreira at right-back, while the Gunners were unchanged from the side that drew 1-1 against Middlesbrough last week.
The first-half was played at a pulsating speed, but both sides were poor in front of goal.
The visitors' first chance fell to Robin van Persie with the Dutchman blazing a shot over on 13 minutes. Van Persie was then agonisingly close to connecting with Alexander Hleb's cross, with John Terry on hand to clear.
Drogba wasted the Blue's best chance after being sent clean through from Terry's lofted ball, but the striker miscontrolled and Manuel Almunia easily collected on 23 minutes.
In a frenetic end to the half, ex-Blue William Gallas' shot at the far post rattled the crossbar after Kolo Toure had headed on Cesc Fabregas' corner on 38 minutes.
It was then the home side's turn to come close to breaking the deadlock with Ballack's venomous driver beaten away by Almunia, while the Blues' penalty shouts when Toure and Salomon Kalou collided were waved away by Mark Clattenburg.
The second half was equally entertaining with the first attack ending in Carlo Cudicini parrying Mathieu Flamini's piledriver on 46 minutes.
Chelsea's weakness at defending set pieces was exposed again when Sagna jumped above Kalou at the near post to headed in Fabregas' corner to make it 1-0 on 59 minutes.
Sagna was then forced off with injury and replaced by Abou Diaby, a change that seemed to disrupt the rhythm of Arsene Wenger's side.
That forced the under-pressure Grant into a double change with Nicolas Anelka and Juliano Belletti coming on for Ballack and Claude Makelele.
The substitution reaped rewards when Belletti's floated ball was laid off by Lampard for Drogba, who thumped the ball into the corner on 73 minutes.
Eight minutes later, Drogba was again the hero when he controlled Anelka's pass and toe-poked the ball into the net despite Almunia getting a hand to his shot.
The Gunners had Almunia to thank minutes later after the Spanish keeper denied Drogba a hat-trick after pushing the striker's low shot around the post.
Despite the introduction of Theo Walcott, Wenger's side failed to create anything in the five minutes of added time, as Chelsea move five points behind leaders Manchester United.