Chelsea (1) 2 v 2 (0) Arsenal
15 Palmer (pen.) 77 Rice
48 Mudryk, assist Gallagher 84 Trossard, assist Saka
Yellows: Palmer, Silva, Cucurella Nketiah, Zinchenko, White Ref. C Kavanagh
Played Saturday 21 October 2023 at Stamford Bridge, attendance 39,723.
This was a revitalised Chelsea’s game until the 77th minute. Just as the England Rugby Union team outplayed South Africa in their Rugby World Cup semi-final, so too did Chelsea with their opponents. New boys Cole Palmer and Mykhailo Mudryk gave them a 2-goal lead which could have been more. Arsenal were sloppy and inaccurate until an error by The Blues goalkeeper Robert Sanchez gave Declan Rice a shooting opportunity which he took. Then Bukayo Saka and substitute Leandro Trossard got it together to find an unlikely equalizer. Chelsea had lost 2 points and Arsenal gained one.
Tottenham Hotspur (1) 2 v 0 (0) Fulham
36 Son, assist Richarlison
54 Maddison, assist Son
Yellows: Vicario, Hojbjerg None
Played Monday 23 October 2023 at The Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, attendance 61, 286.
A robust and consistent Tottenham Hotspur – 7 of their starting line-up had started all their previous 8 Premier League (PL) matches – took 3 more points from Fulham. Both goals came from players who had won the PL Player of the Month award already as Spurs went back to the top of the table. Captain Son Heung-min, who was the PL’s top player in September, scored the first and then assisted James Maddison, winner of the August award, for the second. Both were the result of intercepted poor passes out of defence by Calvin Bassey. For their part The Cottagers were again little threat in front of goal.
Two of these Clubs figure in our next 2 Premier London Derbies (PLDs) matches. On Friday 27 October it’s Crystal Palace v Tottenham Hotspur, and on Saturday 28 October 2023 it’s Chelsea v Brentford in West London. Spurs have only lost once in 7 meetings at Selhurst Park and will expect to make it 10 matches unbeaten. The West London fixture has only been played twice in the PL with away wins for The Bees in both 2021-22 and 2022-23. With Chelsea seemingly on the up and Brentford less consistent it may be different this time.
Finally with sadness and respect we pay tribute to Sir Bobby Charlton – a FA Cup winner; a League Championship winner; a European Cup winner; a FIFA World Cup winner; and a sporting Gentleman. He was simply England’s greatest post war footballer. May he R.I.P.
Until next time, “Keep Safe” and enjoy your football, Andrew at PLDs.