Late Hector Bellerin equaliser stuns Chelsea

A stoppage-time equaliser from Hector Bellerin has earned Arsenal a point after a superb London derby against Chelsea.

It took 63 minutes for Jack Wilshere to give the Gunners the lead after heroics from Petr Cech and Thibaut Courtois. Eden Hazard equalised from the penalty spot before Marcos Alonso gave Chelsea the lead.

Bellerin stepped up in the 92nd minute though to curl a superb shot into the top left corner.

Alexis Sanchez came close to opening the scoring in the opening seven minutes when his free-kick deflected off Gary Cahill before bouncing just wide of the post.

At the other end, Alvaro Morata wasted a chance to open the scoring. With the Arsenal defence napping, Morata was put through on goal but blazed the ball wide from the edge of the penalty area.

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Sanchez was at it again in the 15th minute. His strike forced Courtois into a world-class save which tipped the ball onto the left post. It then deflected along towards the right post before bouncing clear.

Alexandre Lacazette was next to test the Belgian goalkeeper with a shot from the edge of the area. Cesc Fabregas could have opened the scoring on the verge of half-time but his shot shaved the right post.

Cech made a fantastic double save five minutes after the restart. First, Hazard’s shot was stopped by his legs before tipping away Alonso’s goalbound header.

Crucially for Arsenal, Wilshere escaped a red card in the 55th minute. After being booked in the first half for a challenge on Fabregas, the 26-year-old took a tumble under pressure from Andreas Christensen. No free-kick was given but the midfielder was lucky not to receive a second yellow for simulation.

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It was Wilshere who found the net eight minutes later, beating Courtois at the near post after Rob Holding’s pass.

The Gunners were only ahead for four minutes though. Bellerin fouled Hazard in the area and the Chelsea forward stepped up to finish down the middle.

Morata struggled in front of goal all evening, and should have given Chelsea the lead. His shot went over the bar though under pressure from Holding.

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Alonso might have thought he had won the game for Chelsea in the 84th minute when he turned in Davide Zappacosta’s cross but it was Alonso who gifted Arsenal the equaliser late on when his failed clearance fell to Bellerin to strike first time into the top corner.

It was not quite over yet though. Morata’s shot was beaten away by Cech before Zappacosta hit the crossbar from the rebound.

The point sees Chelsea remain in third after missing a chance to go above Manchester United. Arsenal stay in sixth, five points behind the top four.

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“Conte nuovo “allenatore” della Nazionale. È tutto oro quello che luccica?” by Nazionale Calcio used under license by CC BY 2.0.

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