Chelsea suffered a record 5-0 defeat at the hands of Arsenal at the Emirates as the Blues failed to close in on European football with six games left in the Premier League season.
The Blues’ fragile defence crumbled under relentless pressure, handing Arsenal their biggest-ever win over Chelsea.
Arsenal predictably took the lead in the fifth minute against a jittery Chelsea, with Leandro Trossard beating Djordje Petrovic at his near post.
The Gunners carved Chelsea open time and time again in the first half, recording 13 shots.
While the Blues crept back into control slowly, they constantly made life difficult for themselves with defensive blunders and constant giveaways in dangerous areas.
Arsenal took the 1-0 lead into the half-time break and came out for the second half more determined to put their enemies to the sword.
Chelsea failed to close down an Arsenal corner, and Ben White curled in a neat finish on 52 to make it 2-0.
A historic collapse followed as Kai Havertz scored a brace in quick succession to make it 4-0. Chelsea conceded four for the fifth time in the league this term.
White’s shanked cross nestled in the back of the net as Chelsea conceded four in 18 second-half minutes.
This result marks a historic low for Chelsea. It’s their first-ever five-goal defeat in a London derby and Arsenal’s biggest win over their rivals in 209 meetings. A truly shambolic showing from Mauricio Pochettino’s men.
Djordje Petrovic (4/10) – The Serbian goalkeeper opened the floodgate for Arsenal’s goals, allowing a cheap shot to sneak in at his near post. He made some decent saves, but it did little to stop the thrashing.
Alfie Gilchrist (4/10) – The youngster struggled to keep up with Takehiro Tomiyasu, Declan Rice, and Trossard constantly pressuring him, especially with Noni Madueke not helping defensively. Tough night!
Axel Disasi (4/10) – Disasi was nowhere to be found when the defence needed him to take charge. The Frenchman also played White on for the fifth goal of the game.
Benoit Badiashile (3/10) – The former AS Monaco man was a walking calamity against the Gunners. He gave the ball away many times in dangerous areas and looked insipid defending basic situations.
Marc Cucurella (5/10) – He was the best of the bunch today, but that isn’t saying much, considering how bad the rest of the defensive cast looked. The Spaniard did a serviceable job nullifying Bukayo Saka.
Enzo Fernandez (5/10) – The out-of-form midfielder continued his recent trend of below-par performances. He struggled defensively, and his teammates couldn’t find him on the ball. Maybe he does need that time on the bench.
Moises Caicedo (6/10) – Pochettino’s setup allowed too much space for Caicedo to defend, but he managed to put in a decent shift in the centre.
Conor Gallagher (6/10) – The Cobham academy graduate put himself about and made crunching tackles. He also did well to help Chelsea advance the ball, but it was far too erratic to affect the match.
Nicolas Jackson (5/10) – His holdup play was decent, but as has become customary, he struggled to find his shooting boots, missing an excellent chance to pull one back.
Noni Madueke (6/10) – The England youth international huffed and puffed but struggled to find teammates on the same wavelength as him. He tried to have a go at Tomiyasu but could not find the needed end product.
Mykhailo Mudryk (4/10) – Never got going offensively, and was a massive liability defensively. It was already shocking that he came out for the second half, but what a horrific showing!
Thiago Silva (6.5/10)
Raheem Sterling (6/10)
Trevoh Chalobah (6/10)
Cesare Casadei (6/10)
