Arsenal Push Chelsea to Rare Defeat at Home, 1-0

 

Chelsea’s push for a Champions League bid took a bit of a hit Wednesday as they came up short 1-0 at home vs Arsenal.

It was just Chelsea coach Thomas Tuchel’s third loss in 26 competitions overall. They still have six and seven points, respectively, on West Ham and Liverpool.

“It’s still in our hands,” Tuchel said. “We had some good results but we have to cope now with a loss.”

Chelsea’s Jorginho fumbled it early on a back-pass to goalkeeper Arrizabalaga that led to a 16th minute score for Emile Smith Rowe.

“Totally our fault, nobody else’s,” Tuchel added. “We lost, it’s totally our responsibility. We had huge chances. We made an own goal more or less — total gift.”

Chelsea dominated possession 68-32 and had 19 overall shots compared to just five for Arsenal.

“We weren’t on the pitch with the same energy, it wasn’t easy to come up with the intensity and passing,” Tuchel said. “We weren’t sharp enough and didn’t have the same hunger and attitude as we’re used to playing with. So it’s on us.”

Chelsea play Leicester City this weekend in the FA Cup final, and then have all eyes on them later this month in the Champions League final vs Manchester City.

“It was an important result for us,” Rowe said after Arsenal’s win. “We had to dig deep. it was a tough test. We worked on pressing in training this week, so we feel we did well to make them make a mistake. I’m just happy the goal went in, though it was a lucky finish! I just want to keep pushing on now for this fantastic club. Arsenal are my club. I’m so tired, but the team played well, we had to dig deep, and we’re happy with the three points.”

It was Arsenal’s first Premier League win at Stamford Bridge since 2011.