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ARSENAL 4-0 CHELSEA: JESUS, ODEGAARD, SAKA AND LOKONGA THRASH BELOW-PAR BLUES IN ORLANDO

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Sports

2 years ago



Chelsea's pre-season tour of the United States ended with a 4-0 loss to Arsenal at Camping World Stadium in Orlando.

Thomas Tuchel's side improved in the second half after changing their shape, but the damage was done as Mikel Arteta's side reclaimed the London bragging rights.

Gabriel Jesus put Arsenal ahead after 15 minutes in Orlando, capitalizing on a Chelsea defensive blunder and coolly slotting it home. Martin Odegaard deservedly doubled the lead in the 36th minute with a fine finish past Mendy.

Bukayo Saka scored his third goal, despite being offside, 21 minutes into the second half, after tapping in from yards out after a double save by Edouard Mendy.

Despite the fact that it was a pre-season friendly, there was no friendliness from the start. Early on, Raheem Sterling fouled former teammate Gabriel Jesus, and Conor Gallagher committed a couple of strong fouls.

Within six minutes, Arsenal had the game's first big chance. A Chelsea corner found its way into the hands of the Gunners' attack as Gabriel Martinelli played in Bukayo Saka one-on-one with Edouard Mendy, but the Blues made a comfortable save to keep the scores level.

However, Arsenal took the lead after only 15 minutes. Trevoh Chalobah's misplaced pass was punished when Jesus, finding himself in open space, dinked the ball over Mendy to give the 'hosts' an early lead.

Chelsea looked sluggish in the first half and were punished nine minutes before halftime. Martin Odegaard doubled Mikel Arteta's team's lead after taking Martinelli's pass in stride and firing past Mendy from close range.

Malang Sarr replaced Chalobah after he was forced off with a knock in the 44th minute.

In stoppage time, Mason Mount had Chelsea's first real chance of the game. Raheem Sterling drew it back to the 23-year-old, but his shot bounced off the post.

Tuchel reverted to a back-three at halftime, bringing on Cesar Azpilicueta, Marcos Alonso, Mateo Kovacic, and Christian Pulisic to replace Emerson Palmieri, Conor Gallagher, Raheem Sterling, and Timo Werner.

Chelsea looked much more comfortable on the ball in the second half after switching back to their preferred system and introducing Kovacic.

Tuchel refreshed the attack with Hakim Ziyech and Michy Batshuayi after 64 minutes, completing Kai Havertz and Mount's evenings.

Saka added a third goal to put the game out of reach in Florida. Mendy made two big saves to deny Martinelli and Granit Xhaka, but Saka was there in the 66th minute to tap home from close range.

Kalidou Koulibaly made his first appearance for the Blues since joining, coming on as a substitute for Thiago Silva with 17 minutes remaining. Reece James and Jorginho were replaced by Ethan Ampadu and Callum Hudson-Odoi.

The 31-year-old made a superb block to prevent Nicolas Pepe from scoring a certain fourth goal, preventing further misery for the Blues.

Chelsea were unable to score a consolation goal as the whistle blew to end their US tour in Florida.

However, Arsenal found another in stoppage time to run riot in America, as Albert Sambi Lokonga added a fourth to further damage Tuchel's side.

Tuchel's men still have a lot of work to do with less than two weeks left.

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