Romelu Lukaku found the back of the net on his return to Premier League life with Thomas Tuchel’s Chelsea running out comfortable winners against Arsenal on Sunday.
Lukaku’s strike was followed up by Reece James adding to the scoresheet with a helpless Arsenal outfit unable to get the better of a resilient Chelsea backline in the Emirates Stadium showdown.
MATCH PROCEEDINGS
Arsenal applied early pressure on the visitors to North London but Mikel Arteta’s men lacked the cutting edge in the final third of the pitch to take the lead.
Chelsea’s domination over the game’s tempo bore an instant reward for Tuchel and Co. with debutant Romelu Lukaku finding himself in a great space to slot the ball past the Arsenal goalie Leno to give Chelsea the advantage.
The Blues added to their early lead through Reece James with ten minutes left for the half-time whistle to be blown as a brilliant linkup play between Marcos Alonso and Kai Havertz on the left side of the pitch helped set the tone for Chelsea’s second goal of the game.
James had the ball waiting to be dispatched into the back of the net and the England international full-back, on his return to the Chelsea teamsheet, did not disappoint as he struck a thumping finish into the top corner.
Arsenal looked to get back in the game and nearly did so when Saka was brought down by Reece James in the penalty box but shouts for a spot-kick were not entertained by the referee in a major relief to the Chelsea players and fans alike.
The likes of Cesar Azpilicueta and Antonio Rudiger were solid at the back towards the dying stages of the match as they kept the Arsenal frontline in check to protect the two-goal cushion.
London is Blue. 🔵 pic.twitter.com/Kkb9r4AeOb
— Chelsea FC (@ChelseaFC) August 22, 2021
Lukaku could have had a second goal to his name on his second debut in the Chelsea shirt but the Belgian forward was denied this time by Leno who was called into action with a point-blank save.
