Liam Rosenior’s inaugural home match as Chelsea manager ended in disappointment, as Arsenal narrowly clinched a thrilling Carabao Cup semifinal first leg 3-2 at Stamford Bridge.
Early in the second half, Arsenal appeared to be on their way to the Wembley final in March, taking a two-goal lead through strikes from Ben White and Viktor Gyökeres.
Facing his first significant challenge as a manager, Rosenior made a pivotal substitution, bringing on Alejandro Garnacho, who promptly scored to reduce the deficit to 2-1.
A goal from Martín Zubimendi extended Arsenal’s lead, but Garnacho’s quick response from a corner left the tie intriguing ahead of the return match in three weeks.
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Arsenal took the lead just seven minutes in with their 24th set-piece goal of the season. João Pedro failed to effectively mark White as Declan Rice’s corner found its way to the defender, who easily nodded it home with Robert Sánchez poorly positioned to intervene.
Chelsea’s first real attempt at goal came just after the half-hour mark when Kepa Arrizabalaga needed strong wrists to deflect a fierce shot from Estêvão. The Brazilian was the most dynamic player for the Blues in the first half and seemed their most promising hope.
Arsenal, however, nearly doubled their lead before halftime. Chelsea’s defenders afforded William Saliba too much space, allowing him to unleash a stunning curling shot that struck the roof of the net.
Though Chelsea performed well against the Premier League leaders, their fortunes changed with a terrible goalkeeping blunder shortly after the interval.
Bukayo Saka sent in a low cross after overlapping with White, and Sánchez should have claimed it easily. Instead, the ball slipped through his hands, allowing Gyökeres to tap it in for Arsenal’s second goal.
Rosenior reacted by substituting Garnacho for the ineffective Marc Guiu. Just two minutes later, Garnacho found the net, converting from close range after a missed attempt by White and Enzo Fernández.
Chelsea was unable to build on this newfound momentum, and Arsenal quickly demonstrated the creativity that had been lacking for much of the season.
Gyökeres, buoyed by his goal, could have shot but chose to pass to Zubimendi, who then skillfully created space before hammering Arsenal’s third goal into the corner.
A sprawling save from Sánchez denied Mikel Merino a fourth goal.
Arsenal could have used that cushion, as Garnacho soon struck again. Sánchez failed to adequately clear a corner, allowing the Chelsea substitute to finish with a composed half-volley into the unprotected net, keeping the tie very much alive.