Chelsea
made the perfect start to their pre-season tour as Michy Batshuayi scored
twice in a 3-0 win over Arsenal.
Two goals in as many minutes from Willian (40) and Batshuayi (42) put
Chelsea two up at the break in Beijing before the Belgian striker added his
second four minutes into the second period.
Chances were few and far between for Arsenal and it was Chelsea who looked
the more likely to score the game's fourth goal but, ultimately, they had to
settle for three - still more than enough for a comfortable win.
Chelsea flew out of the blocks and Pedro burst into the Arsenal box inside
the first minute but was unable to pick out a blue shirt with his cutback.
The first real chance came six minutes later as Willian incepted a loose
pass from Ainsley Maitland-Niles and reached the edge of the area before
hitting his left-foot shot just wide.
Arsenal were struggling to make any real impression on the game but they
were given a few moments to regroup after Pedro, so lively in the opening
stages, was forced off having been caught by David Ospina as the Arsenal
goalkeeper rushed out to punch clear a ball over the top.
That led to something of a lull in the action before Chelsea suddenly burst
into life, Willian bringing another save out of Ospina before Batshuayi
converted Cesc Fabregas' cross, only to see the flag raised for offside
against the Spaniard.
The goal soon arrived though as Mertesacker dived in, allowing Batshuayi to
spin him on the halfway line before feeding Willian. The Brazilian then
stood up Nacho Monreal on the edge of the box before cutting inside and
hitting his shot in off the post.
Less than two minutes later, Batshuayi doubled Chelsea's lead; collecting
N'Golo Kante's pass, shifting the ball onto his left foot and bending the
ball into the far corner.
Any Arsenal hopes of making a second-half comeback were soon dashed as
Chelsea added a classy third. Fabregas sprayed the ball wide to Marcos
Alonso, who cut inside before teeing up Batshuayi to side-foot the ball into
the top corner from 18 yards out.
That all but ended the game as a contest but Chelsea did have opportunities
to extend their lead, Willian having his snapshot saved by Ospina prior to
Victor Moses seeing his goal-bound effort blocked.
Olivier Giroud, on as a half-time substitution despite a little confusion
over whether he was named on the official teamsheet, gave Willy Caballero a
couple of saves to make in the Chelsea goal but Antonio Conte's side were
largely comfortable and only a few heavy touches denied them further goals
on the break.
Man of the match: Michy Batshuayi
The Belgian forward was involved in all three Chelsea goals, scoring two and
providing the assist for Willian. With Diego Costa seemingly on his way out
at Stamford Bridge, it was just the performance he needed to show Conte that
he can challenge new signing Alvaro Morata for a first team berth this
season.
His goal at West Brom sealed the Premier League title last season and he
showed his finishing prowess once more in Beijing with two clinical
left-foot strikes. Whether that will be enough to keep Morata out of the
first XI come August remains to be seen though.
What next?
Arsenal have a full week to recover as they look to bounce back from this
defeat. Their next fixture comes against Benfica in the Emirates Cup next
Saturday.
Chelsea, meanwhile, are back in action on Wednesday with another heavyweight
clash, former boss Carlo Ancelotti and his Bayern Munich side, their
opponents.