Gabriel’s close-range finish from Bukayo Saka’s inswinging corner in the second half was enough to secure a well-deserved and vital win at Stamford Bridge.
It was a full-blooded London derby, and we were the dominant side throughout the afternoon, and could have won by a bigger margin in the end.
The win takes us back to the top of the table, and made it three consecutive league wins away to Chelsea for the first time since the 1970s.
It was a start full of intensity from the visitors, Ben White had our first two sighters on goal – the first blazed over, the second dragged just wide.
Gabriel Martinelli was next to try his luck, shooting over from the edge of the area. Gabriel Jesus had a shot charged down when he burst into the box, weaved past two defenders but Thiago Silva slid in to block.
Our best move of the half resulted in an opportunity for Jesus. He couldn’t stretch quite enough to get his head on the end of a Martinelli cross though. He had beaten the offside trap to find the space, but maybe just checked his run at the vital moment.
It all started outside our own box though, with some excellent, confident playing out from the back to create the space and force the opening.
It was a largely positive opening 45 minutes, but we didn’t manage to test Edouard Mendy, and the end product was lacking.
The second half started in a fairly scrappy manner, with the wet pitch maybe contributing to a disjointed passage of play.
Partey headed wide from a clever short corner routine, and from the next flag kick we took the lead.
Jesus won the corner, winning the ball from Loftus-Cheek then shooting at Mendy at the near post.
Saka swung in the corner, which evaded everyone before Gabriel slid in to score virtually on the goalline.
We were good value for the lead, and continued to press forward in the falling rain.
Jesus, who might now be nine without a goal, but he put in another excellent display here. He set up a wonderful chance for Odegaard after a mazy run in the middle of the pitch. The skipper checked onto his left foot but shot over when Martinelli was perhaps better placed.
Oleksandr Zinchenko, back in the side after missing nine games with a calf injury, was replaced by Kieran Tierney for the closing stages.
We controlled the game in the wet, and the work-rate was excellent to see out a statement win in west London.
