EPL: Chelsea hit back to beat Arsenal 3-2, Kane rescues Spurs

18 Aug 2018AFP / Daniel LEAL-OLIVASChelsea's Marcos Alonso celebrates his side's win over Arsenal

... Alonso sinks Arsenal, Kane ensures no Wembley woe for Spurs

Chelsea recovered from the shock of blowing a two-goal lead against Arsenal as Marcos Alonso's late strike sealed a 3-2 win, while Harry Kane ended his August hoodoo in Tottenham's 3-1 victory over Fulham on Saturday.

Maurizio Sarri's side raced into a 2-0 lead in the London derby before Arsenal drew level in a thrilling first half at Stamford Bridge.

Pedro swept home with a cool finish in the ninth minute after woeful Arsenal defending and Alvaro Morata crashed in the second 11 minutes later.
Although Arsenal were rocky at the back, they were dangerous going forward and Henrikh Mkhitaryan got one back with a low strike in the 37th minute.

Alex Iwobi nabbed Arsenal's equaliser with a clinical effort in the 44th minute.

But Chelsea bounced back from that blow, dominating the second half before Spanish defender Alonso finished off substitute Eden Hazard's pass in the 81st minute.

Chelsea's second successive win under new boss Sarri lifted them to the top of the Premier League with a 100 percent record, while Arsenal remain without a point under their new manager Unai Emery after back-to-back losses.

"We did very well for 75 minutes but inside that, 15 minutes were horrible," Sarri said.

"I think the players were really very good because at 2-2 it was not easy with Arsenal."

Emery added: "It is clear the result is not good for us but the process is continuing.

"We had chances to do more... in the first half, I think we need to control the second half better."

Bournemouth also have maximum points from their opening two games after Eddie Howe's men came from behind to win 2-1 at West Ham.

Everton's £50-million signing Richarlison continued to quieten queries of his price tag with the winner as Southampton were defeated 2-1 at Goodison Park, while Leicester saw off Wolves 2-0 despite a red card for Jamie Vardy.

After becoming the first Premier League side since the introduction of the summer transfer window to fail to sign a player, Spurs were dealt another blow off the field in midweek with the news their new 62,000-capacity stadium won't be ready until at least October.

Lucas Moura curled home his first Premier League goal to give Spurs the lead, but Aleksandar Mitrovic deservedly headed Fulham level early in the second half.

- World Cup stars shine -

Tottenham may still be suffering a World Cup hangover with the majority of their stars enjoying barely a week of pre-season training after their efforts in Russia.

Free-kick specialist: Kieran Tripper repeated his World Cup heroics with England for Spurs.

But it was two of England's World Cup heroes who produced the goods as Kieran Trippier curled home a wonderful free-kick before Kane finally ended his wait to score in the opening month of the season at the 15th attempt in the Premier League.

"We dominated the first 30 minutes and created a lot of chances, but in the Premier League if you drop your level it can let in the other team," Tottenham manager Mauricio Pochettino said.

In contrast to Spurs, West Ham splurged nearly £100 million in the transfer market to back new manager Manuel Pellegrini but still have no points to show for it after a second-half surrender to Bournemouth.

Marko Arnautovic's penalty gave the hosts a half-time lead. Two goals in six minutes turned the game on its head, though, as Callum Wilson and Steve Cook made it two wins from two for the Cherries.

Everton's revolution under Marco Silva gained more momentum at Goodison with Richarlison scoring his third goal in two games.

Wolves shared the points in a four-goal thriller with Everton last weekend, but despite much hype and expectation after a summer of heavy investment, they remain winless after losing 2-0 at 10-man Leicester.

Cardiff and Newcastle both registered their first point of the season in a drab 0-0 draw in the Welsh capital in a missed opportunity for both sides.

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