Well, given the circumstances, that was an exceptional result for Chelsea.

Sure, Enzo Maresca’s side would have gone out there looking for a win, but considering Arsenal are the Premier League leaders, a point is not bad and has kept them within touching distance.

Moreover, when Moises Caicedo got himself sent off in the first half, it felt like only a matter of when, not if, the Gunners would take the lead.

There were sensational displays across the pitch for the hosts, including one monster that saved the Ecuadorian international from becoming the talking point.

Chelsea's standout stars

One of Chelsea’s best players this evening, and all season for that matter, was Robert Sanchez.

Chalkboard

The Spanish shot-stopper has come in for some harsh criticism over recent years, but against the Gunners, he was superb.

On top of his passing generally being on point and his collection of crosses being efficient, he also made several top-quality stops, like the one from Gabriel Martinelli’s shot in the first half.

Another hugely important player for the Blues was captain fantastic, Reece James.

The Englishman once again started the game in the middle of the park and was, in the words of presenter Olivia Buzaglo, “gargantuan.”

In his 94 minutes of action, he provided an assist, played two key passes, won 100% of his tackles, won 11 of 12 duels, didn’t get dribbled past at all, recovered the ball twice, and completed 100% of his dribbles.

It was just the sort of performance the team needed from their captain after Caicedo was sent off in the first half.

However, there was another starter who was just as vital to the win, and truly saved the Ecuadorian’s blushes.

The Chelsea player who saved Caicedo

Once Caicedo was sent off, there was an expectation that Arsenal would eventually wrestle control back from Chelsea and stamp their authority over proceedings.

However, the Blues clearly had other ideas.

Just three minutes into the second 45, James delivered an incredible corner into the Gunners’ penalty area, and Trevoh Chalobah rose to meet it and head it home.

It was a well-worked set-piece and a brilliant header that seemed to shock the visitors and gave the Stamford Bridge faithful something to cheer about and take their minds off the red card.

However, while that was the most memorable moment of his game, Chalobah did far more than just score, as he was superb at the back and showed some great on-the-ball skill, coming out from the back on multiple occasions.

He unsurprisingly made quite the impression on the watching press as well, with the Standard’s Dom Smith awarding him an 8/10 match rating at full-time.

The 26-year-old’s statistics more than justify such a rating as well.

Minutes

94′

Goals

1

Tackles (Won)

1 (1)

Clearances

6

Recoveries

4

Ground Duels (Won)

2 (1)

Aerial Duels (Won)

5 (4)

Dribbled Past

0

Touches

52

Shots

1

Fouls Won

1

In his 94 minutes of hard-fought action, the academy graduate won 100% of his tackles, made six clearances, recovered the ball four times, won five of seven duels, didn’t get dribbled past, took 52 touches and won one foul.

It was another performance from the Englishman that proves he’s more than just a stopgap until the club splashes the cash on a new defender.

Or, as Gary Cahill said in an interview that came out a few hours before the game, he is “the most underappreciated player at Chelsea.”

Ultimately, they might not have won, but Chelsea put in a sensational performance to claim a point against Arsenal, and alongside the likes of Sanchez and James, Chalobah saved Caicedo from becoming the talking point.

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Wasn’t that all a little inevitable? Time and again, this Manchester United side proceeds to fluff their lines, having failed to take advantage of the chance to move fifth in the Premier League following Thursday’s draw with West Ham United.

Much like a week ago in the dismal defeat to ten-man Everton, there was a real lack of energy and urgency about the hosts at Old Trafford this time around, with Ruben Amorim’s side merely letting the game drift for much of the first half.

Even after Diogo Dalot had nudged the home side ahead just before the hour mark, there was a distinct lack of a killer instinct, with Amorim’s raft of pragmatic changes ultimately backfiring in the closing stages.

Up against a team firmly in the relegation mix, the Red Devils – after failing to push for a second – were served up arguably what they deserved, with Soungouto Magassa poking home for his first goal for the Hammers to draw things level.

Despite two late attempts from skipper Bruno Fernandes, there was to be no stirring finale in front of the Stretford End, with the stop-start nature of United’s campaign showing no sign of ending.

Man Utd's worst performers vs West Ham

Two moments of quality aside in Sunday’s narrow win over Crystal Palace, it’s fair to say that it’s not been a good week for United’s captain, with Fernandes again rather erratic on Thursday evening.

He may, as usual, have been in the thick of the action with six total shots and five key passes registered, but the Portuguese notably regressed as the game progressed, squandering the ball meekly far too frequently.

Indeed, the 31-year-old lost the ball 22 times in all, as per Sofascore, while his delivery from wide areas was also unusually off the mark, having successfully completed just two of his eight attempted crosses.

The former Sporting CP star wasn’t alone in struggling on a difficult, turgid night for the hosts, however, with surprise inclusion Ayden Heaven hooked at the break, following a shaky first Premier League start of the season up against the experienced Callum Wilson.

Far more will have been expected of those operating at the opposite end of the pitch for United too, with the returning Matheus Cunha somewhat anonymous in his number ten berth, before being withdrawn late on, while Joshua Zirkzee failed to build on his weekend heroics after producing another limp showing through the middle.

Rounding off that trio was emerging talisman, Bryan Mbeumo, with the usually dynamic winger putting in arguably his worst performance for the club to date, following his £71m switch from Brentford.

Man Utd star produced his worst performance under Amorim

Right from the off, during the opening weekend defeat to Arsenal, Mbeumo has provided the spark in United’s attacking ranks, netting six times already across league and cup, including in key away performances against both Liverpool and Tottenham Hotspur.

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The Premier League’s Player of the Month for October has been riding high even amid a turbulent season for the club, although – with AFCON looming – his form appears to have stagnated, having failed to record a goal or assist in each of his last three outings.

That may be a case of a lack of service, although the Cameroonian was hardly able to create much for himself either on Thursday evening, registering just one key pass and attempting just two shots in all – albeit while forcing Alphonse Areola into a sprawling, clawing save early on.

Touches

52

48.8

Pass accuracy

78%

79%

Key passes

1

1.5

Successful crosses

0/1

1.5

Successful dribbles

1/1

0.8

Ground duels won

3/4

2.6

Aerial duels won

0/5

0.3

Possession lost

15

15.5

Sofascore rating

6.3

7.00

The 26-year-old, like many of his teammates, was particularly ineffective as the game developed, looking weary late on as he failed to make things stick after moving into a central role, following the withdrawal of both Cunha and Zirkzee.

Like Fernandes, the left-footer regularly squandered potential openings after losing the ball on 15 occasions from just 52 touches, while failing to win a single aerial duel up against a physical visiting backline.

Such has been his impact in recent months, Mbeumo has set a high bar and raised expectation levels regarding his performances, although this was certainly not him at his best.

Typically the outlet for United when the going gets tough, the one-time Troyes man appeared to go missing late on, looking leggy and lethargic as Amorim’s men allowed the visitors back into the game.

With just over a week to go until the £150k-per-week star is set to head to international duty, Amorim needs him to find his best level again.

Let’s face it, while Mbeumo may have looked distinctly off it last night, even on his worst day, he still appears United’s biggest attacking threat.

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Gabriel Agbonlahor has criticised Thomas Frank and a Tottenham Hotspur star in the wake of the 2-1 defeat against Fulham on Saturday afternoon.

Frank under major pressure after Fulham defeat

Spurs remain without a Premier League win on home soil since defeating Burnley 3-0 on the opening day of the season, following the 2-1 loss against the Cottagers at the weekend, which saw Frank’s fall down to 12th place, having now lost as many games as they’ve won.

The Dane is under major pressure after the latest setback, with it being revealed that former Barcelona manager Xavi is now under serious consideration as a replacement, and a move could be made if there is not an improvement in results by the end of this month.

That said, some of the blame has to lie with the players, according to Agbonlahor, who recently said live on talkSPORT that Frank’s men need to start stepping up to the plate, and the pundit was particularly unimpressed with the start Xavi Simons has made to life in north London.

The former Aston Villa striker said: “A lot’s got to change, Jeff. Players have got to start turning up. Xavi Simons has got to come to the table and start performing.

“You never know what Spurs’ starting team is going to be. Looks very confused doesn’t he? Sometimes it’s five-at-the-back, then it looks like it’s a diamond, then now it’s Bergvall off the left.”

Simons needs to step up sooner rather than later

Of course, any player in their debut Premier League season should be given time to adapt, but Simons needs to start showing signs of improvement very soon, given that he is yet to score for Tottenham, and has registered just two assists in 15 matches in all competitions.

The Dutchman was benched against Fulham, but didn’t make much of an impact after replacing Richarlison on the hour mark, failing to register a single key pass or create a big chance.

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1

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Some Spurs players are also already starting to have doubts about Frank, as they believe the 52-year-old makes too many changes to his attack and focuses on the opposition too much, and the manager will need to start improving results quickly before he loses the dressing room entirely.

It is still early days for the former Brentford boss, but things certainly haven’t worked out so far, with £52m summer signing Simons flattering to deceive, and things don’t get any easier, with Spurs set to travel to St. James’ Park to take on an in-form Newcastle United side on Tuesday night.

South Africa must find better support for lead spinner Keshav Maharaj, whose absence was felt in Pakistan

Firdose Moonda08-Nov-2025South Africa will leave Pakistan with only a share of a Test series after losing both white-ball contests, including their first ODI series under coach Shukri Conrad. Given that they have also won just five out of 13 T20Is since July, and there is a World Cup looming in three months’ time, it could be cause for concern. But there’s a caveat.Despite Conrad’s assertion that South Africa would have their first-choice players available more often than not, the opposite has happened. A packed schedule, the need to prioritise some series over others and the inevitability of injuries has meant that South Africa have not always been at full strength. That was the case for both the T20I and ODI series in Pakistan and so the post-tour analysis is likely to focus more on individuals than the overall result.This is what South Africa may have learnt:

De Kock is back for real

A four-ball one in Windhoek last month was not quite the way Quinton de Kock would have wanted to come back to the international game but he quickly found his old self, albeit in the longer white-ball game. De Kock was named player of the ODI series as he topped the run-charts with a century sandwiched between two fifties that served as a reminder of how vital he is at the top of the order.ESPNcricinfo LtdNo longer just a basher, de Kock was happy to let his young opening partner Lhuan-dre Pretorius take the lead while he dropped anchor and it worked a charm. The pair shared in three profitable opening stands and have given South Africa a good selection headache. Ryan Rickelton and Aiden Markram are the incumbents but it is difficult to see a situation where South Africa don’t find a space for de Kock, who continues to work on his game.”It’s my first time playing white-ball cricket in Pakistan and I learnt a couple of things about my own game,” he said on Saturday. “The wickets stayed low, reverse swing and there was a bit of a turn, so it was about how we adjusted to that.”De Kock will have a break before South Africa’s white-ball series in India, which could prove decisive in whether he makes the T20 World Cup squad.

Breetzke’s diminishing returns

Pakistan seemed to be Matthew Breetzke’s favourite place to play cricket earlier this year when he scored 150 on debut at the start of a run of five successive fifty-plus scores. Breetzke was the world’s leading run-getter after five ODI innings and the second-leading after eight but has since fallen to fifth after nine innings in what was a tough return, with additional responsibility.Matthew Breetzke enjoyed an excellent tour of Pakistan earlier this year, but in this one he made 42, 17 and 16•Getty ImagesHe was named South Africa’s stand-in captain and while he did a decent job in the field, his batting returns of 42, 17 not out and 16 were less than satisfactory. Breetzke was out to Abrar Ahmed on the two occasions he was dismissed – once trying a big shot and once on the forward defence – and like so many South Africans before him will want to work on his game play against legspin. In the third ODI, he wanted “to try and play as straight as possible with the variable bounce” but it proved trickier than he expected. Of course, Breetzke did not become a bad batter over the course of three matches but with a queue of top-order players knocking down the door, including Tony de Zorzi, his returns in this series may push him down the pecking order for now.

Nandre Burger’s bowling

With the first-choice fast bowlers – Kagiso Rabada and Marco Jansen – rested, left-armer Nandre Burger stepped up and finished second to Abrar on the wicket-takers’ charts. Four of his five wickets came in the second ODI, and three of those four in the powerplay, where he used the bouncer to excellent effect. Breetzke singled out Burger’s “aggression,” as a positive South Africa will take from this tour. Burger also found seam movement in the third match and sprinkled in slower-ball variations and has given South Africa an additional option to vary their attack.Nqabayomzi Peter, the 23-year-old legspinner, is likely to be part of SA’s future plans•Getty Images

Where are the next batch of spinners coming from?

Keshav Maharaj was rested for this series and his absence only seems to highlight his importance, but South Africa must find another tier of spinners to come after him. Donovan Ferreira had a forgettable tour with ball, bat and as a temporary T20I captain and George Linde was expensive which leaves left-arm spinner Bjorn Fortuin and legspinner Nqabayomzi Peter to assess. Fortuin was South Africa’s most economical bowler of the ODIs, and conceded at 4.50 runs to the over, but was not particularly threatening while Peter, 23, demonstrated good control and is most likely to be part of South Africa’s longer-term plans.Playing in Pakistan is tough – for reasons other than the conditions While almost all the South African players interviewed described the pitches as the most difficult thing to get used to in Pakistan, there were also other challenges that come with touring a country so unlike their own. South Africa cited last year’s Bangladesh Test series as a tour that unified them like never before because they were confined to their hotel and this year’s Pakistan visit may have had the same effect.”You kind of get into a routine because you can’t leave the hotel,” de Zorzi said at a pre-match press conference. “So it’s a bit of a grind on and off. It’s almost just staying in that work mindset and only really focusing on cricket. There’s nothing else to focus on. There’s nothing else to do. Everything is a bit of a grind, but you kind of make peace with that. And anyone would be happy to do that grind. So you just have to remind yourself that you’re lucky to be here and it’s your job.”

The wicketkeeper-batter hit 125 off 107 balls for a Cricket Australia XI against England Lions

ESPNcricinfo staff24-Nov-2025Cricket Australia XI 341 (Blackford 86, Wyllie 71, Harvey 52, Potts 3-49) and 235 for 2 (Inglis 125*, Harvey 58) beat England Lions 299 (Gay 78, Maladay 3-47, Sinfield 3-87) and 273 (Kellaway 59, Anderson 3-42) by eight wicketsAmid intrigue over what Australia may do with their batting order for the rest of the Ashes, Josh Inglis hammered a rapid century for a Cricket Australia XI against England Lions to signal that he would be option should the selectors opt for significant change.Travis Head’s remarkable century in Perth after being elevated to open due to Usman Khawaja’s back spasms has prompted talk about whether that should be a permanent move which would likely spell the end of Khawaja’s career and create a vacancy in the middle order.Related