Home comfort at last

CHELSEA won at home for only the second time in eight Premier League matches as they beat Arsenal 2-1 at a snowy Stamford Bridge yesterday.

Juan Mata gave the Blues a sixth minute lead before Frank Lampard, whose Chelsea future remains uncertain, made it 2-0 from the penalty spot 10 minutes later after Ramires was brought down by Arsenal goalkeeper Wojciech Szczesny.

But Theo Walcott, fresh from signing a new Arsenal contract in midweek, brought the Gunners back into the match in the 58th minute when he outpaced Branislav Ivanovic and shot powerfully past Petr Cech.

“It was very hard, the second 45 minutes,” Mata told Sky Sports.

“We were defending until the last minute. We knew that Arsenal never give up and even winning 2-0 might not have been enough. But in the end it was.

“There is a big difference between the top of the table and us, but we are trying,” Mata added. “We will try to get as many points as we can between now and the end of the season — that’s Chelsea.”

This result saw Chelsea remain third and Arsenal stay sixth in the table. AFP