Gabriel Jesus is back. A hat-trick by the Brazilian, who only had one goal this season, has allowed Arsenal to defeat Crystal Palace (3-2) and reach the semi-finals of the Carabao Cup (League Cup).
Mikel Arteta’s pupils, who lined up quite a few substitutes (Tierney, Nwaneri, Sterling, Gabriel Jesus), found themselves behind on the scoreboard (almost) before starting, after four minutes. Henderson played long, Mateta ate Kiwior and surprised Raya with a cross shot.
Jean-Philippe Mateta beats Raya.LAPRESSE
The Gunners tried to put a siege on Palace’s goal before the break… without success. Lerma took a long corner from Timber in the 10th minute and Henderson excelled by deflecting Sterling’s free kick into a corner in the 31st minute. Raya, for her part, avoided 0-2 with a good ‘hand’ to Sarr.
Arteta brought on Saliba and Odegaard at half-time looking for a comeback, but La ‘fortuna’ was on the visiting side. Henderson prevented Sterling from scoring, practically, into an empty net in the 51st minute. The former Liverpool player ‘hunted’ the rebound, but, with the goal already beaten, he finished off the crossbar.
Mikel Merino also came close to scoring with two shots from outside the area, in the 52nd minute and in the 71st minute, but the person in charge of ‘sealing the score’ was Gabriel Jesus in the 54th minute. The Brazilian received from Odegaard, got rid of Chalobah with a great maneuver and beat Henderson with a subtle Vaseline.
Gabriel Jesus beats Henderson with Vaseline.LAPRESSE
Henderson extended the lead to 2-1 by stopping Gabriel Jesus in the 63rd minute… but the Brazilian took revenge in the 73rd minute. He received an offside pass from Bukayo Saka and shot with his right foot.
Gabriel Jesus only had one goal this season, in the League Cup against Preston, but he redeemed himself in a big way. In the 81st minute he scored his hat-trick. Odegaard filtered into space and the former City player, with the field ahead, resolved one-on-one with a cross shot.
Gabriel Jesus celebrates one of his goals.LAPRESSE
The final 3-2 came in the 85th minute. It was marked, curiously, by a former Arsenal player: Eddie Nketiah. The Englishman, who replaced Mateta, was in the same situation as Gabriel Jesus: he only had one goal this season.
Well, the second one was at the Emirates. Clyne crossed and hit a great header, unstoppable for David Raya. They ended up attacking Palace with 11, Henderson included, but it was not to be. Arsenal will be in the semi-finals of the Carabao Cup. They have Gabriel Jesus to thank, this time.
