The sheer joy of pulling off a clever trick that changes the outcome of a football match from the highest detail will continue to capture the attention of the fans. Therefore; It was natural for Kai Havertz's quick wit, when he cleverly let the ball pass to create the winning goal for Martin Odegaard in Arsenal's 2-1 victory over Chelsea, on Sunday, to receive more attention than his personal goal in the first half, which he scored from the edge of the penalty area to equalize 1-1.
According to “The Athletic” network, the German striker’s goal was in fact the culmination of his continuous efforts to create a numerical increase on the right front for Arsenal, something that played a very important role in the team’s exit with the three points.
This type of movement is not new to Havertz, who has been accustomed to doing it during the past seasons, and he continued to appear constantly in the spaces on the right side during the first weeks of the 2026-2027 season.
Even if Chelsea, led by its coach Xabi Alonso, was aware of the danger that these moves presented to its rival, it was unable to stop them. Because of the precise timing of Havertz's movements, and the great understanding between him and the rest of Arsenal's elements on the right front.
In one example, during the first minutes of the match, Havertz was positioned between Maxence Lacroix, who is at the heart of Chelsea's back three, and left centre-back Wesley Fofana, while Riccardo Calafiore moved across from the left-back position, attacking the space between the opponent's lines. Havertz was aware that Fofana had to monitor Calafiore's movement, so he raced in behind him as soon as Ezri Konsa passed the ball to Ben White. The timing of Havertz's move was perfect; He was allowed to enter this space before Lacroix could move across it to cover it. White succeeded in delivering the ball to his team's striker, and the attack ended with Arsenal receiving a dangerous free kick. It is also important to note that Havertz's run created the space that Calafiore attacked before he was brought down.
In another example, Havertz moved to the touchline, while Bukayo Saka moved deeper, forcing Fofana and left-back Uriel Hato to swap positions.
As Arsenal rotated the ball until it reached Calafiore, Havertz returned to moving inside, but this time he positioned himself on the side that Fofana could not see. When Hato noticed Calafiore's pass heading towards Havertz, he rushed to try to intercept the ball. Meanwhile, Saka attacked the space vacated by the Dutchman. Hato actually came close to regaining possession, but Havertz's touch during his fall helped Odegaard pass the ball to Saka on his way towards the goal, so the English winger could shoot the ball between the posts.
The constant wandering of Havertz down Arsenal's right front was a means of manipulating the left side of Chelsea's defence, and also caused confusion for Fofana and Hato.
Before the equalizer, which he scored in the 25th minute, Havertz rushed into the space behind Hato, while Declan Rice sent the ball to the right flank towards Saka. When Saka returned the ball to White, Havertz maintained his position, while Fofana seemed to hesitate between pursuing the Arsenal striker and returning to his defensive area.
Chelsea's left center back only moved about two steps deep, but the speed of Arsenal's build-up of the attack surprised him. White passed the ball to Rice, who played it with one touch towards Havertz, while the German made a small, smart jump to the left to ensure he remained in a safe position away from offside. Havertz then dribbled past Fofana on the edge of the penalty area, before slotting the ball into the bottom corner of the goal.
The danger of Havertz's movements towards the right front lies not only in the exchanges he makes with Saka, Odegaard and White, but also in his ability to attack the defensive line from an angle that is difficult to deal with, when Arsenal moves the ball back inside. This puts the opponents in front of a dilemma: the defender cannot monitor the ball and Havertz at the same time, and he also finds himself hesitating between tracking the German striker and returning to defending his area, especially when Arsenal attacks the central spaces.
In the second half, Havertz's movements continued to create spaces for his teammates, led by Saka. In one of the attacks, Havertz started from a central position, before moving to the right to exchange the ball with the English winger. Havertz's move attracted Romeo Lavia, and with Chelsea's other midfielder, Reece James, moving away from the midfield, an empty space appeared in front of the penalty area. Havertz then played a double pass with Saka, who rushed into that space, but the winger's shot at the end of the attack collided with Lacroix.
In another example, Havertz initially positioned himself between Lacroix and Fofana, before retreating to the area in front of the latter, giving Odegaard an additional option to pass. Saka read the move, running into the space behind Fofana, who was advancing towards the Arsenal striker. Odegaard then sent his pass to Havertz, who cleverly handled the ball through Fofana's legs to reach Saka, but the latter's curling shot was blocked by Emiliano Martinez.
When Mikel Arteta was asked last season about what his team missed during Havertz’s absence due to injury, the Arsenal coach pointed to his ability to occupy more than one position, and the threat he creates from different positions, explaining that Havertz is “a unique player in the spaces he can occupy, and the way he gets along with all the players.”
These two features in particular represent the essence of the strength of Havertz's movements towards the right front. They give this side of Arsenal's attack more strength and danger, which was clearly demonstrated in the victory over Chelsea.
Certainly, the wonderful trick that Havertz executed in the winning goal deserves to be the most beautiful touch that takes center stage, but there is another kind of footballing beauty in his continuous movements to the right, and in the way he can, without touching the ball sometimes, completely reshape the opponent’s defense.
French national team captain and Real Madrid's Spanish striker Kylian Mbappe said on Monday that it is natural for people to consider him a potential candidate to win the Ballon d'Or this year, especially after what he achieved at the World Cup this summer.
Mbappe scored 10 goals in the finals held in North America, and was crowned with the Golden Boot during his country’s journey to the semi-finals, raising his total tally to 22 goals in the World Cup, thus becoming the tournament’s all-time top scorer.
Mbappe (27 years old) has never won the Ballon d'Or, which is awarded annually to the best player in the world.
Mbappe told reporters: “I think that when you play for Real Madrid, which is the best club in the world, it is natural for people to associate you with this type of award, whether collective or individual. Many people, when they see me on the street, talk to me about the Ballon d'Or, and many see me as a potential candidate to win it...”
He continued: “Of course, I made a lot of history this summer in the most important sporting competition, but we will see... There is still a lot of time, and people are free to vote for who they think is the best player in the world.”
Since joining Real Madrid in 2024, Mbappe has scored many goals, but the club has failed to win any major title.
Real Madrid begins its journey towards its sixteenth Champions League title on Tuesday when it hosts Inter.
During Mbappe's first two years in Madrid, the team seemed unbalanced in light of the presence of a large number of stars, including the Frenchman and Brazilian Vinicius Junior.
Many believe that Mbappe and Vinicius do not make a sufficient contribution to teamwork, unlike Ousmane Dembélé in French club Paris Saint-Germain, the European champion in the past two seasons, and Brazilian Rafinha in Barcelona, Spain.
Mbappe admitted: “We have to improve... I don’t like comparisons because I think I do a lot of things that others don’t do.”
Real's old new coach said: Portuguese Jose Mourinho recently said that he would prefer Mbappe to score fewer goals in exchange for him working harder to help the team win titles.
Mbappe believed that scoring and titles do not conflict, saying: “I will accept 30 goals with titles, yes, but... for me this is a ridiculous controversy. "I always want to score goals and win titles... You don't have to choose, you can do both."
For his part, Mourinho touched on Tuesday's confrontation against Inter, the team that the Portuguese led in 2010 to the Champions League, League and Cup treble, before he left shortly thereafter to join Real in his first visit to the Royal Club.
He said: “There are not many (people) from my period anymore, but I am always happy to see people, even if I do not know them...”, adding: “During the match, I want to win, and they want to win, and there will be no time to think about things from a wonderful past.”
Mourinho wants Madrid players to recover from their first defeat this season, which came with a score of 0-1 against Real Betis on Friday, in the Spanish League.
“I want to win,” he said. I can tell you that I want us to play well, but I don't want us to play well like we did against Betis and then lose. It is clear that we are at a stage where we are playing 8 matches (the unified group of the continental competition) and the goal of these eight matches is to qualify, and I believe that we will do that. But I want to think about this match in isolation from that context.”
He continued: “I want to think of this match as an independent confrontation. "I don't want to think that we still have 7 more matches, but I want to win."
