Eventually putting on a second-half romp over the weekend as they landed a thumping in north London, Chelsea have really come flying out the traps since opening the 2021/22 campaign.
Lifting the Champions League trophy back in May as they clinched a 1-0 victory against Manchester City out in Portugal, the Blues have only gone from strength to strength since bringing to Stamford Bridge.
Breezing their way past bitter rivals Tottenham on Sunday afternoon, Chelsea have played their way to the top of the Premier League table and their stacked squad are showing no signs of slowing down.
With the mood in their camp at a red-hot high, have Tuchel s side managed to cement their spot as the early-season title favourite?
Chelsea s defensive steel
While Chelsea …
Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta was left baffled by referee Mike Dean s decision not to dismiss James McArthur in his side s 2-2 Premier League draw with Crystal Palace, despite the aid of VAR.
Alexandre Lacazette struck a dramatic stoppage-time goal to rescue a point for Arsenal after Palace had recovered from 1-0 down to lead 2-1 in the dying stages of Patrick Vieira s return to his former club on Monday.
However, Arteta believes visitors Palace should have been reduced to 10 men just before half-time when McArthur caught Bukayo Saka with a late foot as they competed for an aerial ball.
Despite the hosts being incensed by McArthur s challenge, the Palace midfielder received a yellow card from Dean, while England international Saka was forced to withdraw from the a…
Joachim Low is still the right man to lead Germany down a rocky path despite their humiliating 6-0 loss to Spain, according to the country s top football figure.
Needing only a point to secure a place at next year s Nations League Finals, Germany were embarrassed in Seville as La Roja triumphed through a Ferran Torres hat-trick and goals from Alvaro Morata, Rodri and Mikel Oyarzabal.
It was the 2014 World Cup-winners heaviest defeat since they lost to Austria in a friendly in 1931 by the same scoreline, as Manuel Neuer, who set a new record for a German goalkeeper by winning his 96th cap, conceded six goals in a competitive game for the first time in his career.
The manner of the defeat, described by Low as awful , was particularly concerning. Germany failed to m…
Carlo Ancelotti has declared that he has no intention of leaving Real Madrid at the end of the season.
Ancelotti has enjoyed a glorious second spell as Los Blancos head coach after returning to the club in July 2021, winning the Champions League and LaLiga last season.
The wily Italian has also masterminded Club World Cup and UEFA Super Cup glory, with Madrid in the hunt to lift the Champions League trophy once again this season and the Copa del Rey.
Barcelona are 13 points clear of Madrid at the top of La Liga, so it appears to be only a matter of time before the reigning champions are dethroned.
Ancelotti has just over a year remaining on his contract and the 63-year-old has been linked with the Brazil job, but he has no plans to bring his tenure in the…
Kylian Mbappe produced a magnificent individual display as he and Lionel Messi both scored twice to steer Paris Saint-Germain to a crushing 4-1 win over Club Brugge at the Parc des Princes.
The 22-year-old Mbappe netted the opener with less than two minutes played before adding to his tally with a thumping volley just five minutes later as PSG came out of the blocks flying.
Mbappe added an assist later in the first half, nutmegging his marker on the left flank before switching the play to Messi in the centre and the Ballon d Or winner lashed home from the edge of the box.
The visitors scored a consolation through Mats Rits in the 68th minute, but PSG regained their three-goal advantage just eight minutes after conceding as Messi rifled home a penalty.
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Paris Saint-Germain forward Kylian Mbappe is capable of continuing his goalscoring form long into his career similarly to Cristiano Ronaldo, regardless of where he is plying his trade from next season.
That is according to Louis Saha, who also told Stats Perform that he expects Lionel Messi to blow Ligue 1 opponents away once he regains full fitness in the new year.
Mbappe is into the final six months of his existing contract at the Parc des Princes and is free to sign a pre-contract agreement with clubs outside of Ligue 1 from January.
Real Madrid had two bids turned down for the France international in the previous transfer window and remain the strong favourites to land the superstar in 2022.
Mbappe has scored 15 goals and assisted 12 more in 24 outing…
Kevin De Bruyne has said he has not held any talks over leaving Manchester City.
De Bruyne has helped City make a perfect start in their quest to win a fifth straight Premier League title.
However, the Belgium playmaker was linked with a move away from the club over the summer, amid reported interest from Saudi Arabia.
De Bruyne had previously claimed he was open to anything ahead of his 10th season with City.
But speaking to BBC Radio Manchester after City s 3-1 win over West Ham, De Bruyne said: I haven t spoken to anyone, to be honest.
There has been a lot of noise and news. I expected a quiet summer and that s actually what happened.
I went on holiday for four weeks, came back and started training. That was it. Nothing to tell.
…
West Brom boss Carlos Corberan saluted the returning Daryl Dike after the striker ended his eight-month injury nightmare.
The United States international, out since April with a serious Achilles injury, scored as the Baggies cruised past Aldershot 4-1 in the FA Cup third round.
First-half goals from Nathaniel Chalobah Jovan Malcolm also made it a Sunday stroll for the hosts before Tom Fellows’ late fourth and Ollie Bray’s consolation.
It was a perfect comeback for Dike as he looks to finally shake off the injury issues which have restricted him to just 28 appearances in two years.
A hamstring injury on his full debut in January 2022 sidelined him for six months and a thigh problem at the start of last season kept the 23-year-old out for three months.<…
Allan is keen to make his spell with Everton as long as possible.
The 30-year-old midfielder played for Vasco da Gama in his native Brazil and for Uruguayan side Maldonado, before making his way across the Atlantic in 2012. He joined Granada, but never made an appearance for the La Liga side; he was immediately shipped out on a two-year loan to Udinese which was then made permanent, and in 2015, he joined Napoli. Carlo Ancelotti, who had worked with him in Naples, took the opportunity to take him to Everton last summer for a reported fee of €25 million.
Allan has so far made 20 appearances for the Toffees in all competitions, missing just under two months of action through a muscle issue.
My thoughts are to remain at Everton for as long as possible, he told t…
Nottingham Forest and Brighton made early moves in an otherwise sedate start to transfer deadline day.
Forest have been one of the most active clubs in the transfer market in recent times and continued that trend with the signing of Rodrigo Ribeiro from Sporting Lisbon.
The 18-year-old striker has joined on loan until the end of the season in a deal which could become permanent.
Ribeiro came through the ranks in Lisbon and made his professional debut for the club as a late substitute in a Champions League tie against Manchester City in March 2022.
We re delighted to announce the loan signing of Rodrigo Ribeiro from
— Nottingham Forest (@NFFC)
There was an exit rather than an arrival at Brighton, with midfielder Mahmoud Dahoud moving t…