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Tag: Chelsea

  • Match Build-up : Chelsea v West Brom

    TEAM NEWS

    Chelsea are without midfielder Tiemoue Bakayoko, who is suspended after his red card at Watford.

    Wing-back Marcos Alonso is likely to return after missing that game, but Andreas Christensen could again be sidelined with a hamstring strain.

    West Brom’s Jonny Evans should start in defence after shaking off a back issue.

    Left-back Kieran Gibbs and midfielder Grzegorz Krychowiak could also return from hamstring injuries.

    Manager’s Comment:

    Chelsea manager Antonio Conte: “We have to try to stop this bad run and get three points against West Brom.

    “It won’t be easy, the confidence is not high but we have to trust in our work and football.

    “I am not thinking for only one moment the possibility of going away from this club. My commitment and the players are totally for this club.”

    West Bromwich Albion manager Alan Pardew: “We are obviously under pressure because we are bottom of the league.

    “I think you are going to see a lot of fight on the pitch in terms of two teams desperate to get points and turn a little bit of a corner for Chelsea and us to get a result that might be the boost that we need.

    “I know Chelsea very well. I have watched them from afar. They have difficult periods but they do come through them and I have great respect for the manager and I think he will come through it – no problem.”

     

    Head-to-head

    Chelsea have lost just one of their last 10 Premier League games against West Brom (W6, D3).

    Albion are winless in 13 top-flight away matches at Stamford Bridge since a 3-1 victory in September 1978 (D2, L11). Cyrille Regis scored that day for the visitors.

    West Brom’s last win at Chelsea was a 1-0 League Cup victory in 1983.

     

    Chelsea

    Chelsea could lose back-to-back Premier League home games for the first time since November 2011.

    They have lost consecutive league games by three or more goals for the first time since October 1995.

    The Blues have lost six league games this season, one more than they did in the whole of the 2016-17 title-winning campaign.

    Antonio Conte could lose three consecutive league games for the first time since November 2009, when he was in charge of Atlanta.

    Cesc Fabregas is one goal shy of 50 in the Premier League.

    However, Fabregas has failed to score against West Brom in 10 Premier League appearances.

     

    West Bromwich Albion:

    West Brom have collected one win from their past 24 Premier League games (D11, L12).

    Their record of three league wins this season is the worst in England’s top four tiers.

    They have 20 fewer points than at this stage last season.

    The Baggies have also lost 18 points from winning positions this season, more than any other side.

    Albion’s only league win on their travels this season came in their first away game – 1-0 at Burnley in August.

    Alan Pardew could become the first manager in Premier League history to win at Stamford Bridge with three different clubs.

     

    BBC

  • Conte admits he is ‘a disaster’ in signing players for Chelsea

    Chelsea manager Antonio Conte admits that he is “a bit of a disaster” when it comes to convincing the club’s board to sign new players.

    The Premier League champions failed to make any big signings in the January transfer window.

    And the 48-year-old Italian says he needs to be more persuasive.

    “I have to speak more with the managers who are very, very good at persuading their clubs to spend money to buy top players,” he said.

    “I think I’m a bit of a disaster to convince the club to buy players. I think in this aspect I can improve a lot.

    “I have to learn a lot from the other coaches, the other managers, in that aspect.”

    Conte said in January that he was “happy” at Chelsea, playing down reports that his relationship with owner Roman Abramovich had become strained.

    Abramovich was reportedly angry that the Italian had said he did not choose the club’s signings this season.

    Chelsea are facing a fight to qualify for next season’s Champions League after winning one of their past five Premier League matches.

    They go into Monday’s game against West Brom in fifth place, two points behind fourth-placed Tottenham Hotspur and 22 adrift of leaders Manchester City.

    Striker Alexis Sanchez and defender Virgil van Dijk were both linked with the club recently before going to Manchester United and Liverpool respectively.

    But Conte said he can still get the best out of his squad.

    “My task is to try and improve every single player, in every aspect – in terms of their mentality also. For this, I’m very good,” he said.

  • Chelsea ‘have to take another decision’ – Conte

    Chelsea manager Antonio Conte says “the club have to take another decision” if they do not think he is doing a good job – after the 4-1 loss at Watford.

    The champions suffered a second straight Premier League defeat by three goals and are in fourth place, one point ahead of Tottenham.

    “My position? It is the same,” he told BBC Radio 5 live after Monday’s game.

    “I stay here, try to work and put all of myself into the work. The pressure? Which pressure? What is the pressure?”

    The Italian won the league in his first season in charge, but the Blues are 19 points behind leaders Manchester City after a 3-0 home defeat by Bournemouth and the Watford reverse.

    Before the game, Conte asked the Stamford Bridge club to release a statement backing him.

    “I work – if this is enough it is OK,” he said after their latest defeat. “Otherwise, the club have to take another decision.”

    Chelsea – who had Tiemoue Bakayoko sent off after 30 minutes – were deservedly beaten by the Hornets, with four of the game’s goals coming in the last 10 minutes.

    The hosts led through Troy Deeney’s penalty three minutes before half-time. Eden Hazard scored an 82nd-minute equaliser, before late strikes by Daryl Janmaat, Gerard Deulofeu and Roberto Pereyra.

    Conte started without a recognised striker, bringing Olivier Giroud – signed from Arsenal on transfer deadline day – on for a second-half debut.

    The former Juventus and Italy boss, who has 18 months left on his contract, said his team looked “uncomfortable”, adding: “We tried to pay football but I think today we didn’t show this.

    “In this situation, the fault is the coach’s – maybe I made a bad decision with the starting XI.

    “When you start in this way and play in this way you have doubt about the game. During the game it is difficult to change something; afterwards you can understand it.

    “In the second half, I saw a great will but at the same time a lot of confusion. We don’t play in this way.

    “We have to accept this and fight a lot in this season.”

  • Watford score three late goals to beat 10-man Chelsea

    Watford score three late goals to beat 10-man Chelsea

    Watford scored three late goals to win Javi Gracia’s first home game in charge in an “unforgettable night” for their manager and increase the pressure on Chelsea counterpart Antonio Conte.

    The Blues played an hour with 10 men after Tiemoue Bakayoko’s red card capped off a dreadful individual 30-minute performance – in which he gifted Watford four chances.

    The Hornets – who had only won one of their previous 12 Premier League games – led controversially as Gerard Deulofeu went down easily under keeper Thibaut Courtois’ challenge and Troy Deeney scored the penalty.

    Chelsea, who brought on Olivier Giroud for a debut in the second half, scored an undeserved equaliser when Eden Hazard curled home brilliantly from 25 yards.

    But two minutes later, Daryl Janmaat scored a fantastic goal of his own when he cut in from the right wing, played a one-two with Roberto Pereyra and beat another couple of defenders before scoring with his weaker left foot.

    Deulofeu added another when he ran from halfway before his shot was deflected home by Gary Cahill – and then Pereyra scored a fourth from Abdoulaye Doucoure’s through ball.

    The Hornets are now six points above the relegation zone.

    Gracia, who replaced Marco Silva last month, told BBC Sport: “It was a great victory and a great match. I am very proud of my players today.

    “We played a good match, pressed high. The match changed after the sending off but I think we played very well. Chelsea are a very big club, a big team.”

    It was Chelsea’s second consecutive defeat by three goals in the Premier League, following their 3-0 home reverse by Bournemouth.

  • Sad to leave Arsenal but Chelsea move ‘made sense’ – Olivier Giroud

    Sad to leave Arsenal but Chelsea move ‘made sense’ – Olivier Giroud

    Olivier Giroud has admitted that he was disappointed to leave Arsenal but is looking forward to a fresh challenge at Chelsea.

    The 31-year-old striker signed for the Blues for £18 million from their London rivals after Arsenal snapped up Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang from Borussia Dortmund, while Michy Batshuayi went from Stamford Bridge on loan to the German club.

    Having started just one of his 16 appearances in the Premier League this season after the arrival of Alexandre Lacazette, Giroud sought a move away from Arsenal in January in order to play more regularly.

    “The fact is that the coach wanted to recruit a new striker and with Aubameyang’s signing at Arsenal, there were three top strikers, and that’s why I decided to leave,” Giroud told Telefoot.

    “It made sense for me to take a new direction in my career. There was a bit of disappointment, even though I spent five wonderful years there.

    “I could have stayed, but I needed a solution to get back in. I wanted to stay in the Premier League and Chelsea was a great opportunity for me.”

    He added that France boss Didier Deschamps had hinted that he needed to move in order to win a berth at the World Cup in the summer.

    “I spoke with Deschamps,” he said. “He didn’t tell me to move to Chelsea, but he did tell me to move clubs.”

    The opportunity to work with Antonio Conte at Stamford Bridge was one he did not wish to turn down and he is hopeful of challenging Alvaro Morata for game time.

    “My choice was quite clear and obvious when I knew that Antonio Conte wanted to work with me,” he added.

    “The conversation was more important, I know that Conte appreciates my profile, we will work well together.

    “[Morata and I] are the two main strikers at Chelsea. There will be good competition between us.”

    Indeed, Chelsea were far from alone in chasing the centre-forward.

    “Dortmund were interested in me, but for a loan, there was Sevilla too and at one point my agent received a call from Roma,” he revealed.

    Giroud spent five and a half years at Arsenal after signing from Ligue 1 side Montpellier and went on to win three FA Cups with Arsene Wenger’s side.

  • Michy Batshuayi nets double on Borussia Dortmund debut

    Michy Batshuayi nets double on Borussia Dortmund debut

    Michy Batshuayi scored twice on his debut as Borussia Dortmund earned a much-needed win, seeing off basement side Cologne 3-2 in a thriller.

    The Belgian signed for Dortmund on loan from Chelsea for the remainder of the season and is a direct replacement for Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, who joined Arsenal on transfer deadline day. Dortmund threw Batshuayi straight into the deep end by starting the 24-year-old against FC Cologne on Friday night.

    That Cologne were able to cause Dortmund so many problems says much about their on-going defensive worries, but Batshuayi was able to hit the ground running.

    Dortmund poured forward in the early going, led by the impressive Schurrle who had the first decent shot of goal when he cut in from the left and sent a right-footed drive narrowly wide.

    Batshuayi has played second fiddle to Alvaro Morata this season, spending much of the campaign watching from the bench, but the striker should zero signs of rust against Cologne.

    It took Batshuayi just 34 minutes to get off the mark for Dortmund and the attacker grabbed his second in the 62nd minute to restore his side’s lead. Batshuayi could have scored a hat-trick, but VAR ruled out a goal in the 44th minute for offside.

     

     

     

     

  • Chelsea Boss, Conte insist on staying at the club till 2019

    Chelsea boss, Antonio Conte has insisted that he will see out his contract at Chelsea amid claims he is set to return to take the Italy manager’s job.
    The Italian says that he embraces his current situation as he thrives under “pressure” situations

    Reports have suggested the former Juventus coach is unhappy at Stamford Bridge and could leave at the end of the season if not before.

    But Conte claims not only will he be staying until the end of the current campaign but will remain in charge for the 2018-19 season.

    “I still have 18 months on my contract with Chelsea. My desire is to respect this contract,” he told reporters.

    “I don’t see any problems with this. I don’t know why there’s speculation about my future. I signed for three years and my will is to to respect the contract.

    “As you know very well, I trust my work and this is the only thing that I trust, my work. This is how I became one of the best coaches or managers.”

    Conte added that he enjoys the scrutiny that both he and the team are under currently.

    “I like this type of situation. If I see there is no pressure, it is not for me or for the players – you lose your fire,” he explained.

    “I don’t understand why it is only around me. Maybe because this is Chelsea. Pressure is life, if I had no pressure I wouldn’t like it.

    “The speculation doesn’t affect me. The situation has been always the same, with a lot of pressure around me.”

  • Big knock on Conte as Bournemouth run riot on Chelsea at Stamford Bridge

    Big knock on Conte as Bournemouth run riot on Chelsea at Stamford Bridge

    Chelsea paraded their new signing, Olivier Giroud but the blues defender were the problem for Antonio Conte as his champions fall to defeat against Bournemouth in a 0-3 thriller.

    Conte’s team lacked threat in attack, neatly illustrating the manager’s desire for more options up front, and were uncharacteristically awful in defence after Andreas Christensen was forced off injured.

    Bournemouth took advantage with three goals in a blistering 16-minute spell at the start of the second-half.

    Callum Wilson fired in the first goal, Junior Stanislas scored the second and former Chelsea defender Nathan Ake pounced to make it three.

    For Giroud it must have felt a lot like it did before his £18million move from Arsenal sitting in the stands, watching his team pounded.

    Just 24 hours earlier, Giroud was at Swansea as Arsene Wenger’s team conceded three goals and it is little more than a fortnight since Bournemouth embarrassed the Gunners.

    Bournemouth is at it again, disturbing a prestigious reputation and damaging top-four ambitions for the big six in the Premier League.

    Any hopes of Chelsea defending the title may be long gone but they may have a fight on their hands to protect their Champions League status.

  • Giroud 31, joins Chelsea for £18m

    Olivier Giroud completes £18m move to Chelsea from Arsenal on 18-month-deal.

    The French striker makes the move across London as part of the transfer merry-go-round which has seen Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang join the Gunners and Michy Batshuayi agree to sign for Borussia Dortmund.

    Giroud, 31, joined the Gunners in 2012 and scored 105 goals in all competitions, 25 more than any other Arsenal player in that time.

    The Blues new signing said, “Chelsea is one of the biggest teams in the Premier League. They have won maybe the most trophies in the last six or seven years. It’s a massive club and I am proud to sign for Chelsea, and I’m looking forward to playing.”

  • Chelsea willing to pay £26m to sign Edin Dzeko

    Chelsea is willing to pay Roma £26m for striker Edin Dzeko.

    The 31-year-old former Manchester City forward is understood to want a basic salary of £90k-a-week, and a contract to run until the summer of 2021.

    It is the latest twist in Chelsea’s search for a new striker, following Roma’s denial on Thursday that a deal had been agreed for Dzeko.

    It came after reports from Sky in Italy on Wednesday that Chelsea and Roma had agreed a deal for Dzeko to move to Stamford Bridge, and that it was now down to the Premier League side to agree terms with the player.

    Chelsea have reportedly targeted several strikers in the January transfer window, including West Ham’s Andy Carroll and Ashley Barnes of Burnley, as the club continue to search for someone to share goalscoring duties with Alvaro Morata.