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Tag: Chelsea

  • David Luiz tells Antonio Conte he ‘wants to leave’ Chelsea

    David Luiz tells Antonio Conte he ‘wants to leave’ Chelsea

    David Luiz has held showdown talks with Chelsea – and Bayern Munich are lurking if the Blues can’t meet his first-team demands.

    The Brazilian, 30, and manager Antonio Conte met earlier this week to get to the bottom of the issues between the pair, the Daily Express revealed.

    The meeting didn’t totally clear the air – and Luiz, it’s reported, will only stay if he is in the manager’s starting plans.

    The Express say he will force through a move out of Stamford Bridge if he doesn’t receive assurances about his future, with a source telling the paper he is not
    willing to sit on the bench in a World Cup year.

    It is understood German champions Bayern Munich are waiting in the wings for the centre-half if he doesn’t get his way.

    Luiz’s lack of game time arrives after a reported training ground bust up and the improving form on Danish defender Andreas Christensen.

    Asked last week if Luiz was happy at Stamford Bridge, Conte said: “I think now is not the right moment to speak about this.

    “There are a lot of games before the transfer window and now is not the right time this is not important.”

    The Blues would want to recoup the £34m they paid PSG in 2016 to resign him if they are to let him go for a second time.

    Champions Chelsea are third in the Premier League and this Saturday have a home match with Southampton.

  • Champions League draw: Chelsea face Barcelona, Tottenham to play Juventus

    Chelsea have been drawn against Barcelona in the last 16 of the Champions League, while Tottenham will face Italian champions Juventus.

    Premier League leaders Manchester City will play Switzerland’s Basel, Manchester United face La Liga side Sevilla and Liverpool take on Portugal’s Porto.

    Holders Real Madrid will face Paris St-Germain.

    A record five English teams progressed from the group stage this season.

    Chelsea were the only English team to make it through as runners-up, with the other four sides all topping their respective groups.

    The Blues have arguably been handed the most difficult tie, and it comes days after boss Antonio Conte conceded that their Premier League title defence was over following their defeat by West Ham, which left them 14 points adrift of Manchester City.

    However, Chelsea did beat Barcelona in the semi-finals before lifting the Champions League trophy in 2012.

    Real Madrid, who are aiming for a 13th title and third in a row, were given a tough draw against big-spending PSG after finishing behind Tottenham in Group H.

    The group winners will be away in the round of 16 first legs on 13/14 and 20/21 February, and at home in the return matches on 6/7 and 13/14 March.

    The final will take place in Kiev on 26 May.

    Champions League last-16 draw

    Juventus v Tottenham (13 February and 7 March)

    Basel v Manchester City (13 February and 7 March)

    Porto v Liverpool (14 February and 6 March)

    Sevilla v Manchester United (21 February and 13 March)

    Real Madrid v PSG (14 February and 6 March)

    Shakhtar Donetsk v Roma (21 February and 13 March)

    Chelsea v Barcelona (20 February and 14 March)

    Bayern Munich v Besiktas (20 February and 14 March)

    BBC SPORTS

  • West Ham earn first win under Moyes as they beat Chelsea

    West Ham won for the first time under David Moyes as Marko Arnautovic’s first goal for the club proved enough to beat a disjointed Chelsea at London Stadium.

    The Hammers scored the only goal after just six minutes when Arnautovic curled a deft strike into the bottom corner after exchanging passes with Manuel Lanzini on the edge of the area.

    Chelsea responded well before the break but were repelled by an organised West Ham defence and two solid saves from Adrian, retaining his spot in place of the dropped Joe Hart.

    Both sides became increasingly ragged in the second half but West Ham desperately held on, with Chelsea striker Alvaro Morata firing wide when clean through late on.

    Despite victory, the hosts remain in the bottom three, though they have drawn level on points with 17th-placed West Brom, who face fellow strugglers Swansea at 15:00 GMT.

    Defeat means champions Chelsea will finish the weekend 14 points behind leaders Manchester City if Pep Guardiola’s side beat rivals Manchester United on Sunday.

    BBC Sports

  • Antonio Conte: Chelsea manager fined by Football Association for sending-off

    Chelsea manager Antonio Conte has been fined £8,000 by the Football Association after he was sent to the stand during his side’s Premier League victory over Swansea last month.

    Conte was dismissed for disputing referee Neil Swarbrick’s decision not to award a corner in the first half.

    Following the match, which Chelsea won 1-0, the 48-year-old Italian apologised to Swarbrick.

    He added: “I made a mistake. With my players I suffer. It’s a pity.”

    Chelsea are third in the Premier League table, 11 points behind leaders Manchester City.

  • Conte disclose, Chelsea are going for every trophy ahead of Roma game

    Chelsea boss Antonio Conte says the club are going for the lot this season.

     

    Conte insists there’s no chance of him favouring one competition over another.

     

    Chelsea are in Italy tonight for the Champions League clash with Roma.

     

    “Our group is a tough group with Atletico Madrid and Roma, two really group teams. To stay at the top of this group is really important,” said Conte.

     

    “We are trying to face all competitions this season. We went through to the next round of the Carabao Cup, we won the last two games in the Premier League.

     

    “Roma are in a good moment of form. It’s important for us to overcome this difficult period. We are recovering important players. You know how important it is for me to have all the players available.”

     

     

  • Chelsea’s striker Morata: Wish for Italy return

    Alvaro Morata has admitted he wishes to return back to Italy where he spent two years on loan with the Italian giant, Juventus.

    Morata won two domestic doubles and reaching the 2015 Champions League final with Juventus, before Madrid activated a buyback option in his contract, reportedly valued at €30 million, in 2016.

    Chelsea striker Alvaro Morata also admits he misses living in Italy and feels he should never have left Juventus to return to Real Madrid.

    The Spain international forward said he was “treated like a kid” when he returned to the Bernabeu after a successful spell with Juventus

    The 25-year-old has enjoyed a strong start to his career in England, scoring six times in nine Premier League appearances, but he has confirmed he longs to go back to Italy.

    Morata also slammed Madrid’s attitude towards him following his return and felt he was practically forced to restart his career.

    Morata expressed his love for his little time spent in Italy saying, “I arrived in Italy feeling like a boy and I returned feeling like a true player. I should never have left Italy and Juve.

    “I really miss Italy. My wife would like to live in Spain; I’d like to live in Italy.”

    Morata also believes Serie A is the toughest league he has played in due to the tactical and defensive strength of the teams.

    “In Spain, technique is dominant. In Italy, it’s tactics. In England, the most relevant aspect is physical strength,” he said. “The most difficult is Italy: organised teams and very good defenders.”

     

     

  • Chelsea Boss praises Morata, perfect for Premier League

    Blue’s Striker, Alvaro Morata is perfect for the Premier League, according to Chelsea boss Antonio Conte.

     

    The Spanish International was signed from Real Madrid this summer as a replacement for the controversial striker, Diego Costa.

     

    Since joining Chelsea, Morata has scored 6 goals in 6 Premier League matches, including a hat-trick in Saturday’s 4-0 win over Stoke City.

     

    Conte believes the 25-year-old has already adapted to the rigours of the English game after an impressive display against stoke on Saturday.

     

    “Now he is involved totally in our style of football and our idea and he is very strong,” Conte said after the win.

     

    “This league is not easy, above all for the strikers because during the game there is a lot of physical contact, and you must be prepared for this type of game because referees don’t whistle a lot and that’s good for the game.”

     

    “He adapted very well to this league but now he has to continue to work and improve because I think he has only just started his path.”

     

     

  • Luiz sent off as Chelsea, Arsenal play goalless draw at Stamford

    David Luiz was sent off as ten-man Chelsea were held at Stamford Bridge by Arsenal for the first time in six years.

    The Brazil centre-back was shown am 89th-minute straight red by referee Michael Oliver, for his high challenge on Gunners’ left-back Sead Kolasinac.

    It sparked angry scenes on the touchline with Carlo Cudicini, assistant to Antonio Conte, involved in a furious row with the Arsenal bench.

    It also means Chelsea have now had as many reds in their last five Premier League games as they have had in their 73 games combined beforehand (three).

    Earlier former Chelsea keeper Petr Cech pulled off an outstanding save to deny Pedro with the Spain winger clean through.

    Aaron Ramsey blew Arsenal’s best chance when he ghosted past two players into the Blues box, only to hit the post.

  • Marcos Alonso lifts Chelsea to victory over Tottenham

    Marcos Alonso lifts Chelsea to victory over Tottenham – Though it came late, Chelsea team, led by Antonio Conte proved 0n Sunday that they still have all the qualities that took them to the Premier League title last season.

    Their season has lift-off and, though it would be stretching the truth to say one result resolves all their issues, it still amounts to a hugely satisfying win, particularly bearing in mind they had finished the previous week’s encounter against Burnley looking in need of smelling salts.

    Antonio Conte’s team have had to withstand an awful lot of scrutiny since capsizing against the team from Turf Moor.

    “The aberration against Burnley feels almost freakish given the story of their follow-up game. Conte’s team were subjected to long spells of prolonged pressure after Marcos Alonso’s elegant free-kick gave them a first-half lead.

    “They then suffered the misfortune of their substitute, Michy Batshuayi, providing Spurs with an 82nd-minute own goal and, at that stage, the supporters who had decamped to Wembley from White Hart Lane might have thought the momentum was with their team.

    “Chelsea had different ideas and Alonso’s second goal of the afternoon was a personal ordeal for Hugo Lloris in the Spurs goal, making it a demoralising start for Mauricio Pochettino’s team in their temporary home.” TheGuardian Uk reports.

  • Antonio Conte impressed with Alvaro Morata’s performance during Burnley match

    Chelsea’s coach has praised Alvaro Morata after scoring a goal on his debut against Burnley.

    Morata started on the bench for Chelsea against Burnley but replaced the anonymous Michy Batshuayi in the second half.

    The former Real Madrid striker sparked Chelsea’s late revival with his first goal for the club.

    But it wasn’t enough as the Premier League champions suffered a surprise defeat at their own Stamford Bridge.

    Nevertheless, Conte was happy with how Morata performed.

    Conte said: “Morata is very important and it’s important that he now adapts himself to our philosophy – today he played a good game with the right intensity.

    “Now he has to continue to work with all the rest of our players.”

    The Chelsea boss also insisted he was unconcerned by Chelsea’s struggles in the transfer market and stressed he is determined to fight for his players.

    Conte added: “We must focus on working very hard with these players. As for the transfer market, the club is trying to do the best. I am not worried, I am ready to fight with these players.

    “I repeat: it is important for us to concentrate on our work, to be focused every day in training and to try to work in our best way. No excuses.” Conte said.

    Culled from www.express.co.uk