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Tag: Chelsea

  • Tuchel names Toney, 5 Chelsea players in England squad [Full list]

    Tuchel names Toney, 5 Chelsea players in England squad [Full list]

    England coach Thomas Tuchel has named Al-Ahli striker Ivan Toney in his squad on Friday.

    The former Brentford striker has made 29 appearances in all competitions for the Saudi side, scoring 22 goals. Only Cristiano Ronaldo (Al-Nassr) has scored more in the SPL this term.

    Chelsea players Reece James, Levi Colwill, Cole Palmer, Trevoh Chalobah and Noni Madueke make the cut, while Arsenal defender Ben White misses out despite holding talks with Tuchel leading up to today’s announcement. The concern for Chelsea is they will also be competing in the Club World Cup next month.

    There will be a six-day England training camp from 4-10 June, including a World Cup qualifier in Andorra on 7 June and a friendly against Senegal on 10 June.

    England squad in full:

    Goalkeepers: Jordan Pickford (Everton), Dean Henderson (Crystal Palace), James Trafford (Burnley)

    Defenders: Trent Alexander-Arnold (Liverpool), Dan Burn (Newcastle), Trevoh Chalobah (Chelsea), Levi Colwill (Chelsea), Reece James (Chelsea), Ezri Konsa (Aston Villa), Myles Lewis-Skelly (Arsenal), Kyle Walker (AC Milan on-loan from Manchester City)

    Midfielders: Jude Bellingham (Rea; Madrid), Eberechi Eze (Crystal Palace), Conor Gallagher (Atletico Madrid), Morgan Gibbs-White (Nottingham Forest), Jordan Henderson (Ajax), Curtis Jones (Liverpool), Cole Palmer (Chelsea), Declan Rice (Arsenal), Morgan Rogers (Aston Villa)

    Forwards: Anthony Gordon (Newcastle), Harry Kane (Bayern Munich), Noni Madueke (Chelsea), Bukayo Saka (Arsenal), Ivan Toney (Al-Ahli), Ollie Watkins (Aston Villa)

  • Chelsea players surprised me in Man Utd win – Maresca

    Chelsea players surprised me in Man Utd win – Maresca

    Chelsea manager Enzo Maresca was left pleased after their 1-0 win against Manchester United.

    Marc Cucurella proved the matchwinner, with Maresca delighted to strengthen their Champions League qualifying hopes.

    He said, “Very important. At this stage of the season it’s important to win games. We also pay attention in the way we win the game. I think tonight we struggled on the ball because we didn’t expect them to be so aggressive man-to-man.

    “I used to watch five, six, seven games of the other team. I’ve never seen them so aggressive man-to-man. So they surprised us a little by that.

    “Very, very nice (goal). The assist from the right full-back, the goal from the left full-back is the way I like to play. It’s nice. I think Cucu already scored this season an exactly similar goal against Brentford, against Wolves.

    “He’s in the right position at the right moment, so it’s not about how big you are, tall or small. Just to be in the right position at the right moment. Cucu is an intelligent player and he’s helping us also with the goals.”

  • Chelsea board make decision on Enzo Maresca

    Chelsea board make decision on Enzo Maresca

    Premier League club Chelsea are ready to stick with manager Enzo Maresca next season.

    BBC Sport says Chelsea will go with Maresca even if they fail to qualify for the Champions League this season.

    The Blues are into the Europa Conference League final and also sit fifth on the Premier League table. With the top five in England to qualify for the Champions League, Chelsea remain on track to make the elite competition next season.

    It’s suggested Maresca will be given to the end of next season to convince  co-sporting directors Paul Winstanley and Laurence Stewart, who won’t make a judgment until then.

    Chelsea will play Real Betis in Wroclaw, Poland, on 28 May, in the Europa Conference League final.

  • Jackson has not apologised to Chelsea teammates after red card

    Jackson has not apologised to Chelsea teammates after red card

    Chelsea striker Nicolas Jackson is reportedly yet to apologise to his teammates following his red card in their 2-0 Premier League defeat to Newcastle on Sunday.

    Chelsea remain in the Champions League qualification spots despite their 2-0 defeat to rivals Newcastle over the weekend.

    Jackson, 23, has been largely blamed for the result after he received a straight red card for elbowing Sven Botman after a lengthy VAR intervention.

    According to the Sun, he is yet to apologise to his teammates as he believes there is no need to feel guilty for his actions.

    Instead, he is determined to make it up to them by scoring in the Europa Conference League final, in which Chelsea will face Real Betis.

    The Senegal international will now miss Chelsea’s final two games against Man United and Nottingham Forest due to suspension.

  • Nkunku makes Chelsea exit decision

    Nkunku makes Chelsea exit decision

    Chelsea forward Christophe Nkunku has reportedly informed the club he would like to leave in the summer transfer window with Bayern Munich interested.

    The 27-year-old has struggled for consistent minutes under Enzo Maresca this season, scoring 14 goals and providing five assists in his 42 games across all competitions.

    According to German journalist Christian Falk, Bayern Munich retain an interest in Nkunku having enquired about his availability in January.

    Nkunku has now told Chelsea that he would like to leave in the summer, and it’s understood the club would be willing to let him go.

    Bayern are looking for a back-up option to first-choice striker Harry Kane with Nkunku high on their list of players.

  • EPL: Jackson goal sends Chelsea into top four

    EPL: Jackson goal sends Chelsea into top four

    Chelsea edged back into the Champions League places with a one-goal victory over Everton at Stamford Bridge.

    The win moves the Blues up to fourth in the Premier League, level on points with Nottingham Forest and a point ahead of Newcastle, who play Ipswich later on Saturday.

    With Forest and Aston Villa in FA Cup semi-final action this weekend, Chelsea will hold on to a top-five spot at least until Thursday, when Forest host Brentford.

    The crucial three points were sealed by striker Nicolas Jackson, who ended a 13-match goalless run stretching back to December.

    He drilled an instinctive 20-yard effort beyond Jordan Pickford and into the bottom corner in the 27th minute.

    Despite being the better side, Chelsea were unable to kill the game off and, given the tight nature of the race for Champions League football and the Blues’ difficult league fixtures before the end of the season, there were uncomfortable moments when Everton improved in the final quarter.

    But the hosts’ keeper Robert Sanchez saved well from both Beto and Dwight McNeil low to his right when needed.

    Enzo Maresca’s Chelsea now play leaders Liverpool at Stamford Bridge next Sunday, then visit fellow Champions League chasers Newcastle, before hosting Manchester United, and travelling to Forest on the final day.

    Everton have only won one of their past nine matches and remain 13th.

    BBC

  • Roman Abramovich to break silence on Chelsea sale

    Roman Abramovich to break silence on Chelsea sale

    Former Chelsea owner Roman Abramovich has spoken for the first time about his sale of the club in a controversial new book that will be released this summer.

    The 58-year-old will discuss the sale of the club in a new book set to be released this summer after giving his first interview in four years which is set to ruffle a few feathers. Abramovich purchased Chelsea in 2003 and oversaw two trophy-laden decades at Stamford Bridge but was forced to sell in 2022.

    This was due to alleged links to Russian President Vladimir Putin following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. He has now conducted a two-part interview for a book about the £4.25BN sale of Chelsea to an American consortium led by Todd Boehly and Clearlake Capital that could become a bestseller if he exposes what happened behind the scenes.

    Set to be released in late May, “Sanctioned: The Inside Story of the Sale of Chelsea FC’” should be one of the most talked about sporting books of the year and one of the biggest in the club’s history. The Standard report that the book will reportedly include Abramovich’s account of Chelsea’s sanctions, his involvement in peace talks between Russia and Ukraine, and his suspected poisoning in 2022.

  • Chelsea pull off late winning fight-back against Fulham

    Chelsea pull off late winning fight-back against Fulham

    Chelsea secured a huge win in the UEFA Champions League (UCL) race as they battled back from behind late on to win 2-1 away to Fulham in the Premier League, ending their eight-match unbeaten away league run in the process.

    Victories against Chelsea have been few and far between down the years for Fulham, but they thought they’d got off to the perfect start against the Blues here when Andreas Pereira poked home from inside the six-yard box.

    Unfortunately for the Brazilian, the offside flag and a brief VAR check ruled that there were a couple of offsides in the build-up.

    That only served as a temporary reprieve for the Blues, who soon found themselves behind.

    They were the masters of their own downfall in that sense, as Reece James had his pocket picked by Ryan Sessegnon, who strode forward, found Alex Iwobi on the edge of the area, and drilled a left-footed effort from the edge of the area into the bottom corner.

    Chelsea responded fairly well to falling behind, pinning Fulham in their own half at times, but creating any clear-cut opportunities was proving problematic for the UCL chasers.

    Chants of “attack, attack, attack” by Chelsea fans for the second week running certainly weren’t helping their cause, but the fans were far from shy in making their feelings known.

    The Blues heeded the plea from their travelling supporters after the break and did create a clear-cut sight of goal.

    HT substitute Malo Gusto was involved, as his cross worked its way to the feet of Pedro Neto, but his wicked drive from 12 yards was blocked by the legs of Bernd Leno.

    Enzo Maresca was looking to his senior players to dig them out of the mire, and when Cole Palmer broke into the box and worked a yard of space, it looked like they’d done just that.

    But when he skewed his effort horribly wide, it appeared it wasn’t going to be Chelsea’s day.

    Parked inside the Fulham half for most of the second 45, Chelsea were giving themselves a great chance of drawing level, and they eventually did so through academy graduate Tyrique George, who pounced on a loose ball and arrowed an effort into the bottom corner.

    Chelsea had all the momentum going into the closing stages, and they translated that dominance into a late winner.

    There was nothing fortunate about it either, as Pedro Neto controlled, swivelled, and thundered an effort into the roof of Leno’s net to send the away end into raptures and move Chelsea into the top five.

    Defeat isn’t catastrophic to Fulham, but they did miss the chance to move into eighth, which could be enough for a European spot come the end of the season, depending on who wins the FA Cup.

    Tribalfootball

  • Enzo Fernandez shines as Chelsea subdue Tottenham

    Enzo Fernandez shines as Chelsea subdue Tottenham

    Chelsea moved back up to fourth with a 1-0 victory over a lacklustre Tottenham Hotspur side, as Ange Postecoglou became the first Spurs manager to lose his first four Premier League games against the Blues.

    Enzo Maresca’s team almost broke the deadlock inside the opening minute when Trevoh Chalobah looked to pick out Nicolas Jackson, who almost benefitted from Micky van de Ven’s interception ricocheting off him before cannoning off the post.

    Tottenham were looking shaky at the back, and they were nearly punished after Marc Cucurella’s pass went straight through to Malo Gusto, whose effort hit the side netting.

    The Tottenham backline were continuing to endure a torrid time, with Jackson firing over the bar after being given the freedom of the penalty box. Guglielmo Vicario was hardly looking convincing between the sticks for Spurs, but the Italian made a fine save to parry over Jadon Sancho’s cross after the Manchester United loanee was picked out by Pedro Neto.

    Ultimately, a lack of cutting edge from the hosts in the final third ensured both teams ended the first half on level terms.

    Chelsea’s deserved breakthrough came in the 50th minute courtesy of Enzo Fernández, who powered home a header from Cole Palmer’s enticing cross to finally make the visitors pay for their hazardous defending.

    The floodgates looked to have opened when Moisés Caicedo rifled home a superb volley after the visiting defence failed to deal with a Fernández set piece, but their blushes were spared as a lengthy VAR review determined an offside in the build-up.

    The north Londoners then thought they had found an equaliser out of nowhere when Pape Matar Sarr’s speculative strike squirmed past Robert Sánchez.

    However, VAR took centre stage once again, penalising the Senegal international for a foul on Caicedo. Postecoglou’s men were offering very little going forward, yet they could have claimed a stunning equaliser late on when Sánchez kept out Son Heung-min’s sliding attempt at the far post from Brennan Johnson’s cross.

    It was hardly a classic to match the thoroughly entertaining clashes these two sides have served up over the years – not that Chelsea will care, claiming a 10th win in 13 PL meetings with their rivals from north of the River Thames.

    Meanwhile, this marks a ninth away PL defeat of the season for Tottenham, with only Leicester City (11) and Southampton (12) losing more times on the road, leaving them languishing in 14th.

    Tribalfootball

  • Reece James hits back at Chelsea fans

    Reece James hits back at Chelsea fans

    Chelsea captain Reece James has said the club have ‘come on leaps and bounds’ amid ongoing fan criticism of manager Enzo Maresca.

    Chelsea have gone from title challengers to top four hopefuls after a dismal run of form throughout the festive period and into the last ten games of the season.

    Enzo Maresca has been heavily criticised for his style of play along with their poor run of form, despite impressing in his first few months in charge.

    The Premier League side remain in contention for silverware and are heavy favourites to win the Europa Conference League, even if recent showings have left a lot to be desired.

    James, 25, has given Maresca his full backing, praising him for the progress his side and made and setting their ambitions in stone.

    Speaking to Sky Sports, James said: “Our objective is to play Champions League football next year. I think there’s still more to come from us, it’s early days.

    “We’ve learnt a lot this season and are still learning. We have come on leaps and bounds this year, fighting against the best teams in the league on a consistent basis.

    “I think the balance of the team is key, to have different players for different roles. Everyone complements each other well and that helps with where we are so far. Hopefully our performances reflect how far we have come.

    “The way the head coach is with the team, the way he wants us to play and how passionate he is makes it enjoyable. Our idea and focus stays the same no matter who we are playing against.”