So cheer us on through the sun and rain, 'cause Chelsea, Chelsea is our name

[Drogba11CFC]

Chelsea took on Liverpool in their next home game. After the victory at Southampton, Spencer fielded his strongest side; Liverpool were missing Roberto Firmino and Mamadou Sakho through injury.

 

Chelsea

Courtois

Azpilicueta Luiz Zouma Gayà

Matic

Kanté Fàbregas

Willian Costa Hazard

Substitutes: Begovic, Wakefield, Cahill, Camacho, Colkett, Pedro, Batshuayi

 

Liverpool

Mignolet

Clyne Keane Lovren Moreno

Henderson Can

Mané Wilshere Lallana

Sturridge

Substitutes: Ward, Matip, Pulisic, Origi, Milner, Palmieri, Sabitzer

 

Referee: Mike Dean

 

Chelsea looked to attack first, and in the fifth minute a shot by Fàbregas was blocked by Lovren.

 

In the seventh minute, Jack Wilshere - who had arrived from Arsenal for £18 million in the summer - played in Mané, whose shot was saved by Courtois.

 

In the twelfth minute, however, Diego Costa sustained a facial injury following a challenge with Lovren. He was taken off after some discussion between Spencer and the medical team, with Batshuayi replacing him.

 

In the 20th minute, Batshuayi went by Keane and had a pop, which he sent over the bar. Five minutes later, he was booked for a foul on Henderson.

 

In the 28th minute, a throw-in by Clyne found Henderson, who passed back. Clyne crossed the ball for Lallana, but Matic headed clear. Henderson got to the ball before Hazard, and headed square to Emre Can. Can moved the ball on to Wilshere, who moved it left for Lallana. Lallana hit a speculative long-range effort, which Courtois tipped against the post before Zouma cleared.

 

Four minutes later, another throw-in by Clyne was intercepted by Matic, who headed the ball to Hazard. Clyne intercepted and took the ball down the right before passing to Wilshere, who passed to Mané. Mané came out second best against Gayà's robust challenge, and Gayà passed to Matic, who hit a nice little ball forward to Hazard, who fed it down the line towards Batshuayi. Michael Keane intercepted, but Hazard recovered the ball and expertly picked out Batshuayi whose shot from an acute angle hit the side netting.

 

In the 37th minute Gayà was booked for a foul on Mané.

 

In the 40th minute, a cross from Batshuayi was met by the head of Willian, who could only nod the ball wide. Two minutes later, a wonderful pass from Henderson found Wilshere, whose shot was blocked.

 

In the 52nd minute, Gayà hit a long-range effort which he couldn't get on target. Two minutes later, a cross from Hazard found Kanté, whose shot was tipped behind by Mignolet. Liverpool then made a substitution, replacing Lallana with Pulisic.

 

In the 58th minute, Willian played a free kick short to Matic, who passed to Zouma. Zouma hit a long ball to Hazard, who beat the offside trap and headed the ball past an onrushing Mignolet to give Chelsea the lead.

 

Three minutes later, a cross from Clyne was headed out by Luiz, but only as far as Can. Can got his head to the ball, but it was saved by Courtois. Liverpool then replaced Sturridge with Origi.

 

In the 68th minute, a long ball by Luiz found Hazard, who volleyed just over. A minute later, Emre Can sent the ball sailing over the bar. Joel Matip then came on to replace Michael Keane.

 

In the 72nd minute, Clyne was booked for a foul on Hazard.

 

With fifteen minutes left, Mané sent the ball over before Camacho replaced Matic. Camacho was then booked for a foul on Origi.

 

In the 81st minute, Willian sent a free kick over the bar, before Zouma sent a header off target three minutes later. With five minutes left, a shot from a tight angle by Hazard was tipped behind by Mignolet before Zouma was replaced by Cahill.

 

With two minutes left, a shot from Pulisic was tipped away by Courtois, who then saved a shot from Mané.

 

In the final minute of normal time, Wilshere sent a shot off target as Chelsea closed out another vital win.

 

Barclays Premier League - at Stamford Bridge, London

Chelsea 1-0 Liverpool (Hazard 58)

Attendance: 41,629 (3,000 away)

Man of the Match: Kurt Zouma

 

Other results

Friday

Everton 0-4 Man Utd (Mata 13, 54, Fred 46, 75)

 

Saturday

Derby County 0-1 Swansea (Bastón 42)

Tottenham 1-1 Bournemouth (Eriksen 22; Ki 90+2)

West Brom 3-4 Leicester (Mariano 1, Rooney 40, 90; Carrillo 4, Willian José pen 11, pen 48, Ndidi 21)

West Ham 0-0 Southampton

Stoke 0-2 Arsenal (Özil 36, Iwobi 90+1)

 

Sunday

Watford 0-0 Burnley

Man City 1-1 Newcastle (Gabriel Jesus 86; Gayle 16)

 

Monday

Norwich 3-1 Sunderland (Pritchard 13, Jesé 38, Hoolahan 84; Young 90)

League Table

| Pos   | Inf   | Team         | Pld   | Won   | Drn   | Lst   | For   | Ag    | GD    | Pts   |
| ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 1st   |       | Man City     | 14    | 11    | 3     | 0     | 22    | 6     | +16   | 36    |
| ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 2nd   |       | Chelsea      | 15    | 10    | 3     | 2     | 28    | 9     | +19   | 33    |
| ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 3rd   |       | Arsenal      | 15    | 10    | 1     | 4     | 29    | 13    | +16   | 31    |
| ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 4th   |       | West Ham     | 15    | 9     | 2     | 4     | 27    | 14    | +13   | 29    |
| ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 5th   |       | Tottenham    | 15    | 8     | 4     | 3     | 31    | 19    | +12   | 28    |
| ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 6th   |       | Leicester    | 14    | 8     | 2     | 4     | 23    | 20    | +3    | 26    |
| ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 7th   |       | Everton      | 15    | 7     | 3     | 5     | 24    | 19    | +5    | 24    |
| ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 8th   |       | Liverpool    | 15    | 7     | 2     | 6     | 23    | 19    | +4    | 23    |
| ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 9th   |       | Man Utd      | 15    | 6     | 3     | 6     | 23    | 15    | +8    | 21    |
| ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 10th  |       | Bournemouth  | 15    | 5     | 5     | 5     | 22    | 23    | -1    | 20    |
| ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 11th  |       | Watford      | 15    | 5     | 4     | 6     | 19    | 19    | 0     | 19    |
| ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 12th  |       | Sunderland   | 15    | 5     | 4     | 6     | 18    | 20    | -2    | 19    |
| ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 13th  |       | Newcastle    | 15    | 4     | 5     | 6     | 20    | 27    | -7    | 17    |
| ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 14th  |       | Stoke        | 15    | 4     | 4     | 7     | 15    | 21    | -6    | 16    |
| ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 15th  |       | Southampton  | 15    | 4     | 4     | 7     | 17    | 26    | -9    | 16    |
| ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 16th  |       | Norwich      | 15    | 4     | 3     | 8     | 15    | 22    | -7    | 15    |
| ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 17th  |       | Derby County | 15    | 4     | 0     | 11    | 14    | 28    | -14   | 12    |
| ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 18th  |       | Burnley      | 15    | 3     | 3     | 9     | 13    | 30    | -17   | 12    |
| ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 19th  |       | Swansea      | 15    | 3     | 2     | 10    | 13    | 20    | -7    | 11    |
| ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 20th  |       | West Brom    | 15    | 3     | 1     | 11    | 15    | 41    | -26   | 10    |
| ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 

 

[Drogba11CFC]

The final Champions League group game was a dead rubber as far as the two teams playing were concerned. Chelsea were already guaranteed top spot with maximum points, while Dinamo Zagreb had lost all five of their group games. As such, Spencer rotated his side, with Charlie Colkett and Gary Cahill starting.

 

Chelsea

Courtois

Wakefield Cahill Christensen Gayà

Camacho

Kanté Colkett

Willian Batshuayi Pedro

Substitutes: Begovic, Zouma, Azpilicueta, Loftus-Cheek, Matic, Hazard, Costa

 

Dinamo Zagreb

Jesensek

Saric Puskaric Amorim Jelic

Gavric

Ilic Takac

Perak Coulibaly Olmo

Substitutes: Adzic, Pipic, Mise, Havojic, Borgelott, Kraljevic, Vidacak

 

Referee: Alberto Undiano Mallenco (ESP)

 

Ils Sont Les Meilleurs

Sie sind die besten

These are the Champions

 

Die meister

Die besten

Les meilleurs équipes

The Champions!

 

In the eighth minute, Jelic was booked for a foul on Willian. Pedro's free kick was headed back by Christensen to Camacho, who sent a half volley into the opposite corner of the net to give Chelsea the lead.

 

In the twelfth minute, Christensen was booked for a foul on Coulibaly. A minute later, Willian robbed Amorim and played the ball back to Pedro, whose pot-shot was saved by Jesensek. Jesensek was then called into action again, tipping a shot from Colkett wide. Camacho was next to test Jesensek, sending a shot wide from distance.

 

Just before the half hour, Pedro played the ball back to Colkett, who passed to Kanté. Kanté went on a surging run into the area before having a shot blocked. Willian got back to recover, and passed to Colkett, who hit a first time shot into the top corner to send the crowd into rapture. Commentating on BT Sport, Peter Drury described the goal as "an incredible goal" adding that it was "his first ever goal for Chelsea, and what a way to score it, sheer brilliance!"

 

In the 32nd minute, a cross from Willian found Batshuayi, whose header clipped the bar and went over. Five minutes later, José Gayà headed over from a corner.

 

In the 40th minute, a throw-in by Wakefield found Willian, who passed back to Wakefield. Wakefield sent the ball to Camacho, who hit a blistering volley into the net. Once again, Peter Drury did not hold back, describing the goal as "an absolute howitzer".

 

Two minutes later, Pedro went on a searching run to the edge of the box before passing to Kanté, who played the ball to Wakefield out wide. Wakefield's cross deflected off a Zagreb player against the post, but Jesensek didn't gather it and Willian pounced to send the ball into an empty net.

 

Just before half time, a careless pass from Coulibaly was intercepted by Colkett, who set off on a run deep into the Zagreb half before passing to Batshuayi, who sent a brilliant volley into the net for Chelsea's fifth.

 

Chelsea showed no signs of letting up in the second half, and in the 51st minute Pedro got to a long ball from Colkett before shooting wide from a tight angle. Zagreb then took Ilic off, replacing him with Vidacak. A minute later, Willian's free kick found Cahill, who missed the target with his header.

 

In the 56th minute, Pedro hit a long range effort wide, before Kanté hit a hopeful shot over the bar. Zagreb then took Coulibaly off, replacing him with Vedran Havojic.

 

In the 67th minute, a hopeful shot from Batshuayi was saved by Jesensek, before a rare Dinamo attack saw Olmo hit the ball over the bar. Ten minutes later, Willian sent a free kick wide.

 

With just over ten minutes left, Willian came off to a standing ovation, with Hazard replacing him, while Loftus-Cheek replaced Camacho. With eight minutes left, Kanté hit a shot too high.

 

In stoppage time, Hazard sent a shot skimming the top of the bar, as Chelsea got their biggest win since a win at Swansea by the same scoreline in January 2015.

 

UEFA Champions League Group C, Match 6 - at Stamford Bridge, London

Chelsea 5-0 Dinamo Zagreb (Camacho 8, 40, Colkett 29, Willian 42, Batshuayi 45+1)

Attendance: 39,640 (92 away)

Man of the Match: Charlie Colkett

 

In the post match interview, Spencer said that "We're a club that puts great emphasis on youth development and to see Colkett score his first goal was special," before adding that "He can go right to the very top, no doubt about that."

 

Other Results:

Group A: Besiktas 2-3 Athletic Bilbao (Aboubakar 29, Babel 30; Aduriz 35, Williams 45, Merino 59), CSKA Moscow 0-1 FC Porto (Silva 19)

Group B: Atlético Madrid 3-1 Benfica (Fernández 13, 38, Gameiro 90+2; Pizzi pen 43), FC Basel 0-3 Chievo (M'Poku 9, 12, Birsa 60)

Group C: Juventus 2-1 Gladbach (Dybala 12, Lemina 86; Hazard 18)

Group D: AS Monaco 4-0 Red Bull Salzburg (Germain 6, 28, 68, Carrillo 43), Tottenham 2-0 Bayern Munich (Son 6, Anderson 14)

Group E: Celtic 0-4 Sporting CP (Novák s/o 60; Kalinic 10, 14, 27, Svensson 46), Real Madrid 6-0 BATE Borisov (Carvajal 2, Ramos 7, 49, Martins 14, Ronaldo pen 25, Morata 71)

Group F: Inter Milan 2-0 Club Brugge (Miranda 36, Brozovic 60), Shakhtar 1-4 Dortmund (Vázquez 32; Reus 35, 42, 43, Schürrle 47)

Group G: Arsenal 5-0 Feyenoord (Giroud 17, 39, Sánchez 33, 57, Iwobi 72), Barcelona 4-0 Zenit (Messi 6, Suárez 20, Piqué 86, Alcácer 88)

Group H: Leverkusen 0-0 Man Utd (Blind s/o 7), PSG 3-0 Legia Warsaw (Guedes 36, Cavani 38, 43)

 

Europa League

Group C: Zulte Waregem 1-4 Liverpool (Leye 70, Hamalainen s/o 5; Emre Can 20, Pulisic 40, Lallana 56, Sabitzer 74)

Group D: Hearts 0-1 Steaua Bucharest (Dumitrescu 43)

Group H: Man City 3-0 KRC Genk (Agüero 38, Gabriel Jesus 61, De Bruyne 64)

Group K: FC København 0-1 Southampton (Lingard 20)

Group L: Olympique de Marseille 1-1 Watford (Cabella 27; Tierney 69)

 

Group Tables:

| Pos   | Inf   | Team          | Nation| Pld   | Won   | Drn   | Lst   | For   | Ag    | GD    | Pts   | 
| ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 1st   | Q1    | FC Porto      | POR   | 6     | 4     | 1     | 1     | 9     | 4     | 5     | 13    | 
| ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 2nd   | Q2    | Athletic Club | ESP   | 6     | 3     | 1     | 2     | 11    | 8     | 3     | 10    | 
| ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 3rd   |       | CSKA Moscow   | RUS   | 6     | 2     | 2     | 2     | 9     | 8     | 1     | 8     | 
| ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 4th   |       | Beşiktaş JK   | TUR   | 6     | 1     | 0     | 5     | 7     | 16    | -9    | 3     | 
| ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 


| Pos   | Inf   | Team               | Nation| Pld   | Won   | Drn   | Lst   | For   | Ag    | GD    | Pts   | 
| -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 1st   | Q1    | Atlético de Madrid | ESP   | 6     | 5     | 0     | 1     | 18    | 5     | 13    | 15    | 
| -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 2nd   | Q2    | SL Benfica         | POR   | 6     | 5     | 0     | 1     | 12    | 6     | 6     | 15    | 
| -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 3rd   |       | Chievo             | ITA   | 6     | 1     | 0     | 5     | 9     | 14    | -5    | 3     | 
| -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 4th   |       | FC Basel           | SUI   | 6     | 1     | 0     | 5     | 7     | 21    | -14   | 3     | 
| -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 


| Pos   | Inf   | Team          | Nation| Pld   | Won   | Drn   | Lst   | For   | Ag    | GD    | Pts   | 
| ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 1st   | Q1    | Chelsea       | ENG   | 6     | 6     | 0     | 0     | 15    | 2     | 13    | 18    | 
| ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 2nd   | Q2    | Juventus      | ITA   | 6     | 4     | 0     | 2     | 10    | 6     | 4     | 12    | 
| ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 3rd   |       | Gladbach      | GER   | 6     | 2     | 0     | 4     | 8     | 10    | -2    | 6     | 
| ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 4th   |       | Dinamo Zagreb | CRO   | 6     | 0     | 0     | 6     | 2     | 17    | -15   | 0     | 
| ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 


| Pos   | Inf   | Team              | Nation| Pld   | Won   | Drn   | Lst   | For   | Ag    | GD    | Pts   | 
| ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 1st   | Q1    | Tottenham         | ENG   | 6     | 5     | 0     | 1     | 13    | 3     | 10    | 15    | 
| ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 2nd   | Q2    | Bayern            | GER   | 6     | 3     | 1     | 2     | 8     | 6     | 2     | 10    | 
| ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 3rd   |       | AS Monaco         | FRA   | 6     | 3     | 1     | 2     | 10    | 6     | 4     | 10    | 
| ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 4th   |       | Red Bull Salzburg | AUT   | 6     | 0     | 0     | 6     | 1     | 17    | -16   | 0     | 
| ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 


| Pos   | Inf   | Team         | Nation| Pld   | Won   | Drn   | Lst   | For   | Ag    | GD    | Pts   | 
| -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 1st   | Q1    | Real Madrid  | ESP   | 6     | 6     | 0     | 0     | 17    | 1     | 16    | 18    | 
| -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 2nd   | Q2    | Sporting CP  | POR   | 6     | 3     | 0     | 3     | 12    | 9     | 3     | 9     | 
| -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 3rd   |       | Celtic       | SCO   | 6     | 3     | 0     | 3     | 10    | 9     | 1     | 9     | 
| -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 4th   |       | BATE Barysaw | BLR   | 6     | 0     | 0     | 6     | 3     | 23    | -20   | 0     | 
| -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 


| Pos   | Inf   | Team           | Nation| Pld   | Won   | Drn   | Lst   | For   | Ag    | GD    | Pts   | 
| -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 1st   | Q1    | Internazionale | ITA   | 6     | 6     | 0     | 0     | 15    | 3     | 12    | 18    | 
| -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 2nd   | Q2    | Dortmund       | GER   | 6     | 4     | 0     | 2     | 11    | 7     | 4     | 12    | 
| -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 3rd   |       | Shakhtar       | UKR   | 6     | 1     | 1     | 4     | 8     | 17    | -9    | 4     | 
| -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 4th   |       | Club Brugge    | BEL   | 6     | 0     | 1     | 5     | 8     | 15    | -7    | 1     | 
| -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 


| Pos   | Inf   | Team         | Nation| Pld   | Won   | Drn   | Lst   | For   | Ag    | GD    | Pts   | 
| -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 1st   | Q1    | FC Barcelona | ESP   | 6     | 5     | 1     | 0     | 19    | 3     | 16    | 16    | 
| -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 2nd   | Q2    | Arsenal      | ENG   | 6     | 3     | 1     | 2     | 13    | 9     | 4     | 10    | 
| -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 3rd   |       | Feyenoord    | NED   | 6     | 1     | 1     | 4     | 5     | 17    | -12   | 4     | 
| -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 4th   |       | Zenit        | RUS   | 6     | 1     | 1     | 4     | 5     | 13    | -8    | 4     | 
| -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 


| Pos   | Inf   | Team                | Nation| Pld   | Won   | Drn   | Lst   | For   | Ag    | GD    | Pts   | 
| ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 1st   | Q1    | Man Utd             | ENG   | 6     | 4     | 2     | 0     | 11    | 2     | 9     | 14    | 
| ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 2nd   | Q2    | Leverkusen          | GER   | 6     | 4     | 1     | 1     | 13    | 5     | 8     | 13    | 
| ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 3rd   |       | Paris Saint-Germain | FRA   | 6     | 2     | 1     | 3     | 12    | 8     | 4     | 7     | 
| ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 4th   |       | Legia Warszawa      | POL   | 6     | 0     | 0     | 6     | 1     | 22    | -21   | 0     | 
| ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

 

World Cup Group Stage Draw:

Group A: Russia, Chile, Costa Rica, Greece

Group B: Poland, Italy, USA, Guinea

Group C: Germany, Turkey, Nigeria, Honduras

Group D: Austria, Spain, Colombia, Mexico

Group E: Argentina, Portugal, Ghana, Australia

Group F: France, England, Uruguay, Japan

Group G: Croatia, Senegal, Denmark, South Korea

Group H: Brazil, Ivory Coast, Belgium, Iran

[Drogba11CFC]

Following the victory over Dinamo Zagreb, Chelsea travelled to Sunderland for their next Premier League match. Spencer's hand was again forced; Both José Gayà and Ignacio Camacho were suspended, while the Blues would host Manchester City the following midweek.

 

Sunderland

Pickford

Koné Dann Djilobodji Oviedo

Cattermole Ndong

Navas João Morales

Defoe

Substitutes: Mika, Jagielka, Young, Borini, Gibson, Carole, Kirchhoff

 

Chelsea

Courtois

Wakefield Cahill Rüdiger Azpilicueta

Matic

Kanté Fàbregas

Willian Batshuayi Pedro

Substitutes: Begovic, Zouma, Aké, Loftus-Cheek, Colkett, Hazard, Costa

 

Referee: Craig Pawson

 

Right from the kick off, Sunderland looked to attack, with Manchester City reject Jesus Navas taking the ball down the left. His attempt to cross, however, was deflected off Azpilicueta to Pedro, who played the ball up towards Batshuayi. Batshuayi then exchanged passes with Pedro, before taking the ball to the edge of the area only for his shot to deflect off Djilobodji to Pickford.

 

Six minutes later, a shot from Batshuayi was pushed away by Pickford, before Kanté connected with Pedro's pass and sent a shot clean over the bar.

 

In the fifteenth minute, Azpilicueta sought out Pedro, whose long ball was deflected to Matic. Matic found Fàbregas, who looked for Kanté. Kanté found Batshuayi, who played a one-two with Pedro before passing to Kanté. Kanté went for goal, but Pickford cleared with an authoritative punch.

 

Four minutes later, a cross from Wakefield found Pedro, whose header was turned behind by Pickford.

 

In the 21st minute, Cattermole tripped Pedro, and received a yellow card. Three minutes later, Rüdiger headed over from a corner.

 

In the 39th minute, a free kick from Willian found Cahill, who headed over the bar.

 

Just before half time, both Djilobodji and Batshuayi went down after a clash of heads. Djilobodji was replaced by Jagielka, while Chelsea brought Costa on at half time.

 

Three minutes into the second half, Sunderland won a free kick, which Oviedo sent over the bar. Two minutes later, a long ball from Pedro found Costa, who exchanged passes with Willian before striking the ball just over.

 

In the 53rd minute, a free kick saw Willian pass to Fàbregas, whose shot was fisted away by Pickford. Six minutes later, Wakefield passed left to Fàbregas, who looked to find Willian. Willian found Kanté, whose shot was saved by Pickford. Sunderland then took Ndong off, replacing him with Gibson, before former Man Utd winger Ashley Young replaced Morales.

 

With just over twenty minutes left, Costa picked up a forward pass from Pedro before sending a shot over the bar.

 

With ten minutes left, Fàbregas was forced off with a twisted knee and Charlie Colkett came on to replace him. Three minutes later, Matic was booked, ruling him out of the game against Manchester City.

 

With two minutes left, Pedro sent a shot wide, before a shot by Costa was saved by Pickford.

 

Barclays Premier League - at The Stadium of Light, Sunderland

Sunderland 0-0 Chelsea

Attendance: 48,707 (1,943 away)

Man of the Match: César Azpilicueta

 

Other results:

 

Friday

Bournemouth 1-2 West Brom (Wilson 19; Rooney 34, Chadli 87)

 

Saturday

Arsenal 3-0 Everton (Sánchez 43, Özil 59, Giroud 72)

Burnley 0-1 Stoke (Arnautovic 45)

Man Utd 5-0 Derby County (Martial 18, Ibrahimovic 26, Mata 29, Mario 31, Bailly 55)

Swansea 1-3 Norwich (Sigurdsson pen 89; Pritchard 21, Howson 32, Tettey 60, Durm s/o 88)

Newcastle 0-4 Tottenham (Dembélé 35, Borja 47, Eriksen 58, Carrasco 65)

 

Sunday

Leicester 4-2 Watford (Carrillo 11, Slimani 56, Okazaki 72, Mahrez 79; Deeney 51, McEachran 64)

Liverpool 3-0 West Ham (Lallana 17, 56, Wilshere 23)

Southampton 0-1 Man City (Agüero 76)

 

The weekend also saw managerial changes; Burnley sacked Sean Dyche after they dropped into the bottom 3, while Southampton showed Puel the door after he lost the dressing room. The sack race odds showed Spencer at 4/1, with Jürgen Klopp at 17/4 and José Mourinho at 9/2.

League Table:

| Pos   | Inf   | Team         | Pld   | Won   | Drn   | Lst   | For   | Ag    | GD    | Pts   |
| ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 1st   |       | Man City     | 15    | 12    | 3     | 0     | 23    | 6     | 17    | 39    |
| ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 2nd   |       | Arsenal      | 16    | 11    | 1     | 4     | 32    | 13    | 19    | 34    |
| ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 3rd   |       | Chelsea      | 16    | 10    | 4     | 2     | 28    | 9     | 19    | 34    |
| ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 4th   |       | Tottenham    | 16    | 9     | 4     | 3     | 35    | 19    | 16    | 31    |
| ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 5th   |       | West Ham     | 16    | 9     | 2     | 5     | 27    | 17    | 10    | 29    |
| ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 6th   |       | Leicester    | 15    | 9     | 2     | 4     | 27    | 22    | 5     | 29    |
| ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 7th   |       | Liverpool    | 16    | 8     | 2     | 6     | 26    | 19    | 7     | 26    |
| ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 8th   |       | Man Utd      | 16    | 7     | 3     | 6     | 28    | 15    | 13    | 24    |
| ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 9th   |       | Everton      | 16    | 7     | 3     | 6     | 24    | 22    | 2     | 24    |
| ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 10th  |       | Bournemouth  | 16    | 5     | 5     | 6     | 23    | 25    | -2    | 20    |
| ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 11th  |       | Sunderland   | 16    | 5     | 5     | 6     | 18    | 20    | -2    | 20    |
| ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 12th  |       | Watford      | 16    | 5     | 4     | 7     | 21    | 23    | -2    | 19    |
| ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 13th  |       | Stoke        | 16    | 5     | 4     | 7     | 16    | 21    | -5    | 19    |
| ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 14th  |       | Norwich      | 16    | 5     | 3     | 8     | 18    | 23    | -5    | 18    |
| ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 15th  |       | Newcastle    | 16    | 4     | 5     | 7     | 20    | 31    | -11   | 17    |
| ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 16th  |       | Southampton  | 16    | 4     | 4     | 8     | 17    | 27    | -10   | 16    |
| ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 17th  |       | West Brom    | 16    | 4     | 1     | 11    | 17    | 42    | -25   | 13    |
| ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 18th  |       | Burnley      | 16    | 3     | 3     | 10    | 13    | 31    | -18   | 12    |
| ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 19th  |       | Derby County | 16    | 4     | 0     | 12    | 14    | 33    | -19   | 12    |
| ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 20th  |       | Swansea      | 16    | 3     | 2     | 11    | 14    | 23    | -9    | 11    | 
| ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 

 

[Drogba11CFC]

On Monday, Spencer flew out to Nyon to witness the draw for the knockout stage of the Champions League. Chelsea could be drawn against one of Athletic Bilbao, Benfica, Bayern Munich, Sporting CP, Dortmund or Leverkusen.

 

Seeded teams: FC Porto (POR), Atlético Madrid (ESP), Chelsea (ENG), Tottenham (ENG), Real Madrid (ESP), Inter Milan (ITA), FC Barcelona (ESP), Man Utd (ENG)

 

Unseeded teams: Athletic Bilbao (ESP), SL Benfica (POR), Juventus (ITA), Bayern Munich (GER), Sporting CP (POR), Dortmund (GER), Arsenal (ENG), Leverkusen (GER)

 

"So, the first team drawn out is…Athletic Bilbao," the UEFA executive said, "And they cannot be drawn against Atlético Madrid, Barcelona, Real Madrid or Porto. They will play…" He reached into the seeded bowl, "...Inter Milan."

 

"The next team out are Arsenal," he continued, "and they cannot be drawn against Barcelona, Manchester United, Chelsea or Tottenham Hotspur. They will face...FC Porto."

 

"Bayer Leverkusen," the executive then said as he drew their ball out, "cannot be drawn against Manchester United. They will play.. Atlético Madrid."

 

"Benfica," the executive continued, "can be drawn against any of the remaining seeded teams. They will play... Chelsea."

 

Spencer allowed himself a smile at this. Benfica were far from the hardest team Chelsea could have faced. The Blues had history with Benfica, beating them in the 2013 Europa League Final and in the Champions League quarter final the season before.

 

"Juventus," the executive then said, "can be drawn against any of the remaining seeded teams. They will face... Tottenham Hotspur."

 

"Borussia Dortmund," he continued, "cannot be drawn against Bayern Munich. They will face...Real Madrid."

 

"Sporting CP," he then said, "will face... Barcelona. Which means that Bayern Munich will face Manchester United."

 

UEFA Champions League Round of 16 Draw in full

Athletic Bilbao vs Inter Milan

Arsenal vs FC Porto

Leverkusen vs Atlético Madrid

Benfica vs Chelsea

Juventus vs Tottenham

Dortmund vs Real Madrid

Sporting CP vs Barcelona

Bayern vs Man Utd

[Drogba11CFC]

Having returned from Nyon, Spencer faced a daunting task with the visit of Manchester City to Stamford Bridge. City came to Stamford Bridge five points ahead of Chelsea, who were missing Matic and Fabregas through injury and suspension respectively. In addition, something would have to give; City were still unbeaten, whilst Chelsea had won every one of their home matches and were yet to concede at home.

 

Chelsea 

Courtois 

Azpilicueta Zouma Luiz Gaya

Camacho

Kanté Colkett

Willian Costa Hazard 

Substitutes: Begovic, Cahill, Wakefield, Loftus-Cheek, Aké, Pedro, Raul

 

Man City

Bravo 

Pizarro Stones Otamendi Willems

Fernandinho 

Gündogan Fernando

Sané Agüero De Bruyne 

Substitutes: Hart, Robertson, Jesus, Belotti, Iheanacho, Mangala, Ntcham

 

Referee: Lee Probert

 

Both sides tested each other early on with a series of half chances. In the eighteenth minute, a free kick saw De Bruyne pass right to Gündogan, who sent the ball to Fernandinho. Fernandinho then played in Pizarro, who took the ball down the flank before looking to cross. The cross bounced off the shin of David Luiz into the path of Sané, who hit the side netting when it looked easier to score than to miss.

 

Two minutes later, Fernando became the first name in the book for a trip on Kanté. 

 

In the 29th minute, a long clearance from Claudio Bravo was intercepted by David Luiz, who nodded it to Colkett. Colkett  played a pass out to Hazard, who passed back to Gaya before beating Pizarro to Gaya's long return pass. He then sent a cross into the area, where Diego Costa leapt up to head the ball across Bravo and into the net, sparking wild celebrations among the Chelsea fans. 

 

Manchester City looked to get back into the game, and a shot from Sané was saved by Courtois in the 33rd minute. Chelsea were in the ascendancy however, and in the 40th minute Bravo had to tip a Kanté shot behind before catching the resultant corner ahead of Colkett. Courtois found himself in the exact same position two minutes later, turning a piledriver from John Stones behind. De Bruyne found Fernando with the corner, whose header went just over. 

 

Fernando would regret that miss. As the first half entered the second minute of added time. A shot from Kanté struck the corner where the post and bar met, and Willems headed clear. However, Willian got to the loose ball and sent it back to Camacho, before Colkett took over and passed to Willian. Willian then got into the area before crossing to Costa, who headed home as Man City's unbeaten record seemingly went up in smoke. 

 

Chelsea came out in the second half having been told "more of the same", but it was City who had the first chance of the second half. A free kick saw Jetro Willems pass to Sané, who sent the ball harmlessly over. Chelsea's first chance of the half was much closer, with Costa running onto a long ball from Zouma before forcing a save out of Bravo from a narrow angle. The visitors' frustration was beginning to show, as Agüero was booked for a foul on Zouma. Guardiola then made his first substitution, as Olivier Ntcham replaced Fernando. 

 

Ntcham then made an immediate impact as , two minutes later, he collected the ball from Stones before passing to De Bruyne. He then received the ball from Gündogan around 25 yards out before sending it thundering into the top corner, giving Courtois no chance as Chelsea conceded at home in the league for the first time since April. 

 

Chelsea looked to restore their two goal cushion immediately, with Hazard playing Costa through. Costa, however, was forced wide before being tackled by Otamendi. 

 

Man City were now spurred on by Ntcham's goal, and looked to push on as Gabriel Jesus replaced Sané. Moments later, Ntcham received the ball from De Bruyne and went for goal from the edge of the area, with only the woodwork keeping Chelsea in front. Two minutes later, Gaya was booked for a foul on Jesus, before Willems was replaced by Andrew Robertson. 

 

With just under fifteen minutes left, Zouma got up above Otamendi to head the ball just over before Pedro replaced Willian. Shortly afterwards, a massive jeer rose from all over the ground as news filtered through that Man Utd had barely avoided defeat at home to Swansea. 

 

Man City continued to look for an equaliser, with Ntcham and Fernando having three shots in as many minutes, but none were on target.

 

With five minutes to go, a cross by Robertson was intercepted by Camacho, who found Pedro in a good position. The ramdeuteur got past Fernando and sent the ball left to Kanté, who got into the box before passing across goal for Costa to arrive and restore Chelsea's two-goal lead. Costa celebrated his hat-trick with a cartwheel in front of an ecstatic Matthew Harding end as the result was seemingly put beyond doubt.

 

Two minutes later, a corner from Colkett found Zouma, who rose highest to power a header into the net and complete a miserable night for the league leaders. Indeed, as Costa went off to a standing ovation, many visiting fans decided that they had seen enough and left. In fact, only Bravo and Stones prevented the scoreline from being even worse. 

 

Barclays Premier League - at Stamford Bridge, London 

Chelsea 4-1 Man City (Diego Costa 29, 45+2, 85, Zouma 87; Ntcham 58)

Attendance: 41,629 (3,000 away)

Man of the Match: Diego Costa 

 

Unsurprisingly, Chelsea Twitter was buzzing after the match, with one fan speculating that the momentum was now with them. On the other side, one Man City supporter claimed that they'd handed the title to Chelsea. In his post match interview, Spencer was full of praise for his side, as well as hinting at a potential future signing of Bernardo Silva from Monaco. Guardiola had no excuses, calling it "a poor performance and a poor result".

 

Other results:

 

Tuesday 

Bournemouth 0-1 Stoke (Diouf 78)

Burnley 0-1 Derby County (Edwards 30)

 

Wednesday 

Arsenal 0-0 Norwich City 

Leicester City 2-0 Everton (Morgan 28, Willian José 75)

Liverpool 1-2 Tottenham (Sturridge 30; Son 6, Trippier 59)

Man Utd 1-1 Swansea (Martial 90+1, Pogba s/o 51; Carroll 40)

Newcastle 3-4 Watford (Pjaca 52, Mitrovic 69, 81, Lerma s/o 82; Deeney 23, pen 83, 90+1, Januzaj 35)

Southampton 1-0 West Brom (Rodriguez 75, Tomkins s/o 84)

Sunderland 2-3 West Ham (Defoe 33, Oviedo 68; Ayew 27, N'Diaye 65, Ogbonna 73)