You can't win anything with kids

[Drogba11CFC]

Chelsea travelled to Vicarage Road to face Watford after the "winter break" trialled by the Premier League. Spencer was determined to see his side win; Watford sat second bottom of the league with the worst form in the league. 

 

Watford 

Foster

Janmaat Cathcart Dawson Masina 

Deulofeu Capoue Doucouré Pereyra 

Hughes 

Deeney 

Substitutes: Bachmann, Chalobah, Cleverley, Welbeck, Sarr, Holebas, Quina

 

Chelsea 

Kepa 

Tomori Zouma Rüdiger Emerson 

Jorginho Kovacic 

Pulisic Willian Hudson-Odoi 

Abraham 

Substitutes: Caballero, Alonso, Kanté, Giroud, Mount, Sancho, James 

 

Referee: Mike Dean 

 

Chelsea looked to burst out of the blocks like they'd done against Sheffield United, and in the third minute a cross from Hudson-Odoi found Pulisic, whose header was saved by Foster. 

 

The next big chance didn't come until the 22nd minute. Emerson's corner found Pulisic, whose header went over the bar. 

 

In the 25th minute, Pereyra went into the book for a foul on Pulisic, with Masina joining him a minute later for the same reason.

 

Chelsea then won a corner. Emerson's delivery found Zouma, who rose above Doucouré but headed the ball just wide. 

 

Chelsea looked to turn the screw, and in the 30th minute, a square ball from Abraham found Pulisic. Pulisic went for goal, but it was saved by Foster. 

 

In the 31st minute, Janmaat tripped Abraham, and received a yellow card. 

 

In the 35th minute, a corner from Emerson found Abraham, who hit a wayward shot off target. Abraham had another chance in the 37th minute, running onto a ball from Hudson-Odoi before seeing his shot turned behind.

 

It had been all Chelsea in the first half, but two minutes before half time, Deulofeu sent a free kick into the area. Zouma's headed clearance only found Capoue, whose volley skimmed the top of the bar.

 

Chelsea then went on the attack, with Jorginho searching out Pulisic on the right. Pulisic skipped past Masina and took a shot which Foster did well to turn behind. A minute later, Foster had to be on hand again to save a shot by Abraham. Watford then went to the other end, and Capoue rifled a dipping shot which was saved by Kepa. 

 

Chelsea looked to take the game to Watford in the second half, and in the 48th minute Abraham's square ball found Pulisic, whose hopeful shot was saved by Foster. 

 

In the 56th minute, a cross from Pulisic found Abraham, whose volley was blocked. Pulisic picked up the loose ball and found Willian, whose shot was saved by Foster. 

 

Pulisic hadn't been playing well and it was no surprise when Spencer took him off a minute later, replacing him with Mount and moving Willian out wide.

 

In the 59th minute, a cross from Tomori found Abraham, whose header was saved by Foster. 

 

In the 66th minute, Hughes came off to be replaced by Quina.

 

In the 68th minute, Emerson's corner was headed clear by Dawson but only as far as Mount, whose header was saved by Foster. Hudson-Odoi then went off, with Sancho replacing him.

 

With 20 minutes left, Emerson got into the area before being fouled. Jorginho stepped up and drilled the ball into the bottom corner to give Chelsea the lead. 

 

Chelsea looked to double their lead, and in the 73rd minute, Willian found Kovacic, whose shot was saved by Foster. 

 

In the 78th minute, Kovacic sent the ball into the area for Sancho, whose header went over the bar. 

 

Quina was then taken off after just 14 minutes on the pitch, with Danny Welbeck replacing him. 

 

As Chelsea came forward again in the 86th minute, Willian took the ball down the right and got into the area before sending the ball considerably off target. A cross from Sancho then found Abraham, whose header was tipped over by Foster. 

 

In stoppage time, a free kick from Kovacic found Zouma, who headed over. Watford couldn't get an attack in, and Chelsea took all three points. 

 

Friday 21 February 2020, 19:45: Barclays Premier League - at Vicarage Road, Watford 

Watford 0-1 Chelsea (Jorginho pen 70)

Attendance: 21,250 (2,125 away)

Man of the Match: Jorginho 

 

Other results:

Friday

Norwich 3-0 Southampton (Duda 24, 56, Klose 54; Højbjerg s/o 90+3)

 

Saturday 

Leicester 1-2 Liverpool (Maddison 74; Mané 18, Firmino 73)

Bournemouth 2-0 Sheff Utd (Solanke 23, Stanislas 79)

Man City 1-0 Burnley (Agüero pen 20, Bernardo Silva s/o 56)

 

Sunday 

Tottenham 0-0 Brighton 

Arsenal 2-1 Crystal Palace (Guendouzi 37, Maitland-Niles 60; Zaha 69)

Wolves 0-1 Man Utd (Ighalo 86)

Everton 2-1 Aston Villa (Richarlison 12, Calvert-Lewin 87; Konsa 88)

 

Monday 

Newcastle 2-2 West Ham (Joelinton 37, Shelvey 87; Haller 60, Antonio 68)

 

League Table

                                P      W      D      L      F      A      GD     PTS
 1.            Man City         27     23     2      2      59     14     45     71 
 2.            Liverpool        27     19     5      3      66     21     45     62 
 3.            Chelsea          27     18     5      4      49     17     32     59
 4.            Arsenal          27     17     2      8      43     26     17     53
 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 
 5.            Wolves           27     16     2      9      49     24     25     50
 6.            Everton          27     15     4      8      44     35     9      49
 7.            Man Utd          27     14     6      7      36     21     15     48
 8.            Norwich          27     12     3      2      30     38     -8     39
 9.            Aston Villa      27     10     7      10     34     34     0      37
 10.           Leicester        27     10     6      11     38     42     -4     36
 11.           Bournemouth      27     11     2      14     36     40     -4     35
 12.           Tottenham        27     9      8      10     28     33     -5     35
 13.           Sheff Utd        27     9      5      13     32     42     -10    32
 14.           Brighton         27     8      5      14     32     52     -20    29 
 15.           Burnley          27     6      8      13     24     35     -11    26 
 16.           Southampton      27     6      7      14     25     40     -15    25
 17.           West Ham         27     6      7      14     24     44     -20    25
 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 
 18.           Crystal Palace   27     5      3      19     20     50     -30    18
 19.           Watford          27     3      8      16     20     38     -18    17
 20.           Newcastle        27     3      5      19     30     73     -43    14

 

Edited November 16, 2020 by Drogba11CFC

[Drogba11CFC]

Chelsea played Benfica in the second round of the Champions League. As Group winners, Chelsea were away in the first leg. Spencer went for a cautious approach, as Benfica were slight favourites. 

 

Benfica 

Odysseas

Ferro Samaris Weigl Jorginho 

Pizzi Luís Gabriel Rafa

Seferovic Vinicius

Substitutes: Svilar, Grimaldo, Zivkovic, Chiquinho, Cervi, Almeida, Taarabt

 

Chelsea 

Kepa 

Azpilicueta Zouma Rüdiger Emerson 

Jorginho 

Kanté Kovacic 

Willian Abraham Sancho 

Substitutes: Caballero, Christensen, Barkley, Mount, Pulisic, Batshuayi, James 

 

Referee: Ricardo de Burgos Bengoetxea (ESP)

 

Ils sont les meilleurs 

Sie sind die besten 

These are the Champions 

 

Die meister 

Die besten 

Les meilleurs équipes 

The Champions!

 

Chelsea had the first chance inside the first minute. Willian found Azpilicueta, who hit a first time cross into the area. Abraham met it with a header, which was saved by Odysseas.

 

Benfica's first real chance came in the 5th minute. Jorginho sent a cross to Rafa, who sent a savage shot sailing over the crossbar. 

 

In the 11th minute, Abraham played a pass to Kanté, who played a one-two with Sancho before sending a shot wide. 

 

A minute later, Rafa's free kick found Ferro, whose header was saved by Kepa. Kepa had to be on hand again in the 17th minute to tip Rafa's shot over after he got free of the defence. Rafa's corner then found Vinicius, whose header struck the crossbar. 

 

In the 21st minute, Willian whipped in a cross to Abraham, whose half volley was blocked.

 

Benfica then won a free kick, and Rafa's ball found Weigl, whose header went over the bar. Zouma was then booked for a foul on Vinicius, who had a header saved by Kepa a minute later. 

 

Chelsea then looked to attack, and in the 26th minute, Abraham moved the ball onto Kanté, whose shot was blocked by Weigl.

 

In the 29th minute, a free kick from Rafa found Samaris, who headed the ball over the bar.

 

Chelsea were awarded a free kick of their own in the 31st minute. Kovacic's ball found Rüdiger, whose header was saved by Odysseas. Odysseas was called into action again in the 33rd minute, saving a shot from Sancho. 

 

In the 36th minute, a corner from Rafa found Gabriel, whose header went over the bar. Benfica came forward again in the 38th minute, with Rafa beating Azpilicueta before seeing a shot saved by Kepa. Kepa would be on hand again a minute later, saving Rafa's free kick. 

 

Rafa was causing no end of trouble and in the 41st minute, he was brought down by Azpilicueta, who was shown a yellow card. 

 

Chelsea came under the cosh in the last minutes of the half. In the 43rd minute, Carlos Vinicius saw a shot blocked by Zouma, before forcing a save out of Kepa a minute later. Seferovic then robbed Zouma and got into the area before shooting over.

 

In the 48th minute, Pizzi was injured in a challenge by Jorginho, who received a yellow card. He was subsequently taken off, with Zivkovic replacing him. 

 

In the 56th minute, a corner from Emerson found Abraham, whose header went over the bar, before Benfica replaced Luís with Chiquinho.

 

Chiquinho nearly made an impact in the 59th minute, as he met Jorginho's header with a half volley which he couldn't direct goalwards.

 

Chelsea looked to take the game to Benfica, and in the 60th minute Abraham sent a cross to Emerson, whose header was saved by Odysseas. Odysseas was on hand again in the 63rd minute, tipping Abraham's header over the bar. Benfica, meanwhile, took Seferovic off to be replaced by Cervi. 

 

In the 67th minute, Willian upended Cervi and was shown a yellow card. 

 

In the 72nd minute, Chiquinho sprayed the ball right to Ferro. Ferro centred the ball to Vinicius, who sent the ball over the bar. 

 

In the 74th minute, Jorginho brought Kanté into play. Kanté hit a crashing drive from distance, but it went over the bar. Chelsea then replaced Willian with Pulisic. 

 

With eight minutes left, Zivkovic played a long ball to Rafa, who broke the offside trap and sent a shot past Kepa to give Benfica the lead. 

 

Chelsea looked to draw level immediately, and with six minutes left a cross from Pulisic found Abraham, whose header was diverted over by the fingertips of Odysseas.

 

With a minute left, Rafa sent a header looping over the crossbar. A 90th-minute Kovacic corner found Abraham, whose header was saved by Odysseas to ensure that Benfica would take a lead back to Stamford Bridge.

 

Tuesday 25 February 2020: UEFA Champions League Round of 16 First Leg - at Estádio de Luz, Lisbon 

SL Benfica 1-0 Chelsea (Rafa 82)

Attendance: 64,160 (3,208 away)

Man of the Match: Rafa 

 

The big story in European football, however, was another unceremonious European exit for Jose Mourinho. Mourinho had taken the helm at Napoli but had suffered a slow start and had seen his side collapse in the second half of their Europa League game at Galatasaray, losing 5-1. They could only manage one goal in the second leg, and were therefore eliminated.

 

Other Results 

Champions League 

Tuesday 18th 

Atlético Madrid 0-1 Liverpool (Firmino 57)

Lyon 1-3 RB Leipzig (Hysaj 6; Lookman 8, Werner pen 84, Konaté 86)

 

Wednesday 19th 

Juventus 4-0 Bayern Munich (Higuaín 33, 87, Ronaldo 45+1, 71)

Valencia 1-2 PSG (Soler 65; Mbappé 21, Icardi pen 56)

 

Tuesday 25th 

Bayer Leverkusen 1-3 Barcelona (Volland 82; Suárez 7, 65, Umtiti 67)

 

Wednesday 26th 

Ajax 1-1 Borussia Dortmund (Tadic 90+2; Hazard 66)

Real Madrid 2-0 Man City (Jovic 39, 66)

 

Europa League 

Arsenal 3-1 Rennes (Nketiah 16, Pépé 36, 43) Arsenal win 5-1 on aggregate 

Atalanta 1-0 Celtic (Palomino 53) Atalanta win 3-1 on aggregate 

Lazio 2-1 Rangers (Acerbi 22, Immobile 87; Ojo 1)

Man Utd 2-0 Beşiktaş (Rashford 46, Greenwood 49) Aggregate 3-3, Man Utd win on away goals 

Napoli 1-0 Galatasaray (Manolas 57) Galatasaray win 5-2 on aggregate 

Tottenham 5-0 Lokomotiv Moscow (Lo Celso 5, Son 15, 60, 78, Kane 36) Tottenham win 6-2 on aggregate 

Wolves 2-0 Dinamo Zagreb (Jota 3, 15) Wolves win 5-2 on aggregate 

 

Round of 16 Draw

Wolves vs Sevilla 

Eintracht Frankfurt vs Dynamo Kiev 

Tottenham vs Borussia Mönchengladbach 

Feyenoord vs Man Utd 

Galatasaray vs Atalanta

Lazio vs St-Etienne

Sporting CP vs FC Porto 

Arsenal vs AS Roma 

[Drogba11CFC]

As the Carabao Cup Final drew near, both sides made their final preparations. Chelsea were slight favourites, but Carlo Ancelotti's Everton currently held 6th place in the league and were still challenging for a Champions League place.  On Saturday, Spencer called a team meeting. 

"Right, you all know that the cup final is tomorrow," he said, "And we're expected to win. I want to see that sort of attitude from every one of you."

It was Jadon Sancho who spoke up. 

"The manager's right," he said, "We've got this, and we're not going to let someone else take OUR cup away from us!"

"That's exactly the reaction I was after," Spencer said. "Now, let's talk about the match. Everyone's got to step up with Cesar and Andreas suspended. Here's the line up: Kepa. James. Zouma. Rüdiger. Emerson. Kanté. Kovacic. Pulisic. Mount. Sancho. Abraham. The bench is as follows: Caballero. Alonso. Jorginho. Willian. Hudson-Odoi. Batshuayi. Tomori."

 

The Chelsea players stayed overnight in the Stamford Bridge hotel, before departing for Wembley the following morning.

"OK, here's the plan," Spencer said as the coach pulled in. "We're going to go to our restaurant and have lunch, then we'll do our pre-match warm up. You've all been here before in some capacity, so you should know the drill."

The players went through their warm up phase before returning to the dressing room, where Spencer prepared to give his pre-match team talk.

[Drogba11CFC]

"Right," Spencer said, "You all know why we're here. As far as I'm concerned, what happened here last season is history."

 

"Rüdiger, I want you on Calvert-Lewin. James and Emerson; Iwobi and Richarlison. I want us to stop their full-backs from getting forward too. Kanté, Kovacic; you're on Gomes and Delph."

 

The bell rang, signalling the players into the tunnel, and Spencer said, "The fans paid a lot of money to be here. Make sure they go home happy."

 

The two sides lined up in the tunnel as Spencer greeted his opposite number - and former boss - Carlo Ancelotti, before they walked out onto the Wembley turf and lined up for the national anthem.

 

Chelsea 

Kepa 

James Rüdiger Zouma Emerson 

Kanté Kovacic 

Pulisic Mount Sancho 

Abraham 

Substitutes: Caballero, Alonso, Jorginho, Willian, Hudson-Odoi, Batshuayi, Tomori 

 

Everton 

Pickford 

Coleman Keane Mina Digne

Gomes Delph 

Richarlison Sigurdsson Iwobi 

Calvert-Lewin 

Substitutes: Stekelenburg, Baines, Bernard, Kean, Davies, Martina, Walcott 

 

Referee: André Marriner 

 

Chelsea looked to assert themselves from the off, and in the first minute Kovacic and Emerson exchanged passes before Kovacic hit the ball in search of Pulisic's run. Pulisic timed his jump well and beat Digne in the air, but his header was saved by Pickford. 

 

In the 5th minute, Reece James sent a cross in from the right. Abraham missed the ball but Sancho didn't, and connected with a volley that was blocked by Coleman. Mount got to the rebound, but his left footed volley was blocked by Keane.

 

Chelsea continued to dominate the early stages, and in the 8th minute Abraham connected with James' cross only to head over the crossbar, before Sancho had an 11th minute shot saved by Pickford. 

 

Everton then had their first attack, and Iwobi played a pass to Mina, whose shot was tipped over by Kepa. From the corner, Sigurdsson found Keane, whose header was saved by Kepa. 

 

Everton came forward again, and in the 13th minute, a shot by Sigurdsson was blocked by Rüdiger. 

 

Chelsea then won a corner, and Mount's ball found Abraham, whose header was saved by Pickford. 

 

It was turning into an end-to-end game, and in the 17th minute Calvert-Lewin had a shot saved by Kepa. Chelsea went on the counter, and a high ball from Sancho found Pulisic, whose header missed the target. 

 

In the 17th minute, Sancho was upended by Everton captain Seamus Coleman, with the Irishman receiving a yellow card. 

 

In the 19th minute, another Everton attack saw Iwobi play a pass to Calvert-Lewin, whose shot was saved by Kepa. 

 

In the 21st minute, a free kick from Kovacic was punched clear by Pickford. 

 

The Blues would have better luck from a free kick two minutes later after Kanté was brought down by Delph. Kovacic delivered the ball to the far post, and Rüdiger headed it into the net with Pickford rooted to the spot. 

 

Chelsea nearly doubled their lead immediately, as Kovacic skinned Sigurdsson before bringing Pulisic into play with a searching pass. Pulisic went for goal, but he put his shot wide. 

 

Everton then went on the attack, and in the 26th minute Richarlison passed to Sigurdsson, who passed to Iwobi. Iwobi went for the shot, but it was saved by Kepa. 

 

In the 28th minute, Abraham was tripped by Mina. Emerson went for goal from the free kick, but couldn't get it on target.

 

In the 30th minute, a cross from James found Abraham, whose header was saved by Pickford. 

 

In the 33rd minute, Richarlison was tripped by Zouma, who was shown a yellow card. The free kick was 30 yards from goal on the left, but Digne sent the ball, bending from left to right, into the net beyond the dive of Kepa. 

 

Chelsea nearly retook the lead immediately. Tammy Abraham received the ball from Mount and passed to James. Mina missed the interception and James took a shot, sending the ball just wide.

 

Kanté was the next Chelsea 0player to have a chance, 

 

Everton then looked to attack. In the 38th minute, Calvert-Lewin connected with Coleman's cross with a shot which was saved by Kepa, before Richarlison headed wide from Iwobi's cross. 

 

Chelsea looked to retake their lead as the first half drew to a close. In the 42nd minute, James ran onto Pulisic's pass before seeing a shot turned behind by Pickford, then in the 44th minute a cross from Pulisic found Mount, whose volley was also saved by Pickford. 

 

Chelsea launched one last attack in first half stoppage time. Emerson floated a cross to Abraham, whose header was saved by Pickford. 

 

Both sides looked to start the second half strongly, but the next goal would be caused by an absolute howler. There was seemingly no danger when Pickford received the ball from Mina, but he spent far too long on it and Abraham pounced, dispossessing him before smashing the ball into the empty net to give Chelsea the lead. 

 

Chelsea came close to doubling their lead in the 49th minute, as Mount's corner found Abraham, whose header was tipped over by Pickford. Everton then went to the other end, and Iwobi had a shot blocked by Mount. 

 

In the 54th minute, Emerson hit a 30 yard ball to Pulisic, who headed the ball over the bar. Everton then made their first change, bringing Bernard on for Iwobi.

 

Chelsea began to take control of the game, but in the 67th minute, Richarlison received the ball from Delph and crossed to Bernard, who hit a hopeful shot off target. 

 

In the 70th minute, Spencer took Pulisic off, replacing him with Willian.

 

Everton had another chance with 17 minutes left. Bernard hit the ball ahead of Richarlison's run, and Richarlison found himself in space only to see his shot parried by Kepa. Kepa would be called into action again a minute later, saving a shot from Bernard.

 

In the 78th minute, Ancelotti took Richarlison off, replacing him with former Arsenal winger Theo Walcott. Walcott could have made an impact immediately, but he was charged down after Sigurdsson's 80th-minute shot was tipped away by Kepa. A minute later, Mina was booked for a push on Abraham. 

 

Everton pushed forward as the match entered its last five minutes. In the 87th minute, Coleman played a one-two with Gomes before seeing a shot saved by Kepa. 

 

Chelsea then went to the other end and won a corner after Willian's cross was headed behind by Keane. Emerson aimed the ball at the far post, where Abraham nipped in behind Sigurdsson to tick the ball away and surely put Chelsea's name on the trophy. 

 

Everton could only muster up one attack in stoppage time, and when Digne sent a shot wide of the mark it summed up Everton's afternoon. As the final whistle blew, Spencer went across to shake hands with Ancelotti before joining his players and bench on the pitch. 

 

Sunday 1 March 2020, 15:00: Carabao Cup Final - at Wembley Stadium, London 

Chelsea 3-1 Everton (Rüdiger 23, Abraham 47, 88; Digne 33)

Attendance: 90,000

Man of the Match: Tammy Abraham

 

Other results:

Friday 

Southampton 0-3 Bournemouth (Billing 27, Mepham 30, Smith 86)

 

Saturday 

Crystal Palace 2-3 Man City (Zaha 68, Ayew 73; Agüero 12, 29, Sané 47)

Aston Villa 1-1 Watford (Bastón pen 84; Deulofeu 45)

Burnley 3-1 Norwich (Brownhill 7, McNeil 13, Barnes 85; Pukki 17)

Brighton 1-1 Leicester (Maupay 23; Barnes 27)

 

Sunday

Premier League 

Liverpool 5-1 Arsenal (Salah 29, Lallana 53, 69, 90+1, Firmino 79; Xhaka 12)

Man Utd 5-1 Newcastle (Ighalo 19, 51, Maguire 21, Rashford 45+2, 60; Torres 30)

FA Cup 5th round 

Wolves 3-2 Tottenham (Jiménez 29, 52, Traoré 83; Alli 26, 28)

 

League Table:

                                P      W      D      L      F      A      GD     PTS 
 1.            Man City         28     24     2      2      62     16     46     74
 2.            Liverpool        28     20     5      3      71     22     49     65
 3.    EL      Chelsea          27     18     5      4      49     17     32     59
 4.            Arsenal          28     17     2      9      44     31     13     53
 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 
 5.            Man Utd          28     15     6      7      41     22     19     51
 6.            Wolves           27     16     2      9      49     24     25     50
 7.            Everton          27     15     4      8      44     35     9      49
 8.            Norwich          28     12     3      13     31     41     -10    39
 9.            Aston Villa      28     10     8      10     35     35     0      38
 10.           Bournemouth      28     12     2      14     39     40     -1     38
 11.           Leicester        28     10     7      11     39     43     -4     37
 12.           Tottenham        27     9      8      10     28     33     -5     35
 13.           Sheff Utd        27     9      5      13     32     42     -10    32
 14.           Brighton         28     8      6      14     33     53     -20    30
 15.           Burnley          28     7      8      13     27     36     -9     29
 16.           Southampton      28     6      7      15     25     43     -18    25
 17.           West Ham         27     6      7      14     24     44     -20    25
 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 
 18.           Watford          28     3      9      16     21     39     -18    18
 19.           Crystal Palace   28     5      3      20     22     53     -31    18
 20.           Newcastle        28     3      5      20     31     78     -47    14

 

Edited November 16, 2020 by Drogba11CFC

[Drogba11CFC]

Chelsea went from one cup competition to another as they hosted Sheffield United in the FA Cup 5th round. Spencer went with the same side that had beaten Everton in the Carabao Cup Final. 

 

Chelsea 

Kepa 

James Rüdiger Zouma Emerson 

Kanté Kovacic 

Pulisic Mount Sancho 

Abraham 

Substitutes: Caballero, Alonso, Jorginho, Willian, Hudson-Odoi, Batshuayi, James 

 

Sheffield United 

Henderson 

Besic Retsos O'Connell 

Baldock Berge Fleck Stevens 

L. Freeman 

Mousset Sharp

Substitutes: Moore, K. Freeman, Lundstram, McGoldrick, Gribbin, Osborn, Zivkovic 

 

Referee: Michael Oliver 

 

Chelsea looked to start this match as they'd finished the previous one, and in the first minute Abraham out-jumped Retsos only to head the ball over the bar. 

 

A minute later, Emerson was shown a yellow card after upending Baldock. 

 

Sheffield United won a corner in the 4th minute. Luke Freeman's ball found Baldock, whose header was saved by Kepa. Baldock would be called into action at the other end in the 7th minute, blocking a shot from Emerson. 

 

In the 17th minute, Zouma brought Emerson into play. Emerson's cross found Abraham, who headed the ball wide.

 

In the 18th minute, a Sheffield United free kick found O'Connell, who also headed wide. 

 

Chelsea came closer from a free kick in the 20th minute. Emerson went for goal, but his shot was saved by Henderson. From the corner, Sancho intercepted Mousset's header and crossed to Abraham, who couldn't direct his volley goalwards. 

 

In the 22nd minute, Enda Stevens surged past James and sent a cross into the area for Mousset, who headed the ball over. Mousset had another chance in the 24th minute, but his shot was saved by Kepa. 

 

Chelsea had another chance in the 27th minute. Kovacic climbed above Mousset and flicked the ball onto Emerson, who drilled a low cross towards the far post. Abraham got his head to it, but it was saved by Henderson.

 

Sheffield United then came forward in the 31st minute, Mousset drifted past James and shot from an angle, hitting the side netting.

 

In the 33rd minute, Pulisic whipped a cross in for Abraham, whose header looped over the crossbar.

 

Sheffield United looked to attack in the 37th minute, but Fleck was brought down by Kanté, who was booked.

 

It was becoming an end-to-end game, and in the 39th minute, Sancho received a 30 yard ball from Pulisic and laid it back to Emerson, whose shot from a tight angle was saved by Henderson. In the 41st minute, Luke Freeman sent a free kick into the area for O'Connell, who got up above Zouma only to head the ball over.

 

A minute later, the deadlock was broken. Pulisic ran onto Kovacic's ball and sent it into the area, where Mount volleyed home to give Chelsea the lead. 

 

Chelsea looked to double their lead, and in the 44th minute Kovacic's free kick found Zouma, whose header cleared the crossbar. 

 

Right at the end of the first half, Sheffield United won a corner. The initial ball was cleared by Zouma, but Baldock put the ball into the six yard box, where Sharp climbed above James to head the ball home.

 

Chelsea looked to retake the lead immediately, and thought they'd won a penalty when Sancho was brought down by Baldock. However, VAR showed that the offence had been outside the box, although Baldock was shown a yellow card. Reece James then followed him into the book for a trip on Mousset. 

 

Chelsea looked to start the second half on the front foot, and in the 47th minute, a shot by Kovacic was saved by Henderson, before Abraham volleyed just wide a minute later. 

 

N'Golo Kanté had been fairly error-prone, and he was taken off in the 50th minute, with Jorginho replacing him. 

 

In the 52nd minute, Pulisic was brought down in the area, and Chelsea were awarded a penalty. Jorginho stepped up and drilled the ball into the bottom corner to give Chelsea the lead again. 

 

In the 60th minute, Jorginho received a yellow card for a foul on Fleck. From the free kick, Fleck found Stevens, who brought Luke Freeman into play. Freeman exchanged passes with Mousset before hitting a first time shot into the net from 25 yards to bring the Blades level again. 

 

Emboldened by their equaliser, the visitors then looked to take the lead. In the 63rd minute, Mousset hit a half volley which Kepa parried against the crossbar, before seeing a 69th-minute shot turned behind by Kepa, with Retsos heading over from the resulting corner. Billy Sharp was the next to have a go, seeing a header saved by Kepa. Spencer then opted to replace a disappointing Abraham with Batshuayi. 

 

In the 73rd minute, Sancho darted past Berge and sprayed the ball out wide for James, who looked for Pulisic in front of him with a first time pass. Pulisic went by the challenge of Stevens and slotted the ball expertly into the opposite corner of the net to give Chelsea the lead for the third time. 

 

Chelsea now looked to close the game out, and won a corner in the 75th minute. Batshuayi beat Berge in the air and got his head to Mount's ball, but headed clean over the bar. 

 

Batshuayi was nearly made to pay for that miss two minutes later, as Baldock lost his man only to send the ball wide. Baldock was taken off with five minutes left, with Kieron Freeman replacing him.

 

In the 86th minute, Sancho received a searching pass from Mount and went for goal, hitting the side netting from a very tight angle. Chelsea then won a corner, with Batshuayi's header hitting the bar.

 

Chelsea won another corner in stoppage time, with Sancho heading over the bar.

 

The Blues were putting United under heavy pressure and it finally paid off in the second minute of stoppage time. Pulisic found himself in space as he received Zouma's pass and he went for goal from a tight angle. Henderson saved the shot, but couldn't hold it, and Batshuayi tucked away the rebound.

 

Wednesday 4 March 2020: FA Cup 5th round - at Stamford Bridge, London 

Chelsea 4-2 Sheffield United (Mount 42, Jorginho pen 53, Pulisic 73, Batshuayi 90+2; Sharp 45+1, L. Freeman 60)

Attendance: 40,712 (2,081 away)

Man of the Match: Christian Pulisic 

 

Other results 

Tuesday 

Ipswich 1-2 Birmingham aet (Norwood pen 43; Gardner 68, Jutkiewicz 95, Kieftenbeld s/o 29)

Reading 1-1 Man City (Boyé 37; Gabriel Jesus 74, García s/o 83) Reading win 5-3 on penalties 

 

Wednesday 

Premier League 

West Ham 0-3 Everton (Richarlison 8, Davies 47, Calvert-Lewin 54)

 

FA Cup 5th round 

Arsenal 4-0 Nottingham Forest (Aubameyang 3, 73, David Luiz pen 20, Torreira 90)

Liverpool 5-1 Aldershot (Milner 9, 51, pen 82, Tinkler og 42, Matip 50; Shields 23)

QPR 0-2 Aston Villa aet (Hourihane 95, Mings 105+1)

Colchester 0-1 Man Utd (James 31)

 

The draw for the Sixth round took place on the One Show on the Friday.

 

"Number 4, Manchester United, are at home to...Number 1, Aston Villa."

"Number 5, Birmingham City, will play...Number 7, Reading."

"Number 8, Liverpool, are at home to...Number 2, Wolverhampton Wanderers."

"Therefore, Number 3, Chelsea, will play Number 6, Arsenal."

[Drogba11CFC]

Chelsea's next game took them to Molineux to face high-flying Wolves. Spencer was well aware of the threat that the hosts posed, and played a deeper side than the last few games. 

 

Wolves 

Patricio 

Boly Coady Saïss 

Doherty Moutinho Dendoncker Jonny

Jota Jiménez Traoré 

Substitutes: Ruddy, Montiel, Taison, Neto, Podence, Vinagre, Gibbs-White 

 

Chelsea 

Kepa 

Tomori Rüdiger Christensen Azpilicueta 

Jorginho 

Kanté Mount 

Pulisic Batshuayi Sancho 

Substitutes: Caballero, Abraham, Willian, Zouma, Kovacic, Hudson-Odoi, James 

 

Referee: David Coote 

 

Chelsea once again looked to start strongly, and in the first minute Sancho exchanged passes with Mount before sending the ball wide of the mark. 

 

In the 11th minute, Diogo Jota sent the ball back to Jonny, who couldn't direct his shot goalwards. 

 

Wolves looked to dominate, and in the 14th minute, Moutinho's corner found Boly, who headed over the bar. Adama Traoré was next, intercepting a sloppy pass from Jorginho and getting into the Chelsea area before having a shot pushed away by Kepa. 

 

In the 18th minute, Jorginho was shown a yellow card for a foul on Traoré. 

 

Wolves had had most of the match but in the 30th minute, a rare Chelsea attack saw Pulisic receive the ball from Mount and get past Jonny before crossing to Batshuayi, whose header was saved by Patricio. 

 

Chelsea were awarded a free kick in the 40th minute. Mount went for goal, but his shot was saved by Patricio. Wolves then launched a counter attack, and Moutinho saw his shot diverted wide by Kepa.

 

As the half drew to a close, Coady and Doherty were booked for fouls on Batshuayi and Sancho respectively, before Tomori entered the book for a foul on Diogo Jota. 

 

Early in the second half, Jiménez was taken off, with Taison replacing him.

 

In the 54th minute, Sancho took the ball past Doherty and looked for Mount. Mount's shot evaded Patricio, but also the goal. 

 

It was a miss Chelsea would regret, as a minute later Doherty went by the challenge of Jorginho and sent the ball into the area. Dendoncker outjumped Tomori and powered a header into the net to give Wolves the lead. 

 

Dendoncker then came close again twice, sending the ball over the bar in the 58th minute and heading wide in the 61st minute. Spencer then replaced Pulisic and Batshuayi with Willian and Abraham. 

 

Chelsea then came forward, and in the 66th minute, Kanté swung the ball out left to Sancho, whose shot was blocked by Boly, before Azpilicueta was booked. 

 

With just under 20 minutes left, Azpilicueta floated the ball into the box for Willian, whose header was saved by Patricio. Wolves then took Traoré off, bringing Podence on to replace him. 

 

Chelsea nearly gifted Wolves a second on 77 minutes. Kepa hit a free kick straight to Diogo Jota, who fortunately hit the half volley well over with Kepa caught out wide. Dendoncker then went off, with Gibbs-White replacing him. 

 

With ten minutes left, Willian received Kanté's pass and went for goal, only to send it wide. Boly then rose to meet Moutinho's free kick, but headed over. 

 

Willian then ran onto a pass from Jorginho and got into the area, but again sent the ball wide from a tight angle. 

 

Wolves then countered, and Gibbs-White ran onto Podence's ball before firing a shot past Kepa for his first senior goal. However, VAR spotted that he'd been offside, and the goal didn't stand.

 

With six minutes left, a long ball from Mount found Willian. Willian got into the area but sent his shot considerably wide. The rest of the match passed without much incident, and Wolves held firm to secure a league double over Chelsea and get the Blues fans looking over their shoulders with the impending visit of Manchester City. 

 

Saturday 7 March 2020, 15:00: Barclays Premier League - at Molineux, Wolverhampton 

Wolverhampton Wanderers 1-0 Chelsea (Dendoncker 55)

Attendance: 30,852 (3,000 away)

Man of the Match: Jorginho 

 

Other results:

Friday:

Leicester 2-3 Burnley (Pavoletti 9, Xeka 87; Gudmundsson 20, McNeil 49, Barnes 63)

 

Saturday 

Bournemouth 1-2 Liverpool (Solanke 21; Alexander-Arnold 36, Salah 59)

Everton 2-0 Crystal Palace (Sigurdsson 70, Iwobi 87)

Man City 5-0 West Ham (Agüero 12, 41, Cancelo 23, Rodri 42, Sterling 64)

Tottenham 2-3 Southampton (Kane 69, Alli 84; Valery 12, 38, Stephens 66)

Norwich 3-2 Man Utd (Lewis 31, Duda 81, Aarons 90+1; Greenwood 30, Fred 39)

 

Sunday 

Arsenal 1-0 Aston Villa (Xhaka 6)

Newcastle 0-5 Sheff Utd (Sharp 1, O'Connell 5, K. Freeman 33, 37, L. Freeman 88)

 

Monday 

Watford 1-4 Brighton (Janmaat 55; Trossard 4, 58, Groß 24, Bissouma 90)

 

League Table

                              P      W      D      L      F      A      GD     PTS
 1.          Man City         29     25     2      2      67     16     51     77
 2.          Liverpool        29     21     5      3      73     23     50     68
 3.    EL    Chelsea          28     18     5      5      49     18     31     59
 4.          Arsenal          29     18     2      9      45     31     14     56
 -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
 5.          Everton          29     17     4      8      49     35     14     55
 6.          Wolves           28     17     2      9      50     24     26     53
 7.          Man Utd          29     15     6      8      43     25     18     51
 8.          Norwich          29     13     3      13     34     43     -9     42
 9.          Aston Villa      29     10     8      11     35     36     -1     38
 10.         Bournemouth      29     12     2      15     40     42     -2     38
 11.         Leicester        29     10     7      12     41     46     -5     37
 12.         Sheff Utd        28     10     5      13     37     42     -5     35
 13.         Tottenham        28     9      8      11     30     36     -6     35
 14.         Brighton         29     9      6      14     37     54     -17    33
 15.         Burnley          29     8      8      13     30     38     -8     32
 16.         Southampton      29     7      7      15     28     45     -17    28
 17.         West Ham         29     6      7      16     24     52     -28    25
 ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 
 18.         Watford          29     3      9      17     22     43     -21    18
 19.         Crystal Palace   29     5      3      21     22     55     -33    18
 20.         Newcastle        29     3      5      21     31     83     -52    14

 

Edited November 16, 2020 by Drogba11CFC

[Drogba11CFC]

After the defeat at Wolves, few people gave Chelsea a hope when league leaders Manchester City arrived at Stamford Bridge. The Citizens were the form team in the Premier League, having won their last eight league matches, and held a nine point lead at the top of the table.

 

"They're overwhelming favourites out there," Spencer said in the dressing room. "That means that all the pressure and expectation is going to be on them. Nobody outside the home crowd is giving you a hope. So let's go out there and prove them wrong!"

 

Chelsea 

Kepa 

Azpilicueta Rüdiger Christensen Emerson 

Jorginho 

Kanté Kovacic 

Pulisic Abraham Sancho 

Substitutes: Caballero, Loftus-Cheek, Zouma, Giroud, Mount, Hudson-Odoi, James

 

Manchester City

Ederson 

Walker García Laporte Mendy

Fernandinho

De Bruyne Gündogan 

Silva Agüero Sterling 

Substitutes: Bravo, Otamendi, Sané, Gabriel Jesus, Mahrez, Cancelo, Foden

 

Referee: Peter Bankes 

 

Unsurprisingly, Manchester City started the game brightly, and it took just four minutes for them to have their first chance, with a shot from Gündogan being saved by Kepa. 

 

However, Chelsea were far from prepared to go through the motions, and three minutes later Kovacic intercepted a throw-in and took the ball into the area before having a shot which was saved by Ederson.

 

Ederson was called into action again in the 11th minute, saving a shot from Pulisic after Peter Bankes had played advantage. 

 

Chelsea continued to apply pressure and in the 14th minute, Kovacic received the ball from Sancho and crossed it into the area for Abraham, whose header went over the bar. 

 

As Chelsea looked like they were starting to control the game, however, they were struck a massive blow in the 23rd minute. Kyle Walker's cross was headed behind by Christensen at the expense of a corner. Bernardo's ball evaded Christensen, and Eric García slid in to get a foot on the ball and send it into the net for his first Manchester City goal.

 

Chelsea looked to respond immediately, and in the 26th minute Sancho surged past Walker but couldn't get his shot on target. Rüdiger was then on hand a minute later to block a hopeful shot from Kyle Walker.

 

In the 31st minute, Kevin De Bruyne was shown a yellow card for a foul on Sancho. Sancho then received the ball from Kovacic before passing to Emerson, who sent a shot inches wide. 

 

Chelsea then launched another attack, and Pulisic sought out Abraham, whose hopeful shot was tipped over the bar by Ederson.

 

Manchester City had been under the cosh since the goal, but in the 39th minute Fernandinho passed through to Mendy. Mendy went for goal from an angle, but his shot went well wide. 

 

Two minutes before the break, Kanté was cautioned for a trip on Sterling. As the half entered stoppage time, Jorginho blocked two shots from Gündogan in quick succession. 

 

Spencer told his players that they'd been unlucky so far, and the Blues came out looking to get the result he'd said they deserved. 

 

In the 50th minute, Jorginho was shown a yellow card for a foul on Agüero. However, Abraham robbed García and got past Laporte with ease, getting free of the defence in the City half and getting one on one with Ederson before sending the ball past him into the bottom corner to level the match. 

 

In the 57th minute, García fouled Abraham, and was shown a yellow card. 

 

Buoyed by their equaliser, Chelsea now sought another goal, and in the 59th minute Abraham had the legs on García and got into the area before shooting wide from a tight angle. 

 

Midway through the second half, Guardiola made his first change. Gündogan and Bernardo Silva had been kept relatively quiet by Kanté and Emerson, so Leroy Sané replaced Gündogan with Bernardo dropping to midfield. 

 

With just under 20 minutes left, a cross from Mendy was deflected behind. However, the corner was headed clear by Rüdiger, with Pulisic beating Sterling to the ball and passing to Abraham. As Chelsea looked to launch a counter attack, however, Abraham was brought down by Walker, who received a yellow card. That was his last contribution, as he was replaced by Cancelo. 

 

With 12 minutes left, Sterling was taken off, with Mahrez replacing him. 

 

With six minutes left, Sancho got past De Bruyne and passed to Kovacic, who drove the ball into the path of Pulisic. Pulisic controlled the ball, let it bounce, and sent it into the opposite corner of the net to give Chelsea the lead. 

 

Manchester City looked to attack as the match went into stoppage time, while Sancho was replaced by Hudson-Odoi. In the second minute of stoppage time, Christensen was booked for a trip on Agüero, who had been kept quiet all game. 

 

The visitors then looked to salvage the match, with Agüero sending a cross into the area. Sané met it with a header, but it was saved by Kepa.

 

As City attacked again, Cancelo's cross was cleared by Azpilicueta. Pulisic played a long ball to Hudson-Odoi, who had the legs on García and took a shot which Ederson couldn't get to. The ball struck the post, but fell to Pulisic, who made no mistake on the rebound and received a standing ovation when the final whistle blew a minute later.

 

Saturday 14 March 2020, 12:45: Barclays Premier League - at Stamford Bridge, London 

Chelsea 3-1 Manchester City (Abraham 51, Pulisic 84, 90+5; García 23)

Attendance: 41,631 (3,000 away)

Man of the Match: Christian Pulisic 

 

"I'm absolutely ecstatic," Spencer told BT Sport after the match, "It was a fantastic effort by the players. They showed real character today."

 

Azpilicueta, too, was full of praise, saying that "The boss told us at half time that we deserved something from that, and if we got one goal then they'd lose their nerve."

 

Other results 

UEFA Europa League Round of 16 First Leg

Arsenal 2-1 AS Roma (Pépé 28, Lacazette 56; Kolarov 90+1)

Eintracht Frankfurt 1-2 Dynamo Kiev (Gacinovic 51; Andrievskyi 11, Shepelev 50)

Feyenoord 1-1 Man Utd (Toornstra 27; Rashford 10)

Galatasaray 2-1 Atalanta (Falcao 35, Büyük 75, Mariano s/o 32; Zapata 41)

Lazio 2-1 Saint-Etienne (Correa 3, Parolo 53; Diony 89)

Sporting CP 1-1 FC Porto (Acuña 27; Marega 17)

Tottenham 1-0 Borussia Mönchengladbach (Alli 71, Alli s/o 75)

Wolves 1-0 Sevilla (Diogo Jota 17)

 

Premier League 

Friday 

Sheff Utd 1-1 Watford (Retsos 39; Pereyra 24)

 

Saturday 

Aston Villa 0-1 Norwich (Duda pen 70)

Brighton 1-0 Newcastle (Groß pen 59; Hayden s/o 49)

Burnley 3-3 Everton (Brady 4, Tarkowski 47, Mee 79; Sigurdsson 70, pen 72, Bernard 90+3)

Crystal Palace 1-0 Leicester (Zaha 48; Pereira s/o 67)

West Ham 0-1 Bournemouth (Fraser 87)

 

Sunday

Southampton 1-1 Wolves (Adams 57; Jonny 89)

Liverpool 1-0 Tottenham (Origi 57)

 

Monday 

Man Utd 1-1 Arsenal (Ighalo 75; Lacazette 88)

 

League Table

                              P      W      D      L      F      A      GD     PTS
 1.          Man City         30     25     2      3      68     19     49     77
 2.          Liverpool        30     22     5      3      74     23     51     71
 3.    EL    Chelsea          29     19     5      5      52     19     33     62
 4.          Arsenal          30     18     3      9      46     32     14     57
 ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 
 5.          Everton          30     17     5      8      52     38     14     56
 6.          Wolves           29     17     3      9      51     25     26     54
 7.          Man Utd          30     15     7      8      44     26     18     52
 8.          Norwich          30     14     3      13     35     43     -8     45
 9.          Bournemouth      30     13     2      15     41     42     -1     41
 10.         Aston Villa      30     10     8      12     35     37     -2     38
 11.         Leicester        30     10     7      13     41     47     -6     37
 12.         Sheff Utd        29     10     6      13     38     43     -5     36
 13.         Brighton         30     10     6      14     38     54     -16    36
 14.         Tottenham        29     9      8      12     30     37     -7     35
 15.         Burnley          30     8      9      13     33     41     -8     33
 16.         Southampton      30     7      8      15     29     46     -17    29
 17.         West Ham         30     6      7      17     24     53     -29    25
 ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 
 18.         Crystal Palace   30     6      3      21     23     55     -32    21
 19.         Watford          30     3      10     17     23     44     -21    19
 20.         Newcastle        30     3      5      22     31     84     -53    14

 

Edited November 16, 2020 by Drogba11CFC

[Drogba11CFC]

The situation was fairly straightforward for the second leg of the Champions League tie against Benfica. If Chelsea failed to win by at least two clear goals, they would be eliminated from the competition. 

 

"I don't think I need to elaborate on the circumstances tonight," Spencer said, "You know what you have to do to go through. Press them, keep them under the cosh, and for God's sake don't let them score an away goal, because if they get one, we'll have to score three."

 

Chelsea (0)

Kepa 

Azpilicueta Christensen Rüdiger Emerson 

Kovacic Kanté 

Pulisic Mount Sancho 

Abraham 

Substitutes: Caballero, Jorginho, Loftus-Cheek, Zouma, Giroud, Hudson-Odoi, James 

 

Benfica (1)

Odysseas 

Ferro Samaris Weigl Grimaldo 

Pizzi Luís Chiquinho Rafa

Seferovic Vinicius 

Substitutes: Svilar, Jardel, Zivkovic, Taarabt, Gabriel, Jorginho, Cervi 

 

Referee: Jesus Gil Manzano

 

Ils sont les meilleurs 

Sie sind die besten 

These are the Champions 

 

Die meister 

Die besten 

Les meilleurs équipes 

The Champions!

 

Benfica knew that an away goal would put them in pole position and in the 3rd minute, Grimaldo crossed the ball to Seferovic, who beat Christensen in the air. Seferovic sent a header at goal, but it was saved by Kepa.

 

Chelsea then looked to besiege the Benfica goal, and in the 7th minute Kanté sent the ball flying towards goal, beating the keeper but hitting the outside of the post. A minute later, Pulisic got onto a ball from Kovacic only to head it off target, before Mount hit the side netting and Abraham headed over in the space of four minutes. 

 

Benfica were still dangerous, however, and it took a block from Kovacic to keep out a 12th minute shot from Carlos Vinicius. 

 

Chelsea came forward again, and in the 17th minute Pulisic received the ball from Mount before shooting wide. 

 

In the 21st minute, a free kick from Chiquinho found Vinicius, whose header was saved by Kepa. Chelsea then countered, and a header from Pulisic was saved by Odysseas. 

 

Jadon Sancho then became the first player to be booked, for a foul on Pizzi. A minute later, a hopeful header from Seferovic went wide. 

 

Chelsea continued to push players forward, and in the 32nd minute, a header from Pulisic found Kanté, whose shot went just wide. Azpilicueta then entered the book for a foul on Rafa, ruling him out of the first leg of the quarter final if Chelsea were to get there. 

 

Ten minutes before half time, Kovacic played a one-two with Mount and played the ball into space for Pulisic to run onto. Pulisic shot from a tight angle, but his shot was tipped behind by Odysseas. Mount's corner then found Abraham, whose shot was saved by Odysseas. Odysseas would be called on again in the 38th minute, saving another header from Pulisic, before Sancho hit the side netting. 

 

Having weathered another onslaught, Benfica launched an attack in the 40th minute. Grimaldo got away from Azpilicueta to receive the ball in space, but hit his shot off-target. 

 

Chelsea launched another wave of attacks as the half drew to a close, as a speculative long-range effort from Pulisic was charged down by Grimaldo. Sancho then had a left-footed volley saved by Odysseas, who also turned Abraham's shot around the post a minute later. 

 

Chelsea continued their waves of attacks in the second half, and in the 48th minute Mount passed to Pulisic, whose shot was turned over the bar by Odysseas. 

 

In the 53rd minute, Rafa was shown a yellow card for a foul on Azpilicueta. Spencer then took a disappointing Pulisic off, replacing him with Hudson-Odoi. From the free kick, Kovacic found Christensen, whose header went harmlessly over.

 

Benfica were under heavy pressure, but in the 59th minute they were awarded a free kick. Chiquinho sent the ball to Samaris, whose shot was tipped behind by Kepa. 

 

With time running out, Spencer opted to go for broke and brought Giroud on for Mount. Benfica then made their first change, replacing Rafa with Zivkovic. 

 

With just under 20 minutes left, Kovacic received the ball from Giroud and passed to Kanté. Kanté hit a first time ball looking for Abraham, who got free of the defence and controlled the ball on the edge of the box before slotting it past the onrushing Odysseas to bring the tie level on aggregate. 

 

Benfica responded by replacing Vinicius with Taarabt, but Chelsea now had the bit between their teeth and looked to put the tie to bed. In the 73rd minute, Kovacic sent a free kick to the far post, where Rüdiger headed over the bar. 

 

In the 76th minute, Pizzi was replaced by Jardel, before Abraham again got clear of the defence only to put his shot wide.

 

With 10 minutes left, Hudson-Odoi was booked for a foul on Taarabt, before Weigl was booked in the 84th minute for a foul on Hudson-Odoi. Kovacic sent the free kick to Rüdiger, whose header cleared the crossbar. 

 

Benfica were very much on the back foot, and in the 90th minute, Chelsea were awarded a free kick. Giroud went for goal, but his shot was turned behind by Odysseas. 

 

Chelsea launched a wave of attacks, knowing that "next goal wins" was in effect. In the final minute of stoppage time, Emerson's cross found Abraham, whose header sailed harmlessly over. 

 

Benfica brought Jorginho on for Ferro as extra time got underway, but Chelsea still attacked, with Odysseas saving a header from Abraham early on.

 

In the 95th minute, Abraham received a 40 yard pass and got by Jardel as he entered the area. However, as he looked to get past Samaris, he was brought down, and the referee pointed to the spot. Giroud stepped up, and sent Odysseas the wrong way to give Chelsea the lead on aggregate. 

 

The Blues now looked to add breathing space, and in the 98th minute, Azpilicueta received the ball from Hudson-Odoi and sent in a cross. Abraham lost his man, but his header went just wide. 

 

In the 101st minute, Rüdiger was booked for an accumulation of fouls, before Sancho sent two headers over in as many minutes. Spencer then took him off, and Ruben Loftus-Cheek came on for the first time since the previous May, with Abraham moving wide.

 

Benfica knew that one goal would put them ahead on away goals, and in the 108th minute, Zivkovic's corner found Jardel, whose header skimmed the top of the bar.

 

Giroud then had two opportunities to seal the tie, sending a header over on 110 minutes and seeing another one clip the bar in the 114th minute. 

 

With four minutes left Jorginho sent the ball to Chiquinho, whose shot was charged down by Christensen. That was Benfica's last meaningful chance, and Chelsea closed out the tie.

 

Wednesday 18 March 2020, 20:00: UEFA Champions League Round of 16 Second Leg - at Stamford Bridge, London 

Chelsea (2) 2-0 (1) SL Benfica aet (Abraham 71, Giroud pen 95)

Attendance: 40,712 (2,081 away)

Man of the Match: Tammy Abraham 

 

Other Results 

Tuesday 10th 

Bayern Munich (2) 2-4 (8) Juventus (Coutinho 19, Thiago 90+2; de Ligt 11, Higuaín 17, Ronaldo 28, 83)

Paris Saint-Germain (2) 0-1 (2) Valencia (Lee 74) PSG win on away goals 

 

Wednesday 11th 

Liverpool (5) 4-2 (2) Atlético Madrid (Firmino 11, 17, Henderson 72, Mané 90+2; Morata 33, Carrasco pen 53)

RB Leipzig (3) 0-2 (3) Lyon (Dembélé 13, pen 29) RB Leipzig win on away goals 

 

Tuesday 17th 

Borussia Dortmund (4) 3-1 (2) Ajax (Hazard 9, Haaland 31, Schulz 51; David Neres 3)

Man City (4) 4-1 (3) Real Madrid (Sterling 21, Mendy 26, 65, 77; Jovic 22)

 

Wednesday 18th 

UEFA Champions League 

Barcelona (6) 3-1 (2) Bayer Leverkusen (Busquets 11, Suárez 45+3, Puig 79; Volland 5)

 

Premier League 

Liverpool 1-1 Southampton (Milner 11; Obafemi 88)

 

Thursday 19th 

UEFA Europa League 

AS Roma (4) 3-1 (3) Arsenal (Pérez 8, Zaniolo 32, Dzeko 49; Pépé 53)

Atalanta (1) 0-1 (3) Galatasaray (Akbaba 20)

Borussia Mönchengladbach (2) 2-3 (4) Tottenham (Pléa 2, Stindl 40; Ndombele 39, Lucas Moura 60, 78)

Dynamo Kiev (4) 2-0 (1) Eintracht Frankfurt (Tsygankov 31, Shepelev 86)

FC Porto (3) 2-1 (2) Sporting CP (Strinic 20, Nakajima 65; Ristovski 28)

Man Utd (3) 2-1 (2) Feyenoord (Fernandes 14, 52; Jørgensen 18)

Saint-Etienne (1) 0-2 (4) Lazio (Milinkovic-Savic 30, 34)

Sevilla (1) 1-2 (3) Wolves (En-Nesyri 85; Taison pen 41, Diogo Jota 63)

 

On Friday, Spencer gathered his players at Cobham to watch the draw for the quarter finals of the Champions League. 

 

"Juventus," the UEFA executive said, "will play...Liverpool."

"RB Leipzig will play...Barcelona."

Paris Saint-Germain will play...Manchester City."

"Therefore, Borussia Dortmund will play Chelsea."

 

"Now for the semi finals, and…" he opened the ball he had drawn to reveal a piece of paper with the number 4 on it, "Borussia Dortmund or Chelsea will play Paris Saint-Germain or Manchester City. This means that in the other semi final, Juventus or Liverpool will play RB Leipzig or Barcelona."

[Drogba11CFC]

Chelsea faced Arsenal at Stamford Bridge in the sixth round of the FA Cup. Spencer knew that the Gunners posed a threat, but they had two disadvantages. They hadn't had as much rest since their last game, having travelled back from a 3-1 defeat in Rome in the Europa League, and their first-choice keeper Bernd Leno was out with a broken finger. Spencer opted to drop Sancho after a disappointing performance against Benfica, with Hudson-Odoi coming in.

 

Chelsea 

Kepa 

Azpilicueta Christensen Rüdiger Emerson 

Jorginho 

Kanté Mount 

Pulisic Abraham Hudson-Odoi 

Substitutes: Caballero, Loftus-Cheek, Zouma, Giroud, Mount, Sancho, Tomori 

 

Arsenal 

Martínez 

Bellerín Chambers Luiz Tierney 

Torreira Xhaka 

Pépé Ceballos Aubameyang 

Lacazette 

Substitutes: Macey, Sokratis, Nelson, Nketiah, Guendouzi, Marí, Martinelli 

 

Referee: Lee Mason 

 

It took just five minutes for first blood to be drawn, to the delight of the home supporters. Pulisic received the ball from Kanté and drilled a low cross towards the far post, where Abraham rose highest and powered a header into the net.

 

Chelsea had the first goal, and two minutes later they had the first yellow card, as Azpilicueta was booked for a foul on Aubameyang. 

 

Having opened the scoring for Chelsea, Abraham then nearly turned provider in the 13th minute, passing to Pulisic, who darted past Tierney and tried an audacious shot which was saved by Martínez. 

 

Emerson was booked in the 19th minute for bringing down Pépé. Jorginho then fouled Bellerín, and Pépé's free kick was only kept out by a diving save from Kepa. 

 

Arsenal began coming forward more, and in the 21st minute Ceballos played a one-two with Chambers before trying a long range effort which was just over the bar. 

 

In the 23rd minute, Jorginho was shown a yellow card for a foul on Bellerín. 

 

In the 25th minute, a corner from Kovacic was headed clear by Bellerín. Pépé then beat Rüdiger to the ball, and hit a long ball in search of Ceballos. Ceballos ran onto the ball and was clear of the defence as he ran into the area before taking the ball around Kepa and slotting it into the empty net. 

 

Chelsea looked to retake their lead, and in the 26th minute a corner from Kovacic found Abraham, whose header went over the bar. 

 

Arsenal had a chance to take the lead in the 28th minute, as a pass from Christensen was intercepted by Xhaka, who passed to Aubameyang. Aubameyang sent Lacazette clear of the defence, but he opted to pass to Ceballos instead of shooting. Ceballos was tackled by Azpilicueta, allowing Chelsea to clear. Chelsea then won a corner, and Abraham beat Chambers in the air only to head wide.

 

On the half hour mark, Kanté beat David Luiz in the air and headed the ball down for Abraham, who passed through to Pulisic. Pulisic found himself in space and made no mistake, slotting the ball into the bottom corner to put Chelsea back in front. 

 

Arsenal now looked to equalise, and in the 32nd minute Xhaka exchanged passes with Lacazette before taking a shot which was saved by Kepa. Torreira had a chance two minutes later, with his shot clattering off Christensen. 

 

Chelsea were under pressure, but broke in the 39th minute. Hudson-Odoi received the ball from Pulisic and laid it left first time to Emerson, who floated a cross to the near post. Abraham beat Luiz in the air, but his header was saved by Martínez. Arsenal then launched another attack, and Lacazette was denied by a block from Rüdiger when he looked certain to score. 

 

Three minutes before the break, Chambers was shown a yellow card for a foul on Abraham. 

 

Arsenal flew out of the blocks in the second half, and with less than a minute gone Torreira's free kick found Luiz, whose header missed the target. 

 

Just before the hour mark, Luiz was booked for a foul on Pulisic. Arteta then took Pépé off with Nelson replacing him, while Spencer replaced a disappointing Hudson-Odoi with Sancho. 

 

In the 65th minute, Pulisic was booked for a foul on Tierney, while Guendouzi replaced Torreira. 

 

In the 69th minute, Nelson's free kick found Luiz, whose header went over the bar.

 

Tierney was then shown a yellow card for a foul on Pulisic, before Rüdiger followed him into the book for pulling Lacazette back. Nelson's free kick found Aubameyang, who headed the ball high into the stands.

 

Chelsea then came forward, and in the 74th minute Azpilicueta received the ball from Jorginho and sent it into the area. Sancho got his head to it, but it went just over the bar. Abraham then got his head to a Sancho cross, but his header was saved by Martínez. 

 

With ten minutes left, an Arsenal attack was thwarted as Christensen tackled Lacazette. Rüdiger played the ball ahead looking for Sancho, and Sancho took the ball over the halfway line before dribbling past Chambers and slotting the ball under Martínez to score a goal that Jonathan Pearce, commentating on the BBC, described as "Worth the admission fee alone".

 

With Chelsea coasting to victory, Arteta took Aubameyang off and replaced him with Nketiah. Meanwhile, Abraham's race was run, so Spencer replaced him with Giroud. 

 

Chelsea showed no sign of letting up, and with three minutes left Emerson received Giroud's pass and sent a cross to the near post, where Pulisic beat Tierney in the air and headed the ball into the net to put the icing on the cake. 

 

Spencer brought Loftus-Cheek on for Kovacic as Arsenal's search for a consolation goal saw Guendouzi denied by a save from Kepa. Christensen had the chance to add insult to injury, but his header went over the bar. 

 

Sunday 22 March 2020, 16:00: FA Cup 6th round - at Stamford Bridge, London 

Chelsea 4-1 Arsenal (Abraham 5, Pulisic 30, 87, Sancho 81; Ceballos 25)

Attendance: 40,712 (2,081 away)

Man of the Match: Christian Pulisic 

 

Other results:

Friday 

Premier League 

Bournemouth 1-2 Brighton (Stacey 64; Pröpper 24, Mooy 28)

 

Saturday 

Premier League 

Crystal Palace 0-2 Sheff Utd (Mousset 20, Baldock 77)

Man City 1-0 Leicester (Sterling 90)

Norwich 3-1 Watford (Pukki 20, 40, Drmic 67; Deeney 22)

 

FA Cup 

Birmingham 1-0 Reading (Jutkiewicz 107)

 

Sunday 

FA Cup 

Liverpool 4-1 Wolves (Henderson 19, Fabinho pen 25, Firmino 47, Mané 69; Coady 68)

Man Utd 2-1 Aston Villa (Martial 2, 71; Wesley 88)

 

The draw for the semi finals took place the following evening.

"Number 1, Manchester United, will play...Number 2, Birmingham City. And therefore, Number 4, Chelsea, will play Number 3, Liverpool."

[Drogba11CFC]

With the international break over, Chelsea hosted high-flying Norwich, who sat 8th in the league and were on course to be the "best of the rest". The Canaries were no pushovers, having recently beaten Man Utd and winning their last three games. 

 

Chelsea 

Kepa 

James Zouma Tomori Azpilicueta 

Jorginho Kovacic 

Pulisic Mount Sancho 

Abraham 

Substitutes: Caballero, Rüdiger, Christensen, Kanté, Loftus-Cheek, Hudson-Odoi, Batshuayi 

 

Norwich City 

Krul

Aarons Godfrey Klose Byram 

Rupp Sicci

Hernández Duda Cantwell 

Pukki

Substitutes: Fährmann, Hanley, Stiepermann, Drmic, Claveria, Thomas, Trybull

 

Referee: Andy Madley 

 

Norwich looked to keep their good form going and had a chance in the first minute, as Cantwell's pass found Duda, whose shot was easily saved by Kepa.

 

In the 5th minute, Chelsea made their first real attack. Kovacic received the ball from Jorginho and passed to James, who looked to release Abraham with a first time pass. Abraham seemed to have all the time in the world, but he was suddenly tackled by Godfrey. Pulisic reacted first and took a shot, which was pushed away by Krul. However, Krul had pushed it straight into the path of Sancho, who volleyed the ball into the open goal to give Chelsea the lead. 

 

The Blues then looked to go further ahead, and in the 8th minute Kovacic's free kick found Tomori, whose header went over the bar. 

 

Norwich now began to put Chelsea under pressure, and in the 11th minute Duda's cross found Hernández, whose half volley was diverted away by Kepa. 

 

Kepa was on hand again in the 14th minute, tipping Duda's header over the bar with Ricci's header looping safely over from the resultant corner. 

 

In the 16th minute, Sancho beat Byram in the air to receive Azpilicueta's aerial pass and head it into the area. Godfrey got his header wrong, leaving Abraham wide open and with a simple finish, and the striker duly obliged, volleying home to give Chelsea a two-goal cushion. 

 

Chelsea now looked to assert their dominance, and in the 19th minute a Kovacic free kick found Pulisic, who headed the ball wide. 

 

In the 23rd minute, a header from Sancho was easily saved by Krul. Norwich then attacked, and Byram ran onto Ricci's pass before sending the ball wide. 

 

In the 32nd minute, a clearance from Godfrey was intercepted by Azpilicueta, who sent in a cross. Abraham met it with a header, which went clean over the bar. 

 

In the 34th minute, Reece James was shown a yellow card for a foul on Cantwell. Three minutes later, Mount met a cross from Kovacic with a volley which went over the bar. 

 

Abraham then came close again in the 38th minute, sending a header sailing over from a tight angle.

 

Three minutes before the break, a corner from Mount found Abraham, who headed the ball against the crossbar.

 

Chelsea's pressure would pay off on the stroke of half time. James received the ball from Zouma and sent it into the area. Klose headed clear but only as far as Sancho, who headed the ball into the six yard box where Abraham headed home for 3-0.

 

Abraham could have scored an identical goal in stoppage time, but his header was saved by Krul.

 

Chelsea showed no sign of letting up and immediately after the break, Abraham knocked the ball down the line for Pulisic. Pulisic got past Aarons and tried to shoot from an angle, but he couldn't direct it goalwards. 

 

Norwich then broke, and Cantwell received the ball from Pukki only to see his shot blocked by James. Azpilicueta was then booked for a foul on Hernández.

 

In the 51st minute, Mount sent a corner into the area. Abraham's header was tipped wide by Krul straight into the path of Sancho, who tapped it in for Chelsea's 4th. 

 

A minute later, a free kick from Kovacic was headed over by Tomori, before Ricci sent a header over. Godfrey was then booked for a foul on Abraham. 

 

In the 56th minute, Cantwell was shown a yellow card for a foul on James. James took the free kick and curled it around the wall and into the net for number 5, with Jacqui Oatley describing the goal as "Sheer Brilliance" on Radio 5 Live. 

 

Norwich then replaced Hernández with Stiepermann, before Cantwell sent a low drive off target. Pukki then saw an audacious shot saved by Kepa as Norwich looked to put some respectability on the scoreline.

 

In the 61st minute, a free kick from Kovacic found Abraham, whose header was saved by Krul. 

 

In the 64th minute, Mount received the ball from Kovacic and passed to Sancho. Sancho set off on a mazy run, evading a tackle from Stiepermann before smashing the ball into the top corner from 25 yards to complete his hat-trick as Jacqui Oatley called the goal "the best of the bunch". That was his last contribution, as he was replaced by Hudson-Odoi. 

 

Chelsea could have had a seventh almost immediately. Kovacic's free kick found Zouma, whose header went over the bar. 

 

A rare Norwich attack then saw Duda try his luck with the shot cannoning off Jorginho.

 

With 20 minutes left, Reece James floated in a cross to Abraham, whose header was saved by Krul. Kovacic was then withdrawn, with Loftus-Cheek replacing him. 

 

In the 72nd minute, Pulisic ran onto a pass from Abraham, only to see his shot saved by Krul. Mason Mount then looked to get on the scoresheet, sending a volley wide.

 

With 15 minutes left, a corner from Duda found Stiepermann, whose header went over the bar. Norwich then took Ricci off, with Clavería replacing Ricci.

 

In the 79th minute, Cantwell ran onto a long ball from Klose and took it past James before his shot from an angle was saved by Kepa. 

 

With ten minutes left, Stiepermann was shown a yellow card for a foul on Hudson-Odoi. Mount then had a shot saved by Krul before a shot from Duda was tipped behind by Kepa.

 

With eight minutes left, Klose headed off the pitch with Grant Hanley replacing him. Zouma was then booked for a foul on Pukki. 

 

With five minutes left, Rupp ran onto Duda's pass and hit a half volley which Kepa tipped behind. 

 

Stiepermann headed over the crossbar in stoppage time before Pulisic was booked for a foul on Pukki, as Chelsea recorded their biggest league win since beating Arsenal by the same scoreline in 2014.

 

Saturday 4 April 2020, 15:00: Barclays Premier League - at Stamford Bridge, London 

Chelsea 6-0 Norwich City (Sancho 5, 51, 64, Abraham 16, 45, James 56)

Attendance: 41,631 (3,000 away)

Man of the Match: Jadon Sancho 

 

Other results 

Friday 

Everton 2-0 Man Utd (Iwobi 73, Calvert-Lewin 90+3)

 

Saturday 

Leicester 2-1 Tottenham (Maddison 59, Vardy 69; Kane 22)

Aston Villa 1-2 Man City (Jahanbakhsh 44; Bernardo Silva 6, Fernandinho pen 90)

Brighton 1-3 Liverpool (Patric 74; Salah 41, Mané 44, Matip 77)

Burnley 1-3 Bournemouth (Wood 79; Fraser 3, 52, H. Wilson 75)

Sheff Utd 2-0 Arsenal (Sharp pen 20, Stevens 45+1)

 

Sunday 

West Ham 0-3 Wolves (Doherty 45+1, Diogo Jota 54, Neto 90)

Watford 3-1 Crystal Palace (Pereyra 2, Guaita og 35, Doucouré 68; Ayew 77)

 

Monday 

Southampton 0-5 Newcastle (Longstaff 34, Shelvey 43, Bentaleb 72, Saint-Maximin 79, Joelinton 90+4)

 

League Table:

                              P      W      D      L      F      A      GD     PTS
 1.    CL    Man City         32     27     2      3      71     20     51     83
 2.          Liverpool        32     23     6      3      78     25     53     75
 3.    EL    Chelsea          30     20     5      5      58     19     39     65
 4.          Everton          31     18     5      8      54     38     16     59
 -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
 5.          Wolves           30     18     3      9      54     25     29     57
 6.          Arsenal          31     18     3      10     46     34     12     57
 7.          Man Utd          31     15     7      9      44     28     16     52
 8.          Norwich          32     15     3      14     38     50     -12    48
 9.          Bournemouth      32     14     2      16     45     45     0      44
 10.         Sheff Utd        31     12     6      13     42     43     -1     42
 11.         Leicester        32     11     7      14     43     49     -6     40
 12.         Brighton         32     11     6      15     41     58     -17    39
 13.         Aston Villa      31     10     8      13     36     39     -3     38
 14.         Tottenham        30     9      8      13     31     39     -8     35
 15.         Burnley          31     8      9      14     34     44     -10    33
 16.         Southampton      32     7      9      16     30     52     -22    30
 17.         West Ham         31     6      7      18     24     56     -32    25
 ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 
 18.         Watford          32     4      10     18     27     48     -21    22
 19.         Crystal Palace   32     6      3      23     24     60     -36    21
 20.         Newcastle        31     4      5      22     36     84     -48    17

 

Edited November 16, 2020 by Drogba11CFC

[Drogba11CFC]

Chelsea faced Borussia Dortmund in the first leg of their Champions League quarter final. The two sides had never met in European competition, but Spencer knew that it would be a difficult game with the opposition sitting third in the Bundesliga. In addition, Azpilicueta was suspended after being booked against Benfica. 

 

Borussia Dortmund 

Bürki

Hakimi Akanji Zagadou Schulz

Can Witsel

Hazard Götze Reus

Haaland 

Substitutes: Hitz, Piszczek, Delaney, Reyna, Dahoud, Balerdi, Kaastrup

 

Chelsea 

Kepa 

James Rüdiger Christensen Emerson 

Jorginho 

Kanté Kovacic 

Pulisic Abraham Sancho 

Substitutes: Caballero, Tomori, Hudson-Odoi, Batshuayi, Zouma, Mount, Giroud 

 

Referee: Pavel Královec (CZE)

 

Ils sont les meilleurs

Sie sind die besten 

These are the Champions 

 

Die meister 

Die besten 

Les meilleurs équipes 

The Champions!

 

The game was barely a minute old when the first yellow card was shown. Rüdiger was the player booked, for a foul on Haaland. 

 

The first real chance came in the 5th minute, as Zagadou headed over from Reus' corner. Chelsea went forward in the 6th minute, with Pulisic sending a shot off-target from a tight angle. 

 

In the 7th minute, Schulz received a pass from Witsel and took a shot which was saved by Kepa.

 

The game then entered a lull, but in the 20th minute, Thorgan Hazard - the brother of Chelsea's former star player - ran onto a ball from Hakimi and hit a right footed shot over the bar. 

 

In the 25th minute, a corner from Reus found Zagadou, who headed over the bar. Sancho then had his name taken for a foul on Reus, before Hazard tried his luck with a shot which went off-target.

 

In the 32nd minute, Sancho received the ball from Emerson and exchanged passes with Kovacic before sending a cross into the area, where Abraham's shot was blocked by Bürki.

 

In the 34th minute, Hakimi received the ball from Akanji and crossed the ball to Haaland, whose header was saved by Kepa. Chelsea then won a corner, from which Sancho's shot was blocked by Zagadou. 

 

Five minutes before half time, Reus sent a free kick into the area. Rüdiger headed clear but only as far as Witsel, who took the ball down before firing it into the net to give the hosts the lead. 

 

In the 43rd minute, Emerson was shown a yellow card for a foul on Reus. 

 

Just before the break, James sent a cross into the area for Abraham, who headed the ball to Pulisic. Pulisic went for goal, but his shot was saved by Bürki. 

 

Five minutes into the second half, Chelsea were dealt a huge blow as Emerson was forced off injured, with Tomori coming on to replace him. 

 

Chelsea seemed to respond positively, as Sancho wriggled away from Hakimi and laid the ball right to Kovacic, whose shot struck the post.

 

However, things got even worse in the 55th minute. As Haaland looked to break, he was upended by Rüdiger, who was already on a yellow card. Pavel Královec showed Rüdiger his second yellow card, followed by the red, meaning Chelsea were now down to ten men. Spencer opted to sacrifice Sancho, with Zouma coming on and Pulisic moving into the middle. 

 

Dortmund looked to take full advantage, and Haaland headed over from Reus' cross before heading wide from a tight angle. 

 

Chelsea then came forward in the 64th minute. James played a one-two with Kanté before finding Kovacic. Kovacic hit a fierce shot, but he put it wide of the goal. 

 

With just under 20 minutes left, a shot from Hazard was tipped wide by Kepa, who then saved Witsel's header from the corner. 

 

Chelsea then broke, and Kovacic played a long ball to Kanté. Kanté got free of the defence and controlled the ball before hitting a half volley into the opposite corner to give Chelsea a vital away goal.

 

Dortmund then made a double change. Former Liverpool midfielder Emre Can was replaced by Thomas Delaney, while Mario Götze was replaced by Giovanni Reyna.

 

Dortmund then attacked again, and Kepa saved a header from Hazard before Zagadou sent a header over the bar. 

 

With just under 10 minutes left, Piszczek came on to replace Hakimi. 

 

With 8 minutes left, Zouma hit a long clearance which was intercepted by Piszczek. Piszczek hit a long ball to Haaland, who got in behind the defence and lobbed the ball over Kepa and into the net from 30 yards out. 

 

The Schwarzgelben now looked to increase their lead, and with a minute of normal time left Reyna ran onto Reus' pass only to send the ball wide. 

 

Reyna would have better luck in stoppage time. Thorgan Hazard received the ball from Piszczek and sent it into the area, where Reyna powered a header into the net. 

 

Tuesday 7 April 2020, 20:00: UEFA Champions League Quarter Final First Leg - at SIGNAL IDUNA PARK, Dortmund 

Borussia Dortmund 3-1 Chelsea (Witsel 40, Haaland 82, Reyna 90+2; Kanté 75, Rüdiger s/o 55)

Attendance: 63,207 (3,000 away)

Man of the Match: Axel Witsel 

 

Other results 

Tuesday 

PSG 4-0 Man City (Icardi 26, 55, Paredes 56, Herrera 87)

 

Wednesday 

Champions League 

Juventus 1-3 Liverpool (Bentacur 35; Mané 6, 90+3, Alexander-Arnold 70)

RB Leipzig 3-1 Barcelona (Konaté 66, Haidara 83, Poulsen 90+1; Griezmann 18)

 

Premier League 

Arsenal 5-2 West Ham (Chambers 6, Aubameyang 24, Torreira 31, Sokratis 67, Pépé 90+1, Pépé m/pen 3; Haller 45+2, Soucek 52, Fredericks s/o 21, Wilshere s/o 61)

 

Thursday

Europa League 

AS Roma 2-1 Galatasaray (Kolarov pen 24, Mancini 27; Onyekuru 51)

Dynamo Kiev 0-3 Man Utd (Burda og 39, Martial 44, Rashford 78)

FC Porto 0-0 Lazio 

Wolves 4-0 Tottenham (Diogo Jota 23, 26, Traoré 38, Jiménez 86)

Edited June 19, 2020 by Drogba11CFC

[Drogba11CFC]

Chelsea faced Bournemouth at Dean Court between the two legs against Borussia Dortmund. Spencer knew that a win was vital to put Chelsea in pole position for a Champions League spot. There was also the factor of revenge for the heavy defeat Chelsea had suffered at Dean Court the previous season.

 

AFC Bournemouth 

Ramsdale 

Smith Cook Mepham Aké

Fraser Billing Gosling H. Wilson 

King C. Wilson 

Substitutes: Travers, Kelly, Ibe, Surridge, Brooks, Rico, Stacey 

 

Chelsea 

Kepa 

James Tomori Christensen Azpilicueta 

Jorginho Kanté 

Pulisic Mount Sancho 

Abraham 

Substitutes: Caballero, Alonso, Loftus-Cheek, Zouma, Kovacic, Giroud, Hudson-Odoi 

 

Referee: Chris Kavanagh

 

Chelsea started brighter, and in the 7th minute Reece James received the ball from Jorginho and struck a half volley which was tipped away by Ramsdale. 

 

In the 11th minute, James got past Harry Wilson and delivered the ball to Abraham. Abraham flicked it on to Kanté, whose shot was pushed away by Ramsdale. The ball fell to Sancho, whose shot struck the frame of the goal.

 

Sancho had another chance in the 13th minute, as he left Fraser standing and took the ball past Billing before sending a shot wide of the goal.

 

Chelsea were then awarded a free kick, from which Tomori's header was saved by Ramsdale.

 

In the 22nd minute, Christensen received a yellow card for a foul on Callum Wilson. 

 

A minute later, Bournemouth were awarded another free kick. Harry Wilson went for goal, but his shot was tipped over by Kepa. 

 

Chelsea were then awarded a free kick. James found Pulisic, whose shot was saved by Ramsdale. 

 

Ramsdale then played it long, and Callum Wilson raced clear of the defence and tried his luck with a shot which Kepa did well to tip around the post. Fraser's corner then found Cook, who headed over the bar. 

 

Bournemouth were now putting Chelsea under pressure, and in the 27th minute, Azpilicueta was booked for a foul on Fraser. Harry Wilson's free kick found Aké, whose half volley went over the bar. 

 

In the 36th minute, a pass from Mepham was intercepted by Abraham, whose shot was saved by Ramsdale. 

 

Six minutes before half time, James received the ball from Jorginho and played it back to Kanté, who played in Pulisic. Pulisic hit a low shot across Ramsdale which fizzed into the bottom corner of the net to give Chelsea the lead. 

 

The Blues now looked to grab a second, and in the 41st minute Abraham met Pulisic's cross with a header that was saved by Ramsdale. 

 

Bournemouth looked to draw level at the beginning of the second half, and in the 48th minute Kepa did well to tip Fraser's shot over the bar before saving Mepham's header from the following corner. 

 

In the 58th minute, a disappointing Mount was taken off, with Loftus-Cheek replacing him. A minute later, Abraham received the ball from Sancho and tried his luck from a distance, only for his shot to skim the top of the bar.

 

Pulisic was booked in the 63rd minute for a foul on Aké, before he saw a shot blocked by Aké a minute later. Sancho then tried his luck, hitting a half volley wide, before Kanté put a long range volley clean over the bar. 

 

With just under 20 minutes left, Spencer replaced Sancho with Hudson-Odoi. 

 

With 16 minutes to go, Fraser's free kick found Mepham, whose header was saved by Kepa. Chelsea then won a free kick, from which James' cross was punched clear by Ramsdale. In the 77th minute, Hudson-Odoi hit a hopeful shot which was blocked by Smith. Smith was then replaced by Lloyd Kelly, before Gosling was replaced by Ibe.

 

With 8 minutes to go, Azpilicueta received the ball from Jorginho and bent it towards goal, only for the shot to be saved by Ramsdale.

 

With 5 minutes left, Rico came on for Mepham, before Spencer replaced James with Marcos Alonso. The game then ran out of steam and Chelsea claimed the points.

 

Saturday 15 April 2020, 15:00: Barclays Premier League - at Dean Court, Bournemouth 

AFC Bournemouth 0-1 Chelsea (Pulisic 39)

Attendance: 11,464 (1,146 away)

Man of the Match: Christian Pulisic 

 

Other results:

Friday 

Crystal Palace 0-1 Brighton (Pröpper 54)

 

Saturday 

Liverpool 4-0 West Ham (Mané 28, 45, Origi 67, Fabinho pen 86)

Man City 1-0 Southampton (De Bruyne 42; Højbjerg s/o 78)

Arsenal 2-1 Everton (Özil 28, Lacazette 90+4; Bernard 55)

 

Sunday 

Norwich 1-0 Leicester (Stiepermann 58)

Man Utd 4-1 Aston Villa (Ighalo 34, 36, 65, 67; Guilbert 61)

Tottenham 2-1 Sheff Utd (Son 42, Bergwijn 45; Stevens 43)

Wolves 4-2 Watford (Taison 35, 81, Jiménez pen 41, pen 53; Hughes 78, Saïss og 90+3)

 

Monday 

Newcastle 0-0 Burnley 

 

League Table:

                              P      W      D      L      F      A      GD     PTS
 1.    CL    Man City         33     28     2      3      72     20     52     86
 2.          Liverpool        33     24     6      3      82     25     57     78
 3.    EL    Chelsea          31     21     5      5      59     19     40     68
 4.          Arsenal          33     20     3      10     53     37     16     63
 -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
 5.          Wolves           31     19     3      9      58     27     31     60
 6.          Everton          32     18     5      9      55     40     15     59
 7.          Man Utd          32     16     7      9      48     29     19     55
 8.          Norwich          33     16     3      14     39     50     -11    51
 9.          Bournemouth      33     14     2      17     45     46     -1     44
 10.         Sheff Utd        32     12     6      14     43     45     -2     42
 11.         Brighton         33     12     6      15     42     58     -16    42
 12.         Leicester        33     11     7      15     43     50     -7     40
 13.         Aston Villa      32     10     8      14     37     43     -6     38
 14.         Tottenham        31     10     8      13     33     40     -7     38
 15.         Burnley          32     8      10     14     34     44     -10    34
 16.         Southampton      33     7      9      17     30     53     -23    30
 17.         West Ham         33     6      7      20     26     65     -39    25
 ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 
 18.         Watford          33     4      10     19     29     52     -23    22
 19.         Crystal Palace   33     6      3      24     24     61     -37    21
 20.         Newcastle        32     4      6      22     36     84     -48    18

Euro 2020

Group A:

England 

Holland 

Austria 

Slovakia 

Group B:

Spain 

Croatia 

Norway 

Bosnia & Herzegovina 

Group C:

Portugal 

Denmark 

Ireland 

Kosovo 

Group D:

France 

Sweden 

Wales 

Turkey 

Group E:

Belgium 

Russia 

Switzerland 

Poland 

Group F:

Germany 

Italy 

Ukraine 

North Macedonia 

Edited November 16, 2020 by Drogba11CFC

[Drogba11CFC]

The return leg of the Champions League Quarter Final saw Chelsea needing a 2-0 win at least to qualify for the semi finals. However, Tammy Abraham was not fully recovered from the Bournemouth game, so Batshuayi came in to replace him. 

 

Chelsea (1)

Kepa 

James Zouma Christensen Azpilicueta 

Jorginho 

Kanté Kovacic 

Pulisic Batshuayi Sancho 

Substitutes: Caballero, Alonso, Loftus-Cheek, Giroud, Mount, Hudson-Odoi, Tomori 

 

Borussia Dortmund (3)

Bürki 

Hakimi Can Zagadou Schulz 

Delaney Witsel

Hazard Götze Reyna 

Haaland 

Substitutes: Hitz, Piszczek, Dahoud, Kaastrup, Balerdi, Bakir

 

Referee: Pavel Královec (CZE)

 

Ils sont les meilleurs 

Sie sind die besten 

These are the Champions 

 

Die meister 

Die besten 

Les meilleurs équipes 

The Champions!

 

Chelsea looked to start with urgency, and in the first minute James' cross found Batshuayi, whose header was saved by Bürki. Dortmund then attacked, and Haaland headed wide from Delaney's cross.

 

Chelsea then began to put Dortmund under pressure, and in the 3rd minute, Kanté received the ball from Batshuayi before trying an optimistic shot which Bürki had no problem saving. Azpilicueta then played a one-two with Kovacic before hitting a shot off-target in the 5th minute, before Jorginho had a shot blocked by Götze in the 10th minute.

 

Axel Witsel became the first player to go into the book in the 13th minute, for a foul on Pulisic.

 

In the 16th minute, Pulisic received the ball from Kovacic and passed to Kanté, whose shot was tipped behind by Bürki. Haaland was then booked for a foul on Sancho. 

 

Chelsea continued to attack, and in the 21st minute Batshuayi beat Schulz to the ball before passing to Pulisic, whose shot was no problem for Bürki. 

 

In the 29th minute, Azpilicueta was shown a yellow card for a foul on Hazard. 

 

Dortmund had been under the cosh for much of the first half but in the 30th minute, Hakimi drifted a cross to Haaland, whose header was pushed away by Kepa. 

 

In the 38th minute, a free kick from Kovacic found Zouma, whose header went over the bar. 

 

Three minutes before half time, Kovacic dispossessed Götze and took a long range shot which went wide.

 

Chelsea continued to attack in the second half, and in the 52nd minute Kovacic curled a free kick to the far post. Christensen beat Emre Can in the air, but his header was saved by Bürki. 

 

Two minutes before the hour mark, Spencer replaced a disappointing Sancho with Hudson-Odoi. 

 

In the 65th minute, James was shown a yellow card for a foul on Reyna.

 

With 20 minutes left, Pulisic had the legs on Schulz and sent in a cross to Batshuayi, whose header was saved by Bürki. 

 

With 15 minutes left, Reyna was taken off with Piszczek replacing him. Zagadou then heroically threw himself in front of Kanté's shot to keep Chelsea out. 

 

With eleven minutes left, Thorgan Hazard was forced off with pulled knee ligaments. He was replaced by Kaastrup, with Balerdi replacing Delaney. 

 

However, with seven minutes left, Piszczek's game came to a premature end as he was forced off a pulled calf muscle. With Borussia down to ten men and time running out, Chelsea began to throw the kitchen sink at them, although Zouma was booked for a foul on Haaland. 

 

With three minutes left, Kovacic received the ball from Jorginho and bent a shot wide from long range, before Pulisic sent a shot wide from a tight angle in the 89th minute. However, Borussia held on and advanced to the semi finals. 

 

Wednesday 15 April 2020, 20:00: UEFA Champions League Quarter Final Second Leg - at Stamford Bridge, London 

Chelsea (1) 0-0 (3) Borussia Dortmund 

Attendance: 40,712 (2,081 away)

Man of the Match: Andreas Christensen 

 

Other Results 

Tuesday 

Barcelona (2) 1-0 (3) RB Leipzig (Griezmann 27)

Liverpool (4) 1-3 (4) Juventus (Salah 5; Cristiano Ronaldo 48, 50, 82) Liverpool win 5-4 on penalties 

 

Wednesday

Man City (3) 3-1 (5) PSG (Sterling 31, Agüero 59, Fernandinho 85; Mbappé 83)

 

Thursday 

Europa League 

Galatasaray (1) 0-1 (3) AS Roma (Zaniolo 47)

Lazio (1) 1-0 (0) FC Porto aet (Caicedo 114)

Man Utd (7) 4-2 (2) Dynamo Kiev (Martial 39, Fernandes 45+1, Bailly 66, Lindelöf 77; Verbic 9, 64)

Tottenham (3) 3-0 (4) Wolves (Kane pen 28, Son 57, 90+3; Neves s/o 47)

[Drogba11CFC]

Chelsea were to face Liverpool in the semi final of the FA Cup. This was the first time the two teams had met in the competition since the final in 2012, in which Chelsea had triumphed. However, the Blues were missing Jorginho through suspension, with Emerson still injured. 

 

Liverpool 

Alisson

Trent van Dijk Gomez Robertson 

Fabinho 

Wijnaldum Henderson 

Mané Firmino Origi

Substitutes: Adrián, Matip, Milner, Millar, Lallana, Lovren, Shaqiri 

 

Chelsea 

Kepa 

James Zouma Christensen Azpilicueta 

Kovacic 

Kanté Mount 

Pulisic Abraham Sancho 

Substitutes: Caballero, Rüdiger, Alonso, Loftus-Cheek, Giroud, Hudson-Odoi, Tomori 

 

Referee: Martin Atkinson 

 

The match started terribly for Chelsea. In the first minute, Kanté failed to intercept Henderson's pass to Robertson, who sent the ball to Alexander-Arnold. Alexander-Arnold played a one-two with Mané and crossed the ball to Firmino, who powered a header into the net to give Liverpool the lead after 50 seconds. 

 

The Reds looked to dominate, and in the 5th minute Kepa had to be on hand to punch Alexander-Arnold's cross clear before saving Henderson's shot. Kepa was called into action again in the 7th minute to save Robertson's header. 

 

Chelsea had  been on the back foot in the early stages but won a corner in the 10th minute. Mount's delivery was cleared by Alexander-Arnold but only as far as Christensen, whose volley was turned behind by Alisson.

 

In the 13th minute, Mané whipped in a cross to Origi, who got above James and headed the ball over the bar.

 

In the 24th minute, a throw-in by Alexander-Arnold found Wijnaldum, whose header was turned behind by Kepa. 

 

It was turning into a tight game, but in the 33rd minute, Sancho was fouled by Wijnaldum. Kovacic's free kick found Zouma, who headed the ball over the bar. 

 

Six minutes before half time, Reece James went down with pulled knee ligaments. He was forced off, and Tomori came on to replace him. 

 

Just before half time, Azpilicueta received the ball from Mount and passed to Sancho. Sancho sent it into the area for Abraham, whose header from a tight angle was saved by Alisson. Robertson was then booked for a foul on Pulisic. 

 

In the second minute of stoppage time, Henderson hit a low through ball to Firmino. Firmino shot from an angle, but the shot was tipped behind by Kepa. 

 

In the 50th minute, Alexander-Arnold was booked for a foul on Sancho. Kovacic's free kick found Zouma, who put his header wide. 

 

In the 58th minute, Fabinho received the ball from Van Dijk and passed through to Mané. Spencer then made another change, replacing Abraham with Giroud. 

 

Liverpool made a double change in the 68th minute, as Henderson was replaced by Milner while Shaqiri replaced Origi. 

 

With just under 20 minutes left, Mané was tripped by Tomori. Shaqiri swung the free kick to the near post, where Van Dijk beat Tomori in the air before heading over. 

 

With 16 minutes left, Azpilicueta was shown a yellow card for a foul on Shaqiri, before Lallana came on to replace Mané.

 

Two minutes later, Mount sent a free kick to the far post. Giroud out-jumped Fabinho and headed against the post from an awkward angle. He got to the loose ball and got in a volley from out wide, which cannoned back off the post before Fabinho cleared.

 

Chelsea then made their final change, replacing a tiring Kovacic with Ruben Loftus-Cheek. Pulisic was booked a minute later for a foul on Robertson. 

 

With seven minutes left, a corner from Mount found Zouma, whose header sailed over the bar.

 

With two minutes left, Chelsea launched a counter attack as they searched for an equaliser. Pulisic received the ball from Kanté and ghosted past Robertson before shooting from a tight angle only for his shot to be saved by Alisson. 

 

In stoppage time, Alexander-Arnold received the ball from Wijnaldum and took a shot which was saved by Kepa, as Liverpool closed out the game and consigned Chelsea to a disappointing defeat.

 

Saturday 18 April 2020, 17:30: FA Cup Semi Final - at Wembley Stadium, London 

Liverpool 1-0 Chelsea (Firmino 1)

Attendance: 90,000

Man of the Match: Trent Alexander-Arnold 

 

Other results 

Saturday 

Everton 2-1 Bournemouth (Calvert-Lewin 16, Keane 21; King 68)

Brighton 2-1 Norwich (Henry 77, Trossard 86; Drmic 82)

Leicester 2-2 Newcastle (Maddison 55, Tielemans 86; Torres 56, Joelinton 73)

Southampton 0-2 Arsenal (Lacazette 12, 89)

 

Sunday 

Premier League 

Burnley 3-3 Wolves (Gudmundsson 1, Wood 41, pen 89; Neves pen 19, Diogo Jota 39, Taison 84)

Watford 1-3 Tottenham (Welbeck 4; Fernandes 22, Lamela 33, pen 74)

Sheff Utd 0-2 Man City (Agüero 56, Sané 85)

FA Cup semi final 

Man Utd 3-1 Birmingham (Martial 45+2, Mata pen 49, pen 79; Jutkiewicz 90+1)

 

Monday 

Aston Villa 1-1 Crystal Palace (Jahanbakhsh 39; Milivojevic pen 8)

[Drogba11CFC]

Chelsea travelled to St James' Park to begin the clearance of their fixture backlog. The Blues needed 11 points from their last 7 games to guarantee a Champions League place, and were 2 points ahead of Arsenal with three games in hand. Newcastle, now under new owners who had brought in Paulo Sousa as manager, needed a miracle to survive.

 

Newcastle 

Dubravka 

Lazaro Schär Lascelles Rose 

Shelvey Bentaleb 

Torres Almirón Saint-Maximin 

Joelinton 

Substitutes: Darlow, Willems, S. Longstaff, Gayle, M. Longstaff, Clark, Pantovic

 

Chelsea 

Kepa 

Azpilicueta Tomori Christensen Emerson 

Kanté Jorginho 

Pulisic Mount Sancho 

Abraham 

Substitutes: Caballero, Rüdiger, Loftus-Cheek, Zouma, Giroud, Hudson-Odoi 

 

Referee: Jon Moss 

 

Once again, Chelsea made a poor start. In the 3rd minute, Danny Rose's cross to Joelinton struck Azpilicueta. The loose ball fell to Jonjo Shelvey, who bent a first time shot into the net from 25 yards to give Newcastle an early lead. 

 

Chelsea looked to respond immediately, and Abraham received the ball from Mount before taking a shot which was tipped over by Dubravka. Newcastle then launched another attack, and Almirón out-jumped Mount before sending a header wide. 

 

In the 6th minute, Sancho dispossessed Shelvey, and played a long ball to Emerson's feet. Emerson shot from distance, but his shot was tipped over by Dubravka. 

 

In the 14th minute, another Chelsea attack saw Kanté receive the ball from Mount after Shelvey failed to intercept. Kanté, however, couldn't get his shot on target. 

 

Newcastle then won a free kick, from which Saint-Maximin played a one-two with Schär and sent a cross into the area. Shelvey got up above Christensen, but his header was saved by Kepa. 

 

In the 18th minute, Emerson played a one-two with Sancho before firing a low cross towards the far post. Pulisic connected with a volley, but it was saved by Dubravka. Chelsea continued to attack, and a minute later a cross from Azpilicueta found Sancho, who headed over. 

 

Chelsea were now dominant, and in the 21st minute they had their best chance so far. Jorginho received the ball from Emerson and hit a crashing drive from distance. It beat Dubravka, but not the post, striking the woodwork and going behind. 

 

In the 25th minute, Tomori was shown a yellow card for a foul on Joelinton.

 

Chelsea had been knocking on the door for the last 20 minutes and finally got their reward in the 26th minute. Azpilicueta played a free kick long and Abraham ran onto it clear of the defence before sending the ball rocketing into the net from the edge of the area.

 

The Blues now looked to get in front, and in the 32nd minute Pulisic headed just over from Emerson's cross. Newcastle then went forward, and Saint-Maximin got into a good position before seeing a shot tipped wide by Kepa. 

 

In the 38th minute, a free kick from Mount found Tomori, who headed over. A minute later, Jorginho saw a free kick saved by Dubravka. 

 

Two minutes before half time, Abraham got away from Rose with ease before looking for Pulisic. Pulisic tried his luck, but his shot hit the side netting. 

 

A minute before half time, a free kick from Saint-Maximin found Bentaleb, whose header was saved by Kepa. Kepa was called into action again a minute later, saving a shot from Almirón. In first half stoppage time, Azpilicueta found Sancho, who volleyed the ball over the bar. 

 

Spencer withdrew Sancho at half time, with Hudson-Odoi replacing him. A minute into the second half, Saint-Maximin was booked for handball. 

 

Five minutes into the half, Saint-Maximin sent a free kick to the back post. Lascelles got up above Pulisic, but his header went over the bar. Saint-Maximin then had a chance, receiving the ball from Joelinton only to be denied by the frame of the goal.

 

In the 53rd minute, Abraham received the ball from Hudson-Odoi but was denied by Dubravka when he really should have scored. Dubravka was tested more thoroughly in the 56th minute, when he saved a speculative long-range effort from Mount. 

 

In the 58th minute, a long ball from Dubravka caught Chelsea out, with Joelinton hitting the side netting, before Abraham hit the side netting on the hour mark. 

 

In the 63rd minute, Hudson-Odoi headed the ball to Mount, whose half volley was tipped over by Dubravka. Dubravka was then called into action again to save Abraham's volley, before tipping a half-volley from Hudson-Odoi away in the 66th minute.

 

With 18 minutes left, Spencer took Pulisic off, with Giroud coming on to replace him.

 

Dubravka seemed to be single-handedly keeping Newcastle in the match, as he tipped a shot from Abraham behind in the 74th minute before saving from Abraham again in the 75th minute. 

 

With 11 minutes left, Abraham played a smart one-two with Emerson, before delivering a cross into the area. Giroud got above Lascelles, but his header went wide.

 

Chelsea's pressure finally paid off a minute later. A free kick from Hudson-Odoi found Giroud, who headed the ball on to Kanté. Kanté powered a header into the net to give Chelsea the lead with ten minutes left. 

 

With the Blues now ahead, Spencer made his final change, replacing Abraham with Loftus-Cheek. Shelvey was then booked for a foul on Giroud.

 

Chelsea now looked to make the game safe, and in the 83rd minute, Loftus-Cheek drove the ball into the path of Emerson, who found himself in space. His shot, however, was saved by Dubravka. 

 

With one minute left, Azpilicueta played a ball for Hudson-Odoi to run onto. Hudson-Odoi closed in, but sent his shot the wrong side of the post. 

 

Despite the replacement of Rose with Jetro Willems, Newcastle failed to threaten an equaliser, and Chelsea closed out a welcome yet unconvincing win.

 

Wednesday 22 April 2020, 19:45: Barclays Premier League - at St James' Park, Newcastle 

Newcastle United 1-2 Chelsea (Shelvey 3; Abraham 26, Kanté 80)

Attendance: 52,273 (2,121 away)

Man of the Match: Tammy Abraham 

 

Other results:

Man Utd 3-0 Burnley (Mata pen 20, Ighalo 50, 57)

 

League Table:

                              P      W      D      L      F      A      GD     PTS
 1.    CL    Man City         34     29     2      3      74     20     54     89
 2.          Liverpool        33     24     6      3      82     25     57     78
 3.    EL    Chelsea          32     22     5      5      61     20     41     71
 4.          Arsenal          34     21     3      10     55     37     18     66
 ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 
 5.          Everton          33     19     5      9      57     41     16     62
 6.          Wolves           32     19     4      9      61     30     31     61
 7.          Man Utd          33     17     7      9      51     29     22     58
 8.          Norwich          34     16     3      15     40     52     -12    51
 9.          Brighton         34     13     6      15     44     59     -15    45
 10.         Bournemouth      34     14     2      18     46     48     -2     44
 11.         Sheff Utd        33     12     6      15     43     47     -4     42
 12.         Tottenham        32     11     8      13     36     41     -5     41
 13.         Leicester        34     11     8      15     45     52     -7     41
 14.         Aston Villa      33     10     9      14     38     44     -6     39
 15.         Burnley          34     8      11     15     37     50     -13    35
 16.         Southampton      34     7      9      18     30     55     -25    30
 17.         West Ham         33     6      7      20     26     65     -39    25
 -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
 18.         Watford          34     4      10     20     30     55     -25    22
 19.         Crystal Palace   34     6      4      24     25     62     -37    22
 20.         Newcastle        34     4      7      23     39     88     -49    19

 

Edited November 16, 2020 by Drogba11CFC

[Drogba11CFC]

Chelsea's next match saw them host Steven Gerrard's Crystal Palace side. The Eagles were also on the brink of relegation, four points adrift of safety having played a game less than 17th-placed West Ham. Spencer knew that a win would leave Chelsea on the cusp of the Champions League, but he also told the supporters in the program to "Sing about us today, not the opposition manager" - a reference to the chant about Gerrard's slip against Chelsea six years previously to the weekend which had ultimately cost Liverpool the title. 

 

Chelsea 

Kepa 

Azpilicueta Rüdiger Zouma Emerson 

Kanté Kovacic 

Pulisic Loftus-Cheek Sancho 

Abraham 

Substitutes: Caballero, Christensen, Jorginho, Giroud, Mount, Tomori 

 

Crystal Palace 

Guaita 

Ward Cahill Sakho Riedewald

Milivojevic 

Meyer McCarthy 

Townsend Tosun Ayew

Substitutes: Henderson, van Aanholt, McArthur, Benteke, Schlupp, Kelly, Kouyaté 

 

Referee: Graham Scott 

 

Chelsea looked to start brightly and in the 4th minute, a free kick from Kovacic found Zouma, whose header went over the bar. 

 

In the 8th minute, Chelsea were awarded a free kick. Hudson-Odoi went for goal, but his shot was saved by Guaita. Emerson was then booked for a foul on Townsend. 

 

Chelsea continued to attack, and in the 9th minute Hudson-Odoi sent a half-volley off target. Pulisic was the next player to have a go, with his shot being saved by Guaita. Pulisic would have another shot in the 15th minute, which was blocked by Riedewald. 

 

In the 18th minute, Hudson-Odoi received the ball from Zouma and whipped in a cross. Abraham connected, but his shot was saved by Guaita. 

 

Abraham would have better luck in the 21st minute. He robbed Sakho close to the halfway line and burst through on goal before getting into the area and beating Guaita at his near post to give Chelsea the lead. 

 

Chelsea had a couple of half chances in the next five minutes before Abraham saw a shot clatter off Cahill. Palace then launched their first real attack as Kovacic missed his header, but Townsend saw his 20 yard effort parried by Kepa. 

 

Chelsea immediately countered, and Pulisic saw a pot-shot blocked by Riedewald. Azpilicueta looked to follow up, but his shot was saved by Guaita. 

 

On the half hour mark, Abraham received the ball from Emerson and passed to Hudson-Odoi, whose shot was blocked by Meyer. Hudson-Odoi then had a shot saved by Guaita, who was then called into action to keep out Azpilicueta's shot. 

 

In the 38th minute, Guaita was on hand again, tipping a shot from Kanté over the bar. 

 

A minute later, Rüdiger was fouled in the area by Jordan Ayew. Abraham took the penalty and placed it into the top corner to double Chelsea's lead. 

 

Chelsea were showing no mercy, and in the 41st minute, Hudson-Odoi sent a shot just wide. Two minutes later, McCarthy was shown a yellow card for a foul on Kanté. Hudson-Odoi went for goal from the free kick, but his shot was saved by Guaita. Guaita was twice called into action in first half stoppage time, turning a shot from Loftus-Cheek around the post and saving Abraham's volley. 

 

Chelsea showed no sign of letting up, and in the 49th minute Pulisic flicked the ball onto Loftus-Cheek, whose half volley was saved by Guaita. Loftus-Cheek had another chance in the 54th minute, sending a header over the bar. 

 

Two minutes before the hour mark, Hudson-Odoi sent a shot wide. Both Gerrard and Spencer made changes; Gerrard replaced Schlupp with Ayew while Spencer replaced Emerson with Tomori. 

 

In the 64th minute, Pulisic saw a shot tipped behind by Guaita, with Abraham heading over from the corner. 

 

Palace had barely had a sniff, but with 25 minutes left, Milivojevic played a one-two with Meyer and looked for Riedewald. Riedewald fluffed his lines, however, and sent his shot wide. Chelsea then went up the other end, and Hudson-Odoi hit a hopeful shot wide of the mark.

 

With 20 minutes left, Milivojevic was shown a yellow card for a foul on Loftus-Cheek. Hudson-Odoi went for goal from the free kick, but his shot was saved by Guaita. Spencer then took Pulisic off, replacing him with Sancho. 

 

With just over 15 minutes left, Abraham connected with Azpilicueta's cross with a header that was saved by Guaita.

 

With 14 minutes to go, a rare Palace attack saw Schlupp skip past Tomori's challenge and have a shot which was diverted away by Kepa. The corner came to nothing as Tomori was pushed by Cenk Tosun, who was shown a yellow card. Gerrard then took McArthur off, replacing him with Meyer.

 

With ten minutes left, a header from Zouma was saved by Guaita, before Riedewald was replaced by former Chelsea player Patrick van Aanholt. The game then ran out of steam as Chelsea closed out the win, putting them within three points of Champions League qualification. 

 

Saturday 25 April 2020, 15:00: Barclays Premier League - at Stamford Bridge, London 

Chelsea 2-0 Crystal Palace (Abraham 20, pen 39)

Attendance: 41,631 (3,000 away)

Man of the Match: Tammy Abraham 

 

Other results:

Friday 

Burnley 1-1 Sheff Utd (Brownhill 44; McBurnie 73)

Wolves 0-2 Aston Villa (Drinkwater 34, Jahanbakhsh 85)

West Ham 0-0 Tottenham (Byrne s/o 79)

 

Saturday 

Liverpool 1-0 Man City (Oxlade-Chamberlain 26)

Leicester 2-1 Bournemouth (Vardy 39, 90+5; Wilson 77)

Man Utd 2-2 Watford (Martial 36, Matic 64; Welbeck 18, 79)

 

Sunday 

Newcastle 1-2 Arsenal (Torres 38; Aubameyang 56, Lacazette 76)

Brighton 0-0 Southampton 

 

Monday 

Sheff Utd 0-3 Wolves (Taison 5, Jiménez pen 53, Vinagre 83)

Norwich 1-1 Everton (Ricci 36; Sigurdsson 50)

 

League Table 

                              P      W      D      L      F      A      GD     PTS 
 1.    CL    Man City         35     29     2      4      74     21     53     89
 2.    CL    Liverpool        34     25     6      3      83     25     58     81
 3.    EL    Chelsea          33     23     5      5      63     20     43     74
 4.          Arsenal          35     22     3      10     57     38     19     69
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ 
 5.          Wolves           34     20     4      10     64     32     32     64
 6.          Everton          34     19     6      9      58     42     16     63
 7.          Man Utd          34     17     8      9      53     31     22     59
 8.          Norwich          35     16     4      15     41     53     -12    52
 9.          Brighton         35     13     7      15     44     59     -15    46
 10.         Bournemouth      35     14     2      19     47     50     -3     44
 11.         Leicester        35     12     8      15     47     53     -6     44
 12.         Sheff Utd        35     12     7      16     44     51     -7     43
 13.         Aston Villa      34     11     9      14     40     44     -4     42
 14.         Tottenham        33     11     9      13     36     41     -5     42
 15.         Burnley          35     8      12     15     38     51     -13    36
 16.         Southampton      35     7      10     18     30     55     -25    31
 17.         West Ham         34     6      8      20     26     65     -39    26
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
 18.         Watford          35     4      11     20     32     57     -25    23
 19.         Crystal Palace   35     6      4      25     25     64     -39    22
 20.         Newcastle        35     4      7      24     40     90     -50    19

 

Edited November 16, 2020 by Drogba11CFC

[Drogba11CFC]

Chelsea hosted a struggling Tottenham side knowing that victory would guarantee them a place in the Champions League. Spurs were once again managerless, after Daniel Levy had ridded himself of Marcelo Bielsa after an upturn in fortunes failed to materialise. Spencer, however, was wary of Spurs' abilities, and picked his strongest side.

 

Chelsea

Kepa 

Azpilicueta Rüdiger Zouma Emerson 

Jorginho

Kanté Kovacic 

Pulisic Abraham Sancho 

Substitutes: Caballero, Christensen, Loftus-Cheek, Giroud, Mount, Hudson-Odoi, Tomori 

 

Tottenham 

Lloris

Aurier Sánchez Alderweireld Davies 

Sissoko Ndombele Fernandes Lo Celso 

Kane Son

Substitutes: Gazzaniga, Vertonghen, Winks, Moura, Lamela, Foyth, Gutiérrez

 

Referee: Peter Bankes 

 

Chelsea looked to assert themselves immediately and in the first minute, a free kick from Kovacic was punched clear by Lloris. In the 6th minute, Emerson's cross found Abraham, who headed over. 

 

Kanté was the next player to go for goal, as he received the ball from Azpilicueta and sent a shot wide. 

 

In the 11th minute, a free kick from Kovacic caused mayhem in the Tottenham area. Zouma got his head to the loose ball as numerous Tottenham defenders failed to deal with it, but his header was saved by Lloris.

 

Tottenham had barely had a sniff but in the 22nd minute, Jorginho was booked for a foul on Lo Celso. The free kick found Sissoko, whose header was saved by Kepa. 

 

Chelsea then won a corner, and Kovacic's ball found Abraham, whose header went over the bar. Abraham had another chance from a corner in the 26th minute, which Abraham headed over. 

 

Chelsea were knocking on the door and in the 32nd minute, Jorginho received the ball from Kovacic and passed to Kanté. Kanté let fly with a shot which Lloris couldn't get to, but it went just wide. Pulisic also sent a hopeful shot wide a minute later. 

 

Pulisic would come closer in the 35th minute. Azpilicueta threaded a pass into his path as he got free in the area, but his shot was tipped wide by Lloris when he should have scored as Tottenham desperately tried to weather the storm. 

 

The breakthrough finally came in the 38th minute. A clearance from Lloris was intercepted by Sancho, who played a one-two with Emerson before passing to Kovacic. Kovacic then sent a 25 yard ball to Emerson, who got to the byline before passing back to Sancho. Sancho hit an ambitious effort from the edge of the box which found the opposite corner of the net to give Chelsea the lead. 

 

Mateo Kovacic had two chances just before half time. Two minutes before the break, he sent a long-range piledriver skimming the top of the bar, before sending a shot off target in stoppage time. 

 

Chelsea started the second half as they'd finished the first, with Rüdiger sending a header over the bar from a Kovacic free kick in the 51st minute. 

 

In the 53rd minute, Kanté robbed Davies and left him trailing in his wake as he got to the edge of the box and passed to Abraham, whose shot was saved by Lloris. 

 

Pulisic had been disappointing and Spencer took him off in the 56th minute, with Hudson-Odoi replacing him.

 

Just after the hour mark, a cross from Hudson-Odoi found Sancho, whose header was saved by Lloris. Lloris was called into action again almost immediately to stop Sancho burying a shot after Hudson-Odoi had found him unmarked. 

 

In the 63rd minute, Zouma was shown a yellow card for a foul on Kane.

 

With 25 minutes left, Kovacic received the ball from Sancho and passed to Jorginho, who hit a 30 yard ball ahead of Sancho. Sancho was wide open and sent a low shot past Lloris into the opposite corner of the net to double Chelsea's lead. 

 

Tottenham then made their first change, with Harry Winks replacing Ndombele. Chelsea continued to attack, and with 20 minutes left a shot from Kanté was blocked by Alderweireld. Carver then made his next change, replacing Sissoko with Lucas Moura. 

 

Chelsea had another chance in the 73rd minute. Sancho received the ball from Jorginho and looked to bring Abraham into play. Abraham's shot was blocked by Alderweireld, with Lloris saving Sancho's follow-up. That was Abraham's last contribution, as Spencer replaced him with Giroud. 

 

Giroud nearly made an instant impact, as in the 77th minute, he rose above Alderweireld to meet Hudson-Odoi's cross, but his header was tipped over by Lloris. Tottenham then brought Fernandes off, with Lamela replacing him. 

 

Lamela had two good chances to get Tottenham back into the game. In the 78th minute, he beat Kanté to the ball and raced to the edge of the box before shooting wide, before getting away from Azpilicueta in the 83rd minute only to see his shot saved by Kepa. 

 

With five minutes left, Azpilicueta exchanged passes with Hudson-Odoi and drifted a cross to the near post. Giroud rose above Alderweireld, but his header cleared the crossbar. In the 90th minute, a tiring Kovacic was replaced by Loftus-Cheek.

 

In the 4th minute of stoppage time, Hudson-Odoi received the ball from Azpilicueta and passed to Kanté. Kanté hit a low shot from 25 yards which flew into the bottom corner beyond the despairing dive of Lloris. Martin Tyler, commentating on Sky Sports, exclaimed that "Chelsea were on a different level there" and "That was football as it should be played!" The final whistle followed shortly, guaranteeing Chelsea a Champions League place.

 

Wednesday 29 April 2020, 20:00: Barclays Premier League - at Stamford Bridge, London 

Chelsea 3-0 Tottenham Hotspur (Sancho 38, 65, Kanté 90+4)

Attendance: 41,631 (3,000 away)

Man of the Match: Jadon Sancho 

 

"That was fantastic," Spencer told his players in the dressing room after the match, "You got us our place in the Champions League and you stuffed Tottenham to do so. As nice as it would have been to be playing PSG tonight, you've ensured that we'll have a chance to go again next season."

 

"What happened with PSG anyway?" Tammy Abraham asked. Christian Pulisic opened up his phone and exclaimed "Holy ****!"

 

"What is it?" Spencer asked.

 

"It's PSG," Pulisic explained, "They've beaten Borussia Dortmund 6-1 in the first leg!"

 

League Table 

                              P      W      D      L      F      A      GD     PTS
 1.    CL    Man City         35     29     2      4      74     21     53     89
 2.    CL    Liverpool        34     25     6      3      83     25     58     81
 3.    CL    Chelsea          34     24     5      5      66     20     46     77
 4.          Arsenal          35     22     3      10     57     38     19     69
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
 5.          Wolves           34     20     4      10     64     32     32     64
 6.          Everton          34     19     6      9      58     42     16     63
 7.          Man Utd          34     17     8      9      53     31     22     59
 8.          Norwich          35     16     4      15     41     53     -12    52
 9.          Brighton         35     13     7      15     44     59     -15    46
 10.         Bournemouth      35     14     2      19     47     50     -3     44
 11.         Leicester        35     12     8      15     47     53     -6     44
 12.         Sheff Utd        35     12     7      16     44     51     -7     43
 13.         Aston Villa      34     11     9      14     40     44     -4     42
 14.         Tottenham        34     11     9      14     36     44     -8     42
 15.         Burnley          35     8      12     15     38     51     -13    36
 16.         Southampton      35     7      10     18     30     55     -25    31
 17.         West Ham         34     6      8      20     26     65     -39    26
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
 18.         Watford          35     4      11     20     32     57     -25    23
 19.         Crystal Palace   35     6      4      25     25     64     -39    22
 20.         Newcastle        35     4      7      24     40     90     -50    19

 

Edited November 16, 2020 by Drogba11CFC

[Drogba11CFC]

Chelsea travelled to Goodison Park for their next match, barely 48 hours after the Tottenham game. However, Spencer could afford to make changes with his side safely in the Champions League. Everton, meanwhile, needed a win to keep their fading Champions League hopes alive. On the European front, Liverpool had one foot in a third consecutive Champions League Final after beating RB Leipzig 3-0 at Anfield, while for the second season in a row, the Europa League Final would be contested by two teams from the same nation and looked likely to be an all-Rome affair; AS Roma had beaten Man Utd 3-1 in the Stadio Olimpico while Lazio had secured a 1-1 draw at Molineux.

 

Everton 

Pickford 

Coleman Mina Holgate Sidibé

Gomes Sigurdsson 

Richarlison Iwobi Bernard 

Calvert-Lewin 

Substitutes: Stekelenburg, Keane, Davies, Kean, Gbamin, Baines, Walcott 

 

Chelsea 

Kepa 

Tomori Zouma Christensen Azpilicueta 

Jorginho 

Kanté Mount

Willian Giroud Hudson-Odoi 

Substitutes: Caballero, Rüdiger, Alonso, Abraham, Loftus-Cheek, Pulisic, Batshuayi 

 

Referee: Anthony Taylor 

 

Everton made all the early running, and a 4th minute shot from Bernard cannoned off Tomori before Azpilicueta tackled Richarlison in the 9th minute.

 

Chelsea had their first real chance in the 11th minute. A free kick from Kovacic found Zouma, who beat Sigurdsson in the air but headed over the bar. 

 

In the 14th minute, Sigurdsson received the ball from Bernard and played in Gomes, who put the ball narrowly over. Chelsea then launched a counter attack, and a speculative long-range shot from Hudson-Odoi was tipped over by Pickford. Mount's corner found Kanté, whose header was saved by Pickford.

 

Chelsea were now starting to take control, and in the 23rd minute, Hudson-Odoi had a long range shot which went off-target. 

 

In the 29th minute, Giroud took the ball past Richarlison and had a shot which was turned behind by Pickford. He would have better luck from the corner, as he met Mount's delivery for an easy tap-in to give Chelsea the lead. 

 

Giroud nearly doubled his tally in the 31st minute, meeting Tomori's cross with a volley that was blocked by Coleman.

 

Chelsea were now dominant, and five minutes before half time, Jorginho received the ball from Tomori and fed it left to Mount. Mount whipped a shot towards goal, but it was saved by Pickford. 

 

Everton looked to start the second half on the front foot, and in the 48th minute, a counter attack saw Iwobi bring Richarlison into play with a searching pass. Richarlison shot from a tight angle, but his shot was saved by Kepa. 

 

Carlo Ancelotti made his first change in the 54th minute, replacing Sigurdsson with Tom Davies.

 

Just before the hour mark, Willian sent a free kick to the far post. Kanté hit a volley from a tight angle, which was saved by Pickford. 

 

Everton had been on the back foot but in the 62nd minute, Iwobi got past Jorginho and fed the ball down the line to Sidibé, who played it into the area for Bernard. Bernard hit a hopeful looking shot which was saved by Kepa. 

 

In the 68th minute, Mason Mount played a one-two with Jorginho before swinging the ball out left ahead of Azpilicueta. Azpilicueta drilled a cross towards the far post, where Willian jumped up to send a header into the top corner.

 

Calvert-Lewin was then replaced by Moise Kean, while Spencer replaced Azpilicueta with Alonso. With 16 minutes left, Willian sent a free kick into the area for Zouma, who forced a header goalwards. Pickford saved but the rebound fell to Christensen, whose header went over the bar. 

 

With ten minutes left, Spencer took Jorginho off, replacing him with Loftus-Cheek. Three minutes later, Willian was shown a yellow card for a shove on Coleman. Christensen followed, being booked for a shove on Kean.

 

With five minutes left, Everton replaced Sidibé with Baines, while Hudson-Odoi was replaced by Pulisic. 

 

With 4 minutes left, Holgate sent a cross into the area, where Richarlison had a header saved by Kepa. 

 

Richarlison would have better luck with two minutes left. Bernard won the ball from Loftus-Cheek and passed to Kean, sent a cross to the far post. Zouma couldn't get to it, and Richarlison volleyed home from a tight angle to give Everton a glimmer of hope with his tenth goal of the season. 

 

Chelsea looked to respond immediately, and in the 89th minute, a long ball from Kanté found Pulisic, whose shot from a tight angle was saved by Pickford.

 

As the match entered stoppage time, Everton sought an equaliser. Coleman crossed the ball into the area for Kean, whose header was saved by Kepa. 

 

In the 4th minute of stoppage time, Willian was brought down as he entered the area. Mount stepped up and sent Pickford the wrong way to put the result beyond doubt.

 

Friday 1 May 2020, 19:45: Barclays Premier League - at Goodison Park, Liverpool 

Everton 1-3 Chelsea (Richarlison 88; Giroud 29, Willian 68, Mount pen 90+4)

Attendance: 39,529 (3,000 away)

Man of the Match: Mason Mount 

 

Other results 

Friday 

Crystal Palace 1-3 West Ham (Milivojevic 65; Noble pen 24; Honorat 26, 33)

Saturday 

Sheff Utd 1-1 Liverpool (Baldock 40; Origi 16)

Aston Villa 0-1 Brighton (Groß pen 9)

Man City 2-1 Wolves (De Bruyne 1, Bernardo Silva 33; Neves 6, Loiodice s/o 88)

Watford 0-0 Leicester 

Arsenal 1-2 Burnley (Nketiah 37; Barnes 16, Tarkowski 59)

Sunday

Tottenham 1-1 Newcastle (Lucas Moura 89; Bentaleb pen 55)

Southampton 1-3 Man Utd (Adams 65; Greenwood 40, 63, Bailly 90+3)

Bournemouth 0-2 Norwich (Pukki 74, Stiepermann 81)

Monday 

Wolves 0-0 Everton

League Table:

                              P      W      D      L      F      A      GD     PTS
 1.    C     Man City         36     30     2      4      76     22     54     92
 2.    CL    Liverpool        35     25     7      3      84     26     58     82
 3.    CL    Chelsea          35     25     5      5      69     21     48     80
 4.          Arsenal          36     22     3      11     58     40     18     69
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
 5.          Wolves           36     20     5      11     65     34     31     65
 6.          Everton          36     19     7      10     59     45     14     64
 7.          Man Utd          35     18     8      9      56     32     24     62
 8.          Norwich          36     17     4      15     43     53     -10    55
 9.          Brighton         36     14     7      15     45     59     -14    49
 10.         Leicester        36     12     9      15     47     53     -6     45
 11.         Bournemouth      36     14     2      20     47     52     -5     44
 12.         Sheff Utd        36     12     8      16     45     52     -7     44
 13.         Tottenham        35     11     10     14     37     45     -8     43
 14.         Aston Villa      35     11     9      15     40     45     -5     42
 15.         Burnley          36     9      12     15     40     52     -12    39
 16.         Southampton      36     7      10     19     31     58     -27    31
 17.         West Ham         35     7      8      20     29     66     -37    29
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ 
 18.         Watford          36     4      12     20     32     57     -25    24
 19.   R     Crystal Palace   36     6      4      26     26     67     -41    22
 20.   R     Newcastle        36     4      8      24     41     91     -50    20

 

Edited November 16, 2020 by Drogba11CFC

[Drogba11CFC]

Chelsea's penultimate home game of the season saw them host a Southampton side who were safe from relegation. The Blues could still finish second if they won their last three games, with Liverpool and Aston Villa their other opponents. In Europe, Liverpool had reached their third consecutive Champions League Final but would be without Virgil Van Dijk, who had needlessly picked up a second yellow card in the final minute of Liverpool's 1-0 win at the Red Bull Arena, while the Europa League Final would once again be an all-English affair, with Wolves beating Lazio 1-0 in Rome while Man Utd overturned a 3-1 deficit to defeat AS Roma on penalties. 

 

Chelsea 

Kepa 

James Zouma Tomori Azpilicueta 

Jorginho Kanté 

Willian Mount Sancho 

Abraham 

Substitutes: Caballero, Rüdiger, Alonso, Abraham, Loftus-Cheek, Pulisic, Batshuayi 

 

Southampton 

McCarthy 

Vestergaard Bednarek Danso 

Walker-Peters Armstrong Højbjerg Ward-Prowse Bertrand 

Obafemi Ings

Substitutes: Gunn, Ballo-Touré, Redmond, Adams, Romeu, Valery, Djenepo

 

Referee: Lee Mason 

 

Chelsea looked to start strongly, and in the second minute Mount went close from distance. Tomori then sent a header over the bar, before Giroud saw a header saved by McCarthy.

 

In the 7th minute, Jorginho received a yellow card for a foul on Ward-Prowse. 

 

Chelsea continued to dominate, and Kanté saw a shot blocked by Stuart Armstrong before McCarthy saved a shot from Giroud. Giroud had another chance in the 10th minute, as his header was saved by McCarthy. 

 

In the 13th minute, Tomori was shown a yellow card for a foul on Ings. 

 

Willian was the next player to have a chance in the 15th minute, as he exchanged passes with James before seeing his shot held by McCarthy. 

 

It seemed to be a non-stop barrage of Chelsea attacks, as Giroud sent a header over the bar before Sancho surged past Vestergaard and hit a long range effort which was saved by McCarthy. 

 

Chelsea had an even better chance in the 19th minute. Mount's corner was headed clear by Bednarek but only as far as Sancho. Sancho swung the ball towards Mount, whose volley from a tight angle struck the crossbar.

 

In the 26th minute, Sancho received the ball from Jorginho and brought Willian into play with a searching pass. Willian went for goal, but his half volley went wide.

 

Kanté had another chance just after the hour mark, as his long-range piledriver was tipped over by McCarthy. Willian then sent a free kick into the side netting, before Zouma was booked for a foul on Ings. 

 

Chelsea were awarded another free kick in the 39th minute, with Giroud going for goal only to see his shot saved by McCarthy. McCarthy would save from Giroud again a minute later, after the Frenchman had beaten Højbjerg in the air. 

 

Giroud would have another chance in the 42nd minute, as he climbed above Danso to meet James' cross with a header that was saved by McCarthy.  Azpilicueta then tried his luck with a shot from distance which went flying over the bar. 

 

The breakthrough finally came in the 45th minute. Kanté received the ball from Willian and tried a long range effort which flew past the outstretched arm of McCarthy into the net from 25 yards out. 

 

Chelsea looked to start the second half as they'd finished the first, and five minutes into the half Kanté saw a volley saved by McCarthy. 

 

Southampton had created nothing but had their first chance in the 52nd minute. A cross from Obafemi found Ings, whose header was saved by Kepa. 

 

In the 56th minute, Reece James was shown a yellow card for a foul on Armstrong.

 

Just before the hour mark, a cross from Giroud found Willian, whose header was saved by McCarthy. Willian was then booked for a foul on Bertrand.

 

In the 62nd minute, a long ball from Azpilicueta found Sancho, who let fly with a shot which McCarthy did well to tip wide. Southampton then launched a counter attack, and Obafemi got into the area before having a shot which was saved by Kepa. 

 

In the 65th minute, Willian was replaced by Pulisic. A minute later, Giroud beat Bednarek in the area to meet Azpilicueta's cross only to head the ball over. 

 

Former Chelsea player Oriol Romeu came on for Armstrong in the 67th minute, and was immediately called into action to block a shot from Mount.

 

That would prove a vital block, as in the 69th minute, a pass from Ings was intercepted by Azpilicueta. Azpilicueta looked to pass back to Kepa, but Obafemi pounced and equalised for Southampton. 

 

Chelsea looked to retake the lead immediately, and in the 71st minute a long-range shot from Giroud was saved by McCarthy. 

 

With 15 minutes left, a free kick from James found Tomori, who headed high and wide from an awkward angle. Spencer then took Giroud off, with Abraham replacing him.

 

In the 77th minute, Pulisic received the ball from James and took it past Bertrand before curling it into the far post. Sancho won the aerial challenge against Walker-Peters and powered a header into the net to regain the lead for Chelsea.

 

With just under ten minutes left, a header from Abraham was saved by McCarthy, who looked to set up a counter-attack. Some good passing play saw Højbjerg find Bertrand. Bertrand got down the left and sent in a cross to Højbjerg, who tapped in from close range to bring Southampton level again. 

 

Chelsea began piling on the pressure as the game entered the final ten minutes, with Romeu blocking a shot from Kanté before Abraham headed over. Southampton then took Obafemi off, replacing him with Che Adams. 

 

With two minutes left, a volley from Abraham struck McCarthy, who prevented Abraham from burying the rebound. In the final minute, McCarthy saved from Kanté as Chelsea poured forward, saving a shot from Kanté and a header from Abraham in stoppage time as well.

 

In the final minute of stoppage time, Reece James ran onto a pass from Kanté and hot into the area before shooting. McCarthy couldn't get to it, but the ball rolled the wrong side of the post, with the final whistle going seconds later. 

 

Saturday 9 May 2020, 15:00: Barclays Premier League - at Stamford Bridge, London 

Chelsea 2-2 Southampton (Kanté 45, Sancho 77; Obafemi 68, Højbjerg 81)

Attendance: 41,631 (3,000 away)

Man of the Match: N'Golo Kanté 

 

Other results 

Leicester 0-2 Arsenal (Aubameyang 48, Lacazette 57)

Liverpool 4-0 Aston Villa (Firmino 11, 48, 80, Origi 31)

Newcastle 2-1 Bournemouth (Joelinton 81, Longstaff 86; Wilson 90+1)

Norwich 0-0 Sheff Utd 

Brighton 2-0 Everton (Bissouma 13, Maupay 69)

Sunday 

Burnley 0-3 Tottenham (Son 23, Alderweireld 60, Kane 67)

Wolves 4-3 Crystal Palace (Jiménez 3, Saïss 24, Taison 30, 67; Milivojevic 51, pen 89, Kouyaté 69)

Man Utd 0-1 Man City (Sterling 89)

Monday 

West Ham 3-2 Watford (Rice 7, Haller 33, Noble 70; Deulofeu 23, Janmaat 76)

 

League Table 

                              P      W      D      L      F      A      GD     PTS
 1.    C     Man City         37     31     2      4      77     22     55     95
 2.    CL    Liverpool        36     26     7      3      88     26     62     85
 3.    CL    Chelsea          36     25     6      5      71     23     48     81
 4.    CL    Arsenal          37     23     3      11     60     40     20     72
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ 
 5.          Wolves           37     21     5      11     69     37     32     68
 6.          Everton          37     19     7      11     59     47     12     64
 7.          Man Utd          36     18     8      10     56     33     23     62
 8.          Norwich          37     17     5      15     43     53     -10    56
 9.          Brighton         37     15     7      15     47     59     -12    52
 10.         Tottenham        37     12     10     15     40     49     -9     46
 11.         Aston Villa      37     12     9      16     44     49     -5     45
 12.         Sheff Utd        37     12     9      16     45     52     -7     45
 13.         Leicester        37     12     9      16     47     55     -8     45
 14.         Bournemouth      37     14     2      21     48     54     -6     44
 15.         Burnley          37     9      12     16     40     55     -15    39
 16.         Southampton      37     7      11     19     33     60     -27    32
 17.         West Ham         36     8      8      20     32     68     -36    32
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ 
 18.   R     Watford          37     4      12     21     34     60     -26    24
 19.   R     Newcastle        37     5      8      24     43     92     -49    23
 20.   R     Crystal Palace   37     6      4      27     29     71     -42    22

 

Edited November 16, 2020 by Drogba11CFC

[Drogba11CFC]

Chelsea faced Liverpool in their final home game of the season. The Reds may have missed out on the title, but they would be competing in the FA Cup Final against Man Utd and the Champions League Final against PSG. Spencer still had an eye on second place, and played a strong side. 

 

Chelsea 

Kepa 

Azpilicueta Zouma Christensen Emerson 

Jorginho 

Kanté Kovacic 

Pulisic Abraham Sancho 

Substitutes: Caballero, Rüdiger, Loftus-Cheek, Giroud, Mount, Hudson-Odoi, James 

 

Liverpool 

Alisson 

Trent Van Dijk Gomez Bernat

Wijnaldum Keïta 

Salah Firmino Mané 

Origi

Substitutes: Adrián, Matip, Fabinho, Millar, Oxlade-Chamberlain, Lovren, Milner 

 

Referee: David Coote 

 

Liverpool looked to fly out of the blocks, and in the first minute, Origi got free of the defence and had a shot which Kepa tipped behind. Sadio Mané then played a one-two with Firmino before sending a half-volley wide.

 

In the 7th minute, Abraham was tripped by Gomez, who was shown a yellow card. 

 

A minute later, Sancho was tripped by Alexander-Arnold. Kovacic stepped up, but his free kick struck the wall.

 

Chelsea then came forward again, and Pulisic received the ball from Azpilicueta before bending a shot just wide from long range. 

 

Mané was then fouled by Pulisic, and Van Dijk met the free kick with his head but sent his header over. 

 

In the 13th minute, Abraham ghosted past Bernat and passed to Pulisic. Pulisic found Kanté, whose thunderous drive was tipped over by Alisson. 

 

Pulisic was then penalised for a foul on Keïta. Keïta went down badly, and was forced off with a groin strain which would rule him out of the Champions League Final, with Fabinho replacing him. 

 

In the 16th minute, Origi ran onto Alexander-Arnold's pass and took a shot which was tipped behind by Kepa. 

 

Two minutes later, Zouma was booked for a foul on Origi. Mané then saw a shot saved by Kepa with Emerson clearing the ball behind before Salah could get to it. Fabinho got above Christensen to meet Fabinho's corner, but his header went over the bar.

 

In the 23rd minute, Salah was brought down by Emerson. His free kick found Gomez, whose header was way too high.

 

In the 26th minute, a rare Chelsea attack saw Emerson play in Sancho, whose shot was saved by Alisson. Liverpool launched a counter attack, and Mané beat Azpilicueta to the ball before swinging a cross into the area. Origi beat Zouma in the air, but his header was saved by Kepa.

 

Chelsea then launched an attack, and Firmino missed the ball as Jorginho found Kanté, whose low shot skidded in front of Alisson but went just wide. 

 

Chelsea continued to apply pressure, and on the half hour mark Kanté played a pass to Sancho, whose shot was saved by Alisson. 

 

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

 

Four minutes before halftime, Sancho ran onto Kovacic's pass. Alexander-Arnold couldn't keep up with him, and he took a shot which was saved by Alisson. Liverpool then countered, and Mané received the ball from Wijnaldum before taking a shot which was saved by Kepa. 

 

Azpilicueta then got in the way of a Firmino shot, before Mané wriggled away from Azpilicueta and took a shot which was saved by Kepa.

 

In the second minute of first half stoppage time, a free kick from Kovacic found Abraham, whose header was saved by Alisson, before Mané hit a shot off target to bring the first half to a frantic end.

 

Chelsea looked to fly out of the blocks for the second half, and in the 48th minute Sancho received a pass from Kovacic and took a shot which was turned behind by Alisson. Three minutes later, a cross from Sancho found Abraham, whose header went over the bar. 

 

In the 57th minute, a searching pass from Kovacic found Sancho, who passed back to Emerson. Emerson's shot was blocked by Bernat, but the rebound fell to Abraham, whose volley struck the inside of the post on its way into the net with Alisson still getting to his feet after diving for Emerson's shot. 

 

Liverpool looked to respond, and in the 59th minute Firmino received the ball from Mané, but sent his shot over the bar. 

 

Firmino would regret that miss, as just after the hour mark Kovacic hit a 25 yard ball to Emerson. Emerson got down the left and crossed the ball before Alexander-Arnold could tackle him, and Abraham met it with an aerial volley which flew into the net before Alisson could react, taking him above Agüero in the race for the golden boot.

 

Chelsea took Pulisic off to be replaced by Hudson-Odoi, while Liverpool replaced Origi with Oxlade-Chamberlain. 

 

In the 68th minute, Wijnaldum volleyed the ball over the bar before a free kick from Kovacic was tipped over by Alisson. 

 

With twenty minutes left, Mané surged past Azpilicueta and passed to Oxlade-Chamberlain, whose curling shot was saved by Kepa. Kepa couldn't hold it, however, and Salah pounced on the rebound to get Liverpool back into the game. 

 

Chelsea now found themselves under the cosh as Liverpool sought an equaliser, and a minute later Wijnaldum ran onto Mané's pass before his shot was saved by Kepa. 

 

In the 73rd minute, Jorginho was shown a yellow card for a foul on Wijnaldum. A minute later, Firmino headed over the bar as Liverpool kept up the pressure. 

 

With 14 minutes left, Chelsea broke as Abraham got past Bernat and shot from a tight angle, only to be denied by the post. Klopp then took Alexander-Arnold off, replacing him with Milner. 

 

Liverpool continued to pour forward, and Kepa did brilliantly to turn Salah's shot behind in the 79th minute. Fabinho headed the corner clean over the bar as Spencer ordered his players to batten down the hatches.

 

With 8 minutes left, Mané got above Azpilicueta to head over, before Wijnaldum smashed a shot against the crossbar from a tight angle. 

 

With 5 minutes to go, a rare Chelsea attack saw Kovacic send an aerial ball towards Hudson-Odoi, who beat Bernat in the air to power a header at goal. Alisson saw it too late, but it went the wrong side of the post. 

 

In the 88th minute, a searching pass from Milner found Oxlade-Chamberlain, whose volley went over the bar. Mané then broke through the offside trap only for Kepa to scramble across and tip his shot behind. 

 

Liverpool continued their onslaught through stoppage time, but Chelsea held firm to secure a hard-earned victory. 

 

Wednesday 13 May 2020, 19:45: Barclays Premier League - at Stamford Bridge, London 

Chelsea 2-1 Liverpool (Abraham 57, 61; Salah 70)

Attendance: 41,631 (3,000 away)

Man of the Match: Emerson Palmieri 

 

Other results 

Thursday 

West Ham 0-4 Man Utd (Mata 33, Greenwood 35, 45+3, Rashford 73)

 

League Table 

                              P      W      D      L      F      A      GD     PTS 
 1.    C     Man City         37     31     2      4      77     22     55     95
 2.    CL    Liverpool        37     26     7      4      89     28     61     85
 3.    CL    Chelsea          37     26     6      5      73     24     49     84
 4.    CL    Arsenal          37     23     3      11     60     20     20     72
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ 
 5.          Wolves           37     21     5      11     69     37     32     68
 6.          Man Utd          37     19     8      10     60     33     27     65
 7.          Everton          37     19     7      11     59     47     12     64
 8.          Norwich          37     17     5      15     43     53     -10    56
 9.          Brighton         37     15     7      15     47     59     -12    52
 10.         Tottenham        37     12     10     15     40     49     -9     46
 11.         Aston Villa      37     12     9      16     44     49     -5     45
 12.         Sheff Utd        37     12     9      16     45     52     -7     45
 13.         Leicester        37     12     9      16     47     55     -8     45
 14.         Bournemouth      37     14     2      21     48     54     -6     44
 15.         Burnley          37     9      12     16     40     55     -15    39
 16.         Southampton      37     7      11     19     33     60     -27    32
 17.         West Ham         37     8      8      21     32     72     -40    32
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ 
 18.   R     Watford          37     4      12     21     34     60     -26    24
 19.   R     Newcastle        37     5      8      24     43     92     -49    23
 20.   R     Crystal Palace   37     6      4      27     29     71     -42    22

 

Edited November 17, 2020 by Drogba11CFC

[Drogba11CFC]

Chelsea's final match of the season saw them travel to Villa Park. The match had little riding on it, but Spencer still wanted a strong finish. 

 

Aston Villa 

Reina 

Guilbert Konsa Engels Targett

McGinn Luiz 

El Ghazi Jota Trezeguet 

Samatta 

Substitutes: Heaton, Hause, Hourihane, Wesley, Clarke, Revan, Elmohamady

 

Chelsea 

Kepa 

James Tomori Christensen Azpilicueta 

Kovacic 

Kanté Loftus-Cheek 

Pulisic Abraham Sancho 

Substitutes: Caballero, Rüdiger, Zouma, Mount, Giroud, Hudson-Odoi, Emerson 

 

Referee: Kevin Friend

 

Chelsea made a strong start and in the 5th minute, Abraham played a one-two with James before sending a cross into the area. Sancho connected and powered a header into the net. 

 

In the 12th minute, Sancho was tripped by Guilbert. The free kick found Christensen, whose header went over the bar. 

 

Aston Villa's first chance came in the 18th minute. A cross from El Ghazi found Douglas Luiz, whose header looped safely over the crossbar. Guilbert then sprinted past Tomori before having a shot which went wide. 

 

In the 25th minute, a cross from James was met by Abraham, who was going for the golden boot. Abraham powered a header at goal, but his header was tipped over by Reina. Abraham had another chance a minute later, but his volley was saved by Reina. 

 

In the 27th minute, Samatta received a yellow card for a foul on Christensen. Sancho then looked to double his tally, but his shot hit the side netting. 

 

On the half hour mark, Kanté sent a shot wide, before Aston Villa won a corner. Jota's corner found Targett, whose header was saved by Kepa. 

 

Ten minutes before half time, Sancho got free of the defence and took a shot. His effort struck Reina, and the rebound fell to Abraham, whose shot was blocked by Konsa.

 

In the 37th minute, Sancho was fouled by Konsa. Kovacic's free kick found Abraham, whose header went over the bar from an awkward angle. 

 

Four minutes from the break, an unmarked Sancho ran onto Kanté's pass. He then passed to Azpilicueta, who hit a hopeful shot from 25 yards which flew into the net past the outstretched arm of Reina. 

 

Pulisic had the chance to make it three just before half time, but he sent his half volley wide.

 

Chelsea started the second half as they'd finished the first, with Loftus-Cheek playing a pass to Sancho, whose shot was saved by Reina. Abraham then had a go from a tight angle, with Reina pushing the ball away. 

 

Christensen then sent a header wide from a free kick, before Sancho ran onto a pass from Loftus-Cheek and saw his shot saved by Reina. Tomori was next, with his header from a free kick being saved by Reina. 

 

Pulisic had been struggling since sustaining a gashed leg in the 4th minute, and was replaced by Hudson-Odoi. Aston Villa then made a rare foray forward, but Björn Engels steered his header wide. 

 

Villa began to apply pressure, and on the hour mark El Ghazi ran onto McGinn's pass before putting his shot wide. McGinn was then shown a yellow card for a foul on Abraham. 

 

From the free kick, Hudson-Odoi sent the ball far post, where Sancho sent a header over the bar. Matt Targett then saw a shot blocked by Christensen.

 

With 25 minutes left, Sancho upended McGinn. Jota stepped up and fired the ball into the net to get Villa back into the net. 

 

Chelsea looked to restore their two-goal lead, and in the 67th minute Sancho showed Guilbert a clean set of heels before putting the ball wide from a tight angle. Abraham then headed the ball over, before Hourihane came on for Douglas Luiz. 

 

With 20 minutes left, Hudson-Odoi received the ball from Kanté and sent a 30 yard ball to Abraham. Abraham looked certain to score, but his shot was saved by Reina. 

 

Kepa was then called into action, saving a shot from Guilbert with Konsa heading over from the corner.

 

Chelsea then came close again in the 77th minute, as Christensen saw a header tipped over by Reina. Loftus-Cheek then saw a shot ripple the side netting before Aston Villa replaced Targett with Hause.

 

With 10 minutes left, McGinn saw a shot tipped over by Kepa before Mount came on to replace Sancho. Three minutes later, Kepa saved a header from El Ghazi. Trezeguet was then injured, and replaced by Wesley. 

 

With 5 minutes left, Villa's onslaught continued as El Ghazi sent a header skimming the top of the bar.

 

In the 87th minute, Loftus-Cheek was tripped by McGinn. McGinn had already been booked, and received his second yellow card. Guilbert was booked for persistent fouls a minute later.

 

Abraham had one last chance in stoppage time, with his header being saved by Reina.

 

Sunday 17 May 2020, 15:00: Barclays Premier League - at Villa Park, Birmingham 

Aston Villa 1-2 Chelsea (Jota 63, McGinn s/o 87; Sancho 5, Azpilicueta 41)

Attendance: 40,931 (3,000 away)

Man of the Match: Jadon Sancho 

 

Other results:

Arsenal 1-0 Brighton (Martinelli 88)

Bournemouth 1-2 Man Utd (Fraser 32; Greenwood 33, Rashford 88)

Crystal Palace 2-1 Burnley (Riedewald 5, Milivojevic 31; Wood 57)

Everton 3-2 Newcastle (Richarlison 4, Sigurdsson pen 31, Davies 44; Almirón 53, Saint-Maximin 67)

Man City 2-1 Norwich (Agüero 29, De Bruyne 57; Cantwell 63)

Sheff Utd 1-1 West Ham (McBurnie 32; Haller 90+1)

Southampton 2-3 Leicester (Obafemi 58, 68; Tielemans 24, 74, Chilwell 35)

Tottenham 1-1 Wolves (Son 90+1; Boly 90+3)

Watford 0-2 Liverpool (Shaqiri 5, 51)

[Drogba11CFC]

2019/20 Season Summary (original idea by @CFuller)

Premier League

Final Table 

                              P      W      D      L      F      A      GD     PTS 
 1.    C      Man City        38     32     2      4      79     23     56     98
 2.    CL     Liverpool       38     27     7      4      91     28     63     88
 3.    CL     Chelsea         38     27     6      5      75     25     50     87
 4.    CL     Arsenal         38     24     3      11     61     40     21     75
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
 5.    EL     Wolves          38     21     6      11     70     38     32     69
 6.    CL     Man Utd         38     20     8      10     62     34     28     68
 7.    EL     Everton         38     20     7      11     62     49     13     67
 8.           Norwich         38     17     5      16     44     55     -11    56
 9.           Brighton        38     15     7      16     47     60     -13    52
 10.          Leicester       38     13     9      16     50     57     -7     48
 11.          Tottenham       38     12     11     15     41     50     -9     47
 12.          Sheff Utd       38     12     10     16     46     53     -7     46
 13.          Aston Villa     38     12     9      17     45     51     -6     45
 14.          Bournemouth     38     14     2      22     49     56     -7     44
 15.          Burnley         38     9      12     17     41     57     -16    39
 16.          West Ham        38     8      9      21     33     73     -40    33
 17.          Southampton     38     7      11     20     35     63     -28    32
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
 18.   R      Crystal Palace  38     7      4      27     31     72     -41    25
 19.   R      Watford         38     4      12     22     34     62     -28    24
 20.   R      Newcastle       38     5      8      25     45     95     -50    23

 

Awards

PFA Player of the Year: Kevin De Bruyne (Man City)

FWA Footballer of the Year: Kevin De Bruyne (Man City)

PFA Young Player of the Year: Tammy Abraham (Chelsea)

Golden Boot: Tammy Abraham (Chelsea) and Sergio Agüero (Man City)

Golden Glove: Ederson (Man City)

Manager of the Year: Jürgen Klopp (Liverpool)

PFA Team of the Year: Ederson (Man City); Trent Alexander-Arnold (Liverpool), Aymeric Laporte (Man City), John Stones (Man City), Andrew Robertson (Liverpool); Bernardo Silva (Man City), Kevin De Bruyne (Man City), Naby Keïta (Liverpool), Olexandr Zinchenko (Man City); Sergio Agüero (Man City), Mohamed Salah (Liverpool)

 

Managerial Movements 

Tottenham: José Mourinho sacked on 9 December, Marcelo Bielsa appointed on 20 December 

West Ham: David Moyes sacked on 9 December, Sam Allardyce appointed on 23 December 

Newcastle: Steve Bruce sacked on 9 December, Quique Sanchez Flores appointed on 23 December 

Crystal Palace: Roy Hodgson sacked on 23 December, Steven Gerrard appointed on 7 January 

Watford: Nigel Pearson sacked on 2 January, Aykut Kocaman appointed on 10 January 

Leicester: Brendan Rodgers sacked on 22 February, Marco Giampaolo appointed on 9 March 

Newcastle: Quique Sanchez Flores sacked on 19 March, Paulo Sousa appointed on 4 April 

Tottenham: Marcelo Bielsa sacked on 24 April, Carlo Ancelotti appointed on 24 June

 

Leading Transfers (January only)

 DATE         NAME                      FROM                  TO              FEE (POTENTIAL) 
 7/1/2020     Jadon Sancho              Borussia Dortmund     Chelsea         £97M
 5/1/2020     Juan Bernat               Paris SG              Liverpool       £40M
 9/1/2020     Rico Henry                Brentford             Brighton        £18.25M
 31/1/2020    Taison                    Shakhtar              Wolves          £13.25M
 28/1/2020    Luke Ayling               Leeds                 Leicester       £9.5M (£11.75M)
 31/1/2020    Gonzalo Montiel           River                 Wolves          £7M
 6/1/2020     Felipe Gutiérrez          Sporting Kansas City  Tottenham       £5.25M
 17/1/2020    Xeka                      LOSC Lille            Leicester       £4.3M
 31/1/2020    Nicolas Cozza             Montpellier           Arsenal         £3.3M
 31/1/2020    Samuele Ricci             Empoli                Norwich         £1.1M (£2.8M)

 

Also in England

Championship

Promoted: Fulham (1st), Leeds (2nd), Huddersfield (5th)

Also in Play-offs: West Brom (3rd), Nottingham Forest (4th), Brentford (6th)

Relegated: QPR (22nd), Barnsley (23rd), Charlton (24th)

 

League One 

Promoted: Gillingham (1st), Ipswich (2nd), Sunderland (6th)

Also in Play-Offs: Oxford Utd (3rd), Blackpool (4th), MK Dons (5th)

Relegated: Rochdale (22nd), Southend (23rd), Bolton (24th)

 

League Two

Promoted: Mansfield (1st), Colchester (2nd), Scunthorpe (3rd), Bradford City (4th)

Also in Play-Offs: Crewe (5th), Crawley (6th), Cheltenham (7th)

Relegated: Cambridge (24th)

 

National League 

Promoted: Aldershot (1st), Yeovil Town (2nd)

Also in Play-Offs: Dagenham and Redbridge (3rd), Fylde (4th), Wrexham (5th), Barrow (6th), FC Halifax (7th)

Relegated: Boreham Wood (22nd), Chorley (23rd), Eastleigh (24th)

 

National League North 

Promoted: Curzon Ashton (1st), Chester (2nd)

Also in Play-Offs: Southport (3rd), Kidderminster (4th), York City (5th), Gloucester (6th), Altrincham (7th)

Relegated: Brackley (23rd), Bradford Park Avenue (24th)

 

National League South

Promoted: Dulwich Hamlet (1st), Wealdstone (2nd)

Also in Play-Offs: Weymouth (3rd), Dartford (4th), Bath City (5th), Welling (6th), Maidstone (7th)

Relegated: Hungerford (23rd), Chippenham (24th)

 

Promoted from Regional Leagues 

Salisbury, Stourbridge, Tamworth, Weston-Super-Mare

 

Domestic Cups

FA Cup: Liverpool 3-0 Man Utd 

Carabao Cup: Chelsea 3-1 Everton 

Community Shield: Liverpool 3-1 Man City 

Leasing.com Trophy: Ipswich 4-2 Blackpool 

FA Challenge Trophy: Yeovil 2-1 Aldershot (aet)

 

Europe 

UEFA Champions League: Liverpool 2-1 PSG - at Atatürk Olympiyat Stadyumu, Istanbul 

UEFA Europa League: Man Utd 1-1 Wolves (Man Utd win 5-3 on penalties) - at Energa Gdańsk, Gdansk 

UEFA Super Cup: Chelsea 1-0 Liverpool - at Ínönü Spor Kompleksi, Istanbul 

 

Awards

Best Player in Europe: Cristiano Ronaldo (Juventus)

European Golden Boy: Erling Haaland (Borussia Dortmund)

Golden Shoe: Cristiano Ronaldo (Juventus)

 

Jupiler Pro League 

Top Three: Club Brugge KV (1st), RSC Anderlecht (2nd), Standard Liège (3rd)

Relegated: Antwerp (16th)

Promoted from Proximus League: Beerschot VA

 

Dutch Eredivisie

Top Three: Ajax (1st), Vitesse (2nd), Feyenoord (3rd)

Relegated: Fortuna Sittard (17th), KRC (18th)

Promoted from Keuken Kampioen Divisie: De Graafschap, Excelsior

 

Ligue 1 Conforama

Top Three: PSG (1st), Lyon (2nd), Marseille (3rd)

Relegated: Amiens SC (19th), Toulouse FC (20th)

Promoted from Domino's Ligue 2: FC Lorient, SM Caen

 

German Bundesliga 

Top Three: FC Bayern Munich (1st), Borussia Dortmund (2nd), RB Leipzig (3rd)

Relegated: Union Berlin (17th), Fortuna Dusseldorf (18th)

Promoted from Bundesliga 2: Hamburger SV, VfB Stuttgart 

 

Serie A TIM

Top Three: Juventus (1st), Inter Milan (2nd), AC Milan (3rd)

Relegated: Udinese (18th), Brescia (19th), Hellas Verona (20th)

Promoted from Serie BKT: Chievo, Perugia, Frosinone

 

Liga NOS

Top Three: Benfica (1st), FC Porto (2nd), Sporting CP (3rd)

Relegated: Santa Clara (17th), Gil Vicente (18th)

Promoted from Ledman Ligapro: Chaves, Académica de Coimbra

 

Premierliga

Top Three: Zenit St Petersburg (1st), Krasnodar (2nd), CSKA Moscow (3rd)

Relegated: Krylja Sovetov (17th), Sochi (18th)

Promoted from 1.FNL: SKA Khabarovsk, Yenisey

 

Ladbrokes Premiership

Top Three: Celtic (1st), Rangers (2nd), Aberdeen (3rd)

Relegated: St. Johnstone (11th), Hamilton (12th)

Promoted from Ladbrokes Championship: Alloa Athletic, Dunfermline Athletic 

 

La Liga Santander 

Top Three: Barcelona (1st), Real Sociedad (2nd), Real Madrid (3rd)

Relegated: Real Valladolid (18th), Eibar (19th), Leganés (20th)

Promoted from La Liga Smartbank: Rayo Vallencano, Real Zaragoza, Huesca

 

Global

FIFA Club World Championship: Liverpool 4-1 Palmeiras - at Khalifa International Stadium, Doha

 

Awards

Ballon d'Or: 1st - Cristiano Ronaldo (Juventus), 2nd - Kylian Mbappé (PSG), 3rd - Mohamed Salah (Liverpool)

FIFA World Player of the Year: 1st - Cristiano Ronaldo (Juventus), 2nd - Kylian Mbappé (PSG), 3rd - Mohamed Salah (Liverpool)

World Soccer World Player of the Year: 1st - Cristiano Ronaldo (Juventus), 2nd - Lionel Messi (Barcelona), 3rd - Mohamed Salah (Liverpool)

FIFA/FIFPro World XI: Thibaut Courtois (Real Madrid); Dani Alves (Sao Paolo), Virgil Van Dijk (Liverpool), Samuel Umtiti (Barcelona), Alex Sandro (Juventus); Lionel Messi (Barcelona), Ivan Rakitic (Barcelona); Mohamed Salah (Liverpool), Nabil Fekir (Real Betis), Sadio Mané (Liverpool); Cristiano Ronaldo (Real Madrid)

 

Leading Transfers (not including Premier League)

 DATE         NAME                      FROM                 TO                   FEE (POTENTIAL)
 15/1/2020    Nicolás Tagliafico        Ajax                 PSG                  £50M (£64M)
 8/1/2020     Kevin Kampl               RB Leipzig           Bayern Munich        £14M
 31/1/2020    Daniele Rugani            Juventus             AS Monaco            £13M (£15.5M)
 1/1/2020     Berat Djimsiti            Atalanta             Club Brugge KV       £12.75M
 1/1/2020     Aboubakar Kamara          Fulham               KRC Genk             £12.5M
 11/1/2020    Sergiño Dest              Ajax                 Schalke 04           £12.5M
 31/1/2020    Jonathan Leko             West Brom            Eintracht Frankfurt  £11.25M
 1/1/2020     Lyanco                    Torino               Flamengo             £9.75M
 21/1/2020    Shkodran Mustafi          Arsenal              Dynamo Kyiv          £8.25M (£10M)
 5/1/2020     Daniel Johnson            Preston              FC Copenhagen        £8M

 

Edited December 2, 2020 by Drogba11CFC

[Drogba11CFC]

The summer transfer window saw a number of moves. Eager to finally get his hands on the title, Jürgen Klopp forked out £78million to sign Paulo Dybala from Juventus. Spencer responded by signing Timo Werner from RB Leipzig for £45million and wonderkid Marco Kana from Anderlecht for £16.5million, whilst Hakim Ziyech and Alex Telles arrived on prearranged transfers. 

 

With the arrival of Telles and for a fee of £27.5million, Marcos Alonso moved across London to Arsenal, who also brought former Man Utd winger Memphis Depay from Lyon and Calvin Stengs from AZ Alkmaar for £58million. Man Utd paid Bayer Leverkusen £78million for Leon Bailey, but across the city, Manchester City smashed all transfer records by paying an eye-watering £199million to bring Harry Kane to the Etihad. 

 

Whilst all this was happening, Spencer kept an eye on Euro 2020, after spending a week golfing in Portugal. England got off to a disappointing start, drawing 0-0 with Holland and 1-1 with Austria (with Jadon Sancho getting England's goal in stoppage time) to get the tabloids talking doom and gloom. France, Spain and Portugal all began as expected, as did Germany and Italy. Ethan Ampadu impressed for Wales as they recovered from a 4-0 defeat to France to beat Turkey 2-0. And then England faced Slovakia in a do-or-die clash at Wembley. 

 

England needed a win and were 2-0 up inside 8 minutes as Harry Kane converted a penalty and John Stones doubled the lead. Slovakia got back into it in the 13th minute, but England took it as a personal affront and Harry Kane completed his hat-trick either side of a goal from Sancho to give England a 5-1 half-time lead. Sancho added a sixth in the second half, with Abraham getting his first England goal and Joe Gomez adding to the lead. Slovakia got a second with eleven minutes left, but Sancho completed his hat-trick to restore England's seven-goal lead and send them through with Holland and Austria in spectacular style. 

 

The Three Lions would then face Croatia in the round of 16, and exacted revenge for the semi final of the World Cup as a brace from Raheem Sterling gave England a 2-0 half time lead before Abraham completed the rout in the second half, leading to Sid Collingwood to describe the performance as "STERLING SERVICE" while the Daily Mail's Jamie Dingwall described it as "SWEET REVENGE". This set up a quarter final against Italy, who had eliminated holders Portugal, with the injured Ronaldo being a huge miss for the Selecção. On the political front, Keir Starmer had invoked the wrath of the Labour hard left by posing for a picture of him holding a large England flag with Prime Minister Boris Johnson and Liberal Democrat leader Ed Davey and tweeting "Despite our political differences, we can all agree on one thing: Come on England! #Euro2020"

[Drogba11CFC]

Chelsea's first friendly was away to Lokomotiv Moscow. Spencer fielded a scratch side with much of his squad still at the Euros. He also didn't expect the fans to pay much attention, as England's Euro 2020 quarter final with Italy was taking place at the same time. 

 

The match, however, started badly, as Callum Hudson-Odoi was sent off inside two minutes for a two-footed tackle. Spencer elected to sacrifice Bakayoko, with new signing Hakim Ziyech replacing him. To add to the disappointment, Frederico Chiesa then gave Italy the lead. 

Chelsea still bossed the first half but it was the Russians who got the first goal, as from a corner Rahman was dispossessed by Djordjevic, who applied the finish.

 

Chelsea were behind for only three minutes, as in the 29th minute Pulisic centred the ball for Ziyech, who powered a header into the net. 

 

Chelsea were arguably the better side, but with 20 minutes left Lokomotiv retook the lead. Rahman lost the ball to Miranchuk, who recovered from Kana's tackle and got away from Zappacosta to play in Loren, who half volleyed into the net. 

 

The hosts were reduced to ten men when Djordjovic hacked Rahman down with two feet, but they held firm to secure victory. 

 

Meanwhile Spencer, who had had one eye on the match and one eye on England, suddenly leapt up and hugged Jody Morris just before full time. Yury Semin raised an eyebrow and asked "Kakiye?"

 

"Raheem Sterling, 93rd minute!" Spencer explained, "It's going to extra time!" Semin chuckled as he walked across to shake Spencer's hand.

 

Spencer gave a brief team talk before making a beeline for the executive suite to watch the remainder of the game on the BBC World Service. Italy had more of extra time, but England defended resolutely. Then came the 114th minute. 

 

"It's now Lazzari," Jonathan Pearce said, "And he puts in a cross, Immobile's arriving, and Immobile scores! Italy lead with six minutes to go! Question marks, perhaps, over whether Chilwell or Tomori should have done better, but Italy won't care!"

 

England desperately tried to get level again. Abraham met a cross from Sterling but headed over, before seeing another header saved by Donnarumma. He then surged past Lazzari in stoppage time only to see his hopeful shot go just over the bar. And when Harry Winks blasted a shot high and wide, England saw their hopes snuffed out. France would follow, losing 1-0 to Belgium, whilst Italy would beat Belgium 3-2 to set up a final against Spain, who beat Germany 2-0 in the other semi final. 

 

The following week saw a major clearout at Chelsea. Lewis Baker was the first to go, moving to PAOK for £3.8million, while Victor Moses joined CSKA Moscow for an initial fee of £4.2million. FC St Pauli beat Cincinnati and Nashville SC to the signing of Danilo Pantic for £2.6million, whilst Rahman joined Eintracht Frankfurt for £9.25million and FC Porto signed Bakayoko and Zappacosta for a combined initial fee of £26.75million. Meanwhile, Rúben Dias moved from Benfica to Manchester United for a fee of £49.5million, while Wolves paid £30.5million to sign Abdoulaye Doucouré from Watford. 

Edited June 29, 2020 by Drogba11CFC

[Drogba11CFC]

Chelsea's next friendly took them to the Volksparkstadion to face Hamburger SV, who had been promoted to the Bundesliga the previous season. Unlike the last game, Chelsea asserted themselves well, and got their reward when Callum Hudson-Odoi got on the end of Mount's corner to head home in the 25th minute. The lead was doubled in the 37th minute when Batshuayi ran onto James' long ball and fired a low shot into the opposite corner, before Ziyech met Mount's cross with a powerful header in the 65th minute to complete the rout.

The following day, Italy won the European Championship for the first time since 1968, beating Spain on penalties after a 0-0 draw. 

Meanwhile, Spencer made one final move in the transfer market, spending £90million to land the signature of elite midfielder Kai Havertz from Bayer Leverkusen. Other notable moves that week saw Riyad Mahrez move on loan to AC Milan, whilst Man Utd signed Nélson Semedo from Barcelona for £37.5million and Tottenham signed Ángel Correa from Atlético Madrid for £48.5million.

[Drogba11CFC]

Chelsea's next friendly took them to the HDI Arena to face Hannover 96, who had missed out on promotion to the Bundesliga the previous season. The Blues made short work of their hosts, with Abraham running onto a slide rule pass from Kovacic in the 45th minute before slotting the ball into the opposite corner of the net. He then turned provider in the 50th minute, sending in a cross which Ziyech headed into the net.

 

However, the following Thursday, disaster struck. What looked like a routine tackle in training saw Abraham suffer a broken lower leg. Abraham was sent to see a specialist, but he would be out for up to five months.

 

This cast a shadow as Chelsea travelled to the King Power Stadium to take part in Andy King's testimonial match. Timo Werner led the Chelsea line and took just eleven minutes to open the scoring, heading home from Kovacic's cross. Kai Havertz then doubled the lead in the 34th minute as he met Sancho's pass with a snapshot that beat Schmeichel at his near post, before Sancho met James's cross with a close range volley to complete the rout in the 65th minute. 

 

The Blues travelled to Frankfurt for their final two friendlies, having been invited along with Toronto FC and Barcelona to participate in the "Indeed Cup". The Blues faced the Canadians in their semi final, and recorded a straightforward win. Mason Mount found the net with a half volley from Hudson-Odoi's cross in the 25th minute, before Jadon Sancho ran onto a long ball from Kovacic and took the ball around Reynolds before placing a shot into the net to secure a relatively comfortable 2-0 win and set up a final against Barcelona.

 

Barcelona came into the final with a lineup containing Messi and Griezmann, as well as Ángel Di María, their £26.5million signing from Paris Saint-Germain. Barcelona were therefore favourites to win, and in the 5th minute Arturo Vidal swung a cross into the area, where Griezmann arrived to fire home at the near post. 

 

The lead didn't last long, however, as a minute later Mount swung the ball out wide to Ziyech. Ziyech fizzed a cross in low to the near post, where Werner chested it down. He then passed to Mount, who was wide open and fired the ball into the net. 

 

Barcelona came back, and Júnior Firpo got past Azpilicueta before passing to Messi, who recovered the ball from Zouma's tackle and hit a shot into the net to restore Barcelona's lead.

 

In the 18th minute, Mount played a long ball to Ziyech, who went for goal from an angle. His shot was parried by Ter Stegen, but he first to the rebound and went for goal again. Ter Stegen saved that one too, but the loose ball fell to Werner, who steered it into the empty net. 

 

Chelsea began to dominate, and in the 29th minute Emerson ran onto Mount's ball and got past Umtiti before passing to Hudson-Odoi. Hudson-Odoi whipped in a cross to Ziyech, who powered a header into the net. 

 

And then, in the second half, Chelsea ran riot.

 

In the 49th minute, Hudson-Odoi skinned Vidal and swung a cross into the area. Once again Ziyech rose above Júnior to send a header into the top corner. 4-2.

 

On the hour mark, Sancho was tripped by Vidal in the area. With two goals to his name, responsibility for the penalty fell to Ziyech as per club policy, and he sent Ter Stegen the wrong way to complete his hat-trick for 5-2.

 

The fans would have been forgiven for thinking that that was it, but with three minutes left Ziyech once again got the better of Júnior Firpo and split the defence with a pass to Werner. Werner, clear of the defence, got to the edge of the area and slotted the ball into the bottom corner. 

 

Barcelona two, Chelsea six. It might only have been a friendly, but as far as Spencer was concerned, it was the perfect way to finish pre-season.

[Drogba11CFC]

 

The start of the 2020/21 season effectively ushered in a new era. Away from all the transfers, Joachim Löw, Fernando Santos and Didier Deschamps all resigned following Euro 2020, being replaced by Bruno Labbadia, Sérgio Conceição and Hervé Renard. The big international news, however, had come on 12th July, when Cristiano Ronaldo, who had missed Euro 2020 through injury, tearfully announced his retirement from international football.

 

In Spain, meanwhile, both Madrid clubs sacked their managers, deciding that it was time for change. Diego Simeone was promptly appointed manager of Argentina, with Lionel Scaloni having been sacked after the Copa America.

 

On 8th August, the Premier League kicked off at Anfield, with Liverpool comfortably beating Burnley 2-0. The victory was marred, however, by Paulo Dybala suffering a twisted ankle. Chelsea started their campaign where they had finished the last one, away to Aston Villa. Spencer opted to give Werner, Ziyech and Havertz their debuts. 

 

Aston Villa 

Heaton 

Guilbert Konsa Hause Mings

Puig Silva

El Ghazi Grealish Soteldo

Samatta 

Substitutes: Nyland, Engels, Luiz, Wesley, Green, Revan, Nakamba

 

Chelsea 

Kepa 

Azpilicueta Christensen Zouma Emerson 

Kovacic 

Havertz Mount

Ziyech Werner Sancho 

Substitutes: Caballero, Rüdiger, Jorginho, Loftus-Cheek, Pulisic, Batshuayi, James 

 

Referee: Paul Tierney 

 

Chelsea immediately looked to impose themselves on the hosts, with Mason Mount hitting a spectacular half volley over the bar in the first minute. 

 

Jadon Sancho had collected the best player and best young player at Euro 2020, an in the 4th minute he rose highest to meet a cross from Azpilicueta with a header that was saved by Heaton. Heaton was called into action a minute later to save Werner's header, before saving a left-footed shot from Ziyech. 

 

Chelsea were dominant, and Emerson then saw two chances saved by Heaton in the 10th and 11th minutes. 

 

Aston Villa had been on the back foot throughout the opening stages, but in the 20th minute a long shot from Silva was blocked by Havertz. 

 

In the 22nd minute, Emerson was tripped by Konsa. Mount delivered the free kick to the far post, where Zouma saw his header saved by Heaton. A minute later, Kovacic was booked for a foul on Grealish, even though there were suggestions that the Villa player had dived. 

 

In the 26th minute, Chelsea won a corner. Mount's ball found Werner, whose header looped over the crossbar. 

 

It seemed inevitable that Chelsea would score, but in the 29th minute Villa were awarded a penalty for a foul by Azpilicueta. Adrien Silva stepped up and stroked the ball home to give Villa the lead. 

 

Villa had the ball in the net again a minute later - although it was their own net. A long ball from Emerson found Sancho, who sent a cross into the area. Konsa looked to intercept, but only succeeded in putting the ball into his own net for 1-1.

 

Aston Villa could have gone back in front in the 31st minute, but Silva sent a free kick wide. Zouma was then shown a yellow card for a foul on Samatta. 

 

Sancho then intercepted Guilbert's freekick, and stroked the ball ahead of Werner with a weighted pass. Things opened up nicely for Werner, and he slotted the ball into the bottom corner to score on his debut and turn the game around in the space of four minutes. Chelsea fans celebrated in the stands and sang Werner's praises on social media, while from the opposite side, Stan Collymore, who'd been giving it large after the penalty, tweeted "Timo Werner ist ein Hurensohn." - a reference to a popular chant, created in 2017, for those who disliked the striker. 

 

Chelsea now had the bit between their teeth, and in the 35th minute Ziyech got past Mings and took a shot from an angle, which was tipped over by Heaton, who also saved Werner's header from the corner. 

 

In the 37th minute, Christensen was booked for a foul on Mings. 

 

Chelsea were now dominant, and four minutes before halftime Azpilicueta's cross found Werner, whose header was tipped against the post by Heaton. Emerson got to the follow up, but his shot was tipped behind. Then, on the stroke of half time, Ziyech played a one-two with Werner before sending a shot wide.

 

In first half stoppage time, Samatta was booked for a foul on Havertz. 

 

Chelsea once again started the second half strongly and in the 51st minute, a free kick from Mount found Havertz, whose header was saved by Heaton. 

 

Havertz would have better luck a minute later. Emerson took the ball down the left and got past Guilbert before passing to Sancho. Sancho threaded a pass into Havertz's path, and Havertz struck the ball into the bottom corner to score on his debut. 

 

Villa tried to get back into the game, and in the 59th minute Samatta sent a cross to Puig, who was on loan from Barcelona. Puig met the cross with a header which was saved by Kepa.

 

Two minutes later, Kovacic saw a shot saved by Heaton, who also saved Werner's volley in the 64th minute. Aston Villa then took Soteldo off, replacing him with Douglas Luiz. 

 

In the 67th minute, a tiring Zouma was replaced by Rüdiger, before Ziyech sent a half volley just wide. A corner from Mount then found Werner, whose header was saved by Heaton.

 

In the 73rd minute, Guilbert was booked. Mount's free kick found Christensen, whose header went over the bar. 

 

With 15 minutes left, Aston Villa replaced Samatta with Wesley. Five minutes later, Guilbert was told by Paul Tierney that he was on a last warning, and he was replaced by Björn Engels. 

 

With two minutes left, Christensen headed over from a free kick, before Wesley headed over in the 90th minute. The final whistle saw Chelsea off to a winning start. 

 

Saturday 8 August 2020, 15:00: Barclays Premier League - at Stamford Bridge, London 

Aston Villa 1-3 Chelsea (Silva pen 29; Konsa og 30, Werner 33, Havertz 54)

Attendance: 40,563 (3,000 away)

Man of the Match: Jadon Sancho 

 

Other results:

Saturday 

Liverpool 2-0 Burnley (Mané 4, Oxlade-Chamberlain 18; Hendrick s/o 75)

Arsenal 7-0 Fulham (Özil 19, O'Connell 30, Lacazette 33, 38, Aubameyang 41, Tierney 48, Chambers 73)

Brighton 0-0 Leeds

Man Utd 1-0 Huddersfield (Rashford pen 45)

Sheff Utd 2-3 Leicester (Fleck 82, McBurnie 90+2; Ayling 10, Vardy pen 39, Gray 90+3)

Southampton 0-2 Man City (Kane pen 2, Sterling 12)

 

Sunday 

Tottenham 1-0 West Ham (Alli 70; Rice s/o 77)

Wolves 4-1 Norwich (Jonny 22, Neto 61, 90+2, Diogo Jota 86; Pukki 13)

 

Monday 

Everton 1-5 Bournemouth (Richarlison 68; Solanke 5, 58, 83, Wilson 41, 43)

[Drogba11CFC]

Chelsea's first home game of the season saw them host Southampton. The Saints had lost their opening match against Manchester City, and Spencer hoped to repeat the feat. Manchester City themselves had suffered a 3-0 home defeat in the Manchester Derby, which was all the more remarkable considering that they'd won every single one of their home games the previous season.

 

Chelsea 

Kepa 

James Rüdiger Christensen Azpilicueta 

Kovacic Kanté 

Hudson-Odoi Havertz Sancho 

Werner 

Substitutes: Caballero, Jorginho, Mount, Pulisic, Batshuayi, Ampadu, Emerson 

 

Southampton 

Forster

De Sciglio Stephens Bednarek Hoedt Bertrand

Ward-Prowse Højbjerg Lemina

Ings Redmond 

Substitutes: McCarthy, Valery, Djenepo, Carrillo, Romeu, Ballo-Touré, Elyounoussi

 

Referee: Simon Hooper 

 

Chelsea looked to fly out of the blocks and in the first minute, Werner rose above Stephens only to head wide.

 

Southampton then attacked, and De Sciglio's cross found Redmond, whose header went flying over the bar. 

 

Chelsea, stung by this, launched a barrage of attacks. A header from Sancho brought a save from Forster, another shot from Sancho was blocked by Højbjerg, and Werner sent a header over the bar. A shot from Azpilicueta was then turned behind as Chelsea dominated the opening stages. 

 

In the 14th minute, Sancho received the ball from Azpilicueta and tried a long range effort which went wide. 

 

Southampton had barely got out of their own half but they won a corner in the 17th minute. Ward-Prowse delivered the ball to Højbjerg, whose header skimmed the top of the bar.

 

Southampton would regret that miss, as in the 20th minute Christensen searched out James on the right. James crossed the ball into the area, where Werner powered a header into the net to give Chelsea the lead. 

 

Having set up the first goal, James nearly got on the scoresheet himself. Havertz was brought down by Ward-Prowse, and James saw his free kick saved by Forster. 

 

In the 27th minute, Werner received the ball from Kovacic and played a first time pass to Hudson-Odoi, whose shot was blocked by Bertrand. Southampton then caught Chelsea on the break, with Kepa being on hand to deny Lemina. 

 

Just after the half hour, Havertz received the ball from Kovacic and passed to Azpilicueta. Azpilicueta sent a cross to Werner, whose header went just over. 

 

In the 33rd minute, Chelsea were awarded a penalty after Christensen was shoved by De Sciglio. Werner stepped up and made no mistake, scoring with expert precision. 

 

Chelsea were showing no mercy, and in the 37th minute Hudson-Odoi put a thunderous drive wide, before Reece James saw a shot tipped over by Forster. 

 

Five minutes before half time, a free kick from James found Hudson-Odoi, whose header went over the bar. Hudson-Odoi had another chance a minute later, seeing his speculative shot saved by Forster. Forster was called into action again in the 43rd minute, saving a shot from Sancho before Werner sent a header over the bar. 

 

On the stroke of half time, Rüdiger was booked for a foul on Lemina. Wesley Hoedt and Rüdiger then both sent headers over the bar. 

 

Chelsea showed no sign of letting up in the second half and in the 49th minute, Werner saw a shot clatter off Bednarek. 

 

If a third goal was inevitable, nobody could have predicted the scorer. A cross from James found Havertz, who headed the ball to Sancho. Sancho found himself crowded out and passed back to Azpilicueta, who hit a scorching drive. Forster fumbled it, and only succeeded in helping it into the net. 

 

Southampton's misery was then increased further. Their back three tried to play "keep away" with Werner, but the German intercepted a pass from Hoedt and raced into the area before lashing the ball into the bottom corner to complete his hat-trick. 

 

In the 56th minute, Bertrand was booked for a foul on Hudson-Odoi. Werner then saw a shot blocked by Bertrand before Christensen sent a header sailing over the crossbar. 

 

With his hat-trick complete, Werner was replaced by Batshuayi, before Redmond came close. That would be Redmond's last action, as he was replaced by Carrillo.

 

Batshuayi then came close to getting on the scoresheet, but his volley was blocked by Hoedt. Havertz then went off, with Mount replacing him.

 

Chelsea were still looking for a fifth, and in the 73rd minute Mount's corner found Sancho, whose header was saved by Forster. 

 

With 8 minutes left, a cross from Hudson-Odoi found Batshuayi, who headed just over from an awkward angle. Spencer then took Sancho off, replacing him with young Welshman Ethan Ampadu, whilst Lemina was replaced by Oriol Romeu.

 

With three minutes left, a free kick from Mount found Rüdiger, whose header was saved by Forster. In stoppage time, a free kick from Ward-Prowse found Hoedt, who headed wide to sum up Southampton's afternoon.

 

Saturday 15 August 2020, 15:00: Barclays Premier League - at Stamford Bridge, London 

Chelsea 4-0 Southampton (Werner 20, pen 33, 54; Azpilicueta 53)

Attendance: 41,631 (3,000 away)

Man of the Match: Timo Werner 

 

Other results 

Friday 

Leicester 1-3 Arsenal (Tielemans 82, Choudary s/o 71; Özil 11, Aubameyang 41, Lacazette 76)

 

Saturday

Man City 0-3 Man Utd (Cancelo s/o 72; Barbosa 26, Pogba 37, Rashford 87)

Huddersfield 1-2 Wolves (Kownacki pen 45; Taison 34, 59)

Leeds 1-3 Aston Villa (Augustin 16; Grealish 4, Konsa 64, Borrelli 90+4)

West Ham 1-4 Everton (Bowen 17; Kluivert 52, Sigurdsson 53, Verschaeren 90+1, Ikoné 90+2)

Bournemouth 2-2 Liverpool (Mepham 25, Fraser 90+1; Fabinho pen 3, Firmino 19)

 

Sunday 

Burnley 1-5 Tottenham (Wood 78, Westwood s/o 62; Alli 2, 28, pen 73, 76, Alderweireld 16)

Fulham 1-1 Sheff Utd (Mitrovic 35; Bernard 1)

 

Monday 

Norwich 0-2 Brighton (Maupay 30, Groß pen 37)

 

[Drogba11CFC]

Chelsea's next game was the West London Derby at home to local rivals Fulham. The Blues had won their last 5 matches against the Cottagers, and Spencer knew that only a win would suffice.

 

Chelsea 

Kepa 

James Tomori Christensen Azpilicueta 

Kanté Kovacic 

Hudson-Odoi Havertz Sancho 

Werner 

Substitutes: Caballero, Rüdiger, Kana, Mount, Pulisic, Batshuayi, Emerson 

 

Fulham 

Rodák

Troost-Ekong Mawson Ream

Drameh Anguissa Bryan 

Séri Paredes

Decordova-Reid Mitrovic 

Substitutes: Ashby-Hammond, Christie, Cavaleiro, Knockaert, Cairney, Murphy, O'Riley

 

Referee: Jon Moss

 

Chelsea looked to start strongly, and in the 3rd minute Hudson-Odoi was tripped by Anguissa. James' free kick found Christensen, whose header sailed over the bar.

 

In the 5th minute, Sancho received the ball from Kovacic and looked for Werner. Werner hit a left-footed shot, which Rodák had no trouble saving. 

 

Chelsea continued to attack and in the 10th minute, a cross from James found Havertz, whose header was saved by Rodák. 

 

Jadon Sancho then had two chances in the space of three minutes, shooting wide from distance in the 14th minute, before receiving a long ball from Tomori and putting his volley the wrong side of the post. 

 

Kai Havertz was the next player to try his luck, sending a volley over the bar in the 20th minute, before a 27th minute shot by Kanté was blocked by Rodák. 

 

Hudson-Odoi then had two chances in a three minute spell. In the 32nd minute he ran onto a cross from Azpilicueta and volleyed the ball just over the bar, before he saw a shot blocked by Bryan in the 34th minute. 

 

In the 39th minute, Tomori was shown a yellow card for a foul on Mitrovic.

 

Chelsea came out in the second half looking to break the deadlock, and in the 53rd minute Werner sent a header off-target before Hudson-Odoi sent a half volley sailing over the crossbar.

 

As the home fans began to wonder if this was going to be one of those games, Havertz was brought down by Anguissa. James sent the free kick towards Havertz, who got up above Anguissa and headed the ball into the net to finally give Chelsea the lead. 

 

With 25 minutes left, Fulham replaced Paredes with O'Riley, while Sancho was replaced by Pulisic. 

 

With just over 15 minutes left, Hudson-Odoi delivered a free kick to Tomori, who sent a header over the bar. Four minutes later, Azpilicueta hit a right footed volley far too high.

 

With ten minutes left, Drameh and Séri were replaced by Christie and Cairney, before Werner was replaced by Batshuayi. 

 

With two minutes left, Batshuayi got above Troost-Ekong and powered a header at goal, but was denied by the fingertips of Rodák. 

 

Saturday 22 August 2020, 12:45: Barclays Premier League - at Stamford Bridge, London 

Chelsea 1-0 Fulham (Havertz 59)

Attendance: 41,631 (3,000 away)

Man of the Match: Kai Havertz 

 

Other results 

Friday 

Arsenal 3-2 Tottenham (Aubameyang 19, 27, pen 59, O'Connell s/o 47; Draxler 24, Fernandes 32)

 

Saturday 

Aston Villa 2-1 Man Utd (Wesley pen 31, Puig 87; Bailey 90+2, Dias s/o 24)

Bournemouth 2-3 Sheff Utd (L. Cook 38, Wilson 65; Bernard 58, Mousset 84, 90+3)

Burnley 3-1 Huddersfield (Gudmundsson 39, Barnes 48, McNeil 53; Hughes 10)

Everton 4-0 Brighton (Ikoné 2, Richarlison 56, Kluivert 60, Verschaeren 77)

Leicester 3-2 Southampton (Niang 4, Tielemans 36, Vardy 40; Obafemi 3, Bertrand 12)

Norwich 3-0 Leeds (Lamela 13, 68, Petkovic 87)

Liverpool 3-0 West Ham (Mané 33, 35, Lallana 40)

Wolves 2-3 Man City (Neves 31, Taison 48; De Bruyne 30, Kane 82, 87)

 

The draw for the third round of the Carabao Cup took place the following Thursday, and Spencer listened to it on the radio just before the press conference. 

 

"The first team out," the announcer said, "Is Number 24, Derby County. They are at home to...number 11, Southampton."

"Number 7, Wolverhampton Wanderers, will play...Number 26, Colchester United."

"Number 6, Manchester United, are at home to...number 14, Wigan Athletic."

"Number 25, Rotherham United, will play…number 30, Portsmouth."

"Number 5, Manchester City, are at home to...number 32, Norwich City."

"Number 29, Tottenham Hotspur, will play. ..number 18, Leicester City."

"Number 15, Leeds United, are at home to...number 17, AFC Bournemouth."

"Number 3, Everton, will play...Number 19, Swansea City."

"Number 22, Reading, are at home to...number 21 Crystal Palace."

"Number 31, Tranmere Rovers, will play...number 12, Scunthorpe United."

"Number 9, Burnley, are at home to...number 1, Arsenal."

"Number 10, Milton Keynes Dons, will play...Number 20, Stoke City."

"Number 4, Liverpool, are at home to...number 27, Watford."

"Number 23, Doncaster Rovers, will play...Number 13, West Ham United."

"Number 16, Lincoln City, are at home to...number 2, Chelsea."

"Therefore Number 28, Forest Green Rovers, will play Number 8, Aston Villa."

Edited July 3, 2020 by Drogba11CFC

[Drogba11CFC]

Having checked into their hotel prior to the following night's game against Manchester United, Spencer had his players watch the draw for the group stage of the Champions League with him. Chelsea were in Pot 2, meaning that they would be in the same group as Barcelona, Juventus, Bayern Munich, Paris Saint-Germain, or Zenit St. Petersburg. 

 

Pot 1: Liverpool (ENG), Barcelona (ESP), Juventus (ITA), Manchester City (ENG), Bayern Munich (GER), PSG (FRA), Manchester United (ENG), Zenit (RUS)

Pot 2: Real Madrid (ESP), Arsenal (ENG), Borussia Dortmund (GER), Chelsea (ENG), Benfica (POR), Lyon (FRA), Ajax (NED), Shakhtar (UKR)

Pot 3: Lazio (ITA), Valencia (ESP), CSKA Moscow (RUS), Schalke 04 (GER), RB Leipzig (GER), Basel (SUI), Krasnodar (RUS), Olympiakos (GRE)

Pot 4: Celtic (SCO), Fenerbahçe (TUR), Inter Milan (ITA), Club Brugge (BEL), PAOK (GRE), Real Sociedad (ESP), AC Milan (ITA), Partizan Belgrade (SRB)

 

Bayern Munich were drawn out first, going into Group A. Barcelona went into Group B, with Liverpool in Group C. Zenit were drawn in Group D, while Man Utd went into Group E. Juventus were drawn in Group F, with Man City in Group G and PSG in Group H.

 

Then came Pot 2, and Real Madrid joined Bayern Munich in Group A. Shakhtar were drawn in Group B with Barcelona, while Lyon joined Liverpool in Group C. Arsenal joined Zenit in Group D, with Ajax going into Group E with Man Utd. Chelsea were drawn into Group F with Juventus, while Borussia Dortmund joined Man City in Group G and Benfica were yet again drawn to face PSG in Group H.

 

Pot 3 followed, and CSKA Moscow were drawn into Group A, with RB Leipzig in Group B. Lazio went into Group C, while Olympiakos joined Zenit and Arsenal in Group D. Schalke went into Group E, while Chelsea and Juventus were joined in Group F by Krasnodar. Valencia joined Man City and Borussia Dortmund, while Basel were drawn with PSG and Benfica. 

 

Finally, pot 4 was drawn. AC Milan went into Group A, while PAOK were drawn in Group B. Real Sociedad were drawn in Group C, while Fenerbahçe were drawn in Group D. Partizan Belgrade were drawn into Group E, while Club Brugge joined Juventus, Chelsea and Krasnodar. Inter Milan went into Group G, putting Celtic in Group H.

 

Group A: Bayern Munich, Real Madrid, CSKA Moscow, AC Milan 

Group B: Barcelona, Shakhtar, RB Leipzig, PAOK 

Group C: Liverpool, Lyon, Lazio, Real Sociedad 

Group D: Zenit, Arsenal, Olympiakos, Fenerbahçe 

Group E: Man Utd, Ajax, Schalke 04, Partizan Belgrade 

Group F: Juventus, Chelsea, Krasnodar, Club Brugge 

Group G: Man City, Borussia Dortmund, Valencia, Inter Milan 

Group H: PSG, Benfica, Basel, Celtic 

[Drogba11CFC]

Chelsea travelled to Old Trafford to finish August. The Blues knew that a point would see them briefly top the table ahead of Arsenal's trip to Southampton. Spencer opted to give Telles his Chelsea debut, with Ziyech on the right. The hosts were without Ruben Dias, who had been sent off against Aston Villa. 

 

Manchester United 

De Gea 

Semedo Lindelöf Maguire Tuanzebe 

Fernandes Pogba 

Bailey Pereira Rashford 

Barbosa 

Substitutes: Henderson, Wan-Bissaka, Fred, Martial, James, Garner, Greenwood 

 

Chelsea 

Kepa 

Azpilicueta Rüdiger Zouma Telles 

Jorginho 

Kanté Kovacic 

Ziyech Werner Sancho 

Substitutes: Caballero, Christensen, Kana, Mount, Pulisic, Batshuayi, James 

 

Referee: David Coote

 

It took just 2 minutes for the first yellow card to be shown, as Rüdiger was booked for a foul on Barbosa. 

 

The first goal came in the 5th minute. Ziyech received the ball from Kovacic and sent a pass into the area for Werner. Werner got to it ahead of Lindelöf and slotted the ball into the net for his fifth goal of the season. 

 

Chelsea looked to double their lead, and in the 7th minute a headed clearance by Tuanzebe found Telles, whose volley went over the bar. A minute later, Leon Bailey raced clear of the defence only to see his shot parried by Kepa. 

 

In the 10th minute, Jorginho was booked for a foul on Pereira. From the free kick, Tuanzebe claimed he'd been pushed by Rüdiger, and David Coote awarded a penalty which Rashford tucked away to level the score. 

 

In the 16th minute, Bailey had a half volley, which went high over the bar. Zouma was then shown a yellow card for a foul on Barbosa. 

 

In the 24th minute, Telles was fouled by Bailey. His free kick found Ziyech, whose header was saved by De Gea. He went for the follow up, but the angle was too narrow for him to score. 

 

United immediately went to the other end, and Rashford played a long ball to Barbosa, who got into the area and sent a shot across Kepa to give them the lead. 

 

Ten minutes before half time, a free kick from Telles found Werner, whose header was saved by De Gea. United then counter attacked, and Barbosa got past Rüdiger before sending a shot wide.

 

In the 41st minute, Barbosa outpaced Zouma and passed forward to Bailey. Bailey went for goal, but his shot was tipped over by Kepa. Bailey tried his luck again in the 45th minute, but his shot was blocked by Zouma. 

 

Chelsea looked to come back in the second half but it started disastrously. Barbosa ran onto a pass from Tuanzebe and tried his luck from an angle. His shot was saved by Kepa, but the rebound fell to Pereira, who volleyed home to double United's lead. 

 

Chelsea looked to get back into the match, and in the 49th minute Kanté intercepted Maguire's clearance and hit a volley which went high over the bar. 

 

United attacked again, and in the 50th minute Tuanzebe exchanged passes with Bailey before sending the ball narrowly wide. Bailey himself came close in the 52nd minute as he got past Kovacic before taking a shot which was tipped over by Kepa. 

 

In the 53rd minute, Rashford ran onto a pass from Bailey and sent a shot past Kepa into the net. However, Rashford had been offside and the goal was ruled out. 

 

A minute later, Azpilicueta was shown a yellow card for a foul on Rashford. Rashford would see another shot tipped over in the 55th minute. 

 

Kanté had performed poorly, and in the 58th minute he was replaced by Mount. Mount nearly made an instant impact, as he hit a half volley which De Gea turned behind after Ziyech seized on a mistake by Bailey. 

 

With 25 minutes left, a disappointing Sancho was replaced by Pulisic. A corner from Pereira then found Pogba, whose header was saved by Kepa.

 

Chelsea began to search for a way back into the match, and in the 68th minute a left footed volley from Mount was saved by De Gea.

 

With 12 minutes left, a long ball from Rüdiger found Ziyech, who got past Tuanzebe and passed to Werner. Werner got past Maguire and got into the area before firing a shot across De Gea and halving the deficit. 

 

With seven minutes left, Ziyech hit a shot off-target, before Rashford saw a shot blocked by Azpilicueta. 

 

With time almost up, Werner received the ball from Kovacic and surged past Wan-Bissaka before curling in a cross. However, the ball was caught by De Gea. 

 

Friday 28 August 2020, 20:00, Barclays Premier League - at Old Trafford, Manchester 

Manchester United 3-2 Chelsea (Rashford 11, Gabriel Barbosa 26, Pereira 46; Werner 5, 78)

Attendance: 75,634 (3,000 away)

Man of the Match: Andreas Pereira 

 

Other results 

Saturday 

Man City 2-1 Leicester (Otamendi 10, García 52; Barnes 22)

Brighton 1-3 Wolves (Alzate 90+3; Doucouré 2, Montiel 75, Taison 90)

Fulham 2-0 Everton (Cavaleiro 40, Mitrovic 89)

Sheff Utd 1-0 Aston Villa (McBurnie 73)

West Ham 2-1 Bournemouth (Yarmolenko 17, Haller 75; Wilson pen 19)

Huddersfield 0-5 Liverpool (Fabinho pen 15, Oxlade-Chamberlain 54, Mané 79, 81, Salah 83)

Southampton 1-8 Arsenal (Ings 3; Özil 38, Xhaka 41, 67, pen 69, Torreira 49, Depay 80, 88, David Luiz 90+2)

 

Sunday 

Tottenham 1-0 Norwich (Sissoko 80)

Leeds 3-3 Burnley (Augustin 13, 89, 90+4; McNeil 2, Cork 49, Gudmundsson pen 79)

 

The first awards of the season saw Timo Werner named Player of the Month for August after his six goals saw him lead the scoring charts, while Kai Havertz came third in the Young Player of the Month award behind Everton duo Justin Kluivert and Yari Verschaeren.

[Drogba11CFC]

Chelsea's first opponents after the international break were Huddersfield Town at Stamford Bridge. The Terriers had found life tough in the Premier League since their return, having lost their opening four matches under former Hull City manager Marco Silva. With Juventus on the horizon, Spencer elected to field a fairly youthful side. 

 

Chelsea 

Kepa 

James Ampadu Tomori Emerson 

Kanté 

Mount Havertz 

Ziyech Werner Hudson-Odoi 

Substitutes: Caballero, Rüdiger, Loftus-Cheek, Zouma, Kana, Sancho, Batshuayi 

 

Huddersfield Town 

Grabara

Ward Schindler Kongolo Masina 

Bacuna O'Brien 

Ghezzal Hughes Sobhi

Kownacki

Substitutes: Steer, Stankovic, Bernabé, Grant, Diakhaby, Stearman, Johnson 

 

Referee: Graham Scott 

 

Spencer wanted a good start but he got the exact opposite. In the second minute, Mount was robbed by Will Hughes from a Chelsea corner. As Chelsea scrambled to get back, Hughes played a one-two with Ghezzal and sent the ball past Kepa to give Huddersfield the lead inside 100 seconds.

 

Chelsea responded by laying siege to the Huddersfield goal. In the 3rd minute, Havertz met a cross from James with a shot which was charged down by Schindler. Ziyech then tried his luck in the 6th minute, as his right-footed volley was tipped wide by Grabara. Then, in the 8th minute, a long range piledriver by Emerson was blocked by Ward.

 

However, in the tenth minute things got even worse. A cross from James was charged down by Masina, who passed to Sobhi. Sobi took the ball over the halfway line and got level with the area before sending in a cross. Will Hughes got in behind the defence and slid the ball into the net to put the visitors two goals ahead.

 

The Blues doubled their efforts, and in the 13th minute Havertz received the ball from James and took a shot which was saved by Grabara. 

 

In the 18th minute, Hudson-Odoi took the ball away from Ward and sent a cross into the area. Masina's clearance fell to Ziyech, whose shot came back off the post. Two minutes later, Kongolo threw himself in front of Mount's shot. 

 

Ziyech seemed to be playing like a man possessed, and in the 22nd minute he played a one-two with Werner and took the ball past Masina before taking a shot which cannoned back off the crossbar. He came close again in the 24th minute, as he received the ball from Mount and outpaced Masina before taking a hopeful looking shot which was saved by Grabara.

 

Huddersfield had been under heavy pressure but they nearly struck again in the 27th minute. Ghezzal's free kick was intercepted by Havertz, but Sobhi recovered and passed to Ghezzal. Ghezzal went past Emerson with ease before taking a shot from a tight angle which was saved by Kepa. 

 

In the 34th minute, a corner from Mount found Havertz, whose header was saved by Grabara. Kanté was then booked for a foul on Hughes. 

 

In the 36th minute, James beat Sobhi to the ball and fed it left to Ziyech, who played a one-two with Werner and fired the ball into the net from a tight angle to bring Chelsea back into the match.

 

Huddersfield nearly restored their two-goal advantage two minutes later. A clearance from Bacuna found Kownacki, who got through on goal before sending the ball just wide.

 

In the 43rd minute, Tomori was shown a yellow card for a foul on Kownacki. 

 

In first half stoppage time, a free kick from James found Havertz, whose header was saved by Grabara. Reece James was then booked for a foul on Sobhi.

 

Huddersfield suffered a blow at the beginning of the second half, as Masina pulled up with strained ankle ligaments from a challenge by Ziyech and was replaced by Stearman.

 

In the 50th minute, Ward received a yellow card for a foul on Hudson-Odoi. James sent the free kick into the box, where Tomori reacted amidst the confusion to volley the ball into the net and bring Chelsea level. 

 

Chelsea then came close to going ahead a minute later, as Havertz 0played a defence-splitting pass to Hudson-Odoi, whose shot from an angle was saved by Grabara. 

 

Huddersfield then picked up two yellow cards in as many minutes, with Hughes being booked for a foul on Ampadu before O'Brien received a yellow card for a foul on Mount.

 

It was now all Chelsea, and in the 57th minute Ziyech ran onto a pass from Havertz before sending a shot on target. 

 

A minute later, as Chelsea came forward again, Emerson was brought down by Ghezzal. Graham Scott consulted VAR, before showing Ghezzal a red card for going in with two feet. 

 

With an extra man, Chelsea looked to take full advantage and in the 61st minute, Emerson whipped in a cross to Ziyech, who headed the ball into the net to give Chelsea the lead. 

 

Two minutes later, Werner received the ball from Ziyech and sent a cross into the area. Ward got to it ahead of Hudson-Odoi, but the former Crystal Palace man could only succeed in putting it into his own net to double Chelsea's lead. 

 

The Blues showed no sign of letting up, and in the 64th minute Ampadu sent a header over the bar. Emerson then put an audacious shot wide, before James saw a shot saved by Grabara and Kanté sent a half volley off target and Hudson-Odoi forced a save from Grabara. 

 

However, with just under 20 minutes left, Ward sent a cross into the area. Kownacki ran onto it and sent a volley into the net, despite Kepa getting a hand to it.

 

Chelsea looked to restore their two-goal lead, and in the 74th minute Ziyech headed over the bar from Mount's free kick. In the 77th minute, Werner connected with Hudson-Odoi's cross only to see his shot blocked by Stearman. Huddersfield then took Sobhi off, replacing him with Grant.

 

In the 79th minute, Hudson-Odoi saw a shot tipped over by Grabara, with Ziyech heading way over from the corner. 

 

In the 81st minute, Tomori was replaced by Rüdiger. A minute later, Mount received the ball from Havertz and passed ahead of Ziyech, who hit a first time shot into the net to complete his hat-trick and seal the points. He then went off to a standing ovation, as he was replaced by Sancho. 

 

Chelsea still weren't done, as in the 85th minute Werner met Emerson's cross with a volley which went over the bar, before Sancho saw a shot saved by Grabara.

 

In the 90th minute, Emerson received the ball from Havertz only to shoot wide from a tight angle.

 

Chelsea continued their barrage through stoppage time. Grabara got his fingertips to James' volley, before turning a header from Sancho over the bar and parrying a shot from Emerson. 

 

Saturday 12 September 2020, 15:00: Barclays Premier League - at Stamford Bridge, London 

Chelsea 5-3 Huddersfield Town (Ziyech 36, 61, 82, Tomori 50, Ward og 64; Hughes 2, 10, Kownacki 71, Ghezzal s/o 58)

Attendance: 41,631 (3,000 away)

Man of the Match: Hakim Ziyech 

 

Other results

Friday

Liverpool 5-0 Leeds (Firmino 6, 59, Mané 36, Gomez 72, Salah 87)

 

Saturday 

Wolves 1-1 Tottenham (Ruben Neves pen 3; Aurier 44)

Arsenal 3-1 Sheff Utd (Aubameyang 22, 42, pen 62; Berge 90)

Burnley 0-1 West Ham (Ajeti 84, Meunier s/o 71)

Leicester 0-1 Fulham (Knockaert 29)

Norwich 0-4 Man Utd (Bailey 6, Rashford 20, 36, Gabriel Barbosa 28)

Aston Villa 0-1 Man City (Foden 82)

 

Sunday 

Bournemouth 2-2 Brighton (Acuña 41, Solanke 69; Alzate 5, Maupay 54)

 

Monday 

Everton 3-0 Southampton (Gbamin 14, Ikoné 45+1, Kluivert 81)

[Drogba11CFC]

The return of the UEFA Champions League saw Chelsea travel to the Allianz Stadium to face Juventus. The Bianconeri were now managed by former Chelsea manager Maurizio Sarri, and boasted a lineup comprising of Gonzalo Higuain, Mattijs De Ligt, and Ballon d'Or holder Cristiano Ronaldo, as well as former Arsenal players Wojciech Szczesny and Aaron Ramsey. Spencer opted for a more cautious approach and a deeper defensive line. 

 

Juventus 

Szczesny 

Danilo De Ligt Bonucci Sandro

Bentacur Pjanic Rabiot

Ramsey 

Higuaín Ronaldo 

Substitutes: Perin, Demiral, Bernadeschi, Cavani, Cuadrado, Pellegrini, Kulusevski

 

Chelsea 

Kepa 

Azpilicueta Christensen Rüdiger Telles 

Kovacic 

Kanté Havertz 

Ziyech Werner Sancho 

Substitutes: Caballero, Jorginho, Loftus-Cheek, Zouma, Pulisic, Batshuayi, James 

 

Referee: Felix Brych (GER)

 

Ils sont les meilleurs

Sie sind die besten

These are the Champions

 

Die meister

Die besten

Les meilleurs équipes

The Champions!

 

Chelsea started brightly and won a series of corners before Pjanic was booked in the fifth minute for a foul on Werner. In the 7th minute, Sancho intercepted a clearance from Ronaldo which was blocked by Danilo.

 

In the 10th minute, Sancho received the ball from Telles and drilled in a cross to Werner, whose header was saved by Szczesny. Ziyech then received the ball from Azpilicueta and dribbled past Alex Sandro before hitting the side netting from a tight angle. 

 

Juventus' first real chance came in the 14th minute. Pjanic sent a free kick goalwards, but Kepa was able to stop it on the line. Azpilicueta then cleared a volley from Bentacur off the line before a header from Ronaldo was pushed away by Kepa.

 

Ronaldo came close again in the 19th minute. A pass from Ramsey found him unmarked, but his shot was saved by Kepa. Ramsey was then shown a yellow card for a foul on Kovacic, while Danilo was booked for a foul on Sancho.

 

In the 28th minute, Rüdiger was booked for a foul on Higuaín. Three minutes later, a free kick from Pjanic found De Ligt, whose header went over the bar.

 

In the 37th minute, another free kick from Pjanic found Bentacur, whose header was saved by Kepa. 

 

Juventus had had more of the half, but Chelsea began a spell of pressure as it drew to a close. In the 39th minute, Ziyech received the ball from Kanté and hit a hopeful shot which went wide. Four minutes later, a header from Sancho was saved by Szczesny. 

 

A minute before the break, a half volley from Ziyech was blocked by De Ligt. The loose ball fell to Havertz, who sent his shot wide. 

 

A minute into the second half, Telles fed the ball down the line for Sancho, who crossed into the area. The cross found Werner, who headed over the bar. 

 

In the 48th minute, Ronaldo was tripped by Christensen. Pjanic went for goal from the free kick, but his shot was saved by Kepa. 

 

In the 52nd minute, Ziyech received a pass from Azpilicueta and took a shot which was blocked by Szczesny. 

 

Two minutes later, a Chelsea corner saw Ziyech's shot clatter off Bonucci. The loose ball was put back into the box by Telles, with Werner's header being secured by Szczesny. Juventus then went to the other end and won a corner, from which De Ligt's header wasn't even close. 

 

Juventus then made their first change, replacing Ramsey with Frederico Bernardeschi. In the 59th minute, Azpilicueta played a smart one-two with Ziyech before swinging the ball towards Havertz, who put his volley wide. 

 

Two minutes later, Juventus made Havertz pay. Bernardeschi took over from Bentacur, and passed the ball into Danilo's path. Danilo was unmarked, and drove a low shot across Kepa and into the net. 

 

Juventus then made another change. Ronaldo had performed poorly, but surprisingly it was Higuaín who was taken off, with veteran striker Edinson Cavani replacing him. 

 

In the 63rd minute, Kanté was shown a yellow card for a foul on Rabiot. Three minutes later, a cross from Pjanic found Ronaldo, whose header was saved by Kepa. 

 

In the 76th minute, Cavani ran onto a 40 yard ball from Rabiot, only to see his shot saved by Kepa. 

 

It was a miss Cavani would regret, as two minutes later Telles received the ball from Kovacic and passed down the line for Sancho. Sancho's cross found Werner, whose volley was blocked by De Ligt. The rebound fell to Werner, however, and he pounced to bring Chelsea level. Felix Brych initially disallowed the goal for offside, but overturned his decision on the advice of VAR.

 

With just under 10 minutes left, Chelsea replaced Ziyech with Pulisic. 

 

In the 83rd minute, a pass from Pjanic found Bernardeschi, who hit a long range shot off target. In stoppage time, Bentacur got free of the last defender and took a shot which was saved by Kepa, before a header from Bonucci cleared the crossbar. 

 

Wednesday 16 September 2020, 20:00: UEFA Champions League Group F - at Allianz Stadium, Turin 

Juventus 1-1 Chelsea (Danilo 61; Werner 78)

Attendance: 41,507 (2,075 away)

Man of the Match: Danilo

 

Other results 

UEFA Champions League 

Group A: CSKA Moscow 1-3 AC Milan (Chalov 90; Mahrez 12, 32, 32), Bayern Munich 0-0 Real Madrid

Group B: RB Leipzig 2-0 PAOK (Olmo 3, Daka 42), Shakhtar 1-3 Barcelona (Solomon 81; Griezmann 7, Suárez 27, Milinkovic-Savic 52)

Group C: Liverpool 3-0 Real Sociedad (Salah 13, Mané 15, 71), Lyon 0-1 Lazio (Cataldi 71)

Group D: Fenerbahçe 1-0 Zenit (Tolgay Arslan 80), Olympiakos 0-3 Arsenal (Lacazette 37, 50, Aubameyang 75)

Group E: Ajax 3-0 Partizan Belgrade (van de Beek 35, Tadic 42, Mertens 78), Man Utd 5-0 Schalke 04 (Shaw 8, Gabriel Barbosa 16, Fernandes 40, Pereira 42, Pogba 57)

Group F: Club Brugge 1-0 Krasnodar (Castelleto 33)

Group G: Borussia Dortmund 3-0 Valencia (Haaland pen 13, Brandt 19, Witsel 39), Man City 2-0 Inter Milan (Kane 57, 76)

Group H: Celtic 0-1 PSG (Neymar 44), Benfica 2-1 Basel (Seferovic 21, Cervi 90+2; Èder pen 68, Siegrist s/o 90)

 

Europa League 

Group C: Sparta Prague 1-0 Kilmarnock (Kropik 86; Dicker s/o 42)

Group H: Rangers 1-1 Viktoria Plzen (Dowell 42; Vagner 56)

Group J: Wolves 2-2 Borussia Mönchengladbach (Wilson 3, Diogo Jota 70, Doucouré s/o 82; Embolo 43, Hofmann 87)

Group K: Everton 1-1 Sporting CP (Calvert-Lewin 28; Cabral 4)

 

Group Table 

                                    P     W     D     L     F     A     GD    PTS
 1.          Club Brugge            1     1     0     0     1     0     1     3
 2.          Chelsea                1     0     1     0     1     1     0     1
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
 3.          Juventus               1     0     1     0     1     1     0     1
 4.          Krasnodar              1     0     0     1     0     1     -1    0

 

Edited December 2, 2020 by Drogba11CFC

[Drogba11CFC]

Chelsea travelled to Bramall Lane to face Sheffield United in their next league fixture. The Blades had endured a shaky start to the season following Dean Henderson's return to Man Utd, although they had signed Radja Nainggolan on loan from Inter Milan. 

 

Sheffield United 

Verrips 

Basham Egan Retsos 

Baldock Berge Fleck Stevens 

Nainggolan 

Mousset Bernard 

Substitutes: Dewhurst, Freeman, Lundstram, McBurnie, Freeman, Osborn, Sharp

 

Chelsea

Kepa 

Azpilicueta Christensen Rüdiger Emerson 

Jorginho 

Kanté Mount 

Ziyech Werner Sancho 

Substitutes: Caballero, Loftus-Cheek, Zouma, Havertz, Hudson-Odoi, Batshuayi, James 

 

Referee: Chris Kavanagh

 

The first chance came to the home side in the sixth minute. A corner from Fleck found Berge, whose header went looping over the bar.

 

In the 8th minute, a cross from Ziyech found Mount, who hit a volley over the bar. 

 

Kanté was the next player to try his luck, with his volley in the 13th minute going over the bar.

 

In the 21st minute, Kanté exchanged passes with Azpilicueta before passing to Jorginho. Jorginho hit a first time shot which flew into the net from 25 yards out to give Chelsea the lead.

 

The Blues nearly doubled their lead immediately, as in the 23rd minute Emerson hit the side netting from a tight angle, before Werner missed after connecting with a pass from Ziyech. In the 25th minute, Azpilicueta received the ball from Werner and shot just wide.

 

Chelsea were in total control, and in the 28th minute a cross from Emerson found Ziyech, whose header was tipped over by Verrips. Verrips was called into action again from the corner, saving Emerson's shot.

 

In stoppage time, a cross from Emerson found Kanté, whose header went over the bar. 

 

A minute into the second half, Christensen was booked for a foul on Bernard. 

 

In the 48th minute, a free kick from Mount found Rüdiger, whose header was diverted over by Verrips. 

 

Verrips would be on hand again in the 51st minute, as he saved from Sancho after a one-two between him and Mount. In the 54th minute, a free kick from Mount was headed over by Rüdiger. Rüdiger would see a shot tipped over in the 57th minute, as would Emerson a minute later. 

 

In the 59th minute, Bernard was replaced by Sharp.

 

With just over 20 minutes left, a free kick from Mount found Werner, whose header was saved by Fleck. 

 

Sheffield United had barely had a sniff but in the 71st minute, Fleck was shoved by Azpilicueta and sent the free kick just wide. 

 

With 15 minutes left, Emerson was booked for a foul on Baldock, before McBurnie came on for Mousset. With ten minutes to go, Jorginho was shown a yellow card for a foul on Nainggolan. Fleck's free kick deflected off Emerson to Berge, who looked for Retsos in the area. Retsos took a shot, but his effort was turned away by Kepa. Chelsea then went up the other end, and Verrips did well to tip Sancho's shot behind.

 

With five minutes left, Lundstram came on for Fleck while a tiring Azpilicueta was replaced by James. 

 

With two minutes left, Sharp ran onto a pass from Nainggolan and took a low shot which Kepa could only parry. James got there first and cleared. 

 

Saturday 19 September 2020, 17:30: Barclays Premier League - at Bramall Lane, Sheffield 

Sheffield United 0-1 Chelsea (Jorginho 21)

Attendance: 32,318 (3,000 away)

Man of the Match: Jorginho 

 

Other results 

Friday 

Huddersfield 2-0 Leicester (Diakhaby 30, Bacuna 88)

 

Saturday

Man Utd 1-0 Liverpool (Gabriel Barbosa 28)

Brighton 1-1 Burnley (Bernardo 60; McNeil 33)

Fulham 1-1 Norwich (Mawson 3; Lamela 13)

Southampton 1-2 Aston Villa (Obafemi 30; Soteldo 54, Mata 88)

Tottenham 2-0 Bournemouth (Son 52, Sanchez 74)

West Ham 0-2 Arsenal (Depay 19, Pépé 86)

 

Sunday 

Leeds 2-4 Wolves (Cooper 31, Shackleton 46; Taison 23, 45+1, 62, David Luiz 35)

Man City 2-0 Everton (Kane 68, 77)

 

League Table

                            P      W      D      L      F      A      GD     PTS 
 1.          Arsenal        6      6      0      0      26     5      21     18
 2.          Chelsea        6      5      0      1      16     7      9      15
 3.          Man Utd        6      5      0      1      13     4      9      15
 4.          Man City       6      5      0      1      10     6      4      15
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
 5.          Liverpool      6      4      1      1      17     3      14     13
 6.          Wolves         6      4      1      1      16     9      7      13
 7.          Tottenham      6      4      1      1      12     5      7      13
 8.          Everton        6      3      0      3      12     10     2      9
 9.          Aston Villa    6      3      0      3      8      8      0      9
 10.         Fulham         6      2      2      2      5      10     -5     8
 11.         Sheff Utd      6      2      1      3      8      10     -2     7
 12.         Leicester      6      2      0      4      8      12     -4     6
 13.         Brighton       6      1      3      2      6      10     -4     6
 14.         West Ham       6      2      0      4      4      11     -7     6
 15.         Bournemouth    6      1      2      3      12     12     0      5
 16.         Burnley        6      1      2      3      8      13     -5     5
 17.         Norwich        6      1      1      4      5      12     -7     4
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
 18.         Huddersfield   6      1      0      5      7      16     -9     3
 19.         Leeds          6      0      2      4      6      18     -12    2
 20.         Southampton    6      0      0      6      4      22     -18    0

 

Edited December 2, 2020 by Drogba11CFC

[Drogba11CFC]

The third round of the Carabao Cup saw Chelsea travel to Sincil Bank to face Lincoln City. Spencer played a rotated squad with Tottenham on the horizon, although Ampadu and Kana were only fit enough for the bench and Gallagher was suspended.

 

Lincoln City 

Vickers 

Eardley Bostwick Bolger Lewis 

Anderson Bradley Chapman Elbouzedi

Grant

Hopper 

Substitutes: Andrew, Melbourne, Scully, Adebayo-Smith, Adams, Forster, Ager

 

Chelsea 

Caballero 

James Christensen Tomori Telles 

Kanté 

Loftus-Cheek Mount 

Pulisic Batshuayi Hudson-Odoi 

Substitutes: Kepa, Jorginho, Ziyech, Havertz, Kana, Ampadu, Emerson 

 

Referee: Martin Atkinson 

 

The first chance fell to the hosts in the 5th minute, as Bostwick headed wide from a Lewis free kick.

 

Chelsea then went up the other end, and Batshuayi received the ball from James and got away from Bolger before sending a cross to Hudson-Odoi, whose shot was saved by Vickers. 

 

Hudson-Odoi would have better luck in the 7th minute, as he received the ball from Telles and cut inside, outpacing Eardley before slotting the ball into the bottom corner to give Chelsea the lead. 

 

In the 15th minute, Lincoln were awarded a free kick for a foul on Anderson. Lewis's delivery found Anderson, who out-jumped Tomori only to see his header saved by Caballero.

 

In the 19th minute, Kanté received the ball from Loftus-Cheek and passed to Mount. Mount looked to find Telles, and Telles let fly from the edge of the box with a shot into the top corner which Vickers had no chance of saving. 

 

Lincoln refused to give up, and in the 21st minute Lewis intercepted a headed clearance from Pulisic and hit an optimistic long-range effort which was pushed away by Caballero. Caballero would be on hand two minutes later as he saved Hooper's header. 

 

In the 34th minute, a free kick from James found Batshuayi, whose header was saved by Vickers. 

 

A minute later, Eardley was shown a yellow card for a foul on Hudson-Odoi. The free kick was headed clear by Eardley, but Tomori recovered and hit a 25 yard ball to Kanté. Kanté found James with a good forward pass, and James hit a low shot which beat Vickers at his near post. 

 

Two minutes later, Anderson received the ball from Eardley and passed to Lewis, who hit a half volley into the top corner from 25 yards. 

 

Four minutes before half time, Christensen was booked for a foul on Hopper. A minute later, Batshuayi received the ball from Hudson-Odoi and hit an ambitious effort which was saved by Vickers. 

 

Chelsea continued to attack in the second half, and in the 47th minute a shot from Tomori was diverted over by Vickers. 

 

In the 54th minute, Hudson-Odoi was booked for a foul on Eardley, who went down like he'd been shot. A minute later, Elbouzedi received a yellow card for a foul on Pulisic.

 

Just after the hour mark, Elbouzedi was replaced by Scully. In the 64th minute, Bolger was shown a yellow card for a foul on Batshuayi. From the free kick, Telles found Pulisic. Pulisic looked certain to score, but his shot was tipped wide by Vickers.

 

A minute later, Kanté was booked for a foul on Grant. Grant's free kick found Chapman, who sent his header over the bar. Lincoln then took Anderson off, replacing him with Dean Ager.

 

With 15 minutes left, Alex Telles sent a shot over, before Marco Kana replaced Hudson-Odoi. Lincoln then took Bostwick off, replacing him with Forster.

 

With four minutes left, Pulisic received the ball from Loftus-Cheek and crossed it to Batshuayi. Batshuayi hit a volley, which went over the bar. Chelsea then took Pulisic off, replacing him with Ziyech.

 

In the 4th minute of stoppage time, Scully received a 25 yard ball from Eardley and passed through to Bradley, whose half volley went wide. 

 

Tuesday 22 September 2020, 19:45: Carabao Cup Third Round - at Sincil Bank, Lincoln 

Lincoln City 1-3 Chelsea (Lewis 38; Hudson-Odoi 7, Alex Telles 19, James 36)

Attendance: 10,049 (502 away)

Man of the Match: Alex Telles 

 

Other results 

Tuesday 

Burnley 2-5 Arsenal (Gudmundsson 3, Mee 58; Mkhitaryan 29, Xhaka 37, Aubameyang 67, 75, Depay 85)

Doncaster 1-1 West Ham (Gomes 57; Rice 60, Cresswell s/o 73) West Ham win 5-4 on penalties 

Forest Green 0-0 Aston Villa Aston Villa win 5-4 on penalties 

Liverpool 2-1 Watford (Henderson 13, Shaqiri 58; Capoue 90+3)

MK Dons 1-1 Stoke (Healey 90+5; Verlinden 61) MK Dons win 4-3 on penalties 

Reading 0-1 Crystal Palace (Begraoui 69)

Tranmere 1-0 Scunthorpe (Blackett-Taylor 32)

 

Wednesday 

Derby 1-1 Southampton (Buchanan 4; Ings pen 8) Derby win 4-3 on penalties 

Everton 0-2 Swansea (Dhandha 28, Taylor 79)

Leeds 0-0 Bournemouth Leeds win 3-2 on penalties 

Man City 0-1 Norwich (Touré 63)

Man Utd 4-0 Wigan (Evans og 27, Sánchez 51, Greenwood 56, Dias 58)

Rotherham 3-0 Portsmouth (Ogbene 9, Wiles 39, Crooks 78; May s/o 31)

Tottenham 0-0 Leicester Leicester win 7-6 on penalties 

Wolves 3-2 Colchester (Coady 28, Doucouré 38, Campana 43; Sowunni 64, Fernandes 68)

 

The draw for the fourth round took place the following Saturday and Spencer listened to it on the coach to White Hart Lane. 

 

"The first team out," the announcer said, "Is Number 7, Leeds United. They are at home to...number 2, Wolverhampton Wanderers."

 

"Number 6, Leicester City, will play…number 5, Norwich City."

 

"Number 8, Swansea City, are at home to...number 14, West Ham United."

 

"Number 4, Rotherham United, will play...number 10, Tranmere Rovers."

 

"Number 16, Aston Villa, are at home to...number 3, Manchester United."

 

"Number 13, Liverpool, will play...number 11, Arsenal."

 

"Number 9, Crystal Palace, are at home to...number 12, Milton Keynes Dons. Which means that Number 15, Chelsea, will play Number 1, Derby County."

Edited July 11, 2020 by Drogba11CFC

[Drogba11CFC]

Chelsea travelled to The Tottenham Hotspur Stadium for their final league match in September. Tottenham, now under the stewardship of Carlo Ancelotti, sat seventh in the league but only two points behind Chelsea. 

 

Tottenham Hotspur 

Lloris 

Aurier Dier Alderweireld Rose

Winks Fernandes

Correa Almada Zaha

Son

Substitutes: Gazzaniga, Sánchez, Draxler, Bergwijn, Sissoko, Davies, Iheanacho 

 

Chelsea 

Kepa 

Azpilicueta Christensen Rüdiger Telles

Kovacic 

Kanté Havertz 

Ziyech Werner Sancho

Substitutes: Caballero, Jorginho, Zouma, Mount, Hudson-Odoi, Batshuayi, James 

 

Referee: Craig Pawson 

 

In the 6th minute, Tottenham were awarded a free kick when Correa was tripped by Telles. Dier went for goal from the free kick, with his shot rippling the side netting. A minute later, Azpilicueta was shown a yellow card for a foul on Zaha.

 

In the 8th minute, Havertz received the ball from Kanté and passed to Azpilicueta on the right. Azpilicueta passed to Ziyech, whose low shot found the bottom corner to give Chelsea the lead. 

 

In the 13th minute, Alderweireld was shown a yellow card for a foul on Werner. 

 

Tottenham looked to get back into the game, and in the 14th minute Son Heung-Min sprung the offside trap and took a shot which Kepa turned around the post. Kepa was then called into action from the corner, as he saved Aurier's header.

 

In the 16th minute, a corner from Telles found Ziyech, whose header went over the bar. 

 

In the 19th minute, Danny Rose slid the ball into the box for Zaha, whose shot was saved by Kepa. Kepa couldn't hold it, and the rebound fell to Correa who volleyed home from a tight angle. However, Craig Pawson consulted with VAR, and the goal was ruled out for offside.

 

In the 22nd minute, Ziyech received the ball from Werner and crossed it into the area. Sancho got up above Dier, but his header sailed over. Two minutes later, a free kick from Telles found Havertz, whose header was saved by Lloris. 

 

In the 27th minute, Aurier got down the right and put in a cross. Zaha connected, but his header was saved by Kepa.

 

Kepa was called into action again in the 31st minute. A shot from Ziyech was saved by Lloris and Tottenham broke down the right. Aurier got past Rüdiger and took a shot, but his shot was saved by Kepa. Kepa then produced another save in the 35th minute to keep out a shot from Correa. 

 

In the 39th minute, Rüdiger was booked for a foul on Son.

 

Two minutes before half time, a free kick from Telles found Christensen, whose header was saved by Lloris. 

 

Tottenham came out looking for an equaliser and in the 49th minute, Almada's corner found Fernandes, whose header was saved by Kepa. 

 

It was a miss Tottenham would regret, as three minutes later Kovacic found Azpilicueta on the right with a one-touch pass. Zaha failed to reach Azpilicueta's cross, and Sancho converted an easy tap-in to double Chelsea's lead.

 

Zaha nearly made up for his error, as in the 54th minute, he played a one-two with Rose before hitting a shot which was saved by Kepa. Three minutes later, Zaha saw a shot parried by Kepa before Rüdiger raced in and cleared. 

 

In the 64th minute, Fernandes was replaced by Sissoko. Chelsea continued to dominate, and in the 67th minute Sancho intercepted a clearance from Dier only to volley the ball clean over the bar. 

 

In the 68th minute, Correa received the ball from Winks and took a shot which went over the bar. Tottenham then took Almada off, replacing him with Bergwijn. 

 

With 20 minutes left, a counter attack by Tottenham saw Son have the legs on Christensen and get into space. His shot, however, was saved by Kepa. 

 

In the 74th minute, Aurier was shown a yellow card for a foul on Sancho. Tottenham then made their final change, replacing Son Heung-Min with Julian Draxler. 

 

In the 76th minute, Draxler surged past Azpilicueta and sent a cross into the area for Correa, whose shot was saved by Kepa. Sissoko saw a header fly over the bar. 

 

With ten minutes left, Chelsea replaced Ziyech with Hudson-Odoi. 

 

In the 87th minute, a free kick from Telles saw Rüdiger beat Dier in the air and head down to Havertz, who had the perfect opportunity and volleyed home from close range to put the icing on the cake. 

 

Chelsea could have had a fourth, as in the 90th minute Hudson-Odoi saw a shot tipped behind by Lloris, who also saved Werner's header from the corner. 

 

Saturday 26 September 2020, 12:45: Barclays Premier League - at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, London 

Tottenham Hotspur 0-3 Chelsea (Ziyech 8, Sancho 52, Havertz 87)

Attendance: 62,303 (3,000 away)

Man of the Match: Cesar Azpilicueta 

 

Other results 

Saturday 

Burnley 0-0 Leicester 

Everton 1-0 Huddersfield (Sánchez 25)

Liverpool 0-0 Fulham 

West Ham 3-0 Southampton (Rice 16, Stephens og 41, Diangana 70)

Norwich 1-4 Man City (Godfrey 90+3; Kane 11, Sterling 34, Mendy 44, De Bruyne 50)

Bournemouth 2-2 Man Utd (Wilson 51, pen 88; Rashford 35, Bailey 57, Rashford m/pen 49)

 

Sunday 

Brighton 0-4 Arsenal (Lacazette 2, Aubameyang 14, Depay 26, Xhaka 40)

Wolves 1-0 Aston Villa (Jiménez 43)

 

Monday 

Leeds 1-0 Sheff Utd (Bamford 12)

 

League Table 

                            P      W      D      L      F      A      GD     PTS 
 1.          Arsenal        7      7      0      0      30     5      26     21
 2.          Chelsea        7      6      0      1      19     7      12     18
 3.          Man City       7      6      0      1      17     7      7      18
 4.          Man Utd        7      5      1      1      15     6      9      16
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
 5.          Wolves         7      5      1      1      17     9      8      16
 6.          Liverpool      7      4      2      1      17     3      14     14
 7.          Tottenham      7      4      1      2      12     8      4      13
 8.          Everton        7      4      0      3      13     10     3      12
 9.          Aston Villa    7      3      0      4      8      9      -1     9
 10.         West Ham       7      3      0      4      7      11     -4     9 
 11.         Fulham         7      2      3      2      5      10     -5     9
 12.         Sheff Utd      7      2      1      4      8      11     -3     7
 13.         Leicester      7      2      1      4      8      12     -4     7
 14.         Bournemouth    7      1      3      3      14     14     0      6
 15.         Burnley        7      1      3      3      8      13     -5     6
 16.         Brighton       7      1      3      3      6      14     -8     6 
 17.         Leeds          7      1      2      4      7      18     -11    5
 ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
 18.         Norwich        7      1      1      5      6      16     -10    4
 19.         Huddersfield   7      1      0      6      7      17     -10    3
 20.         Southampton    7      0      0      7      4      25     -21    0

 

Edited December 6, 2020 by Drogba11CFC

[Drogba11CFC]

Chelsea hosted Belgian champions Club Brugge in their second Champions League group game. The Blauw-Zwart were top of the Jupiler Pro League and had won their opening match against Krasnodar, but Spencer was confident that his side could get the job done, even though former Liverpool keeper Simon Mignolet had conceded just twice so far that season.

 

Chelsea 

Kepa 

James Christensen Zouma Emerson 

Jorginho 

Mount Havertz 

Ziyech Werner Sancho

Substitutes: Blackman, Rüdiger, Loftus-Cheek, Kovacic, Pulisic, Batshuayi, Azpilicueta 

 

Club Brugge 

Mignolet 

Diatta Castelletto Djimsiti Naert

García Vormer 

Pussetto Birsa Braithwaite 

Okereke

Substitutes: Letica, Vancraeyveldt, Yildirim, Claeys, Deman, Vanneste, Bekaert

 

Referee: Willie Collum (SCO)

 

Ils sont les meilleurs

Sie sind die besten

These are the Champions

 

Die meister

Die besten

Les grandes équipes

The Champions!

 

Chelsea's first chance came in the 3rd minute, as Reece James got down the right and crossed the ball to Werner, who headed over the bar.

 

In the 5th minute, Sancho was brought down as he entered the area. Chelsea appealed for a penalty, but VAR showed that the foul had been just outside the box

From the free kick, Havertz cushioned a headed pass to Ziyech, whose right footed volley was tipped behind by Mignolet.

 

From the corner, Mount found Werner, whose header was tipped over for another corner. 

 

In the 9th minute, a header from Braithwaite was recovered by Mount, who passed to James on the right. James passed to Ziyech, who surged past Naert before passing back to James, and James took a shot which flew past Mignolet into the net to give Chelsea the lead. 

 

James was then booked in the 12th minute for a foul on Braithwaite. Club Brugge won a corner, but Zouma headed clear and Chelsea launched a counter attack which saw Sancho hit a shot off target. A minute later, Ziyech received the ball from Mount and hit a half volley high and wide. 

 

Brugge's first real chance came in the 16th minute, as Javi García received the ball from Vormer and struck the woodwork before Emerson cleared the ball behind. Vormer's corner found Castelletto, whose header went over the bar. Okereke was next, firing in a low shot which was turned around the post by Kepa. 

 

Having weathered the storm, Chelsea went forward again, and in the 22nd minute a corner from Mount found Sancho, whose header went over the bar. Christensen was then booked for a foul on Okereke.

 

In the 25th minute, a free kick from James found Zouma, whose header was saved by Mignolet. Mignolet was called into action again in the 29th minute as he saved a shot from Havertz, before getting a hand to Sancho's header a minute later. 

 

In the 33rd minute, Javi García was booked for a foul on Sancho. James went for goal from the free kick, but his shot was saved by Mignolet. A minute later, another Chelsea free kick saw Mignolet save Havertz's header. 

 

In the 35th minute, Naert was booked for a foul on Ziyech. 

 

Five minutes before half time, a corner from Mount was headed clear by Djimsiti. Zouma reacted quickest with a half volley which hit the side netting.

 

A minute later, Mount received the ball on the right and sent in a cross. Diatta intercepted, but his header only found Sancho, who took the ball down before firing a low shot which beat Mignolet at his near post.

 

Chelsea nearly made it three just before half time, with Mignolet saving Werner's header. Brugge went to the other end, and a shot from Braithwaite went just wide.

 

Brugge made a change at half time, as Diatta was replaced by Vancraeyveldt. In the 49th minute, a cross from Werner found Ziyech, whose header was saved by Mignolet. 

 

A minute later, a cross-field ball by Ziyech found Emerson unmarked. Emerson got into the area and took a shot from the narrowest of angles. His shot was saved by Mignolet, but the loose ball fell to Werner, who steered it into the bottom corner.

 

Emerson would have a second bite at the cherry three minutes later. A long ball from Mount was kept in by James, who drilled a low cross towards the far post. Mount's volley was saved by Mignolet, but Sancho got to the loose ball and passed back to Emerson. Emerson hit a first time shot into the top corner to increase Chelsea's lead further. 

 

Club Brugge tried to get back into the game, and made a rare foray forward in the 55th minute. Naert took the ball down the left and sent a cross to Birsa, whose volley was saved by Kepa. Chelsea then launched a counter, which saw Emerson take the ball down the left before passing to Sancho. Sancho got past Castelletto and hit a dipping shot from the edge of the area which soared into the bottom corner to double his tally.

 

A minute later, Castelletto played a cross to Pussetto, whose shot was saved by Kepa. Kepa was tested by Pussetto again two minutes later, and again saved his header. That would be Pussetto's last contribution, as he was replaced by Özcan Yildirim.

 

In the 64th minute, a cross from Ziyech found Werner, whose header was saved by Mignolet. A minute later, a corner from Mount found Werner. Werner headed the ball down to Sancho, and Sancho volleyed home from point-blank range to complete his hat-trick. He was then taken off to a standing ovation, with Loftus-Cheek replacing him. 

 

With 20 minutes left, a long ball from Christensen found Ziyech, whose shot went wide.

 

In the 73rd minute, a clearance from Birsa found Okereke, who caught Chelsea on the break and ran to the edge of the box before finding the net to add some respectability to the scoreline. Zouma was then booked for a foul on Okereke, before Vanneste came on to replace Naert.

 

With ten minutes left, a corner from Yildirim was headed clear by Rüdiger, who had replaced Christensen. Braithwaite reacted quickest with a volley which struck the crossbar.

 

With seven minutes left, a cross from Emerson found found Ziyech, who headed over, before Mount sent a volley a couple of inches too high. Pulisic then came on for Ziyech and nearly turned provider, as he crossed the ball to Mount, whose header was saved by Mignolet. Zouma then had a go, with his header going just over, before a shot from Werner cleared the crossbar. Club Brugge managed to weather the storm, but the game had long since been over. 

 

Tuesday 29 September 2020, 20:00: UEFA Champions League Group F - at Stamford Bridge, London 

Chelsea 6-1 Club Brugge (James 9, Sancho 41, 56, 65, Werner 50, Emerson 53; Okereke 73)

Attendance: 40,712 (2,081 away)

Man of the Match: Jadon Sancho 

 

Group Table:

                                  P     W     D     L     F     A     GD    PTS 
 1.          Chelsea              2     1     1     0     7     2     5     4
 2.          Juventus             2     1     1     0     3     2     1     4
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
 3.          Club Brugge          2     1     0     1     2     6     -4    3
 4.          Krasnodar            2     0     0     2     1     3     -2    0

Other Results 

UEFA Champions League 

Group A: Real Madrid 3-0 CSKA Moscow (Hazard pen 18, 54, Bale 62; Dzagoev s/o 44), AC Milan 1-1 Bayern Munich (Borré 78; Lewandowski pen 71)

Group B: Barcelona 2-0 RB Leipzig (Arthur pen 86, Suárez 90), PAOK 1-2 Shakhtar (Tobazis 42; Giroud 87, Junior Moraes pen 88)

Group C: Lazio 1-2 Liverpool (Immobile 72; van Dijk 59, Salah 61), Real Sociedad 1-0 Lyon (Oyarzábal 14)

Group D: Arsenal 4-1 Fenerbahçe (Özil 2, Pépé 65, Nketiah 81, 90+5; Muriqi 13), Zenit 2-0 Olympiakos (Dzyuba pen 21, Jesé 90+1, Malcom s/o 81)

Group E: Partizan Belgrade 0-4 Man Utd (Belic s/o 66; Semedo 8, Dias 35, Fred 75, Fernandes 84), Schalke 04 2-1 Ajax (McKennie 59, Suat Serdar 90+2; Neres 27)

Group F: Krasnodar 1-2 Juventus (Ramírez 83; Cristiano Ronaldo pen 15, Higuaín 43)

Group G: Inter Milan 1-1 Borussia Dortmund (Barella 20; Reus pen 15), Valencia 1-2 Man City (Barkley 15; Sterling 85, Laporte 88)

Group H: PSG 4-1 Benfica (Mbappé 19, 74, Icardi 64, 69; Rafa 85, Samaris s/o 77), Basel 0-0 Celtic 

 

Europa League 

Group C: Kilmarnock 1-4 Napoli (Magrassi 68; Koulibaly 7, Milik 11, Lozano 53, Partey 86)

Group H: Legia 0-1 Rangers (Morelos 30)

Group J: Sturm Graz 1-2 Wolves (Schönberger 48; Diogo Jota 47, Neto 75)

Group K: Lille 2-2 Everton (Weah 4, Hurtado 59; Calvert-Lewin 37, 47)

Edited December 6, 2020 by Drogba11CFC

[Drogba11CFC]

Norwich City were Chelsea's next opponents, and came to Stamford Bridge second from bottom. Spencer made two changes, with Rüdiger and Kanté coming in.

 

Chelsea 

Kepa 

James Rüdiger Zouma Emerson 

Kanté 

Mount Havertz 

Ziyech Werner Sancho 

Substitutes: Caballero, Christensen, Loftus-Cheek, Kovacic, Pulisic, Batshuayi, Azpilicueta 

 

Norwich City 

Krul

Aarons Godfrey Zimmermann Lewis 

Chalobah Ricci

Lamela Buendía Cantwell 

Petkovic

Substitutes: Gunn, Lowe, Touré, Idah  Bushiri, Byram, Pukki

 

Referee: Mike Dean 

 

Chelsea flew out of the blocks, and in the second minute Emerson took the ball down the left and aimed a cross at the far post. Zimmermann headed clear, but Werner got to the loose ball first and passed to Sancho. Sancho whipped in a cross to Ziyech, who powered a header into the net to give Chelsea the lead. 

 

By the fifth minute, it was two. As Chelsea came forward again, Ziyech received the ball from Rüdiger and passed to Havertz, who played a 35 yard ball to James. James passed to Ziyech, whose initial shot was blocked. However, Ricci failed to control the ball, and Ziyech struck a shot into the top corner which beat Krul at his near post. 

 

In the 9th minute, James was shown a yellow card for a foul on Cantwell.

 

Ziyech was on a hat-trick and in the 12th minute, he received the ball from Havertz and took a shot which was tipped over by Krul. A minute later, a shot from Mount was blocked by Cantwell, before Kanté put a shot wide. 

 

In the 16th minute, Rüdiger was shown a yellow card for a foul on Petkovic.

 

Norwich had been under the cosh but they had a chance in the 22nd minute. Lamela found the run of Buendía, whose shot was saved by Kepa. Emerson was then booked for a foul on Lamela.

 

In the 30th minute, Ricci was booked for a foul on Werner. Lewis then received a pass from Zimmermann and took a shot which was tipped behind by Kepa.

 

In the 32nd minute, Lamela was booked for a foul on Sancho. Two minutes later, Ziyech received the ball from Mount and sent a shot wide. 

 

Three minutes before half time, Buendía ran onto a ball from Lamela and took a shot which was tipped over by Kepa. 

 

On the stroke of half time, Lewis was shown a yellow card for a foul on Ziyech, before Kanté entered the book for a foul on Buendía. 

 

Norwich looked to get back into the match in the second half, and in the 50th minute Buendía found the run of Petkovic. Petkovic went for goal, but his shot flicked the outside of the post. 

 

In the 53rd minute, Emerson received the ball from Kanté and shot from a tight angle, with his shot behind turned behind by Krul.

 

In the 57th minute, Ziyech was upended by Chalobah. The free kick found Werner, whose header went over the bar. Five minutes later, Sancho headed over from Havertz's long ball.

 

In the 64th minute, a long ball from Kanté found James on the right. James passed to Ziyech in the area, and Ziyech slotted the ball into the net from a very tight angle to complete his hat-trick. Ziyech then went off to a standing ovation, with Pulisic replacing him. 

 

In the 66th minute, a cross from James found Zouma, who headed the ball wide.

 

In the 73rd minute, a counter attack by Norwich saw Buendía hit a hopeful shot which was saved by Kepa. 

 

With 15 minutes left, Norwich replaced Aarons with Bushiri while Kovacic came on to replace Mount. Two minutes later, Petkovic received the ball from Buendía and got past Zouma and James before seeing his hopeful shot saved by Kepa. Norwich then took Ricci off, replacing him with Touré.

 

With nine minutes left, Pulisic got away from Lewis and took a shot which was parried by Krul. Two minutes later, Norwich replaced Lewis with Lowe.

 

Chelsea continued to attack, and in the 86th minute Sancho got past Bushiri before sending the ball just wide, before Krul saved from Zouma in the 88th minute and from Sancho in the 89th minute.

 

In stoppage time, Max Lowe received the ball from Chalobah and took a shot which was saved by Kepa as Chelsea closed out another win.

 

Saturday 3 October 2020, 19:45: Barclays Premier League - at Stamford Bridge, London 

Chelsea 3-0 Norwich City (Ziyech 2, 5, 64)

Attendance: 41,631 (3,000 away)

Man of the Match: Hakim Ziyech 

 

Other results 

Friday 

Leicester 1-2 West Ham (Ilicic 60; Gameiro 69, 72)

 

Saturday 

Man City 2-0 Liverpool (Sterling 18, 84)

Aston Villa 2-1 Bournemouth (Puig 38, Samatta 90+5; Wilson 6)

Fulham 3-0 Burnley (Knockaert 6, Cairney 60, Séri 61)

Huddersfield 1-1 Brighton (Kownacki 44; Dunk 65)

Southampton 2-0 Leeds (Redmond 70, 75)

Man Utd 2-0 Tottenham (Rashford 2, Martial 90+3)

 

Sunday 

Arsenal 4-0 Everton (Xhaka 12, Chambers 19, O'Connell 24, Depay 55)

Sheff Utd 0-1 Wolves (Neves 90+6)

 

League Table 

                           P      W      D      L      F      A      GD     PTS
 1.          Arsenal       8      8      0      0      34     5      29     24
 2.          Chelsea       8      7      0      1      22     7      15     21
 3.          Man City      8      7      0      1      16     7      9      21
 4.          Man Utd       8      6      1      1      17     6      11     19
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------
 5.          Wolves        8      6      1      1      18     9      9      19
 6.          Liverpool     8      4      2      2      17     5      12     14
 7.          Tottenham     8      4      1      3      12     10     2      13
 8.          Aston Villa   8      4      0      4      10     10     0      12
 9.          Everton       8      4      0      4      13     14     -1     12
 10.         Fulham        8      3      3      2      8      10     -2     12
 11.         West Ham      8      4      0      4      9      12     -3     12
 12.         Sheff Utd     8      2      1      5      8      12     -4     7
 13.         Leicester     8      2      1      5      9      14     -5     7
 14.         Brighton      8      1      4      3      7      15     -8     7
 15.         Bournemouth   8      1      3      4      15     16     -1     6
 16.         Burnley       8      1      3      4      8      16     -8     6
 17.         Leeds         8      1      2      5      7      20     -13    5
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------
 18.         Huddersfield  8      1      1      6      8      18     -10    4
 19.         Norwich       8      1      1      6      6      19     -13    4
 20.         Southampton   8      1      0      7      6      25     -19    3

 

Edited January 29, 2021 by Drogba11CFC

[Drogba11CFC]

Chelsea travelled to Molineux after the international break to face 5th-placed Wolves. The Blues had lost twice to their opponents the previous season, and Wolves now had David Luiz in their ranks. In contrast, both Alex Telles and Hakim Ziyech were tired after travelling from the international break, while Rüdiger was one booking from suspension.

 

Wolves 

Patricio 

Sokratis Coady Dendoncker 

Traoré Neves Doucouré Jonny

Neto Jota Taison

Substitutes: Ruddy, Montiel, Moutinho, Jiménez, Gibbs-White, Luiz, Vinagre 

 

Chelsea 

Kepa 

James Christensen Zouma Emerson 

Kovacic 

Kanté Havertz 

Hudson-Odoi Werner Sancho 

Substitutes: Blackman, Rüdiger, Jorginho, Ziyech, Loftus-Cheek, Batshuayi, Azpilicueta 

 

Referee: Stuart Atwell 

 

Wolves started brightly, and in the 2nd minute a pot-shot from Doucouré was blocked by Zouma. From the corner, Diogo Jota sent a header over.

 

In the 5th minute, Taison was upended by Kovacic. From the free kick, Sokratis sent a header wide. 

 

Chelsea were dealt a blow in the 7th minute, as Reece James was forced off with a twisted ankle. Chelsea brought Azpilicueta on to replace him, while a ahot from Jota was turned around the post by Kepa. 

 

In the 21st minute, Traoré received the ball from Neves and got past Emerson and Havertz before hitting the side netting. Traoré had another chance in the 25th minute, as he received the ball from Jonny before hitting a shot high and wide.

 

Ten minutes before half time, a quick counter-attack from Chelsea saw Hudson-Odoi play a long ball to Werner, who was fouled by Sokratis. Zouma played the ball quick to Havertz, who passed to Kanté. Kanté played the ball to Werner's feet, and Werner passed to Hudson-Odoi, who got past Jonny before passing to Emerson. Emerson connected with a first time shot which flew into the net, beating Patricio at his near post. 

 

Wolves looked to hit back, and Kepa saved from Diogo Jota in the 37th and 43rd minutes.

 

In the 50th minute, Wolves won a corner, and Neves headed the ball down to Jota. Jota tried a half volley, but his shot was blocked by Zouma. 

 

In the 55th minute, a long ball from Sokratis found Traoré. Traoré hit a left-footed shot, which was saved by Kepa. 

 

In the 62nd minute, Hudson-Odoi fouled Taison, and was shown a yellow card. 

 

In the 67th minute, Diogo Jota was replaced by Jiménez. A minute later, Neto found himself with all the time in the world from Jonny's cross, but his shot was saved by Kepa. 

 

With 20 minutes left, a disappointing Sancho was replaced by Ziyech. A free kick from Emerson was then blocked by Neves, before Neto was replaced by Montiel.

 

In the 74th minute, a cross from Doucouré was headed clear by Zouma, but only as far as Neves. Neves struck the ball hard with the outside of his foot, but Kepa did just enough to tip it over. From the corner, Dendoncker saw his header touch the bar and go over. 

 

With twelve minutes left, Doucouré was taken off with Moutinho replacing him. In the 87th minute, Jorginho came on for Havertz.

 

Chelsea survived a period of sustained Wolves pressure in stoppage time for a vital, albeit fortuitous, win.

 

Saturday 17 October 2020, 19:45: Barclays Premier League - at Molineux, Wolverhampton 

Wolverhampton Wanderers 0-1 Chelsea (Emerson 35)

Attendance: 30,852 (3,000 away)

Man of the Match: Emerson Palmieri 

 

Other results 

Friday

Leeds 1-1 Huddersfield (Cooper 79; Kownacki pen 55)

 

Saturday 

Tottenham 1-3 Man City (Draxler 87; Sané 20, Kane 23, Agüero 75)

Bournemouth 1-1 Leicester (Wilson 78; Ilicic 43)

Brighton 3-1 Man Utd (Henry 19, 80, Dunk 77; Gabriel Barbosa 54)

Everton 3-1 Sheff Utd (Verrips og 3, Richarlison 38, Sigurdsson 82; Fleck pen 36)

Norwich 5-0 Aston Villa (Cantwell 30, Lamela 34, 61, 78, Zimmermann 39)

Liverpool 3-0 Southampton (Milner pen 50, Mané 58, Henderson 71)

 

Sunday 

Burnley 0-2 Arsenal (Lacazette 17, Xhaka 57)

 

Monday 

West Ham 2-1 Fulham (Bowen 51, 86; Dummett 90+1)

 

League Table 

                           P      W      D      L      F      A      GD     PTS 
 1.          Arsenal       9      9      0      0      36     5      31     27
 2.          Chelsea       9      8      0      1      23     7      16     24
 3.          Man City      9      8      0      1      19     8      11     24
 4.          Man Utd       9      6      1      2      18     9      9      19
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------
 5.          Wolves        9      6      1      2      18     10     8      19
 6.          Liverpool     9      5      2      2      20     5      15     17
 7.          Everton       9      5      0      4      16     15     1      15 
 8.          West Ham      9      5      0      4      11     13     -2     15
 9.          Tottenham     9      4      1      4      13     13     0      13
 10.         Fulham        9      3      3      3      9      12     -3     12
 11.         Aston Villa   9      4      0      5      10     15     -5     12
 12.         Brighton      9      2      4      3      10     16     -6     10
 13.         Leicester     9      2      2      5      10     15     -5     8
 14.         Bournemouth   9      1      4      4      16     17     -1     7
 15.         Sheff Utd     9      2      1      6      9      15     -6     7
 16.         Norwich       9      2      1      6      11     19     -8     7
 17.         Burnley       9      1      3      5      8      18     -10    6
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------
 18.         Leeds         9      1      3      5      8      21     -13    6
 19.         Huddersfield  9      1      2      6      9      19     -10    5
 20.         Southampton   9      1      0      8      6      28     -22    3

 

Edited January 29, 2021 by Drogba11CFC

[Drogba11CFC]

Chelsea travelled to Russia to face Krasnodar in their third Champions League game. The Russian outfit were sixth in the Premierliga and had lost their opening two matches. However, Spencer was forced to rotate his squad with a home game against Liverpool on the horizon. 

 

Krasnodar 

Dubravka 

Petrov Spajic Sorokin Ramírez

Fernando 

Gazinski Vilhena

Philipp Berg Claesson

Substitutes: Safonov, Kambolov, Cabella, Kokorin, Olsson, Fernandes, Atsu 

 

Chelsea 

Kepa 

Tomori Rüdiger Zouma Emerson 

Mount Jorginho 

Pulisic Havertz Hudson-Odoi 

Werner 

Substitutes: Caballero, Christensen, Kanté, Loftus-Cheek, Sancho, Batshuayi, Azpilicueta 

 

Referee: Antonio Miguel Mateu Lahoz (ESP)

 

Ils sont les meilleurs 

Sie sind die besten 

These are the Champions 

 

Die meister 

Die besten 

Les meilleurs équipes 

The Champions!

 

Three minutes into the match, Zouma was shown a yellow card for a foul on Berg.

 

The first real chance came in the fifth minute, as a cross from Ramírez found Philipp, whose shot was saved by Kepa. 

 

In the 18th minute, Sorokin was shown a yellow card for a foul on Pulisic. Mount's free kick found Zouma, whose header went sailing over from an awkward angle. 

 

A minute later, a free kick from Ramírez found Fernando, but the former Man City player's shot sailed harmlessly over. 

 

In the 21st minute, Pulisic received the ball from Mount and passed to Jorginho. Jorginho hit a 30 yard ball ahead of Emerson, who exchanged passes with Hudson-Odoi before taking a shot which sailed into the net to give Chelsea the lead. 

 

Chelsea could have had a second two minutes later. A cross from Emerson was headed clear by Sorokin, but only as far as Mount. Mount hit a volley which was tipped over by Dubravka.

 

In the 31st minute, a rare Krasnodar attack saw Ramírez pass through to Vilhena. Vilhena hit a hopeful shop with his right, which was saved by Kepa. 

 

In the 36th minute, a clearance from Sorokin was intercepted by Pulisic. Pulisic put the ball into the six yard box where Hudson-Odoi saw a header saved by Dubravka.

 

Four minutes before half-time, Tomori was shown a yellow card for a foul on Claesson. The free kick from Ramírez found Gazinskiy, whose header was saved by Kepa. 

 

Chelsea started the second half brightly and almost immediately Mount received the ball from Jorginho and instantly passed to Pulisic. Pulisic went for goal, but his shot was saved by Dubravka. Dubravka was called into action again a minute later as he saved a header from Werner.

 

In the 51st minute, a corner from Mount found Werner, who headed over. Four minutes later, Gazinskiy was withdrawn and replaced by Olsson. 

 

In the 57th minute, as Havertz came forward, he was brought down by Cristian Ramírez. It was a late, two-footed lunge, and Ramírez was promptly sent for an early bath. Mount's free kick found Zouma, whose header went over the bar. 

 

Chelsea now looked to assert their advantage, and in the 62nd minute Pulisic and Tomori exchanged passes before Pulisic sent in a cross to Werner, whose right-footed volley was saved by Dubravka. Werner sent a header over the bar in the 68th minute before Christian Atsu, a £2.7million signing from Newcastle, replaced Berg.

 

In the 74th minute, Hudson-Odoi received the ball from Rüdiger and produced a superb piece of skill to get away from Olsson. He then sent a cross to the far post, where Pulisic saw a header skim the bar. Havertz and Werner then withdrawn, with Kanté and Batshuayi replacing them.

 

In the 78th minute, a corner from Mount found Zouma, whose header went flying over the bar. 

 

With seven minutes left, a pass from Jorginho found Emerson, whose shot went just wide, before Jorginho was replaced by Loftus-Cheek. Chelsea closed out the game to make it seven points from three games.

 

Tuesday 20 October 2020, 17:55: UEFA Champions League Group F - at Krasnodar Stadium, Krasnodar 

FC Krasnodar 0-1 Chelsea (Ramírez s/o 57; Emerson 21)

Attendance: 32,940 (540 away)

Man of the Match: Emerson Palmieri 

 

Group Table

                                  P     W     D     L     F     A     GD    PTS 
 1.          Chelsea              3     2     1     0     8     2     6     7
 2.          Juventus             3     2     1     0     8     2     6     7
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 
 3.          Club Brugge          3     1     0     2     2     11    -9    3
 4.          Krasnodar            3     0     0     3     1     4     -3    0

Other results 

UEFA Champions League 

Group A: Real Madrid 3-2 AC Milan (Jovic 23, Valverde 30, Bale 32; Hakan Çalhanoglu 37, Rebic 90+1), Bayern Munich 2-0 CSKA Moscow (Lewandowski 33, Müller 38)

Group B: Shakhtar 0-1 RB Leipzig (Nkunku 61), Barcelona 4-1 PAOK (Messi 3, pen 20, Suárez 4, Roberto 18; Akpom 88)

Group C: Liverpool 2-0 Lyon (Mané 39, Firmino 86), Real Sociedad 0-1 Lazio (Dolberg 6)

Group D: Fenerbahçe 4-0 Olympiakos (Deniz Türüç 18, Kruse 35, pen 39, Muqiri 55), Zenit 1-3 Arsenal (Yerokhin 59; Aubameyang 62, 67, 81)

Group E: Partizan Belgrade 0-0 Schalke 04, Ajax 1-1 Man Utd (David Neres 85; Rashford 28)

Group F: Club Brugge 0-5 Juventus (Cristiano Ronaldo 4, Pjanic 14, Higuaín 19, 54, Ramsey 26)

Group G: Borussia Dortmund 0-4 Man City (Kane 16, Foden 26, 58, Sané 76), Valencia 3-0 Inter Milan (Parejo 15, Soler 19, Willian 32)

Group H: Celtic 2-1 Benfica (Forrest 30, 73; Weigl 86), PSG 5-0 Basel (Mbappé 30, Neymar 39, Sarabia 47, Kimpembe 53, Icardi 84)

 

Europa League 

Group C: Kilmarnock 1-1 Feyenoord (Magrassi 70; Toornstra 90)

Group H: AS Monaco 2-0 Rangers (Pellegri 18, Ben Yedder 19)

Group J: Wolves 2-0 Dynamo Kiev (Diogo Jota 31, 52, Sokratis s/o 65)

Group K: Everton 2-2 Atalanta (Calvert-Lewin 47, 86; Piccoli 71, Vido 78)

Edited January 29, 2021 by Drogba11CFC

[Drogba11CFC]

Chelsea hosted Liverpool in their next League match, looking to increase their run of wins. The Reds were looking to get their title challenge on track following a rocky start, and boasted £76million signing Paulo Dybala in their lineup, with Mohamed Salah not even making the bench. 

 

Chelsea 

Kepa 

Azpilicueta Christensen Zouma Emerson 

Kovacic 

Kanté Havertz 

Ziyech Werner Sancho 

Substitutes: Caballero, Rüdiger, Telles, Jorginho, Loftus-Cheek, Hudson-Odoi, Batshuayi

 

Liverpool 

Alisson 

Arnold van Dijk Gomez Robertson 

Fabinho 

Chamberlain Keïta 

Dybala Firmino Mané

Substitutes: Karius, Matip, Henderson, Origi, Milner, Lovren, Millar

 

Referee: David Coote 

 

It took just three minutes for the first yellow card to be shown, with Fabinho going into the book for a foul on Werner. 

 

In the 9th minute, Fabinho played a one-two with Keïta and swung the ball ahead of Robertson. Mané beat Azpilicueta in the air and headed on to Firmino, whose half volley found the side netting. 

 

In the 14th minute, a long ball from Kovacic found Ziyech. Ziyech darted past Robertson and got into the area before unleashing a shot which flew into the net, beating Alisson at his near post, to give Chelsea the lead. 

 

Liverpool looked to get back into the game, and in the 18th minute a cross from Dybala found Oxlade-Chamberlain, whose header was saved by Kepa. A minute later, a corner from Kovacic found Christensen, who headed the ball just wide. 

 

In the 23rd minute, a cross from Alexander-Arnold found Mané, whose header went over the bar. Robertson then saw a shot saved by Kepa, before an excellent Chelsea move saw Sancho let Kanté's pass drop before striking a left-footed shot which was saved by Alisson. Liverpool then went to the other end, and a half volley by Firmino was turned behind by Kepa. 

 

In the 27th minute, Firmino was fouled by Christensen. Dybala sent the free kick into the area, where Firmino out-jumped Emerson and headed home from a tight angle to bring Liverpool level. 

 

Liverpool edged the next ten minutes, but five minutes before half time a searching pass from Zouma brought Ziyech into play. Ziyech hit a half volley from a tight angle, but he put it wide. 

 

Liverpool started the second half brightly and in the 47th minute, they were awarded a penalty when Azpilicueta was adjudged by VAR to have fouled Robertson. Dybala stepped up, but he screwed the ball wide.

 

In the 49th minute, Kovacic was booked for a foul on Oxlade-Chamberlain, before Mané sent a half volley wide. 

 

Four minutes later, Oxlade-Chamberlain sent a shot a couple of inches over, before Timo Werner hit the side netting from Ziyech's pass.

 

In the 55th minute, Kovacic was tripped by Gomez. Ziyech's free kick found Werner, whose header was saved by Alisson. 

 

In the 58th minute, Liverpool brought Origi on to replace Oxlade-Chamberlain. 

 

It was a substitution that paid dividends as, in the 61st minute, a cross from Sancho found Werner, whose header was saved by Alisson. Alisson sought out Mané, who left Zouma standing before centring the ball to Origi, who volleyed it into the net to cap off a lightning-fast counter attack.

 

Chelsea now looked to get back into the match, and in the 64th minute Sancho received a 30 yard pass from Havertz and sprinted past Dybala before taking a shot which was tipped behind by Alisson.

 

In the 68th minute, Kanté was cautioned for a foul on Keïta. 

 

With 20 minutes left, Alexander-Arnold received the ball from Fabinho and took a shot which was saved by Kepa. Emerson was then taken off, with Alex Telles replacing him. 

 

Telles nearly made an immediate impact, as he received the ball and searched out Sancho, who came within inches of scoring as his shot agonisingly went the wrong side of the post.

 

Liverpool were just as dangerous, and in the 73rd minute Kepa was on hand to tip a shot from Origi around the post. 

 

In the 78th minute, Werner received the ball from Sancho and sent a cross to Ziyech, whose volley went just over the bar.

 

With six minutes left, a header from Zouma was saved by Alisson, who looked fo start a counter attack. Dybala showed Azpilicueta a clean set of heels, but was stopped in his tracks by Kovacic. However, Kovacic was already on a yellow card, and was shown his second yellow and given his marching orders. Spencer opted to sacrifice Havertz, with Jorginho replacing him. 

 

Liverpool now looked to seal the match and with five minutes left, a free kick from Dybala found Origi, whose header cleared the crossbar. Another Dybala free kick two minutes later found Gomez, who also headed way over, before Firmino saw a shot tipped over by Kepa. 

 

Chelsea refused to admit defeat, however, and in the 89th minute a low pass from Sancho found Werner, who sent the ball wide of the mark.

 

As the match entered stoppage time, a shot from Robertson was saved by Kepa, before Spencer replaced Werner with Batshuayi. In the final minute, Jorginho was upended by Sancho. Ziyech dispatched the free kick goalwards, but his shot was saved by Alisson.

 

Saturday 24 October 2020, 12:30: Barclays Premier League - at Stamford Bridge, London 

Chelsea 1-2 Liverpool (Ziyech 14, Kovacic s/o 84; Firmino 27, Origi 61, Dybala m/pen 47)

Attendance: 41,631 (3,000 away)

Man of the Match: Hakim Ziyech 

 

Other results 

Friday 

Fulham 0-1 Tottenham (Son pen 71)

 

Saturday 

Aston Villa 0-2 Brighton (Maupay 12, Bernardo 39)

Huddersfield 0-0 West Ham 

Sheff Utd 2-0 Burnley (Mousset 2, Bernard 12)

Southampton 0-1 Norwich (Lewis 88)

Man City 2-0 Leeds (Kane pen 4, Boadu 68)

Arsenal 1-0 Bournemouth (Aubameyang 12; King m/pen 74)

 

Sunday 

Leicester 3-2 Everton (Tielemans 50, Maddison 79, Niang 83; Coleman 13, Iwobi 28)

Man Utd 3-1 Wolves (Rashford pen 48, 65, Gabriel Barbosa 60; Wilson 50)

 

League Table 

                           P      W      D      L      F      A      GD     PTS 
 1.          Arsenal       10     10     0      0      37     5      32     30
 2.          Man City      10     9      0      1      21     8      13     27
 3.          Chelsea       10     8      0      2      24     9      15     24
 4.          Man Utd       10     7      1      2      21     10     11     22
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------
 5.          Liverpool     10     6      2      2      22     6      16     20
 6.          Wolves        10     6      1      3      19     13     6      19
 7.          Tottenham     10     5      1      4      14     13     1      16
 8.          West Ham      10     5      1      4      11     13     -2     16
 9.          Everton       10     5      0      5      18     18     0      15
 10.         Brighton      10     3      4      3      12     16     -4     13
 11.         Fulham        10     3      3      4      9      13     -4     12
 12.         Aston Villa   10     4      0      6      10     17     -7     12
 13.         Leicester     10     3      2      5      13     17     -4     11
 14.         Sheff Utd     10     3      1      6      11     15     -4     10
 15.         Norwich       10     3      1      6      12     19     -7     10
 16.         Bournemouth   10     1      4      5      16     18     -2     7
 17.         Huddersfield  10     1      3      6      9      19     -10    6
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------
 18.         Burnley       10     1      3      6      8      20     -12    6
 19.         Leeds         10     1      3      6      8      23     -15    6
 20.         Southampton   10     1      0      9      6      29     -23    3

 

Edited January 30, 2021 by Drogba11CFC

[Drogba11CFC]

Chelsea hosted Derby County in the fourth round of the Carabao Cup. Spencer opted to make changes, with Marco Kana, Ethan Ampadu and Trevoh Chalobah all starting. Derby, meanwhile, were 15th in the Championship, although they had former England stalwart Wayne Rooney in their side. 

 

Chelsea 

Caballero 

Chalobah Ampadu Tomori Emerson 

Kana

Loftus-Cheek Mount 

Pulisic Batshuayi Hudson-Odoi 

Substitutes: Kepa, Telles, Jorginho, Kanté, Werner, Zouma, Sancho 

 

Derby County 

Carson 

Hoever Bielik Wierik Malone 

Nolaskoain Rooney 

Knight 

Holmes Whittaker Lawrence 

Substitutes: Etheridge, Foulquier, Mitchell-Lewis, Ebosele, Evans, Cashin, Bird

 

Referee: Michael Oliver 

 

Unsurprisingly, Chelsea started strongly, and in the 5th minute a cross from Hudson-Odoi found Batshuayi, whose header was off target. Four minutes later, Hudson-Odoi found Mount, whose shot was saved by Carson. Carson was on hand again in the 10th minute, as he saved Pulisic's header. 

 

In the 16th minute, Tom Lawrence was booked for a foul on Chalobah. 

 

Chelsea continued to dominate, and in the 21st minute Kana received the ball from Emerson and passed through to Hudson-Odoi. Hudson-Odoi went for goal, but his shot was blocked by Hoever. Three minutes later, a long-range shot from Pulisic was blocked by Malone.

 

In the 25th minute, Chalobah received the ball from Loftus-Cheek and sent a cross to Batshuayi, whose header was saved by Carson. Carson was called into action again in the 29th minute as he pushed Mount's header away, and again in the 30th minute as he saved another shot from Mount. 

 

In the 33rd minute, Hoever threw himself in front of a Hudson-Odoi shot, before Carson saved a free kick from Mount. In the 37th minute, Pulisic beat Malone only to see his shot saved by Carson.

 

Derby hadn't had a sniff at goal so far but in the 38th minute, Whittaker was upended by Kana. Lawrence went for goal from the free kick, but it was saved by Caballero. 

 

Four minutes before half time, Loftus-Cheek received the ball from Tomori and passed to Hudson-Odoi. Hudson-Odoi took a shot which was tipped over by Carson. 

 

In stoppage time at the end of the first half, a pass from Loftus-Cheek found Emerson, whose shot was saved by Carson.

 

In the 48th minute, Derby broke. Holmes took the ball past Emerson, but his shot went wide.

 

Chelsea then went to the other end, and Emerson received the ball from Hudson-Odoi before passing to Kana. Kana put some curve on a shot which beat Carson but went wide. 

 

In the 53rd minute, a cross from Emerson found Pulisic, whose header went over the bar. In the 57th minute, a shot from Hudson-Odoi was blocked by Hoever. That was Hudson-Odoi's last contribution, as he was replaced by Sancho. 

 

On the hour mark, a corner from Mount was headed clear, but only as far as Kana. Kana struck it on the volley, but the ball went just over. 

 

In the 62nd minute, Rooney was taken off to be replaced by Bird.

 

In the 65th minute, Kana received the ball from Emerson and passed to Pulisic. Pulisic crossed the ball to Sancho, whose header was saved by Carson. 

 

With just under 20 minutes left, a cross from Whittaker evaded Sancho and Tomori before falling to Knight, who couldn't keep his header down. Derby then took Nolaskoain off, replacing him with Evans.

 

With just under 15 minutes left, Spencer made a double change. Batshuayi had failed to impress and was replaced by Werner, while Marco Kana had been outstanding but his race was run and he was replaced by Jorginho with penalties in mind.

 

Chelsea continued to attack, and in the 78th minute a shot from Pulisic was tipped wide by Carson before Mitchell-Lawson came on for Knight. With ten minutes left, a corner from Mount found Werner, whose header was saved by Carson. 

 

With six minutes left, Werner was fouled by Bielik. Mount took the free kick, but his shot was tipped wide by Carson. 

 

Two minutes later, a rare Derby attack saw Hoever receive the ball from Whittaker and send a cross to Holmes, whose header was saved by Caballero. 

 

As the match went into stoppage time, a cross from Emerson found Werner. Werner's powerful header seemed goalbound, but Carson somehow pushed it against the bar. A minute later, Jorginho found an unmarked Sancho, whose shot was saved by Carson, taking the match to penalties. 

 

Jorginho took the first kick for Chelsea, and he calmly stroked the ball into the bottom corner.

 

Tom Lawrence was first up for Derby, and he converted as well.

 

Next up for Chelsea was Ruben Loftus-Cheek. He wasn't known for taking penalties, but he made no mistake, sending the ball past Carson. 

 

Whittaker took Derby's second, and his kick evaded the outstretched arm of Caballero to find the bottom corner. 

 

Werner took Chelsea's third, and he found the bottom corner to make it three from three.

 

Mitchell-Lawson took Derby's third, and his kick just about avoided Caballero to keep Derby level. 

 

Jadon Sancho was tasked with Chelsea's fourth, and he drilled the ball into the bottom corner to keep Chelsea in the driving seat. 

 

Bird was next up for Derby, and he made it look easy with a shot into the bottom corner.

 

Mason Mount was to take Chelsea's fifth kick, and he went for sheer power with a no-nonsense effort which found the bottom corner before Carson even moved. 

 

The task of keeping Derby in the game fell to Hoever, who looked to find the bottom corner. However, he didn't get enough on it, and his weak effort was saved by Caballero to take Chelsea into the fifth round. 

 

Tuesday 27 October 2020, 19:45: Carabao Cup Fourth Round - at Stamford Bridge, London 

Chelsea 0-0 Derby County Chelsea win 5-4 on penalties 

Attendance: 36,460 (2,951 away)

Man of the Match: Marco Kana 

 

Other results

Tuesday 

Crystal Palace 1-1 MK Dons (Begraoui 43, McCarthy s/o 90; Bodin 49) Crystal Palace win 5-4 on penalties 

Liverpool 1-0 Arsenal (Shaqiri 58)

Rotherham 2-0 Tranmere (Crooks 18, Norburn 89)

 

Wednesday 

Aston Villa 0-1 Man Utd (Rashford 50)

Leeds 1-3 Wolves (Eze pen 39; Neto 71, Doucouré 86, Campana 90)

Leicester 0-0 Norwich Norwich win 4-2 on penalties 

Swansea 1-2 West Ham (Celina 62; Diangana 16, Haller 46)

 

The draw for the quarter finals took place on Friday, and Spencer listened to it in his office before travelling to Leicester.

 

"Number 5, Manchester United, are at home to...number 1, Wolverhampton Wanderers."

 

"Number 6, Liverpool, will play...number 7, Crystal Palace."

 

"Number 2, Norwich City, are at home to...number 4, Rotherham United."

 

"Number 8, Chelsea, will therefore play number 3, West Ham United."

[Drogba11CFC]

Chelsea travelled to Leicester looking to keep in touch with Arsenal and Manchester City. The Blues were now without Cesar Azpilicueta as well as Reece James, and so Fikayo Tomori came in at right back. The foxes had Michael O'Neill at the helm following the sacking of Marco Giampaolo.

 

Leicester City 

Schmeichel 

Pereira Söyüncü Evans Chilwell 

Ndidi 

Tielemans Choudhury

Niang Ilicic Maddison 

Substitutes: Ward, Benkovic, Pereyra, Vardy, Praet, Justin, Pérez 

 

Chelsea 

Kepa 

Tomori Christensen Zouma Telles 

Jorginho 

Kovacic Havertz 

Ziyech Werner Sancho 

Substitutes: Caballero, Rüdiger, Kanté, Mount, Hudson-Odoi, Batshuayi, Emerson 

 

Referee: Lee Probert 

 

Chelsea looked to attack from the off, and in the first minute Havertz went past the challenge of Tielemans before passing to Telles. Telles' cross found Ziyech, whose header went over the bar.

 

In the sixth minute, a shot from Werner was blocked by Söyüncü before Telles struck the post from the rebound. A minute later, Sancho tried a long range effort which went off-target.

 

Leicester had their first chance in the 9th minute. Ndidi received the ball from Tielemans and exchanged passes with Ilicic before taking a shot which was blocked by Christensen. 

 

In the 18th minute, Havertz hit a long ball towards Ziyech in the area. Ziyech met the ball with a header which was saved by Schmeichel. 

 

Four minutes later, a long ball from Kepa found Ziyech, who passed to Kovacic. Kovacic searched out Sancho, who was too quick for Pereira and passed to Werner. Werner's shot ricocheted off Evans and bobbled into the net with Schmeichel completely wrong-footed to give Chelsea the lead. 

 

Chelsea now looked for a second and in the 26th minute, Havertz received the ball from Werner and passed to Ziyech. Ziyech unleashed a fierce left-footed volley, which was blocked by Chilwell. 

 

In the 31st minute, a corner from Maddison found Ilicic, whose header went over the bar. Two minutes later, Werner got free of the defence only to see his shot saved by Schmeichel. Schmeichel would be called into action again in the 35th minute as he saved a header from Sancho. 

 

In the 36th minute, Tomori was fouled by Maddison. Telles' free kick found Ziyech, whose header went over the bar.

 

In the 42nd minute, Tomori took the ball away from passed to Ziyech. Ziyech hit a shot from distance which was saved by Schmeichel. 

 

A minute before half time, Sancho was shown a yellow card for a foul on Pereira. 

 

Chelsea came out looking for a second, and in the 47th minute a hopeful shot from Havertz was saved by Schmeichel. A pass from Ilicic then found Chilwell, whose shot went considerably wide. 

 

In the 55th minute, a corner from Telles found Ziyech, who headed over when he should never have missed. Spencer had seen enough, and in the 60th minute he replaced Ziyech with Hudson-Odoi, while Leicester replaced Niang with Vardy. 

 

However, the Foxes were forced into another change five minutes later. Ilicic pulled up chasing a loose ball, and was replaced by Ayoze Pérez. 

 

With twenty minutes left, Tomori was shown a yellow card for a foul on Maddison, while Tielemans was replaced by Pereyra. Maddison's free kick found Pérez, whose header was saved by Kepa. Leicester then came close again as a volley from Choudhury went just wide. 

 

In the 78th minute, a counter-attack by Leicester resulted in a shot from Pereira was saved by Kepa. Sancho was tiring, showing nerves and on a yellow card, so he was replaced by Mount with ten minutes left. 

 

With 8 minutes left, a cross from Chilwell found Pereira, whose header cleared the crossbar. Two minutes later, Mount received the ball from Telles before hitting a shot which went inches wide. 

 

In the 88th minute, Choudhury sent a shot wide. From the goal kick, Kepa hit the ball forward to Kovacic, who passed to Hudson-Odoi on the right. Hudson-Odoi laid the ball forward to Werner, and Werner hit a first time shot into the net to surely put the result beyond doubt. 

 

In the 89th minute, Evans was shown a yellow card for a foul on Werner. 

 

However, in the 4th minute of stoppage time, Maddison broke free and took a shot which was saved by Kepa. The loose ball, however, fell to Choudhury, who steered it into an empty net to grab a consolation. 

 

Saturday 31 October 2020, 17:30: Barclays Premier League - at King Power Stadium, Leicester 

Leicester City 1-2 Chelsea (Choudhury 90+4; Werner 22, 88)

Attendance: 32,312 (3,000 away)

Man of the Match: Timo Werner 

 

Other results 

Friday 

Bournemouth 5-1 Southampton (Lerma 27, Brooks 50, Stacey 54, Fraser 61, King 90; Cathcart 3)

 

Saturday 

Sheff Utd 0-1 Liverpool (Mané 6)

Arsenal 6-1 Leeds (Depay 12, 33, pen 36; Elneny 30, 44, O'Connell 78; Kenneh 8)

Burnley 1-0 Norwich (Barnes 61; Petkovic m/pen 48)

Fulham 0-2 Man City (Kane pen 14, 60, Gabriel Jesus s/o 83)

Tottenham 4-0 Brighton (Winks 1, Aurier 4, Draxler 23, Zaha 37)

 

Sunday 

West Ham 1-3 Man Utd (Haller 28; Pogba 17, Martial 72, Gabriel Barbosa 88, Rashford m/pen 25)

Huddersfield 2-0 Aston Villa (Mbenza 5, Ghezzal 52)

 

Monday 

Everton 1-0 Wolves (Verschaeren 33)

 

League Table

                           P      W      D      L      F      A      GD      Pts
 1.          Arsenal       11     11     0      0      43     6      37      33
 2.          Man City      11     10     0      1      23     8      15      30
 3.          Chelsea       11     9      0      2      26     10     16      27
 4.          Man Utd       11     8      1      2      24     11     13      25
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
 5.          Liverpool     11     7      2      2      23     6      17      23
 6.          Wolves        11     6      1      4      19     14     5       19
 7.          Tottenham     11     6      1      4      18     13     5       19
 8.          Everton       11     6      0      5      19     18     1       18
 9.          West Ham      11     5      1      5      12     16     -4      16
 10.         Brighton      11     3      4      4      12     20     -8      13
 11.         Fulham        11     3      3      5      9      15     -6      12
 12.         Aston Villa   11     4      0      7      10     19     -9      12
 13.         Leicester     11     3      2      6      14     19     -5      11
 14.         Bournemouth   11     2      4      5      21     19      2      10
 15.         Sheff Utd     11     3      1      7      11     16     -5      10
 16.         Norwich       11     3      1      7      12     20     -8      10
 17.         Huddersfield  11     2      3      6      11     19     -8      9
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 
 18.         Burnley       11     2      3      6      9      20     -11     9
 19.         Leeds         11     1      3      7      9      29     -20     6
 20.         Southampton   11     1      0      10     7      34     -27     3

 

Edited April 6, 2021 by Drogba11CFC

[Drogba11CFC]

Chelsea hosted Krasnodar in their fourth Champions League group game. With Arsenal on the horizon, Spencer opted to rest some of his squad, playing Hudson-Odoi and Pulisic.

 

Chelsea 

Kepa 

Tomori Christensen Rüdiger Telles 

Kanté 

Mount Havertz 

Pulisic Werner Hudson-Odoi

Substitutes: Caballero, Jorginho, Kanté, Zouma, Kovacic, Batshuayi, Emerson 

 

Krasnodar 

Dubravka 

Spajic Martynovich Fernando Petrov 

Gazinskiy 

Olsson Vilhena 

Philipp Berg Cabella

Substitutes: Safonov, Kambolov, Fernandes, Kokorin, Ari, Soforin, Choupo

 

Referee: Ricardo de Burgos Bengoetxea

 

Ils sont les meilleurs 

Sie sind die besten 

These are the Champions 

 

Die meister 

Die besten 

Les meilleurs équipes 

The Champions!

 

Chelsea expected a good start but even the most optimistic of Chelsea fans wouldn't have expected the start they got. From the kick off, a long ball from Fernando was intercepted by Telles, who headed the ball to Havertz before getting it back. Telles then passed to Kanté, who played it on to Havertz. Havertz took the ball over the halfway line before passing to Mount, who took the ball deep into the Krasnodar half before looking for Hudson-Odoi. Mount's delivery was perfect, and Hudson-Odoi had no problem volleying the ball into the net to give Chelsea the lead inside 25 seconds. 

 

The visitors didn't even have time to regroup before the ball was in the net again. A long ball from Fernando was again intercepted, this time by Tomori, who headed it to Pulisic. Pulisic set off on a run through the Krasnodar half before feeding the ball out left to Telles. Telles lost the ball to Vilhena, but his clearance was picked up by Rüdiger, who brought Telles into play. Telles took the ball to the D before unleashing a shot which flew into the net to put Chelsea two goals ahead inside the first two minutes. 

 

It took until the 8th minute for Chelsea's next chance. Mount beat Vilhena before crossing to Hudson-Odoi, whose header was saved by Dubravka. Dubravka was on hand to save another header from Hudson-Odoi a minute later. 

 

In the 13th minute, a throw-in by Petrov was intercepted by Werner, who evaded Gazinskiy before taking the ball into the area and having a crack which beat Dubravka at his near post.

 

A minute later, Hudson-Odoi was fouled by Spajic. Mount took the free kick, but his shot was saved by Dubravka. 

 

In the 20th minute, a cross from Hudson-Odoi found Werner, whose volley went over the bar.

 

In the 31st minute, Mount was fouled by Petrov. Mount went for goal, but his shot was saved by Dubravka.

 

Mount would have better luck a minute later, after Pulisic was impeded by Petrov. Mount's ball found Rüdiger, whose header was saved by Dubravka. However, Havertz reacted quickest, and slotted the ball home to make it four. 

 

It was all one-way traffic, and in the 34th minute a corner from Telles found Rüdiger, whose header went over the bar. 

 

Krasnodar would finally register an attempt a minute later, after Philipp was brought down by Telles. Cabella went for goal, but his shot went sailing over the crossbar. 

 

Four minutes before half time, Havertz received the ball from Mount and attempted a thunderous drive which was tipped over by Dubravka. 

 

Chelsea continued to attack in the second half, as a shot from Hudson-Odoi was blocked by Martynovich in the 48th minute. Hudson-Odoi had another chance a minute later, with a header which was saved by Dubravka, before Havertz sent a header over the bar. Krasnodar then made a substitution, with Kokorin replacing Cabella.

 

In the 56th minute, Petrov was booked for a foul on Pulisic. Telles sent the free kick into the area, but Rüdiger was shoved by Telles, who received his second yellow card and his marching orders. Krasnodar replaced Olsson, before Mount sent Dubravka the wrong way to add a fifth.

 

In the 61st minute, Pulisic received the ball from Mount and sent a shot just wide. 

 

With 25 minutes left, Pulisic played a one-two with Mount before sending a cross to Werner. Werner volleyed home from close range to make it six. Krasnodar promptly replaced Vilhena with Sokorin.

 

In the 69th minute, Werner received the ball from Pulisic and hit a ferocious right-footed shot which went over the bar. 

 

With 15 minutes left, Havertz was replaced by Jorginho, going off to a standing ovation. A minute later, Hudson-Odoi received the ball from Jorginho and evaded Fernando before taking a shot which was blocked by Martynovich. 

 

In the 79th minute, Telles received the ball from Kanté and took a shot which went wide. Three minutes later, a shot from Werner was saved by Dubravka.

 

With five minutes left, Kokorin received a yellow card for a foul on Hudson-Odoi. A minute later, a corner from Telles found Werner, whose header looped over the bar, before Zouma came on for Tomori. 

 

In the 90th minute, Telles received the ball from Jorginho and sent in a cross. Werner had plenty of time and powered a header past Dubravka to complete his hat-trick. Werner then went off to a standing ovation, with Batshuayi replacing him. 

 

In stoppage time, a free kick from Mount was turned behind by Dubravka, as Chelsea breezed into the knockout stage. 

 

Wednesday 4 November 2020, 20:00: UEFA Champions League Group F - at Stamford Bridge, London 

Chelsea 7-0 Krasnodar (Hudson-Odoi 1, Alex Telles 2, Werner 13, 65, 90, Havertz 32, Mount pen 56; Petrov s/o 56)

Attendance: 38,823 (192 away)

Man of the Match: Timo Werner 

 

Group Tables 

                                  P     W     D     L     F     A     GD    PTS 
 1.         Bayern Munich         4     2     2     0     5     2     3     8
 2.         A.C. Milan            4     2     1     1     7     5     2     7
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------
 3.         Real Madrid           4     2     1     1     6     3     3     7
 4.         CSKA Moscow           4     0     0     4     2     10    -8    0


                                  P     W     D     L     F     A     GD    PTS 
 1.  Q      Barcelona             4     4     0     0     13    3     10    12
 2.  Q      RB Leipzig            4     3     0     1     4     2     2     9
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------
 3.         Shakhtar              4     1     0     3     3     6     -3    3
 4.         PAOK                  4     0     0     4     3     12    -9    0


                                  P     W     D     L     F     A     GD    PTS 
 1.  Q      Liverpool             4     4     0     0     8     1     7     12
 2.  Q      Lazio                 4     3     0     1     7     2     5     9
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 
 3.         Real Sociedad         4     1     0     3     1     8     -7    3
 4.         Lyon                  4     0     0     4     0     5     -5    0


                                  P     W     D     L     F     A     GD    PTS
 1.  Q      Arsenal               4     4     0     0     14    2     12    12
 2.         Fenerbahçe            4     2     1     1     8     6     2     7
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 
 3.         Zenit St. Petersburg  4     1     0     3     3     8     -5    3 
 4.         Olympiakos            4     0     1     3     2     11    -9    1


                                  P     W     D     L     F     A     GD    PTS
 1.  Q      Man Utd               4     3     1     0     12    1     11    10
 2.         Schalke 04            4     2     1     1     5     6     -1    7
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 
 3.         Ajax                  4     1     1     2     5     5     0     4
 4.         Partizan Belgrade     4     0     1     3     0     10    -10   1


                                  P     W     D     L     F     A     GD    PTS 
 1.  Q      Chelsea               4     3     1     0     15    2     13    10
 2.  Q      Juventus              4     3     1     0     13    3     10    10
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------
 3.         Club Brugge KV        4     1     0     3     3     16    -13   3
 4.         Krasnodar             4     0     0     4     1     11    -10   0


                                  P     W     D     L     F     A     GD    PTS
 1.  Q1     Man City              4     4     0     0     11    2     9     12
 2.         Borussia Dortmund     4     1     1     2     5     8     -3    4
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------
 3.         Valencia              4     1     1     2     5     6     -1    4
 4.         Inter Milan           4     0     2     2     2     7     -5    2


                                  P     W     D     L     F     A     GD    PTS
 1.  Q1     PSG  	              4     4     0     0     11    1     10    12
 2.         Celtic                4     1     2     1     2     2     0     5
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------
 3.         SL Benfica            4     1     1     2     4     7     -3    4
 4.         Basel                 4     0     1     3     1     8     -7    1

Other results 

UEFA Champions League 

Group A: AC Milan 1-0 Real Madrid (Rebic 61), CSKA Moscow 1-2 Bayern Munich (Kurzawa 29; Diakhaby 90, Gnabry 90+2)

Group B: PAOK 1-4 Barcelona (Akpom 63; Messi 19, Milinkovic-Savic 21, Suárez 49, 54), RB Leipzig 1-0 Shakhtar (Daka 24)

Group C: Lazio 4-0 Real Sociedad (Lazzari 3, Wallace 45+2, Cataldi 54, Immobile 74), Lyon 0-1 Liverpool (Dybala pen 38)

Group D: Olympiakos 2-2 Fenerbahçe (Guerrero 30, Cuypers 89; Ozan Tufan 9, Tolgay Arslan 53), Arsenal 4-0 Zenit (Xhaka 10, Lacazette 40, Aubameyang 42, Pépé 67)

Group E: Man Utd 2-0 Ajax (Bailey 23, Pereira 46), Schalke 3-0 Partizan Belgrade (Todibo 39, Caligiuri pen 63, Raman 73)

Group F: Juventus 5-1 Club Brugge (Higuaín 25, 67, Cristiano Ronaldo 28, 45+3, Bentancur 46; Birsa pen 45+1)

Group G: Inter Milan 1-1 Valencia (Martinez 11; Rodrigo 17), Man City 3-1 Borussia Dortmund (Bernardo Silva 17, Cancelo 44, Kane 74; Emre Can 52)

Group H: Basel 0-1 PSG (Mbappé 11), Benfica 0-0 Celtic (Samaris s/o 48)

 

Europa League 

Group C: Feyenoord 3-2 Kilmarnock (Atakan Akkaynak 18, 59, Bozenik 74; Brophy 15, 26)

Group H: Rangers 1-3 Monaco (Grot 59, Jack s/o 76; Martins 9, 61, Baldé 24)

Group J: Dynamo Kiev 0-2 Wolves (Jiménez 71, 86, Neves s/o 29)

Group K: Atalanta 3-0 Everton (Gómez 13, Zapata 16, 58)

Edited April 15, 2021 by Drogba11CFC

[Drogba11CFC]

Chelsea hosted Arsenal just before the international break. The Gunners had, with the help of a favourable run of fixtures, taken maximum points from their opening 11 matches and were the leading scorers in the league. Spencer opted to play Ziyech on the right, with Hudson-Odoi on the bench. Reece James had failed a fitness test, so Fikayo Tomori remained at right back. The game also featured the return of Marcos Alonso to Stamford Bridge, while Arsenal's ranks also featured former Manchester United winger Memphis Depay, who was already having much more success at The Emirates than he'd had at Old Trafford. 

 

Chelsea 

Kepa 

Tomori Christensen Rüdiger Telles 

Kovacic 

Kanté Havertz 

Ziyech Werner Sancho 

Substitutes: Caballero, Jorginho, Zouma, Mount, Hudson-Odoi, Batshuayi, Emerson 

 

Arsenal 

Leno 

Bellerín Chambers O'Connell Alonso 

Torreira Xhaka 

Stengs Depay Aubameyang 

Lacazette 

Substitutes: Martínez, Holding, Guendouzi, Pépé, Elneny, Tierney, Nketiah 

 

Referee: Lee Mason 

 

Chelsea looked to start well and in the 2nd minute, a header from Christensen was cleared off the line by Stengs before the offside flag went up. Arsenal immediately went to the other end, and a cross from Aubameyang found Depay, whose header was saved by Kepa. 

 

Arsenal dominated the first ten minutes, and in the 8th minute a cross from Alonso found Lacazette, whose header went over the bar. A minute later, a free kick from Depay was saved by Kepa. 

 

In the 12th minute, Havertz exchanged passes with Kovacic before playing the ball upfield looking for Ziyech. Ziyech had all the time in the world, but his shot was saved by Leno. Two minutes later, Calum Chambers was challenged by Werner and pulled up with pulled knee ligaments. 

 

In the 19th minute, a corner from Torreira fell to Aubameyang. Kepa did well to parry it, but Aubameyang against the bar, but Jack O'Connell pounced on the loose ball and stabbed home from point-blank range. 

 

In the 24th minute, Christensen was shown a yellow card for a foul on Lacazette. Two minutes later, a cross from Alonso found Stengs, who put his header over. 

 

Stengs would be made to regret that miss, as Kepa played the goal kick to Christensen, who hit a 50 yard ball to Sancho. Sancho got level with the area and passed to Kovacic, who played it on to Kanté. Kanté took the ball to the edge of the D before taking a shot which flew into the net to bring Chelsea level and was described as "An absolute belter!" by Ian Darke on BT Sport. 

 

Arsenal looked to respond immediately, and Bellerín got down the right before taking a shot which was saved by Kepa. 

 

In the 28th minute, Telles was shown a yellow card for a foul on Stengs. Two minutes later, a pass from Stengs found Aubameyang, whose shot was turned over by Kepa, who also saved Chambers' header from the resulting corner. Chelsea then went to the other end and a shot from Ziyech was blocked by O'Connell, before Alonso was shown a yellow card for a foul on Ziyech. 

 

In the 33rd minute, Telles received the ball from Kanté and crossed to Werner, whose header was saved by Leno. A minute later, Rüdiger was shown a yellow card for a foul on Lacazette.

 

In the 36th minute, a cross from Stengs found Lacazette, whose header was tipped over by Kepa. Kepa produced another save from Lacazette a minute later, after Aubameyang had floated in a cross, before Lacazette was again denied by Kepa in the 39th minute. 

 

A minute before half time, A pass from Chambers found Bellerín, whose shot was tipped over by Kepa. Despite Arsenal's dominance, Chelsea nearly went into half time ahead, as Kanté received the ball from Ziyech and unleashed a fierce drive which was tipped over by Leno. 

 

Chambers was unsurprisingly taken off at half time, with Rob Holding replacing him. Lucas Torreira was then booked for a foul on Havertz. 

 

Chelsea started the second half stronger, as a shot from Ziyech was charged down by Alonso in the 48th minute before the Moroccan got away from Alonso in the 52nd minute before sending a shot inches wide. 

 

In the 56th minute, Xhaka was taken off and replaced by Elneny. A minute later, Ziyech received the ball from Christensen and crossed it to Sancho, who got up above Bellerín but headed over the bar. Sancho then looked to turn provider in the 61st minute as his cross found Werner, whose header was saved by Leno.

 

In the 65th minute, Lacazette received the ball from O'Connell and played a smart one-two with Aubameyang before passing to Aubameyang. Aubameyang showed Tomori a clean set of heels before taking a shot which was saved by Kepa. A minute later, a shot from Lacazette was charged down by Rüdiger, before a free kick from Depay was blocked by Tomori. 

 

Havertz then received the ball from Sancho before passing to Ziyech. Ziyech outpaced Alonso and took a shot which was saved by Leno. Arsenal then went to the other end and Lacazette darted past Christensen before taking a shot which was saved by Kepa. That was his last contribution, as he was replaced by Nketiah. 

 

With 20 minutes left, a cross from Elneny found Stengs, whose header was saved by Kepa. 

 

In the 77th minute, Kanté was shown a yellow card for holding onto Elneny's shirt. 

 

With six minutes left, Spencer replaced a tiring Tomori and Ziyech with Zouma and Hudson-Odoi. A minute later, Nketiah surged past Rüdiger before hitting the side netting.

 

In the 88th minute, Holding was shown a yellow card for a foul on Werner, before a tiring Havertz was replaced by Mount. 

 

Arsenal forced a series of corners in stoppage time, but Chelsea held firm to secure a point. 

 

Saturday 7 November 2020, 12:45: Barclays Premier League - at Stamford Bridge, London 

Chelsea 1-1 Arsenal (Kanté 26; O'Connell 19)

Attendance: 41,631 (3,000 away)

Man of the Match: N'Golo Kanté 

 

Other results 

Friday 

Leeds 1-3 Tottenham (Augustin 21; Zaha 20, Ndombele 29, Alderweireld 51)

 

Saturday 

Brighton 2-1 Fulham (Bernardo 43, White 65; Cavaleiro 55)

Man Utd 4-0 Sheff Utd (Rashford 6, 70, Semedo 22, Martial 79)

Norwich 0-1 Bournemouth (King 43)

Southampton 0-3 Huddersfield (Hughes 20, 41, 72)

Liverpool 2-0 Leicester (Shaqiri 34, Wijnaldum 81; Tielemans s/o 86)

Man City 2-0 Burnley (Fernandinho 59, Agüero pen 67)

 

Sunday 

Wolves 2-0 West Ham (Taison 2, Jiménez 15)

Aston Villa 1-1 Everton (Engels 72; Iwobi 37)

 

League Table:

                              P      W      D      L      F      A      GD     PTS 
 1.            Arsenal        12     11     1      0      44     7      37     34
 2.            Man City       12     11     0      1      25     8      17     33
 3.            Man Utd        12     9      1      2      28     11     17     28
 4.            Chelsea        12     9      1      2      27     11     16     28
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ 
 5.            Liverpool      12     8      2      2      25     6      19     26
 6.            Tottenham      12     7      1      4      21     14     7      22
 7.            Wolves         12     7      1      4      21     14     7      22
 8.            Everton        12     6      1      5      20     19     1      19
 9.            West Ham       12     5      1      6      12     18     -6     16
 10.           Brighton       12     4      4      4      14     21     -7     16
 11.           Bournemouth    12     3      4      5      22     19     3      13
 12.           Aston Villa    12     4      1      7      11     20     -9     13
 13.           Huddersfield   12     3      3      6      14     19     -5     12
 14.           Fulham         12     3      3      6      10     17     -7     12
 15.           Leicester      12     3      2      7      14     21     -7     11
 16.           Norwich        12     3      1      8      12     21     -9     10
 17.           Sheff Utd      12     3      1      8      11     20     -9     10
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
 18.           Burnley        12     2      3      7      9      22     -13    9
 19.           Leeds          12     1      3      8      10     32     -22    6
 20.           Southampton    12     1      0      11     7      37     -30    3

 

Edited April 15, 2021 by Drogba11CFC

[Drogba11CFC]

The first game after the international break saw Chelsea face West Ham at the London Stadium. Spencer had to make changes, as Sancho was still tired after England's two matches. 

 

West Ham United 

Fabianski 

Meunier Diop Soucek Kabasele Lulic

Yarmolenko Fornals Rice Anderson

Haller 

Substitutes: Randolph, Malcuit, Bowen, Ajeti, Fofana, Cresswell, Diangana 

 

Chelsea 

Kepa 

Azpilicueta Christensen Zouma Telles 

Kanté Loftus-Cheek 

Ziyech Havertz Hudson-Odoi 

Werner 

Substitutes: Caballero, Jorginho, Mount, Pulisic, Batshuayi, Tomori, Emerson 

 

Referee: Andy Madley 

 

The first real chance came in the fourth minute after Hudson-Odoi was fouled by Meunier. Ziyech's free kick found Zouma, whose header went over the bar. In the 7th minute, Lulic was shown a yellow card for a foul on Werner.

 

In the 10th minute, Kanté was dispossessed by Felipe Anderson. Anderson went for goal, but his shot was saved by Kepa. 

 

Three minutes later, Hudson-Odoi was penalised for a foul on Yarmolenko. Anderson's free kick found Kabasele, whose header looped over the crossbar. 

 

Chelsea then went up the other end, and Hudson-Odoi was shoved by Meunier. Andy Madley pointed to the spot, and Telles drilled the ball into the bottom corner to give Chelsea the lead. 

 

In the 31st minute, a cross from Meunier was missed by Hudson-Odoi. Haller rose above Christensen, but his header was way too high. 

 

In the 37th minute, Loftus-Cheek received the ball from Havertz and passed to Telles. Telles' cross found Ziyech, whose header skimmed the top of the bar. Ziyech had another shot two minutes later, which was blocked by Lulic. Kanté was then shown a yellow card for a foul on Rice. 

 

A minute before half time, Havertz received a pass from Hudson-Odoi and played a smart one-two with Telles before taking a shot from distance which came back off the crossbar. 

 

In the 48th minute, Rice was booked for a foul on Ziyech. Havertz then saw a shot saved by Fabianski, before Hudson-Odoi and Telles were booked. From the free kick, Haller sent a header wide. 

 

In the 59th minute, a free kick from Ziyech found Zouma, whose header went sailing over from an acute angle. West Ham then replaced Soucek with Fofana, before Pulisic came on for Ziyech.

 

With sixteen minutes left, West Ham replaced Lulic with Cresswell. Two minutes later, a free kick from Anderson found Diop, whose header was saved by Kepa. Felipe Anderson was then replaced by Bowen, before Chelsea replaced Kanté with Jorginho. 

 

With six minutes left, Loftus-Cheek was tripped by Rice. Telles' free kick found Zouma, whose header went over the bar. 

 

A minute later, Fofana got away from Jorginho and played in Fornals, whose shot was turned behind by Kepa. West Ham continued to apply pressure, and Meunier sent a shot off-target before Fornals sent a header over. Havertz was then taken off, with Mount replacing him. 

 

In the 90th minute, some pinball on the edge of the West Ham area saw Jorginho manage to send a ball through to Werner, who ghosted past Kabasele before slotting the ball into the net to seal the win.

 

Werner looked to add some gloss to the scoreline, as he saw a shot turned behind by Fabianski and another blocked by Kabasele. 

 

Saturday 21 November 2020, 19:45: Barclays Premier League - at London Stadium, London 

West Ham United 0-2 Chelsea (Alex Telles pen 13, Werner 90)

Attendance: 62,833 (3,000 away)

Man of the Match: Timo Werner 

 

Other results 

Friday 

Everton 0-2 Liverpool (Firmino 18, Salah 57)

 

Saturday

Arsenal 3-0 Wolves (Bellerín 6, Mkhitaryan 22, Stengs 48; Jonny s/o 50)

Burnley 2-1 Man Utd (Barnes 32, 45; Rashford pen 4)

Fulham 4-0 Southampton (Knockeart 17, Mitrovic 36, 88, Cavaleiro 87)

Huddersfield 3-0 Norwich (Kownacki 10, Mbenza 45, Ghezzal 52)

Sheff Utd 1-0 Man City (Bernard 41)

 

Sunday 

Tottenham 3-0 Aston Villa (Correa 40, Alderweireld 45+1, Son 50)

Bournemouth 1-2 Leeds (Ibe 90+3; Cooper 10, Phillips 70)

 

Monday 

Leicester 1-1 Brighton (Webster og 60; Dunk 63)

 

League Table 

                              P      W      D      L      F      A      GD     PTS 
 1.            Arsenal        13     12     1      0      47     7      40     37
 2.            Man City       13     11     0      2      25     9      16     33
 3.            Chelsea        13     10     1      2      29     11     18     31
 4.            Liverpool      13     9      2      2      27     6      21     29
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ 
 5.            Man Utd        13     9      1      3      29     13     16     28
 6.            Tottenham      13     8      1      4      24     14     10     25
 7.            Wolves         13     7      1      5      21     17     4      22
 8.            Everton        13     6      1      6      20     21     -1     19
 9.            Brighton       13     4      5      4      15     22     -7     17
 10.           West Ham       13     5      1      7      12     20     -8     16
 11.           Huddersfield   13     4      3      6      17     19     -2     15
 12.           Fulham         13     4      3      6      14     17     -3     15
 13.           Bournemouth    13     3      4      6      23     21     2      13
 14.           Sheff Utd      13     4      1      8      12     20     -8     13
 15.           Aston Villa    13     4      1      8      11     23     -12    13
 16.           Leicester      13     3      3      7      15     22     -7     12
 17.           Burnley        13     3      3      7      11     23     -12    12
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ 
 18.           Norwich        13     3      1      9      12     24     -12    10
 19.           Leeds          13     2      3      8      12     33     -21    9
 20.           Southampton    13     1      0      12     7      41     -34    3 

 

Edited April 15, 2021 by Drogba11CFC

[Drogba11CFC]

Chelsea and Juventus were both through to the knockout stage when the two sides met at Stamford Bridge in the fifth group match. Due to the head-to-head system, whichever side won would be guaranteed top spot. There was also another edge in the return to Stamford Bridge of Maurizio Sarri. 

 

Chelsea 

Kepa 

Azpilicueta Christensen Zouma Telles 

Kovacic 

Kanté Havertz 

Pulisic Werner Sancho 

Substitutes: Caballero, Rüdiger, Jorginho, Ziyech, Mount, Batshuayi, Tomori 

 

Juventus 

Szczesny 

Danilo De Ligt Bonucci Sandro 

Bentancur Pjanic Rabiot 

Bernardeschi 

Higuaín Ronaldo 

Substitutes: Perin, Demiral, Ramsey, Cavani, Matuidi, Pellegrini, Kulusevski

 

Referee: Nick Walsh (SCO)

 

Ils sont les meilleurs 

Sie sind die besten 

These are the Champions 

 

Die meister 

Die besten 

Les meilleurs équipes 

The Champions!

 

Cristiano Ronaldo had had a shocker in the opening match and was keen to make amends. In the 3rd minute, he met a cross from Sandro with a header which went over the bar.

 

In the 6th minute, a corner from Telles found Werner, whose header went over the bar. 

 

The game became a tight one with few chances. In the 13th minute, Werner was denied by a sliding tackle from Bonucci, while a last-ditch tackle from Azpilicueta denied Ronaldo in the 27th minute. 

 

In the 34th minute, De Ligt was fouled by Kovacic. Pjanic went for goal from the free kick, but his shot struck the crossbar. Two minutes later, Zouma was shown a yellow card for a foul on Ronaldo. 

 

Four minutes before half time, Sandro received the ball from Pjanic and crossed into the area. Bernardeschi met the cross with a header, which looped over the crossbar. A minute later, a shot from Bernardeschi was blocked by Azpilicueta. 

 

The game did come alive in the second half. A headed clearance from Sandro was intercepted by Azpilicueta, who played the ball down the line for Pulisic. Pulisic drilled a low cross towards the far post, and Werner arrived to head the ball past Szczesny to give Chelsea the lead.

 

Juventus searched for an equaliser, and in the 53rd minute Higuaín played a quick one-two with De Ligt before taking a shot which was charged down by Azpilicueta. A minute later, a cross from Sandro found Bernardeschi, whose header went over the bar.

 

In the 58th minute, Juventus took Higuaín off, replacing him with Cavani. 

 

On the hour mark, Sandro received the ball from Pjanic and passed to Ronaldo. Ronaldo found Pjanic to his right and got into the area before receiving the return pass and slotting a low shot past Kepa, then doing his trademark "Siuuuuuuu" celebration. 

 

Juventus brought Ramsey on to replace Federico Bernardeschi, as Chelsea looked to immediately retake the lead. Sancho received the ball from Telles and showed Danilo a clean set of heels before passing to Werner, whose shot was saved by Szczesny. A cross from Danilo then found Cavani, whose volley was saved by Kepa. Bonucci then received a yellow card for a foul on Werner. Telles' free kick found Zouma, whose header went wide. 

 

In the 66th minute, Telles was shown a yellow card for a foul on Ronaldo.

 

In the 69th minute, a shot from Rabiot was tipped over by Kepa, before Sancho was replaced by Ziyech. A minute later, a shot from Ramsey was saved by Kepa before Danilo sent a shot over the crossbar. Chelsea then made another change, with Rüdiger replacing the booked and tiring Zouma. 

 

In the 78th minute, a corner from Pjanic found De Ligt, whose header was way too high. A minute later, Sandro was shown a yellow card for a foul on Pulisic. 

 

With seven minutes left, a long ball from Kovacic found Werner, who surged past De Ligt before taking a shot which Szczesny turned over the crossbar. Juventus then took Bentancur off, replacing him with Matuidi. Matuidi was booked three minutes later for a foul on Ziyech. 

 

With two minutes left, Azpilicueta played a smart one-two with Werner before sending in a cross which Telles headed to Havertz. Havertz hit the ball on the half volley, but it was blocked by Matuidi.

 

Deep into stoppage time, Danilo was dispossessed by Ziyech, who passed down the line to Havertz. As Havertz took the ball down the left, however, he was hacked down by a two-footed tackle by Pjanic. It was an appalling challenge which could have caused serious injury, and it was no surprise that Pjanic was sent off. However, there was next to no time for Chelsea to take advantage, and Telles' free kick was headed clear. 

 

Tuesday 24 November 2020, 20:00: UEFA Champions League Group F - at Stamford Bridge, London 

Chelsea 1-1 Juventus (Werner 48; Cristiano Ronaldo 60, Pjanic s/o 90+5)

Attendance: 40,712 (2,081 away)

Man of the Match: Mateo Kovacic 

 

Group Tables 

Group A
                                  P     W     D     L     F     A     GD    PTS  
 1.           A.C. Milan          5     3     1     1     12    5     7     10
 2.           Bayern Munich	      5     2     3     0     7     4     3     9
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 
 3.           Real Madrid         5     2     2     1     8     5     3     8
 4.           CSKA Moscow         5     0     0     5     2     15    -13   0

Group B
                                  P     W     D     L     F     A     GD    PTS 
 1.   Q1      Barcelona           5     5     0     0     17    4     13    15
 2.   Q2      RB Leipzig          5     3     1     1     4     2     2     10
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 
 3.           Shakhtar            5     1     0     4     4     10    -6    3
 4.           PAOK                5     0     1     4     3     12    -9    1

Group C
                                  P     W     D     L     F     A     GD    PTS 
 1.   Q1      Liverpool           5     5     0     0     10    1     9     15
 2.   Q2      Lazio               5     3     1     1     8     3     5     10
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 
 3.           Real Sociedad       5     1     0     4     1     10    -9    3
 4.           Lyon                5     0     1     4     1     6     -5    1

Group D
                                  P     W     D     L     F     A     GD    PTS 
 1.   Q1      Arsenal             5     5     0     0     18    3     15    15
 2.   Q2      Fenerbahçe          5     3     1     1     9     6     3     10
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 
 3.           Zenit St Petersburg 5     1     0     4     3     9     -6    3
 4.           Olympiakos          5     0     1     4     3     15    -12   1

Group E
                                  P     W     D     L     F     A     GD    PTS  
 1.   Q1      Man Utd             5     4     1     0     14    2     12    13
 2.           Schalke 04          5     2     1     2     6     8     -2    7
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------
 3.           Ajax                5     2     1     2     7     6     1     7
 4.           Partizan Belgrade   5     0     1     4     1     12    -11   1

Group F
                                  P     W     D     L     F     A     GD    PTS 
 1.   Q       Chelsea             5     3     2     0     16    3     13    11
 2.   Q       Juventus            5     3     2     0     14    4     10    11
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 
 3.           Krasnodar           5     1     0     4     2     11    -9    3
 4.           Club Brugge KV      5     1     0     4     3     17    -14   3

Group G
                                  P     W     D     L     F     A     GD    PTS 
 1.   Q1      Man City            5     5     0     0     13    2     11    15
 2.           Valencia            5     2     1     2     8     8     0     7
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 
 3.           Borussia Dortmund   5     1     1     3     7     11    -4    4
 4.           Inter Milan         5     0     2     3     2     9     -7    2

Group H
                                  P     W     D     L     F     A     GD    PTS 
 1.   Q1      PSG 	              5     4     0     1     12    5     7     12
 2.           Celtic              5     2     2     1     6     3     3     8
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 
 3.           SL Benfica          5     2     1     2     7     8     -1    7
 4.           Basel               5     0     1     4     2     11    -9    1

Other results 

Group A: Real Madrid 2-2 Bayern Munich (Modric 61, Bale 81; Mendy og 12, Lewandowski 18), AC Milan 5-0 CSKA Moscow (Borré 10, 43, Kessié 31, Besedin 37, Mahrez 40)

Group B: Barcelona 4-1 Shakhtar (Messi 1, pen 18, 22, Busquets 3; Giroud 75), PAOK 0-0 RB Leipzig 

Group C: Lazio 1-1 Lyon (Luiz Felipe 52; Reine-Adélaïde 35), Real Sociedad 0-2 Liverpool (Robertson 15, Wijnaldum 66)

Group D: Zenit 0-1 Fenerbahçe (Mevlüt Erdinç 87), Arsenal 4-1 Olympiakos (Stengs 7, Tierney 17, Aubameyang 20  Lacazette 81, Aubameyang m/pen 41; Kioupis 50)

Group E: Partizan Belgrade 1-2 Ajax (Djuric 90+4; Antony 20, Álvarez 39), Schalke 1-2 Man Utd (Kabak 81; Pereira 19, Gabriel Barbosa 24)

Group F: Krasnodar 1-0 Club Brugge (Philipp pen 8)

Group G: Inter Milan 0-2 Man City (Bernardo Silva pen 16, Gabriel Jesus 43), Valencia 3-2 Borussia Dortmund (Guedes 9, Willian 71, Gómez 90+6, Guedes s/o 62; Brandt 1, Hazard 75)

Group H: PSG 1-4 Celtic (Mbappé 35; Léo Bonatini 40, 60, 90+2, Gutiérrez 43), Basel 1-3 Benfica (Éder pen 87; Ferreyra pen 7, Cervi 33, Zivkovic 65)

 

Europa League 

Group C: Kilmarnock 2-0 Sparta Prague (Cameron 7, Silva 48, Cameron m/pen 73)

Group H: Viktoria Plzen 0-2 Rangers (Morelos 8, Pepic 36)

Group J: Borussia Mönchengladbach 1-1 Wolves (Stindl 12; Wilson 33)

Group L: Sporting CP 1-2 Everton (Gélson Dala 81; Richarlison 48, 69)

Edited April 15, 2021 by Drogba11CFC

[Drogba11CFC]

Chelsea hosted Bournemouth in their next league match. Spencer knew that the opposition would pose a challenge, having taken a goalless draw from Stamford Bridge the previous season. Christian Pulisic retained his place in the side, with Havertz and Ziyech being rested. 

 

Chelsea 

Kepa 

Azpilicueta Rüdiger Zouma Telles 

Jorginho 

Kovacic Mount 

Pulisic Werner Sancho 

Substitutes: Caballero, Christensen, Loftus-Cheek, Kana, Hudson-Odoi, Batshuayi, James 

 

Bournemouth 

Begovic 

Smith Cook Mepham Aké 

Fraser Cook Lerma Acuña

de Jong Wilson 

Substitutes: Ramsdale, Stacey, Billing, Solanke, Brooks, Kelly, King

 

Referee: Martin Atkinson 

 

Chelsea looked to set their stall out early and in the 3rd minute, Pulisic darted past Aké and took a shot which was pushed away by Begovic. 

 

Two minutes later, a corner from Fraser found Mepham, who nodded the ball narrowly over.

 

In the 16th minute, Telles was booked for a foul on Fraser. A minute later, de Jong got into the area only to see his shot blocked by Kepa. 

 

In the 20th minute, a free kick from Mount found Zouma, who headed the ball over the bar. Bournemouth then won a corner, and Steve Cook headed over. 

 

Bournemouth continued to cause problems, and in the 24th minute Acuña found himself wide open only to see his shot parried by Kepa.

 

In the 28th minute, Jorginho received the ball from Pulisic and passed to Sancho. Sancho looked certain to score, but he sent his shot wide. 

 

In the 34th minute, Mount headed the ball to Pulisic, whose shot went inches wide. Two minutes later, a corner from Telles found Sancho, whose header was saved by Begovic. 

 

Four minutes before half time, Smith was shown a yellow card for a foul on Sancho. Sancho then tried his luck from Werner's pass, but he put the ball wide. 

 

The second half started uneventfully but in the 55th minute, Werner was shoved in the box by Steve Cook. Telles stepped up and drilled the ball into the bottom corner. Bournemouth then made a substitution, with Jack Stacey replacing Smith. 

 

In the 61st minute, Bournemouth won a corner. The initial ball was cleared by Zouma, but Lewis Cook outjumped Sancho and his header looped into the net. However, the goal looked questionable, and it was overturned by VAR after Luuk de Jong was shown to have pushed Kepa. De Jong was then shown a yellow card for a foul on Telles.

 

In the 67th minute, Bournemouth replaced De Jong with King, while an underwhelming Sancho was replaced by Hudson-Odoi. 

 

With seventeen minutes left, Lerma was shown a yellow card for a foul on Kovacic, before Fraser followed him into the book for a foul on Hudson-Odoi. Mount went for goal from the free kick, but his shot was tipped onto the bar by Begovic. Chelsea continued to press, and a volley from Pulisic was blocked by Aké in the 78th minute before Bournemouth replaced Acuña with Brooks. 

 

With just under ten minutes left, a counter attack by Chelsea saw Werner get down the right before sending an aerial pass to Hudson-Odoi. Hudson-Odoi passed to Kovacic, who fed the ball to Mount. Mount found Telles on the left, and Telles played a pass to Jorginho, who hit a first time ball to Hudson-Odoi. Mount took over and played in Telles, who got into the area before searching out Pulisic. The ball struck Steve Cook, however, and deflected into the net to give Chelsea a two-goal lead. 

 

With seven minutes left, Kana and Loftus-Cheek came on for Kovacic and Mount. Kana nearly made an impact, connecting with Werner's pass before seeing a shot blocked by Stacey. A minute later, Fraser outpaced Kana before skewing a shot wide.

 

In stoppage time, a corner from Telles was headed clear by King, but only to Loftus-Cheek. Loftus-Cheek brought Telles back into play, and Telles delivered a cross to the near post. Kana got free in the area and sent a cross to Hudson-Odoi. Hudson-Odoi's header was saved by Begovic, but he couldn't hold it and Pulisic pounced on the rebound to open his account for the season. 

 

Saturday 28 November 2020, 19:45: Barclays Premier League - at Stamford Bridge, London 

Chelsea 3-0 AFC Bournemouth (Alex Telles pen 56, S. Cook og 81, Pulisic 90+2)

Attendance: 41,631 (3,000 away)

Man of the Match: Alex Telles 

 

Other results 

Friday 

Aston Villa 3-0 Leicester (Guilbert 14, Mata pen 86, Samatta 90+3; Ndidi s/o 11)

Saturday 

Liverpool 1-1 Tottenham (Firmino 17; Zaha 37)

Brighton 3-0 West Ham (D'Ambrosio 17, Bissouma 47, Maupay 51)

Man Utd 4-0 Fulham (Gabriel Barbosa 3, pen 64, 70, Wan-Bissaka 78, Rashford m/pen 57)

Norwich 2-5 Arsenal (Pukki 37, Petkovic 71; Mkhitaryan 14, Depay 25, 33, Lacazette 72, Pépé 85)

Southampton 1-3 Sheff Utd (Redmond 85; Fleck pen 26, Mousset 61, Nainggolan 80)

Man City 3-1 Huddersfield (Gabriel Jesus 4, Kane pen 9, 61; Johnson 81)

Sunday 

Wolves 1-0 Burnley (Vinagre 72)

Leeds 2-0 Everton (Augustin 41, Silva 43)

 

League Table 

| Pos  | Inf   | Team         | Pld   | Won   | Drn   | Lst   | For   | Ag    | GD    | Pts   | 
| --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 1st  |       | Arsenal      | 14    | 13    | 1     | 0     | 52    | 9     | 43    | 40    | 
| --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 2nd  |       | Man City     | 14    | 12    | 0     | 2     | 28    | 10    | 18    | 36    | 
| --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 3rd  |       | Chelsea      | 14    | 11    | 1     | 2     | 32    | 11    | 21    | 34    | 
| --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 4th  |       | Man Utd      | 14    | 10    | 1     | 3     | 33    | 13    | 20    | 31    | 
| --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 5th  |       | Liverpool    | 14    | 9     | 3     | 2     | 28    | 7     | 21    | 30    | 
| --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 6th  |       | Tottenham    | 14    | 8     | 2     | 4     | 25    | 15    | 10    | 26    | 
| --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 7th  |       | Wolves       | 14    | 8     | 1     | 5     | 22    | 17    | 5     | 25    | 
| --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 8th  |       | Brighton     | 14    | 5     | 5     | 4     | 18    | 22    | -4    | 20    | 
| --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 9th  |       | Everton      | 14    | 6     | 1     | 7     | 20    | 23    | -3    | 19    | 
| --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 10th |       | Sheff Utd    | 14    | 5     | 1     | 8     | 15    | 21    | -6    | 16    | 
| --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 11th |       | Aston Villa  | 14    | 5     | 1     | 8     | 14    | 23    | -9    | 16    | 
| --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 12th |       | West Ham     | 14    | 5     | 1     | 8     | 12    | 23    | -11   | 16    | 
| --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 13th |       | Huddersfield | 14    | 4     | 3     | 7     | 18    | 22    | -4    | 15    | 
| --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 14th |       | Fulham       | 14    | 4     | 3     | 7     | 14    | 21    | -7    | 15    | 
| --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 15th |       | Bournemouth  | 14    | 3     | 4     | 7     | 23    | 24    | -1    | 13    | 
| --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 16th |       | Leicester    | 14    | 3     | 3     | 8     | 15    | 25    | -10   | 12    | 
| --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 17th |       | Burnley      | 14    | 3     | 3     | 8     | 11    | 24    | -13   | 12    | 
| --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 18th |       | Leeds        | 14    | 3     | 3     | 8     | 14    | 33    | -19   | 12    | 
| --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 19th |       | Norwich      | 14    | 3     | 1     | 10    | 14    | 29    | -15   | 10    | 
| --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 20th |       | Southampton  | 14    | 1     | 0     | 13    | 8     | 44    | -36   | 3     | 
| --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 

 

[Drogba11CFC]

The draw for the third round of the FA Cup took place on Monday evening. 

 

"The first team out is...Number 28, Newcastle United. They are at home to...Number 52, Oxford United."

"Number 57, Blackpool or Chesterfield, will play...Number 7, Brighton and Hove Albion."

"Number 58, Salford City or Scunthorpe United, are at home to...Number 4, Birmingham City."

"Number 14, Everton, will play...Number 12, Crystal Palace."

"Number 46, Shrewsbury Town, are at home to...Number 48, Bradford City or Cheltenham Town."

"Number 21, Leicester City, will play...Number 33, Sheffield United."

"Number 27, Millwall, are at home to...Number 29, Norwich City."

"Number 18, Hull City, will play...Number 53, Coventry City."

"Number 44, Wolverhampton Wanderers, are at home to...Number 6, Brentford."

"Number 13, Derby County, will play...Number 56, Milton Keynes Dons."

"Number 19, Ipswich Town, are at home to...Number 49, Notts County or Wycombe Wanderers."

"Number 25, Manchester United, will play...Number 26, Middlesbrough."

"Number 47, Bolton Wanderers, are at home to...Number 60, Port Vale."

"Number 41, West Bromwich Albion, will play...Number 24, Manchester City."

"Number 54, Dover Athletic or Mansfield Town, are at home to...Number 9, Burnley."

"Number 32, Reading, will play...Number 37, Sunderland."

"Number 10, Cardiff City, are at home to...Number 20, Leeds United."

"Number 55, Southend United, will play...Number 35, Southampton."

"Number 43, Wigan Athletic, are at home to...Number 8, Bristol City."

"Number 63, AFC Wimbledon, will play...Number 31, Preston North End."

"Number 2, Arsenal, are at home to...Number 62, Lincoln City."

"Number 11, Chelsea, will play...Number 50, Sutton United."

"Number 30, Nottingham Forest, are at home to...Number 42, West Ham United."

"Number 1, AFC Bournemouth, will play...Number 61, Barnsley or Newport County."

"Number 3, Aston Villa, are at home to...Number 40, Watford."

"Number 22, Liverpool, the holders, will play...Number 17, Huddersfield Town."

"Number 36, Stoke City, will play...Number 34, Sheffield Wednesday."

"Number 39, Tottenham Hotspur, are at home to...Number 51, Grimsby Town."

"Number 64, Colchester United or Stevenage Borough, will play...Number 5, Blackburn Rovers."

"Number 23, Luton Town, are at home to...Number 59, Charlton Athletic."

"Number 15, Fulham, are at home to...Number 45, Crewe Alexandra."

"And finally, 16, Gillingham, will play Number 38, Swansea City."

[Drogba11CFC]

Chelsea travelled to the Etihad Stadium for their first game in December. Following his goal against Bournemouth, Christian Pulisic retained his place in the team, while Kai Havertz returned after being rested. City, meanwhile, were missing Kevin De Bruyne through injury. 

 

Manchester City

Ederson 

Walker Stones García Mendy

Fernandinho 

Rodri Bernardo 

Sterling Kane Sané

Substitutes: Steffen, Zinchenko, Boadu, Agüero, Foden, Otamendi, Jesus 

 

Chelsea

Kepa 

Azpilicueta Christensen Zouma Telles 

Jorginho 

Kovacic Havertz 

Pulisic Werner Sancho 

Substitutes: Caballero, Rüdiger, Loftus-Cheek, Kana, Hudson-Odoi, Batshuayi, James 

 

Referee: André Marriner 

 

It took less than a minute for the first chance to be created. A free kick from Telles found Werner, whose header went over the bar. Two minutes later, a shot from Walker was charged down by Telles before Walker put the rebound wide. 

 

In the 6th minute, a free kick from Telles found Zouma, who pounced on a mistake by Ederson to head Chelsea into the lead. 

 

Manchester City looked to attack, and in the 9th minute Kane got up above Jorginho before heading just over the bar.

 

Kane would have better luck four minutes later. Walker darted past Jorginho before getting to the byline and pulling the ball back to Kane, who slotted home to bring City level.

 

In the 17th minute, a shot from Fernandinho was blocked by Pulisic, before Havertz sent a shot off target. 

 

In the 22nd minute, Azpilicueta was fouled by Mendy. Telles sent the free kick to the far post, and once again Zouma rose highest to head the ball into the net.

 

In the 23rd minute, Fernandinho was shown a yellow card for a foul on Kovacic. A minute later, a shot from Sancho was blocked by Walker, before a half volley from Pulisic was saved four minutes later. 

 

Just after the half hour, Sterling looked to take the ball through the middle, but was brought down by Telles. However, Telles had gone in late, and André Marriner pulled the red card from his pocket. Spencer responded by sacrificing Havertz and bringing Reece James on, with Azpilicueta moving to left back. 

 

Manchester City now looked to turn the screw, and in the 35th minute a shot from Rodri was blocked by Zouma before a shot from Walker was tipped behind by Azpilicueta. Rodri then had another shot, which was tipped over by Kepa, before he had a header saved by Kepa a minute later.

 

Four minutes before half time, Stones was fouled by Jorginho. Bernardo Silva sent the ball into the area, and Stones sent a header looping into the net to bring the hosts level.

 

Man City came out looking to dominate the second half and in the 48th minute, Silva received the ball from Fernandinho and hit a shot high and hard which was tipped over by Kepa. Kepa was called into action a minute later, tipping a shot from Sterling over the bar.

 

In the 51st minute, Rodri got above Azpilicueta and headed the ball back to Fernandinho, whose low shot went wide. Mendy was then shown a yellow card for a foul on Pulisic. 

 

The hosts were now dominant, and a shot from Silva was saved by Kepa before Silva sent a shot high and wide. In the 58th minute, a half volley from Sterling was blocked by Azpilicueta, before Kovacic was shown a yellow card for a foul on Bernardo Silva. 

 

On the hour mark, Walker was tripped by Sancho. Silva's free kick found Rodri, whose header went over the bar. City then took Sané off, replacing him with Gabriel Jesus. 

 

In the 64th minute, Rodri was upended by Jorginho. Silva went for goal from the free kick, but his shot was diverted over by the fingertips of Kepa. Two minutes later, Kane found Gabriel Jesus, whose shot barely missed the target, before Silva surged past Kovacic and sent the ball inches wide of the goal. 

 

In the 74th minute, a long shot from Fernandinho was saved by Kepa, before Sancho was booked for a foul on Walker. From the free kick, Mendy headed the ball on to Walker, who headed the ball just over. Mendy was then taken off, with Zinchenko replacing him.

 

Two minutes later, Kane received the ball from Zinchenko and played in Rodri. Rodri went for goal, but his shot went just wide. Sancho was then taken off, with Hudson-Odoi replacing him. 

 

With ten minutes left, Rodri received the ball from Fernandinho and passed to Silva. Silva went for goal, but his shot went wide. 

 

A minute later, however, Zinchenko received the ball from Bernardo Silva and played it back to Fernandinho. Fernandinho played a one-two with Rodri before hitting a first time shot which flew into the net from 25 yards out and which Kepa, with his view obstructed by Kane, didn't see until it was too late.

 

With six minutes left, Jorginho was booked for an accumulation of fouls. Silva's free kick found Walker, whose header was saved by Kepa. A rare Chelsea attack then saw Hudson-Odoi receive the ball from Kovacic and break down the left, only to be denied by a sliding tackle from Walker. 

 

In stoppage time, Kane received the ball from Rodri and passed to Gabriel Jesus. Jesus got away from Azpilicueta and sent a shot into the bottom corner a split second before Christensen could tackle him to break Chelsea's resistance. 

 

Silva and Kane both came close in the final moments as Manchester City moved within a point of Arsenal. 

 

Wednesday 2 December 2020, 20:00: Barclays Premier League - at The Etihad Stadium, Manchester 

Manchester City 4-2 Chelsea (Kane 13, Stones 41, Fernandinho 81, Gabriel Jesus 90+1; Zouma 6, 22, Alex Telles s/o 32)

Attendance: 55,097 (3,000 away)

Man of the Match: Kurt Zouma 

 

Other results 

Tuesday 

Man Utd 1-0 Arsenal (Rashford 84)

 

Wednesday 

Aston Villa 3-1 West Ham (Mata 18, Grealish 28, 43; Gameiro 49)

Brighton 0-2 Liverpool (Mané 14, Firmino pen 86)

Burnley 0-2 Southampton (Elyounoussi 90+2, Stephens 90+4)

Huddersfield 0-1 Fulham (Cairney 19)

Leeds 0-0 Leicester 

Norwich 0-0 Sheff Utd 

Tottenham 2-1 Everton (Lo Celso 12, Alli 81; Gomes 55)

Wolves 2-0 Bournemouth (Jota 8, David Luiz 68)

 

League Table 

| Pos  | Inf   | Team         | Pld   | Won   | Drn   | Lst   | For   | Ag    | GD    | Pts   | 
| --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 1st  |       | Arsenal      | 15    | 13    | 1     | 1     | 52    | 10    | 42    | 40    | 
| --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 2nd  |       | Man City     | 15    | 13    | 0     | 2     | 32    | 12    | 20    | 39    | 
| --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 3rd  |       | Man Utd      | 15    | 11    | 1     | 3     | 34    | 13    | 21    | 34    | 
| --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 4th  |       | Chelsea      | 15    | 11    | 1     | 3     | 34    | 15    | 19    | 34    | 
| --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 5th  |       | Liverpool    | 15    | 10    | 3     | 2     | 30    | 7     | 23    | 33    | 
| --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 6th  |       | Tottenham    | 15    | 9     | 2     | 4     | 27    | 16    | 11    | 29    | 
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| 7th  |       | Wolves       | 15    | 9     | 1     | 5     | 24    | 17    | 7     | 28    | 
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| 8th  |       | Brighton     | 15    | 5     | 5     | 5     | 18    | 24    | -6    | 20    | 
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| 9th  |       | Everton      | 15    | 6     | 1     | 8     | 21    | 25    | -4    | 19    | 
| --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 10th |       | Aston Villa  | 15    | 6     | 1     | 8     | 17    | 24    | -7    | 19    | 
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| 11th |       | Fulham       | 15    | 5     | 3     | 7     | 15    | 21    | -6    | 18    | 
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| 12th |       | Sheff Utd    | 15    | 5     | 2     | 8     | 15    | 21    | -6    | 17    | 
| --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 13th |       | West Ham     | 15    | 5     | 1     | 9     | 13    | 26    | -13   | 16    | 
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| 14th |       | Huddersfield | 15    | 4     | 3     | 8     | 18    | 23    | -5    | 15    | 
| --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 15th |       | Bournemouth  | 15    | 3     | 4     | 8     | 23    | 26    | -3    | 13    | 
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| 16th |       | Leicester    | 15    | 3     | 4     | 8     | 15    | 25    | -10   | 13    | 
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| 17th |       | Leeds        | 15    | 3     | 4     | 8     | 14    | 33    | -19   | 13    | 
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| 18th |       | Burnley      | 15    | 3     | 3     | 9     | 11    | 26    | -15   | 12    | 
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| 19th |       | Norwich      | 15    | 3     | 2     | 10    | 14    | 29    | -15   | 11    | 
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| 20th |       | Southampton  | 15    | 2     | 0     | 13    | 10    | 44    | -34   | 6     | 
| --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|