The man in charge of the managerial job in Stamford Bridge Antonio Conte praised his team for delivering a “perfect game” as they defeated Southampton 2-0 on Sunday.
A goal each in the two halves from Eden Hazard and Diego Costa respectively secured the Blues their fourth win and a clean sheet in as many games in the Premier League and moved them to a point difference compared with the table leaders, Manchester City. Continue reading
Chelsea boss Antonio Conte was extremely disappointed with the performance of referee Andre Marriner in the 2-2 draw with Swansea City.
The goal by the Spaniard took his league tally to three goals in four games. However, the five minute spell in the second half lead to Chelsea going down and once again needing to the chase the game. Chelsea came into the game with a 100% start to the campaign, but two of those victories came in the final 10 minutes. The blues looked destined for another such victory when Costa came up with his second goal of the evening, but it was not a fairytale finish. Chelsea had to settle for just one point and losing the 100% record in such a manner was extremely difficult for Conte to accept.
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Antonio Conte has revealed his ideas for Chelsea’s style of play in the 2016-17 season. After taking over as the manager from Guus Hiddink, the former Juventus boss has a huge task on his hands.
Furthermore, the club are reportedly in talks with Everton over the signing Romelu Lukaku for twice the fee that they received for him two years ago. Lukaku was sold at Everton for £ 28 million, but it is reported that Chelsea are ready to pay around £ 65 million along with Loic Remy for the Belgian international. Chelsea recently concluded their pre-season with a 4-2 win over German outfit Werder Bremen. After a mediocre start in the pre-season, the blues have been doing well since the return of stars like Diego Costa and Eden Hazard. They were amongst the scorers on Sunday night.
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Spanish outlet Valencia has rejected Chelsea’s bid for Portuguese talented player Andre Gomes.
The former Juventus coach submitted a bid of £40 million for the player but Valencia have rejected the bid, based on reports from The Mirror.
The Portuguese international is poised to leave the Mestella this summer because the club wouldn’t be playing in Europe this campaign. Juventus are also keen on landing the player but the Blues have submitted their bid. Gomes’ performance was inconsistent in the last campaign but he has been doing well at the continental tournament in France. He is believed to be one of the most energetic yet young midfielders at the moment, hence the interest from Conte.
Former coaches of the national side have compared him to former Chelsea player Michael Ballack for his box-to-box abilities. Gomes has however shown he is comfortable playing wide in a team.
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There is news that Chelsea might be going after Roma defender Antonio Rudiger and might be prepared to make a bid of £23.2 million for the German defender.
Antonio Rudiger has been on loan from Stuttgart last season and has certainly impressed the Italian side. They have made the deal permanent only this week, but they now might be interested in selling the player to the highest bidder. At the moment, it is believed that there is a host of European clubs that might be interested in signing the defender. Borussia Dortmund, Liverpool, and Paris Saint-Germain are the other clubs that might be interested in signing the German international.
Some media have reported that Chelsea are currently the most interested club and that discussions have reached an advanced stage. Indeed, the London club is keen to find a successor to John Terry. Continue reading
Paris St Germain have dismissed rumours that the club are looking to appoint Jose Mourinho as their next manager.
Blanc’s stock was high when he had just beaten Chelsea in the last 16 of the tournament. However, PSG were unable to get past Manchester City in the quarter-finals. Even though they have already sealed the league title with several weeks left in the campaign, it is seen as a disappointment. Recent reports suggested that Mourinho was being prepared as the replacement for Blanc in the summer. Nasser Al-Khelaifi, though, insisted that Blanc has the support of the club so much so that PSG are even ready to offer him a new two-year contract. Continue reading
Guus Hiddink has not totally rubbished the opinion that a few of the Blues players are starting to be a bit reserved in their efforts because they are looking to save themselves for the Euro Cup which is pretty nearby.
The media reckons there is no point for players to be wasting too much of what they have got in the tank as not a lot is there for Chelsea to achieve this season , there is not even a particular position in the standings that they are targeting. They are probably just completing the formality of turning up for games.
According to Hiddink, he can’t quite make out what might have been going inside the players because it’s not possible for somebody to know what the other person is thinking. So, he can’t back this “go-easy” thing with extreme certainty, but, it’s something he would not disagree to either.
Some of the ex-Chelsea stars are very annoyed with the approach of the current lot. Losing matches is one thing, but, not even having the appetite to win matches is completely another. The lack of will from the players to win for the pride of the club is something they are really feeling very bad about.
Hiddink has, however, hinted that all the players have been scrutinized by the management and there would be a discussion when the new coaching staff comes and takes charge and a mass offloading might be possible. Continue reading
Guus Hiddink hints that he would be ruthless during his tenure at Chelsea and would not show any reluctance in making tough decision if the need arises.
Hiddink has been given the charge of the Blues for the remaining of the season.
It’s Pep Guardiola whom Chelsea is believed to be planning to rope in next summer.
But, according to Hiddink, the fact that he is there only on a temporary basis is not going to affect his working style.
In the words of the Dutchman, “It doesn’t matter whether the manager is appointed only temporarily; he is the man in charge and can easily give you an earful if you are not up for the job.”
“When you are playing for one of the best clubs in the world and are getting a lot of money for your services, it’s your duty to be consistent with your performances.”
“For me, what’s most important in the players is the hunger. If the hunger is missing, I would not want them in the squad.” Continue reading
Cesc Fabregas says that Chelsea can think about retaining the title only if they make a fast start to the season like they did last time around. The blues were quick off the mark last campaign and it proved to be the difference in the end. However, they started the season poorly after a 2-2 draw with Swansea at home on the opening day. Fabregas played in that game and he was less influential than in the 3-1 win against Burnley on the opening day of last season. The form of the Spaniard will be a little worrying for Chelsea, as he has been on the downhill for the last eight months.
The team will have to recover quickly because they travel to the Etihad stadium in order to play against Manchester City, who have begun the season in the best possible manner after a 3-0 victory over West Brom. Even though new signing Raheem Sterling has not yet been on the scoresheet, there is a lot of promise from the existing stars like David Silva, Yaya Touré, and Sergio Aguero. They are expected to be the dominant force when Chelsea are the visitors next week. Fabregas will have to come in with a big performance if the blues are to get the first win of the season. Continue reading
Leicester City finished the Premier League season on a high note as they secured a 5-1 victory against Queens Park Rangers. Even if Leicester City had lost their last match of the season, they still would have had more than enough points to ensure their Premier League survival.
This season has truly been an outstanding one for Leicester City as the club was located at the very bottom of the English League for a number of successive weeks but they managed to escape those dreaded spots after managing to seal important points and have now guaranteed their safety for another season.
As a way for the owners to repay and give their thanks to the supporters of the club, the Thai retail billionaires Vichai and Aiyawatt Srivaddhanaprabha bought the first round of beer at the King Power Stadium on the last day of the season.
The Vice-Chairman Aiyawatt Srivaddhanaprabha said: “We want to say thank you to our fans for their incredible support this season. Even during the most difficult times of the season, when everyone thought we had no chance, our loyal fans continued to believe and continued to get behind the team.” Continue reading