The Nation Newspaper

Tag: Chelsea

  • Chelsea’s Sarri unhappy with sorry state of Kiev pitch

    Chelsea’s manager Maurizio Sarri has expressed unhappiness with the pitch at Kiev’s NSC Olympic Stadium ahead of his team’s UEFA Europa League last 16 second leg tie later on Thursday.

    Chelsea, who won last week’s first leg game in London 3-0, trained at the stadium on Wednesday.

    “The pitch is not good and I think that it’s really dangerous to play any football here. It’s really very dangerous for injuries,” Sarri told reporters.

    “I don’t know the reason, probably winter, because I played here two years ago and the pitch was wonderful (but it is now) very, very dangerous.”

    Read Also: Chelsea battle past Fulham in West London derby

    The NSC Olympic Stadium hosted last season’s UEFA Champions League final between Real Madrid and Liverpool, which the Spanish side won 3-1.

    Sarri was in charge of Napoli when the Italian side beat Dynamo 2-1 at the stadium during the 2016/2017 UEFA Champions League group stages.

    Chelsea coach Sarri also criticised UEFA for not paying more attention to player welfare.

  • Chelsea fans nostalgic dream Drogba return at 41

     

    Didier Drogba’s 41st birthday caused Chelsea fans to wish for the striker’s return on the pitch.

    The Blues legend, who won four Premier League titles and the Champions League with the club, was present as his former club rescued a late draw against Wolves.

    They had fallen behind to Raul Jimenez’s strike, but Eden Hazard earned a point with a 92nd-minute leveler.

    The toothless attacking display from the hosts had fans lamenting the retirement of the big striker.

    One fan felt Chelsea’s current attacking options paled in comparison to Drogba’s ability at the peak of his powers, and said: ‘Then see what we have now…’

    Yet another said “We can never have a striker like this again”

    Drogba spent eight seasons at Stamford Bridge between 2004 and 2011, before returning for a Premier League-winning campaign in 2014.

    In total, Drogba managed 164 goals in 381 appearances for the club, cementing his reputation as a legendary figure for his role in the 2012 Champions League triumph.

    At the national level Drogba contributed to the Ivory Coast to qualify for its first ever FIFA World Cup, held in Germany in 2006.

    In February 2006, Drogba captained the Ivory Coast to their second Africa Cup of Nations final, scoring the only goal in their semi-final match with Nigeria and putting away the deciding spot-kick in their record-tying 12–11 penalty shootout quarter-final win over Cameroon.

    However, they lost in the final to Egypt 4–2 on penalty kicks after a 0–0 draw, with Drogba’s shot being stopped by Egyptian goalkeeper Essam El-Hadary. He was not only a fighter on the pitch but was a motivator in chief for the Elephants. The former Marseille ace made over 105 appearances for the Elephants scoring 65 goals.

  • Chelsea battle past Fulham in West London derby

    Chelsea have recorded their second successive win in the Premier League with a 2-1 victory over Fulham in yesterday’s West London derby.

    Gonzalo Higuain’s opener was cancelled out by Calum Chambers but Jorginho netted Chelsea’s second shortly afterwards, and it proved decisive as the Blues moved to within two points of fourth-placed Manchester United.

    Fulham impressed in Scott Parker’s first game in charge, but the Cottagers remain 10 points adrift of safety with just nine matches remaining.

    Chelsea began the game on the front foot with Higuain sending a glancing header wide of the post, but Fulham hit straight back with Joe Bryan seeing a long-range curler go marginally off target.

    Ross Barkley was the next to try his luck with a well-struck strike which went over the crossbar, but Chelsea soon went in front with Higuain volleying home from 12 yards after meeting Cesar Azpilicueta’s low cross.

    However, there was no suggestion that Fulham were going to wilt, and only a fine Kepa Arrizabalaga save prevented Aleksandar Mitrovic’s volley from finding the top corner.

    The Cottagers’ equaliser came from the resulting corner, with Ryan Babel’s inswinging cross allowing Chambers to send an eight-yard volley past Arrizabalaga having been left free at the back post.

    Chelsea became nervous at the back as Fulham remained intent on trying to capitalise on the momentum which they had created, but the Blues did not have to wait long before regaining their advantage.

    Eden Hazard did well down the left before teeing up Jorginho on the edge of the area, and the Italian proceeded to find the far top corner with a first-time effort from 20 yards out.

    The goal provided Chelsea with further encouragement to attack Fulham, and the visitors only remained competitive in the game thanks to Sergio Rico making excellent reaction saves to keep out each of Hazard and Higuain.

    Chelsea continued to look for a third after the restart, and Hazard and Willian both had shots saved by Rico who remained busy in the Fulham goal.

    Willian also sent a volley into the side-netting after being found by a long raking pass, but Fulham remained a threat at the other end and Mitrovic almost found the roof of the net with a powerful effort from distance.

  • Chelsea hits cloud 9 after meeting main man N’Golo Kante

     

    A Chelsea supporter was overcome with emotion as she got the chance to meet her favourite player, N’Golo Kante, after the team’s training session on Thursday.

    The club’s latest Community Day saw a number of fans invited to come and watch their heroes get put through their paces before meeting them afterwards for pictures and autographs.

    And Telamsile Dlamini, referred to the Blues by the Willow Foundation – the only national charity working with seriously ill young adults to fulfill uplifting and unforgettable Special Days – was blown away by the experience.

    Chelsea took to Twitter to share a video of the 21-year-old wiping away a tear as she watched on at the Cobham Training Centre before she was greeted by French midfielder Kante, who surprised her with a signed Chelsea shirt. 

    Speaking over the clip, the young Blues fan admitted she didn’t believe such a day would be possible when her social worker asked her what she would most like to do.

    ‘That moment I stepped foot on that training section where we were waiting,’ she reflected. ‘I can’t believe that I’m here, no, no, it’s not me that is here it’s just. No way, no way, I’m not here, it’s not me, it’s just not me. But actually, it was me.

    ‘Today was very special because I got to meet my favourite football player, N’Golo Kante,’

    ‘It was just wonderful and I’m pretty sure my siblings enjoyed it just as much as I did. It’s been truly amazing!’

    Another player to spend time with the special visitors was midfielder Ruben Loftus-Cheek, who said: ‘It’s great to take some time out and give back to the community – it’s very important to make sure we do these things.

    ‘You just have to look at the smiles on the children’s face to see how much it means to them.

  • UEFA Europa League: Arsenal draw Rennes

    English sides Chelsea and Arsenal will feel confident of reaching the 2018/2019 UEFA Europa League quarter-finals after being handed winnable ties in Friday’s last 16 draw.

    Chelsea have been paired with Ukrainian side Dynamo Kiev, while Arsenal meet Rennes.

    Chelsea will host the first leg, scheduled for March 7, at home before the away tie take place a week later.

    Arsenal were drawn first against Rennes, but start in France before returning to London due to the UEFA city clash rule.

    Three-time European champions Inter Milan have been given a tough task against Eintracht Frankfurt, with the first leg in Germany, while record Europa League winners Sevilla meet Slavia Prague.

    Another former European champion Benfica travel to Dinamo Zagreb, Napoli meet RB Salzburg, Valencia play Krasnodar and Zenit St Petersburg take on Villarreal.

    Read Also: UEFA set to review 53 year old away goals rule

    The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the draw for the last 16 took place in Nyon, Switzerland.

    The Draw:

    Chelsea vs Dynamo Kiev

    Eintracht Frankfurt vs Inter Milan

    Dinamo Zagreb vs Benfica

    Napoli vs RB Salzburg

    Valencia vs Krasnodar

    Sevilla vs Slavia Prague

    Rennes vs Arsenal

    Zenit St Petersburg vs Villarreal

    First leg ties are scheduled for March 7, while the second legs are for March 14.(dpa/NAN)

  • FIFA bans Chelsea from transfers over irregular signing of young players

    World Football governing body, FIFA, on Friday confirmed English Premier League club, Chelsea has been banned from any signings for the next two transfer windows, after breaching rules by signing minors.

    The Fédération Internationale de Football Association (FIFA) found Chelsea guilty of 29 cases of breaching Article 19 of its rules, which are related to signing players under 18 years.

    The English football club was also fined around 600,000 Swiss Francs (600,000 dollars), although the decision can be appealed.

    Report says the decision means Chelsea will not be able to buy any players until the summer of 2020, though they will still be allowed to sell.

    “This ban applies to the club as a whole, with the exception of the women’s and futsal teams; and does not prevent the release of players,’’ FIFA confirmed in a statement.

    Chelsea is not the only big club to receive similar punishments from FIFA, as Spanish sides, FC Barcelona, Real Madrid and Atletico Madrid, were all punished in the past for irregularities in selection of players.

  • Manchester City crush Chelsea 6-0 as Aguero scores another hat-trick

    Manchester City’s on-fire striker Sergio Aguero struck his second hat-trick in a week as the champions ruthlessly destroyed woeful Chelsea in a 6-0 win at The Etihad on Sunday.

    The title-holders return to the top of the English Premier League (EPL) with the victory, level on 65 points with Liverpool but ahead on goals difference.

    They have however played one more game than their rivals.

    Third-placed Tottenham Hotspur, who beat Leicester City 3-1 earlier on Sunday, are five points behind.

    Aguero, who scored a hat-trick seven days ago against Arsenal, has now equalled Alan Shearer’s record of 11 Premier League hat-tricks.

    Raheem Sterling fired Manchester City ahead in the fourth minute with a side-foot finish after a quick free-kick from Kevin De Bruyne had caught the Chelsea defence napping.

    After Aguero had somehow missed an open goal from two metres, the Argentine promptly beat goalkeeper Kepa Arrizabalaga with a blistering strike from 25 metres.

    A poor header towards his own goal from Chelsea’s Ross Barkley gifted Aguero with City’s third goal and then a low drive from Ilkay Gundogan made it 4-0 after 25 minutes.

    Following the break, Aguero, who also became City’s top scorer in league games, headed against the bar.

    He then completed his hat-trick from the penalty kick spot after Sterling had been brought down by Cesar Azpilicueta.

    Sterling completed the rout, turning in a low cross from Oleksandr Zinchenko in the 80th.

    The defeat was Chelsea’s worst since their 7-0 loss to Nottingham Forest in 1991. (Reuters/NAN)

  • Bournemouth hit four past hapless Chelsea

    Bournemouth have scored four second-half goals to register a stunning 4-0 victory over Chelsea in Wednesday’s Premier League clash at the Vitality Stadium.

    Chelsea were the better of the two sides during the opening 45 minutes, but a Josh King double and goals from David Brooks and Charlie Daniels have given the Cherries one of the most famous results in their history.

    Bournemouth now sit in 10th place in the standings but Chelsea – who have failed to score in three successive away games for the first time since 2002 – now sit in fifth place after dropping behind Arsenal on goal difference.

    Both teams started brightly on the South coast, but Chelsea soon began to establish some dominance and came agonisingly close to taking the lead in the seventh minute when Artur Boruc somehow managed to tip Mateo Kovacic’s header from close range onto the crossbar.

    Chelsea remained in the ascendancy with Eden Hazard’s seeing a 20-yard strike well dealt with by Boruc, and it took until the 21st minute for Bournemouth to register their first shot with Andrew Surman firing over from distance.

    Pedro should have done better at the other end when cutting inside onto his left foot and only shooting straight at Boruc, and Bournemouth finally began to threaten after the half-hour mark with David Brooks heavily involved.

    The Wales international failed to convert from 10 yards before seeing a weak header easily saved by Kepa Arrizabalaga, and the playmaker fared no better with a 25-yard strike after a run from the halfway line.

    Cesar Azpilicueta attempted to hit back for Chelsea and had a left-footed effort tipped away by Boruc, before a Bournemouth counter-attack ended with Junior Stanislas drilling a first-time attempt straight at Arrizabalaga.

    The action did not let up after the restart and Bournemouth required less than 90 seconds to take the lead. Brooks caught the Chelsea backline napping by making a run in behind from a throw-in, and the Welshman cut the ball back for King to lash a shot into the roof of the net from 12 yards out.

    Chelsea rallied after going behind but they were struggling to find any space in a congested final third, with only a long-range effort from Pedro threatening an equaliser.

    The visitors then proceeded to gift their hosts a second goal. A mix-up on the halfway line between David Luiz and Antonio Ruidger let in Brooks and after the midfielder was played through on goal by King, the Welshman cut inside Luiz before forcing the ball into the bottom corner from 10 yards.

    Chelsea were starting to be outclassed by Eddie Howe’s men, but it got worse in the 74th minute as Stanislas was played through on goal before teeing up King to send the ball into the top corner of Arrizabalaga’s net from close range.

    The game was over as a contest, but Chelsea continued to search for a consolation goal with Ruben Loftus-Cheek failing to hit the target from inside the penalty area and Rudiger having a close-range header saved by Boruc.

    Bournemouth appeared happy to settle for the third goals but in the final minute of added-on time, Daniels added a fourth for the home side as he stopped down to head Jordon Ibe’s cross past a helpless Arrizabalaga.

  • Arsenal beat Chelsea to keep hope alive

    Adeyinka Akintunde

     

    Arsenal beat Chelsea 2-0 to leapfrog Manchester United to fifth place in the Premier League table, and keep their hopes of a top four finish alive.

    Alexander Laccazette gave the Gunner the lead in the 14th minute, clearing the ball off Pedro before drilling the ball past goalkeeper Kepa Arrizabalaga from a tight angle.

    Laurent Koscielny got the second goal in the 38th minute after connecting to a Sokratis ball, and scored, getting the header wrong, but the ball touched his shoulder and got to the top corner of the net.

    Hector Bellerin ended his game 69 minute after going down without contact when chasing the ball . He was stretched out of the field eventually.

    The Gunners however ended the game with 39% of ball possession as against Chelsea’s 61, with nine shots on target for the blues as against seven for Arsenal. Chelsea were however slow in the first twelve moniues of the game.

    Earlier on, current African footballer of the year, Mohammed Salah was on song as Liverpool came from behind to beat Crystal Palace 4-3 at Anfield.

    This win gives the Reds a seven-point gap over second place Manchester City.

    The 26-year old Egyptian found the net after half time to draw level after Andros Townsend had given Palace the lead in the first half. The Reds went ahead with Roberto Firmino, but  Crystal Palace had other plams, with James Tomkins capitalizing on a poor defending to equalize from a corner kick for his side.

    An error from goalkeeper Julian Speroni gifted Salah a second goal and Senegalese forward Sadio Mane made it 4-2 in injury-time

    Ole Gunnar Solskjaer recorded his seventh victory in seven matches for Manchester United with a 2-1 victory over Brighton at Old Trafford.

    Paul Pogba put the Red Devils in front after winning and converting a penalty in the 27th minute, and Marcus Rashford scored a second three minutes to half-time with a beautiful solo goal.

    The Premier League table as it stand sees Liverpool top with 60 points after 23 matches, with Manchester City second with 53 points after 22 matches.

    The defending champions visit Huddersfield on Sunday for their fixture.

  • Kante strike earns Chelsea slim win at Crystal Palace

    Chelsea kept up their pursuit of the top three clubs in the 2018/2019 English Premier League with a 1-0 win away to London rivals Crystal Palace on Sunday.

    But it was all thanks to a strike by N’Golo Kante early in the second half, as Chelsea had to work hard to break down Crystal Palace.

    Crystal Palace had taken seven points in their previous three matches, including a shock win over defending champions Manchester City, but seemed content to allow their visitors most of the possession.

    After a sterile first 35 minutes, Willian smacked the post with a swinging free-kick and Ross Barkley hit the same upright soon afterwards with an acrobatic overhead effort.

    Kante broke the deadlock in the 51st minute when his darting run into the Crystal Palace penalty area was spotted by defender David Luiz.

    The Brazilian duly put the France 2018 FIFA World Cup winner on to score from close range.

    Crystal Palace substitute Connor Wickham spurned the hosts’ best chance of the game when he toe-punted a shot over the bar in the dying minutes.

    Chelsea remain in fourth place in the English Premier League, one point behind Manchester City — who were playing later on Sunday.

    They are two points adrift of second-placed Tottenham Hotspur, but 11 behind leaders Liverpool, while Crystal Palace remain in 14th spot.

    The win also gave Chelsea an important five-point cushion over Arsenal, their nearest challengers for the fourth UEFA Champions League spot who were hammered 5-1 by Liverpool on Saturday.

    “It is never easy to play here or control it here, especially when they (Crystal Palace) play long balls, but we did well.

    “We could have scored early but they also did a great match defensively, which is why it was so difficult,” Chelsea’s Luiz told reporters.

    Chelsea forward Olivier Giroud had two goals ruled out for offside and then was forced off injured.

    Coach Maurizio Sarri said the Frenchman had an ankle problem which looked set to rule him out of Wednesday’s game against Southampton.

    This adds to the team’s fitness problems, particularly in attack with Pedro, Cesc Fabregas and Ruben Loftus-Cheek also currently sidelined.

    “We played against a dangerous opponent. So, we had to have possession. We played well in the first 45 minutes and even better in the second half.

    “The only thing I didn’t like is that we didn’t kill the match off,” added the Italian.

    “That meant it was hard to defend the match in the box in the final minutes.”(Reuters/NAN)