The Nation Newspaper

Tag: Chelsea

  • Optimistic Moses promises to be back in a jiffy

    Optimistic Moses promises to be back in a jiffy

     

    Victor Moses is nearing a first-team return with Chelsea as he shared footage of himself taking part in aerobic exercises in the swimming pool.

    The Nigerian has been sidelined since picking up a hamstring injury in the 2-1 defeat by Crystal Palace at Selhurst Park earlier this month.

    But he promised in a post on Instagram that he will be back playing sooner rather than later despite being ruled out for a month at the time.

    Alongside the video of him stepping on and off a yellow board in the pool, the 26-year-old wrote: ‘Putting the work in will be back soon! #roadtorecovery’.

    Moses’ determination to show he is on the path back to full fitness comes just three days after Antonio Conte admitted he could face further time away from the pitch.

    Speaking ahead of the weekend trip to Bournemouth, the Italian said: ‘Moses is out. For him we must have patience before seeing him in the team.’

    In Moses’ absence Conte has taken to using either Cesar Azpilicueta or Davide Zappacosta on the right-hand side of his title-winning 3-5-2 formation.

    Just as Conte have had to adjust his team in the absence of Mosses so also Super Eagles coach Gernot Rohr have had to do the same as he announced a 22-man list ahead of the last World Cup qualifier against Algeria and a high profile friendly against Argentina in Russia.

    Eagles have already picked their ticket for Russia 2018 with some analyst dubbing the last match against Algeria on November 10 as mere formality, but Rohr who has hit cloud nine since clinching the ticket, says he is not treating the last match with kid gloves as he sees nothing wrong with posting a clean sheet and qualifying on a high. ‘Who says you cannot garner the maximum points available ‘he asked.

  • Morata: London too stressful for my liking

    Morata: London too stressful for my liking

     

     

    Alvaro Morata says he cannot see himself living in London very long, admitting he finds England’s capital “stressful”, ahead of returning to Italy for Chelsea’s clash with Roma.

    The striker left Juventus in 2016 to re-join Real Madrid after the Spanish club activated a buy-back clause in his contract, having won two Serie A titles and helped Juve reach the Champions League final in his two years in Turin.

    Despite struggling to earn regular first-team opportunities at Real Madrid, Morata has quickly got up to speed with the Premier League since moving to Chelsea – scoring six goals in nine appearances – but it is the pace of life off the pitch which is taking its toll on the forward.

    “I’m fine,” Morata told Italian newspaper La Gazzetta dello Sport. “I live in downtown Chelsea. London fascinates me with its multi-ethnicity, the coexistence of cultures and religions, but I do not see myself living here for very long. Too much, too much stress, too many metropolises.”

    Morata, whose wife is Italian, felt he arrived at Juventus “a boy” but left as “a real player”, admitting the environment was perfectly suited for him – and not one he wanted to leave in order to return to Madrid.

    N’Golo Kante, who has not played in a month, trained on Monday ahead of Chelsea’s Champions League tie against Roma on Tuesday

    “Italy for a Spaniard is the best country to live,” he said. “You have everything: beauty, history, art, cooking, fashion. I would never have left Italy and Juve.

    “The disappointment [of leaving Juventus] was enormous, I found myself back to the starting point. They [Real Madrid] treated me like the guy I was before the two Italian seasons.”

    Antonio Conte says Chelsea must fight to transform their season in a pivotal week ahead.

    Morata missed out on the chance to work with Chelsea head coach Antonio Conte at Juventus as the player’s arrival in 2014 came shortly before the Italian’s exit, but the lure of playing under Conte was the decisive factor in moving to Stamford Bridge.

    “I came here because there was a coach like Antonio Conte,” Morata added. “We started talking about my eventual transfer last spring and finally I really landed in London. ”

    Morata, whose wife Alice Campello is Italian and moved to London with him, admitted he regretted leaving Juventus to return to Madrid – explaining the environment in Italy was perfectly suited for him.

    He added: ‘Italy for a Spaniard is the best country to live. You have everything: beauty, history, art, cooking, fashion. I would never have left Italy and Juve. Morata submission is being viewed in some quarters as possible exit notice despite just ariving the Stamford Bridge in the summer in a £70m deal

  • David Luiz meets lookalike super-fan

    David Luiz meets lookalike super-fan

     

    David Luiz was left seeing double as he was reunited with his doppelganger super-fan from Japan.

    The Chelsea star posted a video of the meeting with his lookalike who copied the Brazil star down to the very fine details.

    It is the second time the Brazilian defender has come face-to-face with the fan who was last pictured with Luiz back in November 2016.

    The fan has seemingly upped his game from the first meeting with his idol. This time he donned a white wrist brace to copy Luiz’s current injury.

    Dancing outside the star’s car, the lookalike wrapped a Brazilian flag around his waist and pumped his fists.

    He then went on to point out all the similarities between himself and the defender, including his moustache and the same pair of boots.

    The Chelsea star was clearly taken by his fan and wrote ‘The best’ over the video he posted to his Twitter account.

    Luiz has been an integral part to Chelsea’s campaign to defend the Premier League title this season.

    However, he has yet to live up to the expectations he set during last season as Chelsea find themselves fourth in the Premier League, having lost three times already.

    However, the Blues beat Watford in their last league game and Luiz was rested for their Carabao Cup victory over Everton in midweek.

    He is expected to return for his side’s fixture at Bournemouth on Saturday.

  • Chelsea play down injury crisis ahead Watford tie

    Chelsea play down injury crisis ahead Watford tie

     

     

    Antonio Conte may be suffering something of an injury crisis ahead of this weekend -but the fit players in his squad certainly appeared to be in high spirits nonetheless.

    Chelsea face Watford on Saturday lunchtime with Cesc Fabregas potentially the only fit midfielder available, and with the Blues desperate to bounce back from an embarrassing defeat at Crystal Palace last time out.

    Although Conte appeared worried about his options in his press conference, the squad themselves seemed to be more than happy about their situation at Cobham.

    Goalkeeping trio Thibaut Courtois, Willy Caballero and Eduardo bundled each other during Friday’s training session with no sign of depression.

    Chelsea are currently nine points off the pace at the top, with Saturday’s opponents ahead of them going into the match at Stamford Bridge.

    With that in mind, Eden Hazard, Gary Cahill and Co made sure they were on top of their game in the build-up to the weekend.

    The Blues squad were made to take part in drills with and without the ball, using special technology to measure their sprints and agility.

    When asked in his press conference about the reason for his side’s poor run of form, Conte pointed in part to the amount of games they have played in quick succession.

    ‘It can happen, it can happen,’ he said. ‘After Atletico Madrid, if you remember, we played a tough game after only two days. Maybe, I think, this can be a regret. Our only regret. When we played against Crystal Palace it was after the international break. When we played against Roma it was after three days.’

  • Moses eager to bounce back for Chelsea,Eagles

    Moses eager to bounce back for Chelsea,Eagles

     

    Super Eagles forward Victor Moses can hardly wait to get back to action revealing that he is doing everything possible to reduce the minimum four weeks period set aside for him to be on the sidelines by club doctors.

    The Chelsea forward who is full of prayers for his team to excel in the Champions league as the Blues host Roma at the Stamford Bridge tonight, has been tipped to miss as many as five matches involving Chelsea both in the Champions League and the premiership but the former wigan and Crystal Palace ace is optimistic he can return earlier than predicted.

    He did not however hide his disappointment over the groin injury that forced him out of the pitch.

    “Gutted ,to pick up an injury. Working hard to get fit&back on the pitch as soon as I can! Good luck to the boys tonight come on the Chels #CFC,” he said ahead of the Chelsea versus Roma Clash Wednesday.

    The Nigerian international who is sure to be part of the squad to Russia following Nigeria’s qualification for the 2018

    World Cup is sure to miss the last qualifying match against Algeria in November.  Super Eagles coach Gernot Rohr has already hinted that many of the players who played in the defeat of Zambia in Uyo which confirmed Nigeria’s qualification for Russia will not be part of the squad against Algeria, adding that the match will be used to give other players who have not been tested an opportunity to showcase their skills.

    “We are not planning to lose the match but we will use it to test many players who have not been tested.  We have been able to test at least 14 players and we still have more that needs to be given opportunity so that we will be sure of players that will be going with us to Russia,” he enthused

  • Zaha gives Palace first victory as Chelsea lose again

    Zaha gives Palace first victory as Chelsea lose again

    Crystal Palace ended the worst-ever start to an English Premier League season and condemned champions Chelsea to their second successive defeat with a 2-1 victory at Selhurst Park on Saturday.

    Palace had made unwanted history by losing their opening league games without scoring a goal, but they produced a much-improved performance this time around.

    It enabled manager Roy Hodgson claimed his first win since replacing Frank de Boer last month.

    Chelsea have now lost three of their first eight league games and fallen nine points adrift of leaders Manchester City.

    A scrappy Cesar Azpilicueta own-goal handed Palace the lead in the 11th minute, but Chelsea levelled seven minutes later when Tiemoue Bakayoko headed in a Cesc Fabregas corner.

    Palace’s Wilfried Zaha, on his return from injury, restored the home side’s lead with a close-range shot on the stroke of halftime, and a lacklustre Chelsea were unable to equalise.

    “That was really enjoyable,” Hodgson said. “I have just said to the players that they really deserve to drink in that victory, because we played the champions of England but came off the field today having deserved our victory.”

    Chelsea manager Antonio Conte admitted his side had been hampered by the absence of striker Alvaro Morata and midfielder N‘Golo Kante.

    The loss of Victor Moses to injury midway through the first half did not help matters also.

    “We started very badly and it was a very difficult day,” Conte said. “But we need also to understand the situation and to continue to work, to find solutions in spite of our injuries.”(Reuters/NAN)

  • Injured Moses may miss five matches   

    Injured Moses may miss five matches   

     

     

    Just a week ago Super Eagles forward Victor Moses was all over the place.  He was some form of a workaholic in the tie against Chipolopolo of Zambia at the Nest of Champions in Uyo. He was not only a problem for the Zambian defence he came close to scoring a couple of times. It was Alex Iwobi that eventually broke the deadlock scoring the only goal that gave the Eagles the much needed ticket.

    Moses back to base in England and ready for action had looked forward to another superlative performance this time against Premier league side Crystal Palace.

    He did start the game but a 36th minute injury put paid to whatever game plan he had against Crystal Palace. An unexpected hamstring injury has taken the centre stage and is likely to sideline him for up to three weeks.  For Chelsea it was not just about injury to Moses the team equally lost the match.

    The implication is that the Nigerian international will miss champions tie against Roma on Wednesday, and premier league ties against Watford, Everton and AFC Bournemouth but may hope to return for away champions league tie against Roma at the end of the month.

    Teammate Gary Cahill however believes that the Blues should have done better despite early exit of the Nigerian international.

    The Premier League champions fell behind to Cesar Azpilicueta’s 11th-minute own goal before equalising seven minutes later via Tiemoue Bakayoko’s header.

    However, the Eagles struck back through Wilfried Zaha on the stroke of half time and went on to claim all three points, leaving the Blues captain feeling very bemused with the afternoon’s events.

    “The performance level today was not up to the standard it should be. We played poorly today, for whatever reason,” Cahill told BBC Sport.

    “We’ve had many international players who have been away but that’s part and parcel of modern football. We need to be ready, we needed to be livelier, and we were missing out on second balls. That’s unlike us.

    “We’re not having the best of luck in terms of injuries – you saw Victor Moses today – and we’ve not got the biggest squad. But it needed to be a better performance today.

    “We need to win games like this, and in terms of the title after Christmas we need to be there or thereabouts. We are disappointed by the result and disappointed in the quality of our performance.”

    Up next for Chelsea is a Champions League home encounter with Roma on Wednesday night.

  • Updates: Man City 7 – 2 Stoke City, Chelsea 1 – 2 Palace

    Updates: Man City 7 – 2 Stoke City, Chelsea 1 – 2 Palace

    Second half of the  English Premier League matches this Saturday is underway.

    See below scores for the matches that are going on.

    The games are;

    Burnley 0 –  1 West Ham United
    Crystal Palace 2 – 1 Chelsea
    Manchester City 7- 2 Stoke City
    Swansea City 2 -0 Huddersfield Town
    Tottenham Hotspur 1 – 0 AFC

    In the first half of the matches Chelsea, crystal Palace, Manchester City Swansea scored respectively.

    Zaha scored minutes before the centre referee blowed for the end of the first half in the Crystal Palace game against Chelsea.

    The score ended 2 – 1 in the first half.

    Cabaye scored the first goal of the game eleven minutes into the first half. It was their first league goal of the season!

    Just seven minutes after Chelsea levelled with a striking goal from Bakayoko in the 19th minutes

    It was however a really poor defending as Chelsea allows a bouncing cross to find its way to Yohan Cabaye, who easily skips past Luiz in front of goal before poking the ball past Courtois in the middle of the goal.

    But made the two for Palace with his 45th minutes goal.

    Meanwhile goals have  been scored in the four other games  this Saturday afternoon.

    The games are;

    Burnley 0 –  1 West Ham United
    Crystal Palace 2 – 1 Chelsea
    Manchester City 7- 2 Stoke City
    Swansea City 2 -0 Huddersfield Town
    Tottenham Hotspur 1 – 0 AFC

    Follow up for the goal update as the second half progresses.

     

  • Chelsea Heaps Praises on Moses for Nigeria’s W/Cup Qualification

    Chelsea Heaps Praises on Moses for Nigeria’s W/Cup Qualification

    Clesea Football Club reseved special praise for Victor Moses for creating most of the Super Eagles attacking moves in the World Cup Qualifier against Zambia on Saturday.
    The English Premier League side reviewed Saturday’s World Cup qualifying matches which featured most of their players including that of the Nigeria versu Zambia game which Victor Moses played the full matcfh.
    For the Nigeria game, the Premier League champions said Victor Moses created Nigeria’s best chance in the first half, was instrumental in most of the attacking moves and particularly the eventual one that produced the goal at the 75th minute.
    ”Moses was the creator of the best chance to break the deadlock in the first half, following a powerful drive forward with a chipped pass to set Odion Ighalo through on goal just before the break, but the former Watford striker hit his shot wide,
    ”Moses again played a big part, finding Abdullahi Shehu in space, with the midfielder cutting the ball back for substitute Alex Iwobi to finish the move, ” Chelsea wrote on their official website.
    ”The second period continued to the same frustrating pattern, but it was eventually Nigeria who found the breakthrough to kill of Zambia’s qualification hopes.
    Recall that Moses was close to have his name on the score-sheet few minutes to the end of the match when he was teed up by Chelsea teammate Ola Aina who made a remakable debut pass, but couldn’t comvert chance, the EPL side also reckoned.
    The Chelsea number 15 jersey is expected to resume training with Chelsea ahead of the Blues trip to Selhurst Park, where they face his old club Crystal Palace on October 14.
    Meanwhile, in the post match interview the Super Eagles coach Gernot Rohr said he couldn’t expect anything less of the result of the Saturday match though acknowledging that it was a difficult one but said his players were remarkable for getting the much needed victory.
    The German said: ”It was a very difficult game, in fact the most difficult for us in the qualifying series because of what was at stake, because we knew a win would take us there and we were eager to finish it off.
    ”I commend the Zambians for their spirit. They fought very hard. This team was different from the one we defeated in Ndola last year; this was a much better and stronger team.

    ”I am very happy for the players and for this great nation, for us to qualify with a match in hand. It is a good feeling and after this night, we will begin to plan about how to prepare for the World Cup.

    ”But we have the final match in Algeria next month, and perhaps we can have a friendly within that window as well and begin the preparation for Russia 2018.”

    Nigeria travel to Algeria for their dead rubber tie against the North Africans on November 6, 2017.

  • Lampard retires after 21-year career

    Lampard retires after 21-year career

     

    At the age of 38, and after a career of remarkable success and relentless achievement, Frank Lampard has announced his retirement as a player with a clear hint that he will move into management.

    The Football Association, through technical director Dan Ashworth, is in talks with Lampard over his future with the organisation extremely keen that at least one of the so-called ‘Golden Generation’ will be fast-tracked and eventually work within the England set-up.

    Lampard appears the most likely candidate. Discussions have already taken place with Steven Gerrard – who also recently retired and began a coaching career with the Liverpool academy this week – and Rio Ferdinand while Lampard has always been earmarked as a potential future manager.

    The timing of his retirement comes as no surprise with Lampard having considered his options after playing what has now turned out to be his final competitive match, for New York City, in the Major League Soccer play-offs in the US, last November.

    There were offers to return to play in England, including from Premier League clubs such as Swansea City, but Lampard suggested in an interview last weekend that he was close to retiring and did not feel he would carry on – even if it would be difficult to call it a day for such a fierce competitor.

    Lampard won the Champions League, three Premier League titles, four FA Cups, two League Cups and the Europa League with Chelsea

    That was confirmed in a social media post, on Instagram, on Thursday morning which led to a flurry of tributes for Lampard who has won every club honour possible – with Chelsea – during his 21-year career which also took in spells at West Ham United, his first club, and Manchester City.

    There were also 106 England caps for the midfielder who played 1,019 matches in total, scoring a remarkable 302 goals. As with others from that ‘Golden Generation’ his international career was less glittering, however, and that gnawed away.

    Lampard is also Chelsea’s all-time leading goalscorer, with 211 goals in 649 appearances, and captained the club in their greatest achievement – winning the 2012 Champions League final, when he played a pivotal role – and in the Europa League final the following season.