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Mauricio Pochettino Analyses Chelsea’s Energy Gap in Defeat to Manchester United

7 December 2023 by Cric Habit

After Chelsea‘s 2-1 Premier League loss to Manchester United on Wednesday, head coach Mauricio Pochettino speculated that his team might have been worn out.

Despite playing with 10 men from the end of the first half, the Blues defeated Brighton & Hove Albion 3-2 on Sunday, so they came to Old Trafford with confidence.

Chelsea, however, was unable to match that effort and performance against United, who got out to a quick start and won thanks to two goals from Scott McTominay.

Just before halftime, Cole Palmer pulled one back for the visitors, although Chelsea were generally outclassed by their hosts during the match at the Theatre of Dreams.

After the game, Pochettino admitted as much, but he also cited Chelsea’s performance against Brighton, which included playing for more than an hour with a man advantage when added-on time was taken into consideration.

The Argentine, whose words were cited by football.london, expressed disappointment to reporters during a news conference, saying: “We felt that we didn’t match their enthusiasm and that they started the game better than us.

They were superior, in my opinion. In general, I believe they were superior to us.

“I believe we created enough opportunities; we drew 1-1 in the first half, and we had a few good opportunities that we should have scored. The issue was that we weren’t being more clinical.

We get off to a strong start in the second half, but after we give up, we naturally lack the energy to play more aggressively.

“We had a few opportunities, but not enough to return to the game. In general, I believe they should have received the three points because they were superior to us.”

He went on: “I think it might have an impact on the players’ performances and energy level a little bit to play against Brighton with one less player for 60 minutes.

“Then we need to recover, too many players injured, we need to recover them as soon as possible to be more competitive and to have options and to help the team achieve what we want.”

Chelsea’s loss to United has kept them eight points behind their sixth-place opponents in the standings, where they currently reside in 10th place.

Chelsea’s next game comes at Goodison Park on Sunday against Everton, who will have one fewer day to prepare because of their match against Newcastle United on Thursday.

Intense Battle: Chelsea Challenges Manchester City for River Plate Trio

6 December 2023 by Cric Habit

According to reports, Manchester City and Chelsea will compete to recruit River Plate players Ian Subiabre, Agustin Ruberto, and Claudio Echeverri.

The three adolescents competed for Argentina at the Under-17 World Cup, which took place in Indonesia last month, and advanced to the semifinals before falling to Mali in the third-place playoff.

For Argentina, Ruberto was a spectacular player who won the Golden Boot with eight goals in just seven games. Echeverri and Subiabre also contributed with five goals and one assist each.

Echeverri, 17, has just recently established himself in the River Plate first squad. Since then, he has made four substitute appearances in the Primera Division, including his professional debut in June. Echeverri has been likened to Argentine legend Lionel Messi.

Although Ruberto, 17, and Subiabre, 16, have not yet made their River Plate first-team debuts, the rumours about the highly-regarded pair and Echeverri moving to Europe have not stopped.

Both Echeverri and Ruberto, who have contracts that expire in December 2024, will turn 18 in January, at which point they will be able to discuss international transfers.

Subiabre’s contract at River Plate is set to expire one month early, so he won’t celebrate turning eighteen until January 2025, at which point he can only negotiate a transfer overseas.

Attacking midfielder Echeverri is reportedly being watched by Man City and Real Madrid, according to a recent report. However, both Ruberto and Subiabre have since drawn interest from other elite European teams.

Because of their close ties to the Argentine team—having acquired Julian Alvarez in 2022—Man City is reportedly confident in their ability to sign all three of the River Plate teenagers.

A similar arrangement to that of Alvarez, who stayed at River Plate on loan between January and July 2022 before joining Pep Guardiola’s team, is reportedly something the Citizens are open to discussing with River Plate.

This arrangement would permit Echeverri, Ruberto, and Subiabre to stay in South America before eventually moving to the Etihad Stadium.

The report does, however, also state that Chelsea is willing to match any offer made for all three players and is ready to engage in a fierce struggle with Man City for the signings of Echeverri, Ruberto, and Subiabre.

Since co-owner Todd Boehly arrived, Chelsea has made significant investments to entice many of the most talented young players in the world to Stamford Bridge, and they have demonstrated their willingness to spend large sums of money to outbid their rivals on a number of targets.

In fact, the Brazilian combination Deivid Washington and Angelo Gabriel from Santos were signed by the Blues for a reported total of roughly £30 million in the summer.

In addition, they have reached an agreement to sign Ecuadorian sensation Kendry Paez for a reported £16 million; the 16-year-old will join the team when he turns 18 in 2025.

Echeverri, Ruberto, and Subiabre are not only of interest to Chelsea and Man City; other clubs linked to the River Plate trio include Manchester United, Tottenham Hotspur, Brighton & Hove Albion, Real Madrid, Barcelona, Bayern Munich, Paris Saint-Germain, Juventus, AC Milan, and Inter Milan.

Chelsea’s Potential Recall of Andrey Santos: What to Expect?

17 November 2023 by Cric Habit

Andrey Santos is supposedly being seriously considered by Chelsea to be brought back from his loan at Nottingham Forest.

Santos has been predicted to be a major player over the next ten years because of his achievements with Brazil at the junior level and the fact that he has already earned a senior cap for his nation.

After that, the 19-year-old was given consistent playing time for Chelsea in the preseason, and he ended up playing for as long as 195 minutes while on tour in the United States.

The potential did not play in Chelsea’s opening games of the season, but a loan move to Nottingham Forest was anticipated to result in weekly action.

On the other hand, Santos’s tenure at the City Ground has been a complete bust from an individual standpoint. He has only made one Premier League appearance as a seven-minute substitute when Forest was already behind 3-0 against Liverpool.

Prior to it, on August 30, he had played 90 minutes in an EFL Cup loss to Burnley; nonetheless, Forest manager Steve Cooper has a variety of choices for his engine room.

In response to questions during news conferences, Cooper has restated that Santos had a significant impact during training while implying that playing other players was now his preference.

The Evening Standard claims that he might not get the chance to do so until the end of the current year.

According to the source, Chelsea is prepared to exercise Santos’s contract’s break provision, most likely in order to locate him a temporary residence somewhere.

If so, it would have to be at an English team because Chelsea has already used up all of the slots they had set aside for foreign loans in 2023–2024.

In theory, Chelsea would then have to decide whether to seek one of the best Championship teams or take a chance on another Premier League loan at a lower-tier team.

Santos, who cost over £16 million to sign after leaving Vasco da Gama, has a stellar reputation, but he hasn’t exactly played in the top division of football during his career.

He only played in Brasileiro Serie A for 424 minutes earlier this year; nevertheless, the majority of his time with Vasco da Gama was during their 2022 promotion campaign from the second division.

Premier League Epic Showdown: Chelsea and Manchester City Battle to a Thrilling Eight-Goal Draw

13 November 2023 by Cric Habit

In the Premier League, Chelsea and Manchester City battled out an incredible 4-4 draw at Stamford Bridge, with Cole Palmer dealing a crushing blow to his former employers.

The first 45 minutes of the weekend’s main match in West London lived up to the expectation, with goals from Erling Haaland, Thiago Silva, Raheem Sterling, and Manuel Akanji creating a frenzied four-goal first half.

Nicolas Jackson’s tap-in canceled out Haaland’s second goal of the game, and Rodri looked to have given the champions a late lead.

Premier League Epic Showdown: Chelsea and Manchester City Battle to a Thrilling Eight-Goal Draw

However, ex-Man City academy product Palmer struck the upper corner with an incredible penalty in the 95th minute to steal a point for Mauricio Pochettino’s team.

From the opening whistle, Palmer and Sterling were back with their previous employers for Chelsea, who also made a change at left-back when Marc Cucurella took Levi Colwill’s place.

Unfortunately for Cucurella, after a tangle in the box, Haaland and the Spaniard struck the deck, leading to yet another controversial VAR call in the twenty-first minute.

Three minutes after the spot kick was initially awarded, Cucurella grabbed hold of Haaland’s jersey, which referee Anthony Taylor considered worthy of a penalty.

Haaland then coolly sent Robert Sanchez the wrong way to break the tie. Both men were equally involved in the physical struggle.

Haaland’s goal turned Chelsea’s promising start into nothing, but Pochettino’s team did not give up and Reece James forced Ederson into an incredible save with a 28th-minute free kick as the Blues pressed for an immediate response.

Thiago Silva’s dramatic charge to the front post to meet Conor Gallagher’s delivery produced the much-needed comeback for the hosts, as the 39-year-old’s looping header went across goal and into the side of the net in the 29th minute.

A former Chelsea target’s awful howler put the ball on a plate for a former Citizen to prod the Blues ahead just eight minutes after Silva’s equalizer.

Haaland and Phil Foden both went close to regaining the visitors’ advantage, but to no effect.

Josko Gvardiol looked to have cut out Palmer’s pass to James, but the Croatian unintentionally backheeled the ball into the right-back’s path, leaving James with an easy tap-in opportunity.

After Sanchez made a fantastic low stop on Haaland in the 42nd minute, the winger did not hesitate to celebrate in front of the away end, and the hosts would presumably go to the changing rooms with a one-goal advantage intact.

But, a set-piece would prove to be Chelsea’s undoing in the first minute of injury time, as a Citizens corner was played short to Bernardo Silva, whose outswinging delivery was headed into the net by Akanji; Sanchez fatally slipped as he attempted to scramble across his goal. Unfortunately, Chelsea had leveled the match through a corner.

In the 47th minute, the Argentine’s low delivery for Haaland ended with the sliding Scandinavian bundling the ball over the line via his backside.

The Stamford Bridge supporters hardly had time to catch their breath before the ball flew – or trickled – into the back of the net once more. Foden fed Julian Alvarez on the overlap.

After a fast VAR review disqualified a handball, Haaland’s second goal of the afternoon was confirmed. In the 52nd minute, Alvarez came dangerously close to becoming the goal scorer when he met Rodri’s header with a half-volley, which was Sanchez’s dream come true.

The chaos at Stamford Bridge persisted throughout the second half as Palmer dribbled past many former colleagues to carve out a great opening in the 61st minute, only to poke the ball straight at Ederson. Jeremy Doku was given a yellow card for diving.

Nevertheless, in the 67th minute, Jackson arrived to direct home and bring Pochettino’s team back level after the Brazilian goalkeeper, who momentarily required medical attention for an injury, was at fault for a third Chelsea goal.

Jackson had parried a long-range shot from Gallagher back into the danger area.

In the 75th minute, an unusual source had a fantastic opportunity to put Chelsea back ahead, but Malo Gusto curled over the bar after Sterling had set him up on the right, smashing the wet grass in exasperation.

After 86 minutes, ex-Blue Mateo Kovacic was crowded out on the edge of the box, but Rodri’s long-range fizzer nestled into the side of the net after a significant nick off Thiago Silva’s toe.

Gusto and Chelsea would eventually be left to rue that wasted opportunity.

The unfortunate deflection caught Sanchez completely off guard, but the Spaniard was beaming in the fifth minute of injury time when Ruben Dias tackled Armando Broja inside the area and Palmer looked completely unfazed as he found the postage stamp to cut his former club’s title hopes short early on.

Taylor ended an incredible match with a last-gasp free kick over the top from Kyle Walker, but not before Pochettino stormed onto the pitch to confront the referee after his team was denied a potential breakaway by the referee’s final whistle.

The champions’ tie keeps them atop the standings, but their lead over Liverpool and Arsenal is only one point. Chelsea, on the other hand, has surpassed Brentford once more to take 10th position in the standings thanks to their better goal differential.

After the international break, Pochettino’s team will go to Newcastle United, and Pep Guardiola’s treble winners will play Liverpool at the Etihad in the afternoon on November 25.

Chelsea’s Patient Pursuit of Aaron Ramsdale

3 November 2023 by Cric Habit

Chelsea are apparently willing to be patient in their pursuit of Arsenal goalkeeper Aaron Ramsdale.

The Blues made huge changes in their goalkeeping department over the summer, as long-serving stoppers Kepa Arrizabalaga and Edouard Mendy both left the club.

During the final month of the previous transfer window, Brighton & Hove Albion’s Robert Sanchez and New England Revolution’s Djordje Petrovic were brought in as their replacements.

As a result, Sanchez is the indisputable number one, with Petrovic still to make his debut, and American teenager Gabriel Slonina anticipated to push for a spot in the senior squad in the future.

Nonetheless, Chelsea’s long-term goalkeeping alternatives, particularly the role as first choice, are not fixed in stone.

While Sanchez has made 13 starts across all competitions since signing a seven-year contract, the Spaniard has not always looked convincing in goal.

This has fueled rumors that Chelsea is still looking for a new face, and Ramsdale’s situation at Arsenal has put them on high alert.

Chelsea are willing to bide their time in the hunt to sign the England international, according to talkSPORT’s Alex Crook.

Despite the high-profile recruitment of David Raya from Brentford, Ramsdale remained considered as the number one at the Emirates Stadium until September.

However, after returning from the international break, the 25-year-old has only made two appearances in the EFL Cup, with the Gunners having now exited the competition.

As things stand, Mikel Arteta hasn’t said when Ramsdale will be called up again, although the former Bournemouth and Sheffield United man is unlikely to leave North London very soon.

However, with a contract until the end of 2026, Chelsea are thought to be prepared to keep a close eye on Ramsdale, whom they appear to envisage as a future first-round pick ahead of Sanchez.

Although it has been reported that Chelsea are willing to offer around £50 million for Ramsdale, it is uncertain whether Arsenal would consider any proposals until the player indicated a desire to depart next summer.

Thiago Silva Addresses Chelsea Future

17 October 2023 by Cric Habit

Thiago Silva has stated that he has no plans to reveal his emotions about his future at Chelsea.

The defender arrived at Stamford Bridge in 2020 with the aim of playing one or two seasons before returning to his birthplace.

Despite his age, the Brazil international remains one of the first names on the squad sheet, having played 125 times for the Blues in all competitions.

During his first season with the club, he won the Champions League, but the change in ownership has destabilized Chelsea and left them as a mid-table side, at least for the time being.

Nonetheless, Silva has played every minute of Chelsea’s Premier League matches under new head coach Mauricio Pochettino in 2023-24.

Despite the addition of new players, the integration of Levi Colwill, and Pochettino’s preference for a back four over a back three.

Silva’s previous contract was signed in February, when Graham Potter was still in charge, and it is unknown whether he would be given new terms.

In an interview with Esporte Espetacular, Silva tried to avoid discussing his future plans or whether he expected to be offered a new contract.

“Isn’t this a long-standing relationship?” he asked. But I’d rather not say anything right now because it’s been problematic in the past.

“I now have a family, I have children.” So we must consider this as well. However, it is about determining where things might bring us enjoyment in order to complete this beautiful and victorious career that I believe I have had.”

Silva was thought to have planned to conclude his career at Brazilian club Fluminense, whom he played in the youth ranks and represented between 2007 and 2009.

Fluminense are now eighth in the Brazilian top flight and are vying for Copa Libertadores football next season.

If he does not sign a new contract with Chelsea by the end of the year, Silva will be able to hold talks with international clubs.

Top Clubs Eye AC Milan’s Mike Maignan: Chelsea and Paris Saint-Germain show Persistent Interest

3 October 2023 by Cric Habit

Chelsea and Paris Saint-Germain are reportedly interested in AC Milan goalkeeper Mike Maignan.

Having spent the majority of his professional career at Lille, the 28-year-old has not always been recognized as one of Europe’s most prominent goalkeepers.

Milan, on the other hand, have won a Serie A title and reached the Champions League semi-finals since moving to San Siro in 2021, accumulating a total of 74 appearances in all competitions.

Furthermore, as a result of Hugo Lloris’ departure from international duty, Maignan is now regarded as France’s first-choice pick.

The Italian giants are in a strong position to retain Maignan’s services in the long future, since he has a contract with them until 2026.

Nonetheless, according to Calciomercato, Chelsea and PSG are keeping an eye on any developments regarding the stopper’s future in the coming months.

According to the source, Milan officials are planning to meet with Maignan representatives in the hopes of successfully negotiating a renewal and pay raise.

Milan are claimed to be willing to boost Maignan’s salary from €2.8m (£2.43m) to €5.6m (£4.86m), but the number one is said to demand at least €6m (£5.2m).

Although it is claimed that Maignan wishes to remain at I Rossoneri, Chelsea and PSG appear to believe that the door is open for a future transfer.

Gianluigi Donnarumma, a former Milan goalkeeper, is already the uncontested first choice at PSG and is unlikely to change until he moves elsewhere.

According to Maignan, he progressed through the Parc des Princes academy system without making a senior appearance before joining Lille.

Chelsea’s goalkeepers are presently Robert Sanchez and Djordje Petrovic, with highly rated teenager Gabriel Slonina on loan.

For Chelsea to be interested in signing Maignan, at least one of those three players would have to leave Stamford Bridge for at least the next two seasons (2024-25).