Tag: Chelsea

Chelsea took advantage of VAR controversy to beat Fulham 2-0 as the visitors were left to rue a series of costly decisions awarded against them at Stamford Bridge on Saturday.

Enzo Maresca’s side were fortunate not to fall behind in the west London derby when Fulham were harshly denied a first half opener.

Josh King’s strike was ruled out after VAR deemed Rodrigo Muniz’s accidental collision with Trevoh Chalobah was worthy of a foul.

As if that wasn’t infuriating enough for Fulham boss Marco Silva, Joao Pedro put Chelsea ahead beyond the scheduled eight minutes of stoppage-time at the end of the first half.

Adding to Silva’s anger, Chelsea’s second goal was also VAR-influenced as Ryan Sessegnon was adjudged to have handled a cross, leading to Enzo Fernandez converting from the penalty spot.

After drawing with Crystal Palace and routing West Ham 5-1, Chelsea’s third successive Premier League clash with a London rival extended their unbeaten start to three games.

Alejandro Garnacho watched from the stands at Stamford Bridge after the Argentine winger travelled to Chelsea’s training ground on Friday to finalise his move from Manchester United.

Garnacho’s impending arrival comes with Chelsea striker Nicolas Jackson set for a loan switch to Bayern Munich, while Christopher Nkunku signed for AC Milan on Saturday.

Liam Delap, leading Chelsea’s overhauled attack, lasted less than 15 minutes before he was forced off after appearing to pull his hamstring while chasing a long pass.

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The striker’s exit was another blow for Maresca after Blues forward Cole Palmer was sidelined by a groin injury that will keep him out of England’s forthcoming World Cup qualifiers.

King thought he had broken the deadlock with his first professional goal in the 21st minute.

The 18-year-old forward had accelerated away from the Chelsea defence and slotted low past Robert Sanchez in composed fashion.

But, in the process of spinning away from Chalobah’s tackle on the halfway line to launch the attack, Muniz made contact with the Chelsea defender’s foot.

Chalobah crumpled to the turf but play initially continued, allowing King to score.

Told to consult the pitchside monitor to review the incident, referee Rob Jones disallowed the goal for a “careless challenge”.

Silva exploded at that explanation, berating the fourth official in a furious rant on the touchline.

Teenager Tyrique George, on for the injured Delap, almost made the breakthrough on the stroke of half-time with a close-range effort that Bernd Leno saved at his near post.

From the resulting corner, Chelsea took the lead in the ninth minute of what should have been eight minutes of stoppage-time.

Fernandez curled the set-piece towards Pedro and the Brazilian rose unchallenged to head home from close-range for his second goal this season.

Silva was seething again, this time over the costly additional seconds added on.

He tried in vain to confront Jones when the half-time whistle blew as Fulham’s fans chanted “1-0 to the referee”.

There was more VAR angst for Silva and Fulham in the 56th minute.

Sessegnon’s arm was away from his body when he blocked Chalobah’s cross in the area.

However, the penalty was only awarded after VAR ruled Pedro’s challenge on Joachim Anderson and a potential handball by the Brazilian in the build-up were not fouls.

Fernandez ignored the fuss to stroke home the spot-kick, leaving Silva fuming once more.

READ: France forward Nkunku signs for AC Milan from Chelsea

Christopher Nkunku signed for AC Milan from Chelsea on Saturday, the Serie A giants announced on Saturday, as the France attacker attempts to revive his career ahead of next summer’s World Cup.

“AC Milan is delighted to announce the permanent signing of Christopher Nkunku from Chelsea FC. The French forward has signed a contract with the Club until 30 June 2030,” said Milan in a statement.

Italian media report that Milan agreed a fee of 37 million euros ($43.3 million), which could rise to 42 million euros for the forward, who failed to establish himself at Chelsea after moving to the World Club Cup champions in 2023.

Nkunku scored 18 times in 62 matches in all competitions for Chelsea, who brought in the 27-year-old after he impressed at German Bundesliga outfit RB Leipzig.

He struggled with injuries during his first season in England and found himself behind Nicolas Jackson in the pecking order, being picked by coach Enzo Maresca largely for cup competitions.

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Christopher Nkunku moves to AC Milan with the World Cup looming on the horizon and is unsure of a place in the France squad for the finals being held in the United States, Canada, and Mexico.

He was not selected by long-time coach Didier Deschamps for the Nations League quarter-final against Croatia, nor for the final four of the competition.

His one goal in 14 caps for Les Bleus came against Israel in the Nations League in October last year.

Milan, coached by Massimiliano Allegri, have no European football this season after a disastrous eighth-place finish last term, and have three points from their opening two fixtures of the campaign after beating Lecce 2-0 on Friday.

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Borussia Dortmund summer Premier League recruitment drive continued on Tuesday with the signing of midfielder Carney Chukwuemeka from Chelsea until 2030.

England under-21 representative Chukwuemeka, 21, joins for a reported fee of 25 million euros ($29 million).

He spent the second half of last season at Dortmund on loan, staying on as the club made the quarter-finals at the Club World Cup.

Chukwuemeka played 17 times for Dortmund in all competitions, scoring once, and impressed despite struggling with injury.

In a statement, Chukwuemeka said he was “happy Borussia Dortmund is now my footballing home. I will give everything to make sure we achieve our goals as a team”.

Born in Austria, Chukwuemeka moved to England at a young age and came through Aston Villa’s youth academy before signing with Chelsea in 2022.

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Dortmund sporting director Lars Ricken said the club was “delighted” to sign Chukwuemeka, who “further increases the quality and creativity of our attacking midfield”.

Dortmund also signed Jobe Bellingham from Sunderland and Yan Couto from Manchester City this summer.

Jobe’s brother Jude joined Dortmund from boyhood club Birmingham City in 2020, aged 17, moving to Real Madrid three years later for a fee estimated at 100 million euros ($117 million).

German tabloid Bild reported on Tuesday that two further Premier League signings could arrive before deadline day on Monday — Chelsea defender Aaron Anselmino and Wolves striker Fabio Silva.

Manchester United winger Jadon Sancho, who has had two previous stints at Dortmund and just ended a loan spell at Chelsea, has also been linked with a return to the Westfalenstadion.

On Tuesday morning, Borussia Dortmund extended coach Niko Kovac’s contract by one year until 2027.

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Chelsea suffered a Club World Cup hangover as they were lucky to escape with a 0-0 draw against Crystal Palace to open their Premier League campaign on Sunday.

Palace were denied an early opener when Eberechi Eze’s free-kick was ruled out by a VAR review for Marc Guehi obstructing the Chelsea wall.

New Chelsea signing Estevao came closest to snatching a winner for the home side, but the newly-crowned world champions were blunt in attack against a well-organised Palace defence.

The Eagles key duo of Guehi and Eze started despite mounting speculation the England internationals are set to join Liverpool and Tottenham, respectively.

“As long as they are 100 percent committed, they will play as they are so good,” said Palace boss Oliver Glasner.

“They didn’t just show they are great footballers, but they are great persons and that’s what I expected.”

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Eze thought he had opened the scoring with a blistering free-kick that had too much power for Robert Sanchez.

The goal was disallowed for Guehi’s role in creating a gap by man-handling Moises Caicedo into the Chelsea wall.

Chelsea’s demolition of European champions Paris Saint-Germain in the Club World Cup final last month had raised the Blues’ hopes they can challenge for a first Premier League title since 2017.

But Enzo Maresca bemoaned his side’s lack of preparation time since beating PSG in New York just 35 days ago.

“They played about eight (pre-season) games, we played just two so we tried our best,” said the Italian.

“We expected a tough game. Apart from the first half free-kick, we didn’t concede any chances.”

Estevao scored against Chelsea at the Club World Cup in his final game for Palmeiras.

The Brazilian has been hyped as one of the world’s brightest young talents but lacked the composure to finish when he sliced high and wide from the middle of the box.

Nottingham Forest made light of manager Nuno Espirito Santo’s pre-season fears over a lack of signings with a dominant 3-1 win over a much-changed Brentford.

Chris Wood struck twice either side of Dan Ndyoe’s debut goal for Forest on a nightmare afternoon for new Brentford boss Keith Andrews.

“It was a very good first half. The combinations were really good, beautiful goals,” said Nuno.

“This is why we are insisting on a good balanced squad that gives us options and solutions.”

The Bees have lost their manager, captain and top scorer in the off-season.

Thomas Frank left to take charge of Tottenham, Bryan Mbeumo got his dream move to Manchester United and Arsenal secured Christian Norgaard.

Yoane Wissa was also missing from the Brentford squad ahead of an expected move to Newcastle.

Igor Thiago’s first goal for the club from the penalty spot late on was the only consolation for the visitors.

“I do have genuine belief but we have to take responsibility for a first half that wasn’t good enough,” said Andrews.

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Enzo Maresca is keen for Chelsea to sign a centre-back to cover the absence of the injured Levi Colwill, who is set to be out of the new season.

England international Colwill is set to miss most of the new season after suffering an anterior cruciate ligament injury in training.

Tosin Adarabioyo and Trevoh Chalobah are poised to start in central defence at home to London rivals Crystal Palace in the Blues’ Premier League opener on Sunday.

Chelsea manager Maresca, however, has doubts over whether he can replace the 22-year-old Colwill, a key figure at Stamford Bridge, from within his current squad and has been linked with a move for Antonio Silva of Benfica.

“You know how important Levi has been for us last season, for the way we want to play,” Enzo Maresca told reporters on Friday.

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“We said many times that we are able to create chances and to attack in the right way if we are able to build in the right way. Levi was a huge part of our build-up and now he’s out.

“We are trying to find a solution internally, but the club know exactly what I think and we’ll see what happens.”

The Italian boss added: “I think we need a central defender. We are looking for an internal solution but as I said, the club know exactly what I think.

“We have a fantastic squad. We are happy with the squad. we are, no doubt. But we said many times that when the transfer window is open, anything can happen.”

Liverpool manager Arne Slot has tipped Chelsea as title contenders, having also said he expected the west Londoners to beat his side to the Premier League trophy last season.

Chelsea finished fourth last term, 15 points behind champions Liverpool, and Maresca was adamant he had no interest in any so-called ‘mind games’ from rival managers.

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Chelsea signed teenage Netherlands defender Jorrel Hato from Ajax in a deal worth a reported £37 million ($49 million) on Sunday.

Hato, who has been capped six times, agreed a seven-year contract with the Premier League club.

The 19-year-old is Chelsea’s eighth signing since the end of last season as boss Enzo Maresca strengthens his squad to cope with the dual demands of the Premier League and Champions League this term.

“I’m very excited, I’m so happy to be here,” said Hato, who can operate in central defence or at left-back.

“I thought a lot about my future and wanted to take the next step in my career. Chelsea is the best place for me to do that, so I’m very happy.”

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Hato joined Ajax’s academy from hometown club Sparta Rotterdam in 2018 and signed his first professional contract aged 16, four years later.

He scored four goals in 111 appearances for the Eredivisie giants, with his international debut coming as a substitute against Gibraltar in 2023.

Club World Cup champions Chelsea begin their Premier League campaign at home to Crystal Palace on August 17.

The Blues had signed Jamie Gittens, Liam Delap, Joao Pedro, Mamadou Sarr, Dario Essugo, Estevao Willian, and Kendry Paez prior to landing Hato.

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EAST RUTHERFORD: Chelsea outplayed UEFA Champions League winners Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) 3-0 to clinch the FIFA Club World Cup trophy here at the MetLife Stadium, New Jersey, on Sunday.

This was the first edition of the 32-team Club World Cup, with the next tournament scheduled to take place in 2029. The Chelsea vs PSG final saw a nearly full house with 81,118 fans in attendance, including President Donald Trump.

The European champions, PSG, made their way to the United States after their triumphant campaign, with a stunning 5-0 demolition of Inter Milan in late May. However, the favorites failed to live up to the expectation as Chelsea dominated throughout the final.

The ‘Player of the Match’ in the Chelsea vs PSG final, Cole Palmer, scored two goals and set up another as the English club won the first edition of the expanded Club World Cup by beating European champions Paris Saint-Germain 3-0 in Sunday’s final at the 82,500 capacity MetLife Stadium.

Palmer netted twice in the opening half-hour and Joao Pedro added the third before the break, with a roundly beaten PSG having Joao Neves sent off late on.

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Cole Palmer opened the scoring midway through the first half and struck again to make it two on the half-hour mark, before taking advantage of passive defending to set up Joao Pedro for the third on 43 minutes.

A bad day for PSG was summed up when Joao Neves was shown red following a VAR review four minutes from the end for pulling Marc Cucurella by the hair off the ball.

It was a scoreline that few could have predicted, as Chelsea capped what has been a long but memorable season by becoming the first-ever winners of the Club World Cup, having also won the UEFA Conference League and finished fourth in the Premier League.

They will also take away around $125 million in prize money, meaning the prospect of a drastically curtailed summer break before returning for next season will surely feel worth it.

For PSG, the financial benefits are similar, but there is a real sense of disappointment in not being able to add this title to their Champions League victory and their double win in the French league and cup.

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New signing Joao Pedro scored twice on his first start as Chelsea eased to a 2-0 win over Fluminense on Tuesday to seal a spot in the final of the Club World Cup.

The Brazilian striker opened the scoring in lethal fashion in the 18th minute of the last-four clash at the MetLife Stadium and struck again shortly before the hour mark as Chelsea set up a showdown with either Real Madrid or Paris Saint-Germain in Sunday’s final.

Signed from Brighton and Hove Albion last week for a reported £60 million ($79 million), the 23-year-old cut short a holiday and made his debut off the bench in the quarter-final win over Palmeiras.

He was then given his first Chelsea start up front here in place of the suspended Liam Delap.

Joao Pedro refused to celebrate after either goal against the club with whom he started his career and made 36 top-team appearances before moving to England with Watford in 2020.

The result ends Fluminense’s impressive run at the tournament after the 2023 Copa Libertadores winners held Borussia Dortmund in the group stage, beat Inter Milan in the last 16, and knocked out Manchester City’s conquerors Al-Hilal in the quarter-finals.

With their exit, the chances of a South American winner in the first 32-team Club World Cup diminish, as Chelsea secured back-to-back victories against Brazilian teams to reach the final.

As always seemed most likely, the trophy will be claimed by one of Europe’s superpowers, with the final now guaranteed to be between two of the last five winners of the UEFA Champions League.

“It is a great achievement. It has been a fantastic season, top four in the league, winning the Conference League, and now in the final of this competition. We are so, so happy,” Chelsea coach Enzo Maresca told broadcaster DAZN.

“Now finally it is the last game of the season, we can say that, and hopefully we can win the tournament.”

Fluminense coach Renato Portaluppi had described his team as the “ugly duckling” of the tournament due to the enormous difference between their budget and those of the other three remaining sides.

This game ultimately proved to be a step too far for their team, captained by 40-year-old former Chelsea center-back Thiago Silva.

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“This was a wonderful Club World Cup,” said Portaluppi.

“There is no crying over spilled milk now. We wanted to get to the final for our fans, but we leave with our heads held high and go back to our reality stronger now than we were before.”

Chelsea were without the suspended Levi Colwill and Delap, but Moises Caicedo returned after a ban.

The Premier League side were simply too strong for their opponents in a game watched by 70,556 fans on a hot afternoon just outside New York City.

They went ahead thanks to a wonderful strike by their new forward, who controlled the ball on the edge of the box after Silva had cleared a Pedro Neto cross.

Joao Pedro took a touch and curled a shot beyond veteran goalkeeper Fabio into the far corner before holding up his hands apologetically towards the Fluminense fans behind the goal.

The team from Rio de Janeiro was an intermittent threat, and Hercules — match-winner against Al-Hilal in the last eight — almost equalized in the 25th minute.

He played a one-two with German Cano and lifted the ball over goalkeeper Robert Sanchez, but Marc Cucurella cleared off the line.

Fluminense were then awarded a penalty 10 minutes before the interval when a set-piece delivery by Rene struck the arm of Trevoh Chalobah in the box.

However, French referee Francois Letexier overturned the decision following a VAR check.

“Had we been awarded the penalty, we would have scored, and it would have been a different story,” said Portaluppi.

Chelsea got their second on 56 minutes, just after Fluminense had sacrificed one of their three center-backs to send on an extra attacker.

Enzo Fernandez released Joao Pedro on the break, and the forward produced another clinical finish in off the bar.

There were chances for Chelsea to score further goals after that, but the new boy’s double strike sufficed, with the only potential black mark on the day, the knock which forced Caicedo to limp off before full-time.

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Flamengo produced a brilliant second-half fightback to beat 10-man Chelsea 3-1 at the Club World Cup on Friday and close in on qualification for the knockout phase.

Pedro Neto had given Chelsea the lead in the first half but Flamengo, roared on by their frenzied supporters who made up the majority of the 54,019 crowd, did not deserve to be behind and produced a stunning fightback after the interval.

Bruno Henrique came off the bench in the 56th minute and equalised for the Brazilian giants just after the hour mark before setting up Danilo to make it 2-1.

Chelsea were stunned, and their hopes of pulling level again were effectively destroyed when substitute Nicolas Jackson was sent off in the 68th minute.

Wallace Yan, also on as a substitute, then sealed the victory for the Rio de Janeiro club, the Brazilian league leaders, when he made it 3-1 late on.

Flamengo have two wins from two at the Club World Cup, and their qualification for the last 16 from Group D was assured later when Esperance of Tunisia beat Los Angeles FC 1-0.

Chelsea were unable to repeat the victory obtained in their opening game against LAFC, but will be hopeful of securing a place in the knockout phase in their final group outing against Esperance.

The result follows Botafogo’s stunning success against European champions Paris Saint-Germain on Thursday, stretching the unbeaten start for South American clubs at the competition to nine matches.

Maresca made four changes to his line-up following the win over LAFC in Atlanta, with new signing Liam Delap coming in for his first start up front.

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Delap had an early effort tipped over, but it was Neto who gave Chelsea the lead in the 13th minute as he pounced on a slip by Wesley to run through and score a second goal in as many games at FIFA’s new competition.

Flamengo applied plenty of pressure in the first half without really looking like scoring, but it was a different story after the break.

They nearly drew level on 54 minutes when Gerson pounced on a mistake by Reece James and tried to pick his spot in the corner. His connection was poor, and the arriving Gonzalo Plata could not turn the ball in at the back post.

The 34-year-old Bruno Henrique, capped twice by Brazil earlier in his career, then came on as the pendulum swung further towards Flamengo.

Chelsea goalkeeper Robert Sanchez tipped over a shot by Plata just before the equaliser came on 62 minutes.

A Gerson cross was headed back across the goal by Plata, and Bruno Henrique was there to turn it in, sparking wild celebrations among the Brazilian fans clad in red and black at Lincoln Financial Field.

Three minutes later, Flamengo were ahead as a corner was headed down by Bruno Henrique, and former Real Madrid, Manchester City and Juventus defender Danilo converted.

Jackson then saw red for raking his studs into the shin of Ayrton Lucas, leaving Chelsea to finish the game a man short.

Enzo Fernandez was not far away from equalising, but then Flamengo wrapped up the win seven minutes from time as a Plata shot struck Wallace Yan and the ball fell kindly for the substitute to fire in.

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Chelsea kicked off their Club World Cup campaign with a solid 2-0 victory over Los Angeles FC on Monday in Group D, although there were nearly 50,000 empty seats in the stadium in Atlanta.

Pedro Neto and Enzo Fernandez’s goals got the Blues off to a good start in a competitive clash against one of the three qualified MLS teams.

New signing Liam Delap made his debut as a substitute and helped set up Fernandez’s strike, with Chelsea hoping to reestablish themselves among the elite after their UEFA Conference League triumph and Champions League qualification.

Chelsea coach Enzo Maresca said it was a “very good result” and was happy with Delap’s display.

“The good thing about Liam is he knows the way we want to play, so the process is quite quick,” said the Italian.

After a solid start to the tournament regarding attendance numbers over the opening weekend, a sparse crowd of just over 22,000 settled in at the stylish 71,000-capacity Mercedes-Benz Stadium.

“The environment was a bit strange, the stadium was almost empty, not full,” Maresca told reporters.

Behind former Tottenham Hotspur stopper Hugo Lloris’ goal in the first half, a couple of hundred LAFC ‘ultras’ helped provide an atmosphere with a drum beat and constant song.

The closed stadium roof offered refuge from the Georgia humidity and mid-afternoon summer sun, which Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) and Atletico Madrid stars roasted under on Sunday at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena.

However, the attendance suffered badly because of the 3:00 pm local time kick-off.

Despite regular strong crowds for MLS side Atlanta United, the best supported US team, few locals decided to take a Monday off work for the tournament’s first weekday afternoon game, seemingly chosen to suit a British television audience.

After beating Club America in a play-off to qualify for the competition as late as May, LAFC took the place of the banned Mexican side Club Leon, and play none of their three group games at home in California.

The top ring of the stadium was entirely shut, and other levels were only partly filled, despite ticket prices dropping in the days ahead of the game.

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It was the first real blow for organisers of FIFA’s expanded competition, which is also being viewed as a trial run ahead of the 2026 World Cup, hosted by the US, Canada and Mexico.

Chelsea took control from the start, with Lloris saving from Nicolas Jackson and Noni Madueke, while Cole Palmer whistled a strike narrowly over.

With new signing Delap looking on from the bench, Jackson played like a man determined to keep his starting spot.

The striker was instrumental in Neto’s opener, releasing the Portuguese winger with an excellent through ball.

Neto chopped in the box to leave LA defender Ryan Hollingshead stumbling helplessly out of sight and then buried a powerful strike past Lloris, low at the near post.

Former Chelsea striker Olivier Giroud came on at half-time for the Americans, and Steve Cherundolo’s team improved in the second half.

Jackson came close with a header, and LA almost levelled, but Sanchez made a fine save with his outstretched leg to thwart 2023 MLS Golden Boot winner Denis Bouanga after he shook off Neto.

Maresca brought on 22-year-old striker Delap for his Chelsea debut after the hour mark, having begun the game with all of the club’s new faces on the bench.

The forward drove into space and tried to tee up Fernandez with a promising first move in a Chelsea shirt since his arrival from relegated Ipswich Town.

Chelsea star Palmer, who had shown occasional flashes of brilliance, hammered over before Fernandez grabbed Chelsea’s second.

Running into the six-yard box, the Argentine midfielder controlled Delap’s cross from the right and beat Lloris to put the game to bed.

“Regarding crowds, I think it’s kind of different each game you look at so I don’t think we should be talking about this right now,” said LA coach Cherundolo.

“I think we should wait until the end of the tournament…(to make) an opinion about it as a whole, as opposed to one game.”

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