Month: September 2016

Chelsea captain John Terry is a doubt for Friday night’s match against Liverpool at Stamford Bridge after rolling his ankle in the closing moments of Sunday’s game against Swansea City, the club have confirmed.

The 35-year-old was seen departing the Liberty Stadium with the aid of crutches after the game, which was a fiery affair that ended 2-2. In the wake of the match he posted a video to his social media account on Instagram of him undergoing some treatment on his ankle, injured during a challenge with the scorer of Swansea’s second goal Leroy Fer.

It is believed that there is bruising and swelling under the ankle bone, meaning that the centre-back will have to have a scan in order to determine exactly what the problem is. He had a scan in the wake of the match but it was inconclusive. Terry has suffered numerous injuries during his long career and in the past even had injections in order to ensure he made it onto the field of play. The nature of the injury combined with his age means that he’s almost certain to miss the game against the Reds, however.

Chelsea lost 3-1 to Liverpool at Stamford Bridge last season when the club’s former manager José Mourinho was still in charge. It was a result that put the self-proclaimed ‘Special One’ under significant pressure and eventually led to Roman Abramovich, the Chelsea owner, sacking the Portuguese manager for the second time in his career. The Blues beat Liverpool 1-0 in a pre-season game in California, with Gary Cahill scoring a header before Cesc Fabregas was sent off.

If Terry fails to pass a fitness test then it is likely that David Luiz will be brought in to replace him. The Brazilian was sold by Chelsea to Paris Saint-Germain for £50 million back in 2014; it was a world record fee for a defender at the time. He was re-signed to the West London club on Deadline Day of the transfer window in August for £34 million, signing a three-year contract.

Should Luiz start that might well please Liverpool fans. The 29-year-old’s Premier League debut the first time he signed for Chelsea came against the Merseyside club when he replaced José Boswinga from the bench. The Blues went on to lose the match 1-0 and the Jürgen Klopp’s men will be hoping that history repeats itself.

Speaking after the game against Swansea the new Chelsea head coach Antonio Conte said he wasn’t too worried about Terry and that the injury would be assessed as the week goes on. The Italian said, “I don’t know the extent of the injury but tomorrow we will see the situation about his ankle. But he is a warrior. I am not worried”.

Chelsea’s central defender Gary Cahill believes that Swansea City’s second goal at The Liberty Stadium shouldn’t have been allowed to stand as the foul committed on him by Leroy Fer was so obvious ‘you could be sat on the moon and see it’.

Chelsea took the lead after eighteen minutes when Diego Costa scored the opening goal of the match and the Blues controlled the game for the first hour. Swansea, who had lost their previous two matches, were allowed back into the game when Gylfi Sigurdsson was tripped by Thibaut Courtois and then converted his own penalty. Two minutes after that Fer put the Swans in front and it looked like Antonio Conte was about to suffer the first loss as his new club’s head coach.

The former Italy national manager was hoping to become the fourth Chelsea boss to win his opening four Premier League matches, following in the footsteps of Guus Hiddink, Carlo Ancelotti and José Mourinho. It wasn’t to be, but Diego Costa spared the Italian’s blushes when he scored an acrobatic overhead kick with just minutes left of the match. It was the third time that Costa had scored a goal late on in a game he was lucky not have been sent off in.

It was Swansea’s second goal that caused the most controversy, however, with Cahill saying after that match, “It’s a clear foul. Come on, seriously. It was clear as day and seeing it back has made me even more angry”. The Chelsea defender posted a video clip of the incident, where Leroy Fer dispossessed him after a heavy touch, onto his social media alongside the word ‘incredible’.

The defender was so angry he went to see the match referee Andre Marriner after the game. He questioned how none of the officials on the pitch were able to see the foul and claimed that it could make a massive difference to Chelsea’s season in a competitive league. He said, “I said to the referee, ‘there’s three of you that can see that’. There were two fouls on me and between the officials they have said that they couldn’t see it. For me that is incredible. I took the touch away from him, he came through the back of me. It’s all fun and games for the fans – but it’s the players who suffer. That kills me and kills my team. We have dropped two points which is massive in this league”.

Match Of The Day 2 pundit and former Chelsea forward Chris Sutton agreed with Cahill, saying, “Marriner’s decision to allow Swansea’s second goal was an absolute shocker. There is no other way of putting it, because Leroy Fer’s foul on Chelsea defender Gary Cahill before he scored was as blatant as can be. Marriner’s mistake was inexcusable. It is an assault by Fer – there is not one foul, there is two – and it is ridiculous that play was allowed to continue.”.

Meanwhile Chelsea’s new boss and former Juventus manager Antonio Conte believes that referees need to allow Diego Costa to play his game and to protect him a touch more. The second-half of the game was a fiery affair, with the Brazilian-born Spanish striker involved in a long-running spat with Swansea player Jordi Amat. He was booked for a bad foul on Federico Fernandez and was lucky not to be sent off for a dive when pressured by the Swans’ goalkeeper Lukasz Fabianski.

Conte, who is known to be a fiery character himself, defended his striker and suggested that Andre Marriner should have been more aware of the Swansea defence’s attempts to wind his forward up. He said, “Every game the press ask me about the patience of Costa, his behaviour. His behaviour was fantastic. Today he took a lot of kicks. I think the defenders know him and sometimes they try to provoke him. It’s football and it’s normal in this situation. They try to provoke but it’s football, not only in England but in general in the world. The referee must see it and permit Diego Costa to play his football”.

As well as being angry at the nature of Swansea’s second goal, Cahill was also concerned to see his central defensive partner and the club captain John Terry limp off at the end of the match. He was seen leaving The Liberty Stadium on crutches and that will be a worry for Conte, with free-scoring Liverpool arriving at Stamford Bridge for the West London club’s first Friday night fixture of the season at the end of this week. The Italian said, “I don’t know the extent of the injury. Tomorrow we will see the situation about his ankle. He’s a warrior. I’m not worried”.

Chelsea midfielder Nemanja Matic has told Sky Sports that he thinks the club’s new signing N’golo Kante is a better player than former Blues enforcer Claude Makelele.

Kante was signed from defending Premier League champions Leicester City for £32 million this summer, having taken the English top-flight by storm with the Foxes on their way to an unlikely title win last season. He protected the Leicester defence in a position that has informally been named after his fellow countryman and Chelsea old boy: The Makalele Role.

Matic returned for his second spell at Chelsea in 2014 and has been impressed by what he’s seen from Kante so far. He believes that the 25-year-old could be vital to new head coach Antonio Conte’s way of playing, as the Italian attempts to get Chelsea back into the top-four after a disappointing tenth place finish last time out. He said, “He is very important for us, especially in that position. You have to give balance to the team and he knows how he needs to do that job. He is very important for us”.

Matic has played in the defensive midfield role himself in the past and has been impressed by how well Kante seems to have taken to it. He said, “I know how difficult it is to play that position and I’m very happy because N’Golo is doing very well and is going to be a very important player for us, maybe one of the most important players in this season. It is very hard for him and it’s going to be hard, but I’m sure that he is ready”.

Comparisons to Makelele, who played for Chelsea from 2003 until 2008 and made over 200 appearances for the West London club, do a dis-service to Chelsea’s new number 7 according to Matic. He said, “Many people say that he is the new Makelele, but I don’t think so. Makelele was a great player and we all respect him, me especially because I know that position and how it is difficult to play. But I think that N’Golo is better than him. He is doing his defensive job very well and with the ball he has some extra quality”.

It’s high praise indeed from a player who was rumoured to be leaving Chelsea this summer, with the arrival of the former Leicester midfielder heralding his departure according to some. He was linked with a move to Juventus after the Serie A side sold Paul Pogba to Manchester United, but told Sky Sports that a conversation with the former Italy national manager who is now in charge at Stamford Bridge persuaded him to stay on and work to keep his place.

He said, “To be honest I spoke with him. I spoke with the club and we both decided that it was best for the club and for me to stay. I’m very happy because I’m now here with this team and this club”.

Matic’s decision to stay in West London has been justified by the fact that he’s started every league game for the Blues so far this season and they have won all three of their opening matches. He’s now determined to help them get back to the top of the table and to push for another Premier League title. He said, “I will give my best and all my quality to help the team to challenge for the title. As I said, I’m very happy to be here. I want to improve my game and I’m sure Conte is the right coach to do that”.

Antonio Conte has put an end to speculation regarding where in the Chelsea team the club’s new signing David Luiz, returning for his second spell at Stamford Bridge, will play in his new look side.

The Brazilian first joined the West London club from Portuguese side Benfica in 2011 for a fee of around €25 million. He remained at Stamford Bridge until June of 2014 when he was sold to the French side Paris Saint-Germain for £50 million, a fee that remains a record amount for a defender. During his time in the Premier League he became something of a cult figure with the Chelsea faithful, despite his often erratic performances.

He re-signed for the Blues on Transfer Deadline Day for £30 million, having won two Ligue 1 championships and the same number of Coupe de France and Coupe de la Ligue medials during his time in France. Now he is hoping to repeat that trick with his former club and told the official Chelsea website that he’d turn out in any position if it would help the team. He said, “I started playing three at the back with Vitoria in Brazil, but it doesn’t matter where, I want to help and when I am in the team I am there to try to help”.

Though he’s most commonly played in the middle of the back-four, the 29-year-old has been used in any number of positions throughout his career. Antonio Conte, however, is convinced that centre-back is the Brazilian’s defenders best position and he’d be wasted anywhere else. Speaking to Chelsea’s official website he said, “I think David Luiz is a centre-back, he’s played a lot of games in that position”.

Conte was keen to bring some fresh blood into a backline that has been depending on an ageing John Terry for far too long. Some pundits questioned whether Luiz, who is naturally attack-minded for a defender, might be employed as a midfielder at Stamford Bridge. Conte, though, put paid to that idea by saying, “I know sometimes he’s played as a central midfielder but in my mind the idea is to utilise him in the right position which, for me, is centre-back. He’s played with Chelsea previously and he will bring a good personality”.

Luiz wasn’t the only defender brought in by the former Italy national manager, with Marcos Alonso also bolstering the defence ranks at Stamford Bridge. The 25-year-old has previously played in the Premier League for both Sunderland and Bolton Wanderers, meaning that both of Chelsea’s signings at the back know what it means to do battle in the English top-flight.

Chelsea missed out on numerous high-profile targets this summer but Conte is adamant that the players the club have brought in will strengthen the squad moving forward. He said, “We reached our targets, David Luiz and Marcos Alonso are two good signings for us. Now we have to work with them because I think they can improve our squad.”.

Chelsea travel to The Liberty Stadium this Sunday as Premier League action returns after international matches. Conte believes that it is vital to integrate his new signings as soon as possible and that the Blues will need to be concentrated against the Swans if they’re hoping to maintain their 100% start to the season. He said, “We need to put them into our idea of football. Now we must work on our defensive situation and with the defensive line. We need to improve our physical and tactical condition”.

”After the international break it’s always very tough to restart”, continued Conte, “because many players don’t arrive back until the end of the week, but we must quickly find our concentration and be focused because we know we play a tough game against Swansea and we want to prepare in the best way”.

Lucas Piazon, who is currently on loan at Fulham from his parent club Chelsea, has admitted that he’s growing increasingly frustrated with being loan at by the West London side and that he is desperate to find a club that he can call his permanent home.

The Brazilian forward was considered to be one of the world’s hottest properties when Chelsea beat off competition from the likes of Juventus to secure his pre-contract signature back in 2011. He was only eligible to play for the senior team at Chelsea after he could gain a work visa in 2012, but he started playing for the reserves straight away after joining up with the club in the summer transfer window of 2011.

Despite appearing on the bench on a number of occasions and starting several League Cup matches, Piazon has only made one Premier League appearance for the Blues, which came back in 2012. Since then he has spent his Chelsea career on loan at Malaga, Vitesse Arnhem, Eintracht Frankfurt and Reading. In moving to Fulham on a loan until January he has joined an incredible 37 other players that Chelsea have sent out on loan.

The 22-year-old is not impressed by the way his parent club have been using him, however, believing that Chelsea need to re-assess their loan system. He said, “I’m tired of moving abroad. One, two, three loans, maybe that’s enough. It’s time for me to stay somewhere for more than one year. It makes no sense to go on loan all the time. It is not good for any player in my experience – or the experience of the other boys. I don’t see it as a positive thing any more. To be in a different place every year is not good for me at 22”.

The Brazilian revealed how life is hard for a loanee because it’s difficult to force your way into a squad that already knows each other. He said, “It’s difficult to get a place in the team. They have their own players. You do your best, try to get a place in the squad, minutes on the pitch, score and create goals. That’s all you can do”.

Perhaps most revealing of all was Piazon’s admission that he barely spoke to Antonio Conte before sent out on loan. The new Chelsea head coach arrived earlier in the summer having led the Italy national side to the European Championships in France, but Piazon felt he wasn’t given a fair chance to prove himself to the manager who seemed to be all about making the squad train harder.

The Brazilian youngster said, “We haven’t spoken much and we’ve said nothing about football. It’s difficult when there’s a big change. The Italian mentality is to train hard. They arrived and then went to Austria and then to the USA. The players have found the training tough but they’re enjoying it”.

Chelsea’s new signing David Luiz, who is returning to Stamford Bridge for a second spell, has told the club’s official website that he’s happy to play wherever he’s needed in Antonio Conte’s new look side.

The 29-year-old was signed by the Blues in January of 2011 for a fee believed to be in the region of €25 million. In June of 2014 he left the club to join the French side Paris Saint-Germain in a £50 million move, singing a five year contract with the Ligue 1 team. Then, on transfer deadline day last month he returned to West London for a deal believed to be worth £34 million.

Chelsea’s new head coach Antonio Conte had been chasing a new defender all summer, missing out on several top targets. He was hoping to add some youth and versatility to an ageing backline and Luiz will be able to provide that. Although he is usually used as a centre-half he can play in any number of positions around the backline and even as a defensive midfielder.

He told the Chelsea website, “I started playing three at the back with Vitoria in Brazil, but it doesn’t matter where, I want to help and when I am in the team I am there to try to help”. The reference to three at the back was made because that is a formation that Conte has employed in the past, including when he was the manager of his former club Juventus and when he was in charge of the Italy national side. His regular use of it has led some to believe that he’s hoping to make use of it with his Chelsea team, too.

The Brazilian is confident that Conte will get his tactics right, whatever he chooses to do. He said, “The coach is an amazing coach, he understands a lot of tactical things and I know he chooses every match the best line up, so if he needs to play three, four or two, it doesn’t matter, I am there if he wants me to play. In different positions I am available”.

Conte’s desire for fresh blood in the Chelsea defence was also boosted by the arrival of Marcus Alonso from Fiorentina. Cesar Azpilicueta has been filling in on the left side of defence but prefers to play at right-back; something that should now be possible for Conte to accommodate given that Alonso is a specialist left-back.

In an interview with Chelsea TV, the club’s official television channel, the Italian manager declared his confidence that the new signings will make a difference for the West London club in the rest of campaign. He said, “They can improve our squad and now it is right to work with David Luiz and Marcus Alonso to put them in our idea of football”.

However the former Juventus player believes that hard work lies ahead if Chelsea are to become a force in the Premier League once more.It is not just defensive work that his players need to be focussed on, but also on their fitness. Having endured a terrible campaign that saw José Mourinho sacked and the club limp to a tenth-place finish as well as fail to win any silverware, Conte is determined to see hard work become the players’ motto.

Speaking to Chelsea TV about the work ahead he said, “Now we have to work on the defensive situation, on the defensive line. We have to work to improve our physical condition, our tactical condition and to try to continue our good season”.

The Blues have won their opening three fixtures of the Premier League campaign and are due to head to Swansea when hostilities renew after the international break. They then have a tricky home tie against top-four rivals Liverpool before travelling to play the team that took the Premier League crown off them last season, Leicester City. Conte will be hopeful that his new signings can keep the good mood going at Stamford Bridge.

Chelsea’s new midfield dynamo, who was signed from defending Premier League champions Leicester City for a fee believed to be in the region of £30 million in July, has revealed that former Chelsea manager José Mourinho tried to lure him to his new club Manchester United this summer.

Kante, who is currently on international duty with France, was one of the star performers of the Leicester team last season and received interest from a number of different clubs for his signature after the Foxes won the Premier League title. He has revealed how he spoke to Mourinho after the season ended and discovered that the self-proclaimed ‘Special One’ was keen to take him to Old Trafford.

Kante was delighted to be called by the former Real Madrid, Inter Milan and Chelsea manager but was already talking to Chelsea and weighing up whether to move to Stamford Bridge or to remain at the King Power Stadium. He said, “It was amazing to have Mourinho call me, even though I’d been warned before how he would appeal to me. I listened to his arguments about why I should move to United. But at that time I was hesitant between staying at Leicester or leaving for Chelsea”.

The French midfielder said that a conversation with Chelsea’s new head coach Antonio Conte was enough to persuade him that a move to West London would be best for his career. He said, “
My discussions with them were already well underway. But when I spoke, I had a good feeling with Conte”.

So far it appears as though his decision has been justified. Chelsea have won all three of their opening fixtures and are joint-top of the Premier League alongside fellow cash-rich club Manchester City and Mourinho’s new charges at Manchester United. The Frenchman has played ninety minutes in all three of the Blues’ league games so far.