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Showing posts with the label Premier League

Chelsea line up to face Manchester United

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Chelsea make three changes from the midweek game in Romania against Atletico Madrid  There are returns for Ben Chilwell, Hakim Ziyech and N'Golo Kante to Thomas Tuchel's side as Chelsea welcome Manchester United to Stamford Bridge for this afternoons game. The trio to miss out are Marcos Alonso, Jorginho and Timo Werner who all drop to the bench. This means the Olivier Giroud will lead the line up front following his brilliant performance in Romania on Tuesday, with the attacking support being provided by both Mason Mount and Hakim Ziyech. The goalkeeper and the back three remain unchanged with Edouard Mendy protected at the back by Cesar Azpiliqueta, Andreas Christensen and Antonio Rudiger. The wing-backs will be Ben Chilwell and Callum-Hudson-Odoi, with Matteo Kovacic partnered by Kante in the centre of midfield. When asked about his decision to select Ziyech over Werner, Tuchel said: 'For me Hakim is a different type of player. He deserves to start. His impact in the gam

Ahead of Manchester United Tuchel Reports Defender missing but reports no further injuries

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The great news for Thomas Tuchel is that his squad returned from Bucharest in good health, with all those having made the trip to Romania available to face Manchester United today. However, Tuchel confirmed in his pre-match media conference that Thiago Silva will not be in contention to face Manchester United as he continues to recover from a muscle injury which he sustained at Tottenham last month.   Tuchel reported ' He carried out an individual training session today, on the pitch, and felt this was huge progress.' 'This is a big step for him, so I am hoping that he will join us next week.' Tuchel has already faced Manchester United twice this season with PSG in the champions league group stage  'It is very helpful if you understand the style, strength and weakness. We have had a pretty good impression of the style they play and the spaces in which they want to hurt us, alongside their strengths individually as a group. This will help us to prepare.' 'The

Reaction from Tuchel on what Chelsea need to do in order to score more plus explains why Hudson-Odoi was taken off

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Thomas Tuchel saw a run of five wins in a row come to an end as Chelsea drew 1-1 in today's lunchtime kick-off against Southampton, however the subject of much of Thomas Tuchel's analysis after the game was the sharpness required to score goals to win a game whilst keeping it tight defensively. Thomas Tuchel on the touchline during Chelsea's 1-1 draw at Southampton Tuchel saw his side go behind for the first time in the seven games that he has been in charge as head coach when Southampton scored on the counter attack in the first half. A penalty in the second half from Mason Mount secured a point for Chelsea. Despite Chelsea conceding their first goal scored by an opposition player under Tuchel, the German was very content with the way that his team played at St Mary's apart from Chelsea's work in and around the penalty area. Tuchel regretfully said 'we created opportunities which in the end were not opportunities'.  'We opened up a lot of space for our

The Match Report- Southampton 1-1 Chelsea

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Another goal for Mason Mount on the South Coast however, it was not enough to claim all three points as Thomas Tuchel's side had to settle for a share of the points at St Mary's  Mason Mount celebrates equalising from the penalty spot for Chelsea against Southampton Despite controlling the majority of the game, Chelsea fell behind in the first half as Takumi Minamino managed to escape through the Blue's defence to give the hosts Southampton a lead which lasted for 20 minutes.  Mount remained lively throughout the game, taking inspiration from playing for local rivals Portsmouth, and won Chelsea a penalty from which he scored the equalising goal. The man at fault for Chelsea's penalty was Danny Ings who went to ground whereas a more sensible defender would have stayed on his feet, with their being little reason to argue against the decision. Danny Ings brings down Mason Mount to give Chelsea a penalty  With plenty of time in the game remaining, both teams had opportuniti

Chelsea team to face Southampton

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Chelsea make four changes for today's lunchtime kick off away at Southampton  Goalkeeper Edouard Mendy makes a welcome return to goal and there is also a first start under head coach Thomas Tuchel for Kurt Zouma in defence, whilst there are also returns for N'Golo Kante and Reece James. Kepa Arrizabalaga, Andreas Christensen, Jorginho and Callum Hudson-Odoi all drop to the bench. Chelsea are expected today to line up in a 3-4-2-1 formation which has been predominantly adopted during his tenure up to date, Tammy Abraham has recovered from his leg injury which forced him off in Chelsea's win over Newcastle at the beginning of the week to lead the attack. Abraham will be supported in attack by Mason Mount and Timo Werner. Zouma will partner with Antonio Rudiger and Cesar Azpiliqueta in central defence, with Marcos Alonso and Reece James deployed as wing-backs. Kante replaces Jorginho as Matteo Kovacic's partner in midfield. For more articles on news relating to Chelsea Foo

Tuchel states that defender is out but provides update on attacking duo and reports on issues for Pulisic

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There appeared to be some mixed news relating to injuries ahead of our trip to Southampton on Saturday lunchtime, with Thiago set to be ruled out of the game at St Mary's and Christian Pulisic unlikely to travel, even though others who were a doubt were expected to be available. In his pre-press match conference Thomas Tuchel reported from Cobham  through a video link, speaking before the final training session before Chelsea headed to Southampton this afternoon.  Whilst this meant that Tuchel could not be a 100 percent certain about the condition of all of his players ahead of Saturday's game, he was able to reveal that Thiago Silva would not be involved at St Mary's. Tuchel stated 'Thiago will be out of the game as he is not already.' Thiago Silva will not feature in Saturday's game against Southampton despite training with the team yesterday Thiago Silva has not featured since coming off early in Chelsea win over Tottenham at the beginning of the month. Meanw

Match preview + Team news - Southampton vs Chelsea

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The first of back to back away games for Chelsea against opponents playing in red and white stripes takes us to England's south coast and a meeting with Southampton. Chelsea will dock at port Southampton, this Saturday lunchtime. A victory for Chelsea against the Saints would place the Blues only one point behind Leicester City who travel to Aston Villa on Sunday. With the return of the champions league on Tuesday, Thomas Tuchel will be extremely eager to to continue building the promising start to his managerial tenure at Stamford Bridge. So far the German has gained 13 points from his first five games in the premier league, a tally only bettered at Chelsea by Carlo Ancelotti and Maurizio Sarri both of whom managed to achieve 15 points from their first five games. Tomorrow's opponents Southampton have lost their last six games in the premier league this is in start contrast with Chelsea's run of 5 consecutive victories in the league at St Mary's this being the best seq

Chelsea vs Newcastle - The Debrief

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Chelsea's recent record against Newcastle United continued following Monday night's 2-0 victory at Stamford Bridge as we look at those players who made significant contributions in defence, midfield and in attack. Olivier Giroud celebrated scoring Chelsea's opener  Kovacic the controller Chelsea's Croatian midfield maestro Matteo Kovacic delivered another excellent performance and kept up his good run of form. The Croatian help to set the tone for Chelsea's display with an assured performance whilst in possession and showing willingness to carry the ball further up the field and pick spaces in the Newcastle defence.  Kovacic recorded the highest figures in the game for possession (10%). touches (107), pass completion rate (96%), passes (86), most successful passes in the final third (21/24) and dribbles (8). Matteo Kovacic's impressive numbers in Chelsea's victory  In fact the Croat accounted for eight out of Chelsea's successful nine dribbles. Only Maso

Timo Werner delighted with both his and Chelsea's form

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Timo Werner has found himself recently involved in lots of Chelsea's goals without actually scoring himself, so his name was the most deserved on the scoresheet in Monday's win at home to Newcastle  The German was fouled for both penalties which he won at Tottenham and at Sheffield United, as well as setting up Mason Mount in the game at Bramall Lane and then delivered the cross for Olivier Giroud to gobble up to put Chelsea 1-0 up against Newcastle on Monday.  Shortly after that, a corner fell at the feet of Werner from a few yards out and the German forced the ball over the line for his fifth goal in the premier league this season. This accompanies the five assists and four penalties which he has won. Afterwards Werner said 'I am happy that I was finally able to score a goal.' 'As a striker you always want to score goals. Last month I was not happy about not scoring, bit it's a team sport at the end of the day. When we win it is a very good feeling. When I am

Werner ends his goal drought Chelsea 2-0 Newcastle the match report

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Chelsea defeated Newcastle United 2-0 in Monday night's premier league fixture at Stamford Bridge to move into the top four thanks to goals from Olivier Giroud and Timo Werner finally getting on the scoresheet Chelsea did the damage to Newcastle United in a brilliant first half performance as the Magpies had no answer to Chelsea's width, allowing the Blues to create several chances. Chelsea took the lead after half and hour through a burst down the left hand side by Timo Werner. Newcastle goalkeeper Karl Darlow could only palm Werner's low cross to Olivier Giroud, who came on to replace the injured Tammy Abraham was on hand to emphatically put the loose ball into the back of the net. Having provided the assist for Giroud's goal Werner himself then scored Chelsea's second before half-time, sweeping in after a corner had ricocheted around the penalty area despite Darlow clawing the ball away even after it had already crossed the line. Newcastle showed vast signs of im

Chelsea line-up to face Newcastle United

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Chelsea head coach Thomas Tuchel makes four changes from Chelsea's previous premier league fixture, with a goalkeeper and striker retaining their places after impressing in the FA Cup The one eye-catching change to the Chelsea squad is the inclusion of goalkeeper Kepa Arrizabalaga who starts in this game ahead to Edouard Mendy after keeping a clean sheet in his first appearance under Thomas Tuchel following Chelsea's 1-0 victory against Barnsley on Thursday. Tammy Abraham the man who scored the decisive goal in Thursday's FA Cup win retains his place for today's game, leading the Chelsea attack with support from both Mason Mount and Timo Werner with Olivier Giroud dropping to the bench. The other changes to Chelsea's starting line-up come in the wing-back position with returns for both Marcos Alonso and Callum Hudson-Odoi to the starting 11 with Reece James and Ben Chilwell making way.  The partnership in central midfield of Jorginho and Matteo Kovacic continues, af

Youth is the backbone of any club says Tuchel

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Chelsea head coach Thomas Tuchel has great admiration for the young players to make a successful career for themselves at a top team and says the passion for the club itself is vital to making it at Chelsea. Tuchel says that the youth form the backbone of any football club. Since selecting experience over youth in is head game as Chelsea head coach, Thomas Tuchel has picked up where Frank Lampard has left off when it comes to putting his faith in Chelsea's homegrown young players and providing them with an opportunity to excel.  This was very much evident again in the Blues last match, where six academy graduates from Cobham featured in the FA Cup fifth round victory over Barnsley, a fact which was underlined when three of those graduates Tammy Abraham, Billy Gilmour and Reece James combined with each other for Abrahams decisive goal in the game.  In Tuchel's own opinion, the players who are coming through Cobham are the lifeblood of the club and something which he has always t

Pre-brief & Chelsea team news for Newcastle

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With Newcastle United paying a visit to Stamford Bridge in this round of fixtures in the premier league we look ahead to Chelsea's quest to keep their current good run of results going.  The final action to conclude the weekends premier league games comes on Monday night as Chelsea face Newcastle United at Stamford Bridge. This is the 150th league meeting between the two sides since the first league meeting in 1907. Chelsea have taken all three points from Newcastle's 18 premier league visits, more than Chelsea have done against any other visiting team apart from Tottenham. Chelsea's hard fought in at Sheffield United on Sunday lifted Chelsea to fifth in the premier league, only a point behind fourth placed Liverpool. Thomas Tuchel stated 'We are now the hunters', on Saturday Leicester hosted Liverpool and Manchester City played Tottenham who are currently in eighth in the evening with the chase very much on. The game provides an opportunity for Chelsea to secure a

Tuchel on finding the correct balance

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Thomas Tuchel in the dugout during Chelsea's 1-0 victory away to Barnsley in the FA Cup Thomas Tuchel states that the key in helping this Chelsea team will be for him to introduce new ideas without the players being overworked or overloaded throughout a hectic season. In a spell which is typical of the current campaign, Chelsea booked their place in the quarter finals of the FA Cup with a victory over Barnsley on Thursday night and return to action in the premier league at home to Newcastle United, which leaves just three days between matches to recuperate and recover. Though the lack of training time will be frustrating for Tuchel whilst trying to get to know his players midway through the season, the German feels that a higher number of games provides an opportunity to see what they are able to do on the pitch, even if he has to be careful with how much work he will have to do with them at Cobham. Tuchel went onto state 'Every manager in the world aspires to have four weeks w