It’s been two-and-a-half years since the infamous miscommunication between Chelsea goalkeeper Kepa Arrizabalaga and manager Maurizio Sarri in the Carabao Cup final vs. Manchester City. Why is Kepa choosing now to apologise to his former boss about refusing to leave the pitch when Sarri was looking to make a sub? ESPN FC’s Kay Murray, Alejandro Moreno, Shaka Hislop and Stewart Robson look back on the stunning incident and its present-day impact.
Chelsea FC 2021 UEFA Champions League Winner
Chelsea won the final 1–0 for their second UEFA Champions League title.
Chelsea claimed their second UEFA Champions League title at the expense of Manchester City, Kai Havertz’s first-half goal settling the all-English final in Porto.
Chelsea lifted their second UEFA Champions League trophy after beating Manchester City 1-0 at the Estadio do Dragao in Porto. Chelsea’s mega signing Kai Havertz came up big on the biggest night of the Blues this season as he was the lone goal scorer in the match.
How they lined up
Man. City: Ederson; Walker, Stones, Dias, Zinchenko; Bernardo Silva (Fernandinho 64), Gündoğan, Foden; Mahrez, De Bruyne (Jesus 60), Sterling (Agüero 77), Foden.
Chelsea: Mendy; James, Azpilicueta, Thiago Silva (Christensen 39), Rüdiger, Chilwell; Kanté, Jorginho; Mount (Kovačić 80), Havertz; Werner (Pulišić 66).
Despite winning three of the last four Premier League titles for City, Spaniard Guardiola failed to deliver the coveted European trophy he last won with Barcelona in 2011.
For Chelsea’s German manager Thomas Tuchel the triumph comes after his Paris St Germain side suffered defeat in last season’s final against Bayern Munich and just four months after he took over from Frank Lampard at the west London club.
In a lot of ways, Chelsea and Manchester City are two sides of the same coin. They are the vanguard of the money that has swept into soccer over the last 20 years, brought by hedge funds and vulture capitalists and oligarchs and nation states. They are, depending on one’s perspective, either the great insurgents or the nouveaux riches.
But they are, at the same time, fundamentally different. The Chelsea of Roman Abramovich has always embraced chaos. It has now won the Champions League twice, both times in seasons in which it changed its manager at the slightest hint of disappointment, in seasons when its ultimate triumph made little sense.
Tuchel has faced City three times in six weeks and won every time. Chelsea’s Russian owner Roman Abramovich, watching from the stands, must have had a wry smile to himself as once again his ruthless approach to managerial changes has paid off.
Man City vs Chelsea to go ahead after Guardiola’s Covid-hit side given all-clear in latest round of coronavirus testing
As we close out 2020, a terrible year on all fronts, Chelsea like many of us are facing some home truths.
After battling away to earn a top four spot and Champions’ League football last season, somewhat against the odds, Frank Lampard bolstered his squad to the tune of £222 million in the summer.
Chelsea vs Man City clash to go ahead as Jorginho holds the key to unlocking Timo Werner
Chelsea 1-1 Aston Villa . It ends all square at the Bridge.
Difficult times for Blues. Left-back Ben Chilwell came as close as anyone to turning one point into three for Chelsea yesterday at Stamford Bridge. His late volley was sweetly hit but it whistled past the far post so the score against Aston Villa remained 1-1.
Chelsea, overhauled by coach Frank Lampard after their weekend loss to Arsenal, battled to a 1-1 draw at home to Aston Villa on Monday as Oliver Giroud’s first-half header was cancelled out shortly after the break by Anwar El Ghazi.
Chelsea legend and now Aston Villa coach John Terry has reacted to what Andreas Christensen did in the side’s 1-1 draw on Monday evening.
The boss’ assessment of a disappointing defeat.
We’re all disappointed every time we lose. We don’t like losing. That’s the Chelsea mentality, we always want to win games.
‘It was unfortunate that they got another goal, but at 3-0 we still looked confident to push to try to get at least a draw back. We kept pushing until the end but unfortunately we could not get the result.’
However, that second half improvement could not disguise the painful defeat we suffered in the London derby, and Hudson-Odoi says the players are feeling the responsibility for their drop in performance and pinpoints a lack of urgency as one of the issues that cost us against the Gunners.
‘It feels like we let ourselves down,’ he explained. ‘We know that we can do much better than we did. We should have put the same energy we had in the second half into the first half as well. We should have had the same attitude from the get-go and pushed all the way through the 90 minutes. So we’re really disappointed in ourselves.
Tammy Abraham Steps Up for Blues Victory over London rival
Abraham emphasized the impressive form the Hammers have displayed this season, and indeed they dominated for a good chunk of last night’s game. When allied with our own recent travails away from home, the outcome was particularly impressive.
Giroud has been in a rich vein of form in recent weeks and had started Chelsea’s previous Premier League matches before Monday’s London derby but Abraham came in and proved a point with a quickfire second-half brace at Stamford Bridge after Thiago Silva’s early header.
Chelsea Captain Cesar Azpilicueta starts on right as Reecs James got injured. Chelsea Back looks strong during the game.
Chilwell, who turned 24 on Monday, landed awkwardly after a challenge with Jarrod Bowen early on at Stamford Bridge. He tried to carry on but fell to the floor a matter of minutes later and forced manager Frank Lampard to replace the birthday boy with Emerson Palmieri.
Chelsea responded to the setback quickly on the pitch as Thiago Silva headed them in front from a Mason Mount corner moments later.
Frustration for Chelsea FC after Defeat
Carlo Ancelotti rates Chelsea FC’s start to life under Frank Lampard since his appointment at Stamford Bridge
Ancelotti led Chelsea FC to the Premier League title and FA Cup during his time in charge of the west London side.
And the Everton boss has now admitted that he has been highly impressed by the way Lampard has begun life in charge at the west London club.
Chelsea manager Frank Lampard lamented the absence of wingers Christian Pulisic and Hakim Ziyech that left the Premier League club bereft of creativity in Saturday’s 1-0 defeat at Everton.
Moroccan Ziyech missed the trip to Goodison Park due to a hamstring injury he sustained in the 3-1 victory against Leeds United this month, while American Pulisic was left out of the side as a precaution.
“We want to see these players, but I think this comes back to the issue of five substitutes, which will come up later in the week. It’s about player welfare,” Lampard said.
Everton vs Chelsea
Lampard’s side are hoping to make it 18 unbeaten against the team managed by Carlo Ancelotti.
Former Chelsea manager Carlo Ancelotti said Frank Lampard’s step-up into management was not a surprise and he expects John Terry to follow his former teammate soon.
His return to Stamford Bridge was perhaps not ideal, as his Everton side suffered a devastating 4-0 defeat against Frank Lampard’s Chelsea.
But the Italian tactician saw manager material in his former midfielder when the two worked together from 2009 to 2011.
We need to work on the speed of the ball near the opposition box. Quick 1-2’s to open them up. Also down the flanks and put in decent crosses if Oli Giroud is playing. Play to our strength not theirs and I can see a good result coming our way. KTBFFH
Chelsea 1-1 Krasnodar
Billy Gilmour and Tino Anjorin debuts in Champions League as Jorginho’s penalty cancelled out an opener from Remy Cabella and ensured the Blues finished Group E .
I thought Billy was outstanding and 1st start for Kepa (GK) since mendy join the team.
“I think you see on the pitch today and on the weekend that it is getting better. We have a lot of good players.”
Gilmour has battled back from a four-month injury lay-off after knee surgery, and looked assured and confident in the Blues’ midfield.
Chelsea 3 – 1 Leeds United Full Time
After Going goal down early Chelsea fight back and took 3 point to go on the top of the table.
Another wonderful display by Kante and Mason Mount in midfield. Giroud score another goal to level and Zouma headed 2nd later Pulusic scored 3rd to complete another wonderful victory.
Mateo Kovačić also played amazing in midfield after coming on at 2nd half for Kai havertz . Kova looks good this season .
Former Blues striker Patrick Bamford, who spent five years at Chelsea without making a senior appearance, gave Leeds an early lead at Stamford Bridge after getting between defender Kurt Zouma and keeper Edouard Mendy.
Chelsea, who welcomed 2,000 fans back to Stamford Bridge after coronavirus restrictions were eased, went ahead as Zouma headed in from Mason Mount’s corner.
