We breed them great, Happy Birthday Mario Melchiot. Have a defender’s birthday .
Edouard Mendy could face his former club Rennes on Wednesday
The Senegalese international joined Chelsea from Rennes at the end of September and will be hopeful of starting against his former club when we meet at Stamford Bridge in the Champions League on Wednesday evening, having played a big part in the French club qualifying for the competition for the first time in their history last season.
Mendy has enjoyed an excellent start to life in west London, conceding just once in his six appearances for the Blues so far. But how closely have you been paying attention to our new goalkeeper during those matches and how much do you know about his career before Chelsea? You can find out in our quiz on the 28-year-old below. Good luck!
MOUNT: WE’RE CLICKING IN ATTACK AND INCREASING OUR SET-PIECE THREAT
Mason Mount believes Chelsea’s attacking play will continue to improve as time passes and understandings develop further.
Seven goals in two games has been the perfect riposte to the goalless draws against Sevilla and Manchester United, with the three strikes against Burnley exemplifying the different type of goal this Chelsea team is capable of scoring. The first was a well-worked team move finished off by Hakim Ziyech, the second from a corner and the third a clinical counter-attack.T
The signs are good, according to Mount, who started a game for Chelsea for the 50th time at the weekend.
‘It feels like it’s starting to come together for us,’ he said.
‘It was always going to take some time for us to all click as a team, but [on Saturday] it felt like we were moving with each other, we knew where each other was going to go, and it kind of clicked.
‘It’s exciting when we’re playing like that and winning and scoring goals. Now we need to focus on keeping that going.
‘There’s a lot of competition in the squad to try and get in the team, but we are all working hard, we are all a group, all a family, so all we want to do is win as many games as we can and try to keep pushing to be number one. That’s our goal.’
At Burnley our dominance was not further rewarded until shortly after the hour mark, when Mount’s pinpoint corner was crashed into the net by Kurt Zouma. It was the Frenchman’s third Premier League goal of the campaign – already his best return in the competition – and Mount believes it is proof of our increased threat from dead balls.
‘The gaffer said at half-time at 1-0 it’s never done. They put some pressure on us early in the second half. We knew it was going to come, we had to weather it and then getting that second goal from big Zou winning headers.
‘We need that set-piece threat, we didn’t really have it last season, and we have scored quite a few already this season. It’s something we can continue to improve on.’
CHELSEA VS RENNES PRE-MATCH PRESS CONFERENCE AND HOW TO FOLLOW THE GAME
A third successive midweek of Champions League action sees Chelsea welcome new opposition to Stamford Bridge, and here we detail how you can watch Frank Lampard and one of his players preview the clash with Rennes on Tuesday afternoon, as well as follow the action…
The Blues top Group E after the opening two games with four points on the board and now will be looking to build on that positive start with a double-header against French opponents.
Chelsea vs Rennes kick-off time
The match gets underway at 8pm UK time on Wednesday 4 November.
Chelsea vs Rennes pre-match press conference
Lampard and one of his players will be speaking to the media via video link from approximately 1.30pm on Tuesday and you watch it live on the 5th Stand app and this website.LAMPARD WILL DELIVER THE LATEST TEAM NEWS ON TUESDAY AFTERNOON
Chelsea vs Rennes live stream
The match is being broadcast live on BT Sport in the UK.
Chelsea TV’s matchday programming is on the 5th Stand, Facebook Live and our official YouTube channel with three live shows: pre-match (starting 70 minutes before kick-off), half-time and post match.
ZIYECH AND PENSIONERS FEATURE IN SHEFFIELD UNITED PROGRAMME, AVAILABLE NOW
Premier League football returns to Stamford Bridge for the first time in three weeks when we take on Sheffield United this weekend and the matchday programme for the game is available to order now, featuring an exclusive interview with in-form Hakim Ziyech and a special front cover to commemorate Remembrance Day.
With Saturday’s game our closest fixture at Stamford Bridge to 11 November, it’s an opportunity to salute everyone that has served and is serving in our armed forces, and to honour the memory of those who have lost their lives in conflict.
There is also a photographic feature celebrating our unique history with the beloved Pensioners, while both Frank Lampard and Cesar Azpilicueta pay their own tributes within their usual columns. On top of that, club historian Rick Glanvill looks back at Stamford Bridge during the First World War in the latest instalment of Brick by Brick.
The headline feature of this weekend’s programme is an interview with Ziyech, our summer signing from Ajax who had to wait patiently on the sidelines while battling back from injury before making his mark.
Goals on each of his first two starts for the Blues, against Krasnodar and Burnley, have served notice of what the 27-year-old is capable of and, in a wide-ranging chat covering his first months at the Bridge, his mentality as a footballer and so much more, we found out what makes him tick.
‘When you play for a big team there is always pressure, and that will never change,’ said Ziyech, referring to his former club, Ajax. ‘But I was always thinking, “Yeah, there is pressure, but people make it bigger than it is.”HAKIM ZIYECH’S DEBUT DOUBLENew Blues attacker Hakim Ziyech became the first player to score in both of his first two starts for Chelsea in all competitions since Diego Costa in August 2014. Have another look at Hakim’s excellent week here…
‘I feel like you have to put pressure on yourself. Of course, there is pressure on big games, but that is people making that for you – I think you have to put it on yourself, not let other people put you under pressure.
‘You have to motivate yourself, don’t let other people motivate you, because they’re living their own life and you’re living your own life. That’s the biggest factor that I changed in Ajax, I think.’
So, how does he put that into practice?
‘Just always stay calm,’ he added. ‘Try to be calm and, good or bad, there will always be opinion from people.
‘At the end of the day, you have to make sure that, when you go from training or the game, you’re just happy in your life. Don’t let other stuff kill your happiness. I think how happy you are outside the pitch is also how happy you are on the pitch.’
A FIRST PREMIER LEAGUE GOAL LAST TIME OUT FOR OUR MAGICAL MOROCCAN
Catch up on all the latest goings on from elsewhere at the club, as Academy coaches Andy Myers and Ed Brand, and Chelsea Women boss Emma Hayes bring you up to date with their sides. For Brand and his Under-18s, it’s been quite the week as they beat Manchester United in the FA Youth Cup semi-final on Friday night but then fell at the final hurdle three days later.
For Blues fans of a certain vintage, you’ll be able to reminisce with Mark Stein about the striker’s two-goal showing against the Blades on a dramatic final day of the Premier League season in 1993/94. Steino talks us through that and what it meant to him in the latest What’s the Story.
You can order your copy of the Sheffield United programme for £3.50 (plus P&P) from our programme partner Reach Sport. There are also still copies available of tomorrow night’s programme for the game against Rennes