Premier League favourites Chelsea began their title bid with a hugely convincing display against new boys Burnley at Turf Moor.
The Clarets did take the lead early on through a Scott Arfield effort, but they were quickly pegged back when Diego Costa smashed home his first goal in English football.
Then it was one way traffic from then on. Andre Schurrle got on the end of a wonderful Cesc Fabregas assist to put the Blues in front and then Branislav Ivanovic made it 3-1 to the visitors before the break.
And that’s how it remained as Chelsea stepped off the gas in the second half. Burnley gave it their all and will be proud of their efforts, with enough about them to suggest they’ll have better luck against mid-table opposition.
Chelsea, though, were superb in the first half. Certainly title favourites.
So here are the best bits from Chelsea’s impressive start to the new campaign…
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Burnley’s dream start
All the talk in the build up to this game was about Chelsea and the way Jose Mourinho has spent wisely this summer on the likes of Diego Costa and Cesc Fabregas.
But it was the new boys who took an unlikely lead when Scott Arfield smash home to send Turf Moor in to raptures.
Diego Costa’s first goal in England
Much had been made of Diego Costa’s £32m transfer fee to Chelsea, with some predicting he’d flop in the Premier League.
But it took him just 21 minutes to net his first Premier League goal for Chelsea as Burnley were pegged back almost instantly.
Fabregas’ assist for Schurrle
Fabregas enjoyed a superb Chelsea debut and, despite it only being the opening weekend of the season, it’ll take some doing to better his assist for Schurrle to tap in for Chelsea’s second.
It really was something special. It’s like he never left the Premier League.
The return of Didier Drogba
It really wasn’t much of a surprise to anyone when he returned to Stamford Bridge this summer, but that does’t mean he wasn’t going to be welcomed back with open arms.
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Chelsea fans couldn’t wait to see him back in Blue, and they weren’t disappointed as he came on with five minutes left for his second debut.
Chelsea’s all round performance
They eased off in the second half, but Chelsea’s first half was scarily ruthless at Turf Moor.
Their reaction to going a goal down was superb and before you knew they 3-1 up and comfortable. Burnley played well but rarely got near Chelsea’s word class performers.
On that first half performance alone you can certainly expect Chelsea to be there or there a bouts in the title race this season.
With Bayern Munich now just a week away from yet another Champions League final, this time against Borussia Dortmund, the Bundesliga champions have the opportunity to rival Barcelona’s dominance in Europe and affirm themselves as the continent’s leading superpower. But looking further beyond the current season, Bayern are looking in the summer to add to their already stellar cast of top talents with the acquisition of their opponents’ two leading stars, Mario Gotze and Robert Lewandowski, in addition to Arsenal’s Jack Wilshere, according to The Metro.
The quality of the Gunners midfielder is well known, but should he be taking the opportunity to be signing for the German giants or stick by the club that has brought him so far already throughout his short career?
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My initial reaction is that the potential transfer has come far too soon. Not only has Wilshere signed a new five year contract this season, suggesting that from a personal perspective he sees his immediate future at the Emirates, but it is often forgotten that he is only 21 years of age. His ability and potential is unquestionable – Arsenal and England are a different and lesser team without his presence – but uprooting a youngster, who has been at the same club since being nine years old, is just as likely to unsettle him and stall his progress for a few seasons as it is to further raise his game.
Similarly, at the Emirates, his position in the Starting XI is undisputed when fit, assuring confidence and game time, whereas at Bayern, he will be competing with Bastian Schweinsteiger, Javi Martinez and Luis Gustavo for a slot in the first team – three central midfielders who’ve been exceptional in all competitions for the German champions. The club will not be so patient with his persistent injury problems, and there would be a long way back to regular action for Wilshere should he undergo a spell on the sidelines in comparison to Arsene Wenger’s willingness to play his star midfielder whenever his personal fitness situation will allow.
Furthermore, the transfer fee, which by the common consensus of the transfer market nowadays will be excessive and well over the £30million mark, despite having only made 61 Premier League appearances for the Gunners, would be a weight on the youngster’s shoulders and an experience he will have not felt before, having spent his entire career, including his apprenticeship, at the same club. In recent years we’ve seen the magnitude of a price-tag take the sting out of Fernando Torres’ game, and the Spaniard is not the first or the last to have his form crushed by the pressure of a big-money move.
But signing for such a prestigious club as Bayern Munich is the type of opportunity that is not available to the vast majority of professional footballers, and should not be passed up lightly. The club are certainly on the up, making it to their third Champions League final in the space of four years, whilst also claiming their 23rd domestic title this season. Furthermore, the German national team is privy to another generation of exceptionaltalent that is very much linked to Munich’s successes. The foreseeable future for the Barvarians only looks bright, and many a critic have argued that the Bundesliga will become the most dominant force in world football over the next few years.
It’s a stark contrast to the situation back in North London. Arsenal are a club currently caught amid a malaise that has seen the quality of the first team at the Emirates drop considerably since the days of ‘the invincibles’, with no silverware to add to the trophy cabinet for the past eight years. The Gunners may well have turned their season around and will most likely once again qualify for the Champions League, but they are still a long distance away from becoming a competitive force in the Premier League title race and challenging the likes of Manchester City, Manchester United and Chelsea.
The choice between a club struggling to maintain Champions League status and sliding down the domestic pecking order and another challenging for the winner’s trophy and winning the German league on a regular basis should be a no-brainer, yet Wilshere’s undying loyalty will certainly be a factor in his decision-making. As previously stated, he’s been part of Arsenal’s academy since he was nine years old, and justifiably feels indebted to a club that has brought him through the ranks and polished him into one of the most sought after youngsters in Europe, in addition to providing him with medical treatment throughout his difficult tenure on the sidelines.
But in the modern game, there is little reward for loyalty – just ask Steven Gerrard. The midfielder may well have been one of the best of his generation, but now at the age of 32 has only a handful of accolades from the early stages of his career to look back upon. He may well have a Champions League title and two FA Cups to his name, but in comparison to the achievements in terms of historical documentation and silverware of those at Manchester United, Chelsea, Real Madrid, Barcelona or Bayern Munich – the calibre of club he could have easily played for had he pursued a move away from Merseyside – the Liverpool captain is some way short.
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The career of the ageing veteran should be a clear warning to Wilshere. Perhaps it is too soon to be seeking a higher calling, considering he is yet to play a full 38 games of Premier League season and only has seven international caps to his name, but it should certainly be a thought at the back of the Arsenal midfielder’s mind. Quite frankly, the Gunners are a losing ticket – Wenger is stuck in his old ways and lacks ambition, whilst the squad’s need for serious financial investment appears to still be a distant dream rather than a possible reality.
For Arsenal, Wilshere may well be a marvellous jewel in the crown, in a similar vein to Gerrard at Liverpool, for the rest of his career. He will no doubt be adored by the fans and become one of the club’s greatest ever players. But at a club of Bayern Munich’s stature, the scope for silverware, accolades and recognition as one of the world’s best is enormous, especially with a manager of Pep Guardiola’s calibre at the helm. Perhaps a summer departure is too premature, but the next time a real European power comes calling, Wilshere should take the escape route from the Emirates with both hands.
The top two meet at Stamford Bridge on Sunday afternoon, as Chelsea welcome Manchester United for the biggest game of the season so far.
Roberto Di Matteo has the opportunity to open up a seven point gap at the top of the table with a victory over Manchester United, who will be desperate to win at a ground that has caused them so many problems down the years.
Chelsea suffered a defeat to Shaktar in the Champions League in midweek, whilst United continued with their habit of turning a deficit into a win, coming back from 2-0 down to beat Braga 3-2.
Last season saw these two play out one of the games of the season, a 3-3 draw which saw Chelsea surrender a 3-0 lead.
Wayne Rooney was on target twice that day, and will be looking to add to his first two goals of the season he scored in the Premier League against Stoke last weekend.
Chelsea will again be without captain John Terry as the defender serves another game of his four-match ban, while Frank Lampard is facing a late fitness test on a calf injury.
Manchester United will be without Shinji Kagawa for three to four weeks due to the playmaker’s knee injury. Javier Hernandez is expected to start on the bench, despite his heroics against Braga.
Prediction: Chelsea 2-1 Manchester United
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David Moyes has dismissed comments made by Liverpool captain Steven Gerrard about Everton’s style of play this week and publicly praised how his team go about their game.
Moyes has stated that any non-Liverpool or Everton fan would claim to be impressed by his teams style of play this season and if the Toffee’s faithful are happy with it, then he is happy with it.
“I think any neutral who watches Everton would say they’ve actually been impressed by us.
“More importantly, if you ask any Evertonians what they think about how Everton have done, I think they would all say we have played very well.
“And even more importantly, if you ask the manager how they think it’s gone, I’ll tell you Everton have played really, really well and passed it well.
“I think we’re one of the teams that made the most chances in the Premier League. I think we’ve had a lot of goals so I think we’ve been good value and we’re very good to watch.
“I don’t really bother what Liverpool think, to tell you the truth. I only bother what I think.”
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Newcastle welcome Norwich to the Sports Direct Arena on Sunday, hopefully well rested after Alan Pardew left seven first team players at home for Thursday nights Europa League draw against Maritimo.
The likes of Yohan Cabaye, Papiss Cisse and Hartem Ben Arfa did not travel to Portugal, and are all expected to start on Sunday.
Norwich arrive still searching for their first victory of the season, and are the lowest scorers in the division with just two goals in four games this season. Last seasons top scorer is still yet to get off the mark.
Chris Hughton makes his first return to the Sports Direct Arena since his harsh dismissal in December 2010. He will be without Simon Lappin and Steven Whittaker to inury, whilst Elliot Bennett is unlikely to feature despite returning to training following a knee injury.
Pardew is set to welcome back defensive midfielder Cheick Tiote, who has been missing since the opening day victory over Tottenham. That game remains Newcastle’s only Premier League three points of the season.
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Defender Danny Simpson and goalkeeper Tim Krul are both unavailable through injury.
Carlos Cuellar is hopeful that he and John O’Shea could form an excellent partnership for Sunderland.
In a crucial position for the team both men bring a great depth of experience at centre-back, both men are 31 and have started promisingly in decent away draws at Swansea and Arsenal.
With the two likely to get a run playing together with last year’s outstanding centre back Wes Brown side-lined. Cuellar told the Sunderland Echo his delight at playing with O’Shea, “As for the partnership I have played with John a few times in pre-season and we have started pretty well in the league.
“We feel confident, we have good communication with each other and I think we feel comfortable to play with each other. I think a lot of that is because we are experienced players and so we know what it needs for things to work.”
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The Spaniard also expressed his approval of the balance at Sunderland where young talents such as Jack Colback and James McClean are developing around more experienced campaigners such as himself and O’Shea. He said, “I believe we have a good blend of players in the squad – we have experienced players, we have young players, we have players who like to attack, players who like to defend.”
David Moyes managed Everton for 11 years. It’s not quite the 26 years that Sir Alex Ferguson managed at Manchester United. But 11 years is a long time.
Long enough to see a generation of players come and go. Long enough to build a club in your image. And long enough for your identity, and that of the club’s, to become entwined.
David Moyes had become Everton for many people. Or perhaps more accurately, Everton had become David Moyes.
When you thought of the club, no player’s name sprang to mind. Because it wasn’t about the players. Everton always had good players, but they had a star manager.
You never worried about Everton under Moyes. You only worried about what would happen after he left. But as it’s transpired, there was no need for worry.
Everton’s finances have not crumbled, and they are nowhere near the abyss. If anything, they stand on the cusp of glory. Whether they reach the Champions League or not, Roberto Martinez has shown that succession need not be difficult.
No one likes change. Change is difficult. Change takes time. But sometimes, change is exactly what we need.
Everton didn’t appear in the need of change. If anything, it was the opposite that was required. More Moyes, and as much Moyes for as long as possible – that’s what the club wanted. A Moyesless future was the last thing they needed, and yet this is what was being planned by the man himself.
David Moyes had grown tired at Everton. He was tired of fighting chairman Bill Kenwright for money, tired contenting himself with challenging for Europe, tired of seeing his best players leave. He was just tired of the struggle.
And so Moyes cast his eye east. He had long been a scholar of German football, and having apparently reached the glass ceiling of the British manager in England, a move to the Bundesliga seemed like the next logical step. Of course, Alex Ferguson had other ideas in mind.
The flirtations of a fellow Scot left Everton Moyesless. With no manager, and no money to give a new manager, the future looked bleak on Merseyside. However, the diverging fortunes of Martinez and Moyes have proved that succession doesn’t always have to be difficult.
One of the reasons that Roberto Martinez has been so successful in taking over from David Moyes is that he’s nothing like his predecessor. Moyes is pragmatic man, who seeks to work as best as he possibly can within his limitations. His natural tendency is always to reduce the risk of the catastrophic rather than reach for the spectacular.
Martinez is the opposite of this. He’s the eternal optimist, the man who told Bill Kenwright ‘I’ll get you into the Champions League’. The Spaniard is always trying to win first, rather than simply avoid defeat.
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And this positivity has rubbed off on his players. How could it not? Such absolute change can only be refreshing.
This is the trick that was missed at Old Trafford. Ferguson was given the responsibility to choose his successor, and in a great act of vanity, chose the man who most closely resembled himself.
However, when change is forced upon a club, it’s not always best practice to try and minimize its affect. This may be especially true when it concerns a manager who has been at a club as long as Moyes and Ferguson were. Although the natural reaction may be to go for ‘more of the same’, the potential refreshing benefits of going for something different are all the greater.
With all the takeover talk bounding around Elland Road these days it may well have gone unnoticed that Neil Warnock’s Leeds have steadily been building momentum over the last few weeks.
After a reasonable, though not explosive, start, most of us stood staring blankly at the squad list with more than just a twinge of pessimism. Nobody doubted that the players Warnock had brought in would be more than up for the fight, but we appeared to have an alarming lack of depth, and quality, in almost every area on the pitch.
With that in mind, nobody expected much. Mid table by Christmas, at best.
What we weren’t expecting, even if we knew it was a possibility, was the way in which Warnock would galvanize the threadbare squad that he did have into becoming a serious threat in the division. Over the last three games Leeds have seriously got into gear, with impressive individual and team performances throughout.
After the win against Bristol City I thought to myself – this is it, we’re finally watching real Neil Warnock performances. The kind of performance where you see players throwing themselves at every ball, playing for their team mates, for their manager, and perhaps more importantly, playing with the personal pride and passion that is expected by anyone pulling on the white shirt.
Prior to our win over Nottingham Forest we hadn’t really got going, but over the last few weeks something has clicked. Before it, I couldn’t see us making a go of the season without the investment from the proposed takeover arriving quickly, but now I see the bigger picture. Warnock has repeated all along that until anything is announced he will carry on as if it isn’t happening, and you can see that he truly believes that he can get his current side promoted with or without new owners.
That has to be good news for Leeds. Neil Warnock is no rookie, he’s experienced enough now to know whether he’s chasing a lost cause or not and you can see the energy he’s got for the job, he practically burst with pride after every goal. The man knows what it takes to get promotion and he can see it happening with Leeds. In his mind, he’s focused on the roar at full time when he finally seals our return to the Premier League.
The players confidence is growing day by day, they’ve had a battle mentality installed and you can see that they fear nobody. Against Everton, a team full of Premier League players, they didn’t sit back and look to counter, they took the game straight to them from the word go and never looked back. Every ball got chased down and scrapped for, by players that seemed almost possessed.
So here we are now, with games coming thick and fast and a team that are proving themselves to be more than up for the fight. The squad does still need additions, but you try telling the current team that they aren’t good enough for promotion.
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This team really do have what it takes, because Warnock has made them so. For the first time in a long time we’re supporting a team that wants this as much as we do and a manager that will stop at nothing to make sure we get back to where we want to be.
Leeds are finally on their way back, marching on again, together.
Liverpool and Arsenal are on red alert following news that Newcastle are ready to sell Demba Ba, report The Mirror.
The Magpies are believed to be growing more and more frustrated by the Senegalese international’s reluctance to commit to a new deal and are prepared to let him leave in January.
They are said to be looking to move the 27-year-old on as early as possible, to give themselves a chance to bring in a replacement, with Marseille hit-man Loic Remy top of a list of targets.
Ba is reportedly seeking a bumper contract of £80,000-per-week, a figure that Toon owner Mike Ashley is unwilling to match.
Due to a much reported clause in the striker’s contract, Newcastle will be forced to accept a rock bottom fee, in the region of £7m, which will tempt a whole host of Premier League clubs.
Liverpool are thought to be leading the race, with their desire to bring in attacking reinforcements well known.
The club’s owners are reportedly willing to back Brendan Rodgers in the transfer market, as the Reds look to step up their pursuit of Champions League football.
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Arsenal are also in the hunt, with summer signing Olivier Giroud struggling to lead the line for the Gunners.
Ba was in fine for the St James’ Park team last term, notching an impressive 16 goals.
Sunderland manager Martin O’Neill is trying to stay positive despite losing striker Steven Fletcher for the remainder of the season.
The striker damaged ankle ligaments in the first five minutes of Scotland’s clash with Wales last weekend and is now out for the remainder of the campaign.
He may yet need an operation, depending on how the injury settles down over the next two weeks, but his loss, and that of skipper Lee Cattermole, is a set back they could have done without.
O’Neill told the Echo: “Fletcher’s injury is a blow we could have done without at this stage of the season. I feared the worst when I was watching the game and saw him go down.
“When the stretcher is coming onto the field, you’re just hoping the news will be better than you initially fear.
“It’s not great, but we have to get on with it. His ankle will have to be put in a non-weight bearing plaster for about a fortnight.
“After that, depending on whether it settles down, we’ll see whether he needs an operation or not.”
He added: “One way or another, he misses the rest of the season, which is obviously a blow to us, following on from Lee Cattermole, who had an operation yesterday.
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“We’ve had to do without Lee for most of the season anyway, so that kind of news was to be expected. But it’s a blow for Fletcher.”