There is a fantastic video doing the rounds on social media in the present day of a Chelsea legend doing the fitting factor after being whacked by an opponent.
Ray Wilkins was truly taking part in for QPR in opposition to Aston Villa thirty years in the past when he was kicked from behind by Tommy Johnson. He wasn’t damage and, sensing a dramatic and unnecessary intervention from the referee, he waved him away and gave Johnson a hug.
‘That’s a very good little bit of professionalism there,’ says the late Jimmy Greaves on commentary.
Truthful to say we have now come a great distance since then.
At Stamford Bridge on Sunday, Chelsea and Arsenal performed out a compelling draw within the Premier League and it could seem Enzo Maresca is slowly constructing a crew worthy of the membership’s aggressive repute in his second season.
The Chelsea coach can maybe give it a relaxation with regards to complaints about foul play from the opponents, although. The best way his gamers rolled round on the turf on the Bridge, it’s laborious to inform who is admittedly damage, who’s just a little bit damage and who simply must develop up a bit.
Chelsea coach Enzo Maresca wants to offer it a relaxation when complaining about foul play
His Chelsea stars acted like dying fish throughout Sunday’s draw with Arsenal, making it troublesome to work out the severity of accidents
First Moises Caicedo did his greatest tumbling acrobat impression after leaving his boot in on Mikel Merino. The Chelsea midfielder was match sufficient to go away the sphere as soon as a purple card was rightly proven to him.
Then it was Trevoh Chalobah’s flip, adopted by Joao Pedro. Each writhed round like dying fish after being caught in aerial challenges with Arsenal’s Piero Hincapie. Each had been clumsy fouls and nothing extra. Certainly Chalobah recovered from his bang on the cheek to attain – together with his head.
Late within the sport, with Arsenal urgent, Chelsea goalkeeper Robert Sanchez confirmed that he too had learn the membership memo. One other collision, extra histrionics.
Arsenal obtained six yellow playing cards within the sport and aren’t any angels. It was that form of affair. However Chelsea have had seven purple playing cards this season, together with one for his or her supervisor.
Watching them behave like this on Sunday was unedifying and distasteful. Maresca wants to understand his crew won’t ever get the good thing about the doubt when referees are continuously being challenged to work out what’s faux and what’s actual.
ARSENAL HAVE WHAT LIVERPOOL HAVE LOST
This Premier League might be tighter than many individuals have been saying. Arsenal have drawn their final two video games on the highway, for instance, and have additionally misplaced at Liverpool.
But when something will get Mikel Arteta’s crew to the road this season it will likely be squad depth.
Final season Arsenal followers watching their crew go to Chelsea with out first selection central defenders Gabriel and William Saliba would have lined their eyes and prayed for a miracle.
Arsenal’s energy in depth make them a drive on all fronts this season, after a powerful window
Now the Gunners have options and that may make all of the distinction within the long-term. Hincapie and the 21-year-old Cristhian Mosquera had been the partnership at Stamford Bridge and Arteta nonetheless has Ben White to name on if he must.
Evaluate this to Liverpool who maintain taking part in Virgil van Dijk and Ibrahima Konate collectively on the again although each of them have proven sufficient vulnerability in current weeks to counsel they want a relaxation.
The failure of the defending champions to signal Marc Guehi from Crystal Palace late in the summertime window continues to harm them, as maybe does the choice to promote Jarell Quansah to Bayer Leverkusen.
PAQUETA SHAMED BY HIS OWN STATS
Liverpool deserved their win at West Ham the place one other defender, Joe Gomez, was wonderful for Arne Slot as he crammed in at proper again. If Gomez stays match – a rarity in current occasions – he generally is a enormous asset for his crew.
Whether or not that may be mentioned for West Ham’s greatest title Lucas Paqueta is open to debate. The Brazilian tends to make headlines just for the mistaken causes as of late and the stats are beginning to disgrace the 28-year-old.
With Liverpool on such a poor run, there was a chance for West Ham to seize one thing late on yesterday just for Paqueta’s foul-mouthed outburst at referee Darren England to earn him two fast yellow playing cards and an early exit from the sphere.
Lucas Paqueta’s purple card in opposition to Liverpool reminded us of his woeful stats for West Ham
Paqueta is talked about as a world class participant. Manchester Metropolis had been about to signal him earlier than his profession was briefly derailed by an FA investigation into suspicious betting patterns that in the end led nowhere.
However the South American has scored three Premier League targets from open play for the reason that begin of October 2024. When it comes to assists, you even have to return to the 2023-24 season to seek out his final one.
That’s a surprising return and whenever you set that in opposition to the eighteen (sure, eighteen) yellow playing cards he has picked up for his membership for the reason that begin of the final marketing campaign, you begin to wonder if he actually is price all of the fuss.
EVERTON STILL MISSING THE FINAL PIECE
When it comes to creativity, it’s laborious to recollect when an Everton squad truly had extra. A participant listing containing Jack Grealish, Kiernan Dewsbury-Corridor, Iliman Ndiaye, Dwight McNeil and Tyler Dibling appears set as much as create probabilities.
What a disgrace, then, that the Merseyside membership’s seek for a dependable objective scorer goes on.
It was painful watching Thierno Barry’s struggles proceed as Everton crumbled in opposition to Newcastle on Saturday night. The younger Frenchman price £27m from Villarreal in the summertime however is but to attain whereas David Moyes’ different credible possibility, the Portuguese Beto, has only one within the Premier League all season.
Everton’s seek for a dependable objective scorer continues after their 4-1 defeat by Newcastle
Certainly it’s important to go all the way in which again to the times of Romelu Lukaku to seek out an Everton quantity 9 who delivered on a constant foundation.
The Belgian scored 68 league targets in 4 seasons between 2013 and 2017 and the 25 he netted in his remaining 12 months represents the final time Everton boasted a ahead who breached the 20-goal a season mark within the Premier League.
Certainly the perfect Everton ahead of current occasions is at the moment taking part in at Leeds – Dominic Calvert-Lewin.
HOW LONG WILL SILVA SERVICE REALLY LAST?
Lukaku was already out of the door and taking part in for Manchester United by the point Marco Silva turned Everton supervisor and maybe it’s at Fulham the place the 48-year-old can say he’s actually solidified his repute as a coach of actual standing.
Silva oversaw his 2 hundredth sport accountable for the London membership as Fulham gained at Tottenham on Saturday and is now the membership’s longest serving supervisor – 4 and a bit years – since Alec Inventory’s spell within the mid-Nineteen Seventies.
Whether or not Marco Silva sticks round at Fulham past this 12 months stays to be seen
Whether or not he sticks round past this 12 months stays to be seen. Silva is out of contract on the finish of the season and there’s at the moment a brand new three-year deal on the desk that’s unsigned.
Having been upset with the membership’s switch enterprise final summer season, Silva will lose Nigeria trio Calvin Bassey, Alex Iwobi and Samuel Chukwueze to the Africa Cup of Nations in late December and has made it clear that he desires gamers in January.
‘It’s clear what is important,’ mentioned Silva.
Silva was briefly thought of by Saturday’s opponents Spurs earlier than they employed Thomas Frank in the summertime. Nottingham Forest additionally confirmed curiosity earlier than taking Sean Dyche in October. Silva has a major purchase out in his contract that continues to supply Fulham some safety however that gained’t assist them subsequent summer season.
VICARIO NOT THE ONLY ONE TO BLAME
Spurs boss Frank can possibly rely himself just a little unfortunate to have misplaced once more at house on Saturday. The 2 early Fulham targets had been just a little freakish.
However as boos rang out around the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium following goalkeeper Guglielmo Vicario’s sprint from his space forward of Harry Wilson’s lengthy vary effort, it appeared odd that not one of the Italian’s team-mates had made any effort to get again and canopy the objective line.
There was loads of time for catastrophe to be averted which makes one wonder if Frank’s gamers are lazy, confused or simply plain silly.
Guglielmo Vicario is just not the one one accountable for Spurs’ disastrous defeat on Saturday night time
HENDERSON’S EMOTIONAL FLAW
Dean Henderson is rising right into a nice goalkeeper and it’s unusual that Thomas Tuchel sees James Trafford, of Manchester Metropolis reserves, because the long-term successor to Jordan Pickford for England.
Nonetheless, Henderson didn’t have his greatest day in opposition to his previous membership Manchester United.
He appeared mightily happy with himself after denying Casemiro early however will subsequently have been upset with each United targets. He may have accomplished higher with each.
Henderson stays a bit emotional at occasions. Pickford was like that however isn’t any longer. And that’s why he might be beginning on the World Cup. A lesson to be realized there for the youthful man.
SUNDERLAND’S UNLIKELY LINK TO LAST SEASON
Sunderland’s metamorphosis goes on, with Regis Le Bris’ crew solely two factors from the Champions League locations and, simply as importantly to them, 4 factors forward of Newcastle.
Solely 5 newly-promoted groups within the historical past of the Premier League have managed greater than Sunderland’s 22 factors after 13 video games and none have accomplished it on the again of such a turnaround in gamers.
Of the crew that beat Sheffield United in final Might’s play-off remaining, solely two began the weekend win over Bournemouth.
Centre half Dan Ballard was one among them and the opposite was man of the match Enzo Le Charge.
Enzo Le Charge is beginning to present the good kind he displayed within the Championship within the Premier League
The French playmaker was at Roma in January this 12 months when Le Bris – as soon as his coach at Lorient – requested him to come back to Wearside.
Le Charge’s associates informed him he was mad to even contemplate it however after watching a few episodes of the Netflix documentary Sunderland ‘til I die he determined to make the transfer.
On the bench for the primary two league video games of the season, the 25-year-old has missed one match since then and was basic on the weekend.
WAS THIS THE PREMIER LEAGUE’S STRANGEST SUMMER SIGNING?
Burnley got here up forward of Sunderland from the Championship final spring however maintain discovering themselves on the mistaken facet of the margins.
No person is popping Scott Parker’s crew over and they’re very a lot within the combat however 4 defeats on the spin have damage them they usually badly want some targets.
With that in thoughts, it’s nonetheless laborious to see the logic of the membership spending £20m on the previous Chelsea graduate Armando Broja in the summertime.
Broja, born in Slough of Albanian descent, is a kind of peculiarities – a striker with no actual report of scoring.
In reality the 24-year-old has scored two membership targets within the final three years and is but to begin a Premier League sport for Burnley.
