Arsenal rely on a fit Alexis Sánchez, Pep Guardiola is keeping Manchester City fresh and Jason Denayer may have aided Liverpool’s future opponentsOn the corresponding weekend of last season, Alexis Sánchez suffered the hamstring injury at Norwich City that would rule him out for two months. It was the afternoon when the Arsenal forward had also been pushed into the TV camera pit at Carrow Road by Ryan Bennett – an act that Arsène Wenger said “could have killed” the Chilean. Arsenal’s hopes have come to be closely linked to Sánchez’s fitness, on him staying out of the red zone, and there was plenty of nervousness at the club when he hurt his hamstring in training with Chile during the...
Chelsea’s chief provocateur is a master at pushing the right buttons, especially against Spurs, but it was his craft that was most notable at Stamford BridgeSo much for the battle of The Bridge. This was a more controlled kind of warfare. Not to mention a more controlled, cold-blooded kind of Diego Costa, who led by stealth from the front as Chelsea came from one down to beat Tottenham 2-1 in a thrilling, high-tempo match.So often at times like these Costa has found himself at the centre of a kind of José-flavoured theatre of hate. Here he took his revenge served cold. In April Chelsea’s centre forward had his eye gouged by Moussa Dembélé in a match that simmered and spat before...
Spurs’ last visit to Chelsea saw them lose both their composure and their hopes of the title – they return on Saturday searching for the cohesion and vibrancy that has deserted them sinceIn the midst of the mayhem, a football match broke out but it was unclear whether anybody noticed. The Battle of Stamford Bridge towards the end of last season, when Chelsea held Tottenham Hotspur to the 2-2 draw that dashed their title hopes, is remembered for the malevolence, the bench-emptying flashpoints and Mousa Dembélé’s eye-gouge on Diego Costa.There were 12 yellow cards – a record nine for Tottenham – and the minor miracle of no reds. There was Érik Lamela’s Bafta nomination for best innocent face after his...
Crystal Palace need to stand tall after another defeat, Arsenal’s steel bodes well for title challenge and West Ham’s problems up front have been laid bare Related: Pep Guardiola was always going to win but Yaya Touré may not have lost Related: David Luiz holds back to ensure Chelsea’s defence stays unbreached | Michael Cox Related: Victor Anichebe thrives after being given fresh lease of life at Sunderland Related: Harry Winks gives Tottenham hope for Champions League survival Continue reading...
Centre-half David Luiz negated Middlesbrough’s threat by staying tight to Álvaro Negredo while Chelsea then tried to profit down the wingsSix matches into Antonio Conte’s 3-4-3 system, and opposition managers are no closer to working out how to defeat Chelsea – or indeed, even score against them. It is now a cumulative score of 17-0 since Conte switched to that formation in the aftermath of the 3-0 defeat at Arsenal, and they have risen from eighth to top in that period. While this was not an overwhelmingly impressive attacking display, Chelsea had very few problems defensively.Whereas other managers have reorganised dramatically in an attempt to cope with Chelsea’s formation, Aitor Karanka stuck to his usual template. This was a narrow,...