Six areas of contention emerged from events at the London Stadium, ranging from how rival fans could be so close together to how the FA will respondThe headline flashpoint during the EFL Cup tie between West Ham United and Chelsea on Wednesday night kicked off in stoppage time, when some of the visiting supporters made for the exit at the back of the lower tier of the Sir Trevor Brooking stand. A number of West Ham fans from the adjacent space rushed over towards them and it raised the uncomfortable question as to how they were able to do so. The stewards held their line bravely and the response of the police was swift – in under 60 seconds they...
Hammers players are beginning to find their feet in the London Stadium but there were more unsavoury scenes in the stands as they beat Chelsea 2-1It always was wishful thinking that the occasion would pass off without any ugly incidents in the stands. They came so close. But just when it seemed that West Ham United were easing towards a largely peaceful 2-0 victory over Chelsea in the League Cup, fighting broke out between home and away fans behind Darren Randolph’s goal, transforming a magnificent night on the pitch for Slaven Bilic’s resurgent side into a PR disaster.Stewards and police were forced to intervene, coins and bottles flew through the East End air and seats were thrown as rival supporters...
Manchester United were put to the sword by players the Portuguese feared had ‘betrayed’ his work in second coming at Stamford BridgeJosé Mourinho has worn this haunted expression before – the one of utter bewilderment while battling back an inward sense of shock, with eyebrows raised in resignation at how powerless he had been rendered by his team’s abject deficiencies out on the grass of this arena. Retreat to the first half of last season and he had offered up the same facade to the world from a few yards further down the touchline as Crystal Palace, Liverpool, Southampton and Bournemouth came and ransacked what he had once considered a fortress. Related: N’Golo Kanté’s solo strike seals Chelsea’s rout of...
José Mourinho, who takes Manchester United to west London on Sunday, seems to have been affected by his final half-season at Chelsea more than he probably wants to let onIt was no doubt a relief to everybody at Chelsea, presumably, that when José Mourinho was asked where it had all gone wrong he referred to a Portuguese saying – não lavo roupa suja em público – and explained, possibly with his fingers crossed beneath the table, that it meant he would never wash his dirty linen in public when it came to his former clubs.True, it jarred slightly with his introduction at Chelsea, the second time, when he led a group of football writers into the boardroom at Stamford Bridge...
After a commanding performance against Fenerbahce in the Europa League, the midfielder will be urged by José Mourinho to make his mark against ChelseaManchester United are still looking for a first league win in October, and go to Stamford Bridge a couple of places behind Chelsea in the table, though at least José Mourinho can turn up at his old club with the satisfaction of having steadied the ship at his new one.Granted, United have been less than imperious thus far, whichever combination of players they have used. Not all of their summer signings have impressed and some of the football has been reminiscent of the long afternoons that brought an early end to Louis van Gaal and his three-year...