The England midfielder is running further, passing more accurately and satisfying Maurizio Sarri’s need for goalsThere is perhaps no group of players so used to adapting themselves to the ways of a new manager as those at Chelsea, where the only consistent philosophy of the Roman Abramovich years has been one of perpetual revolution, but even by their turbulent standards this season has been one that has brought significant change. Everything is different under Maurizio Sarri. Eden Hazard is trusted to be the left-sided floating No 10 he has always wanted to be. César Azpilicueta has gone from centre-back to right-back. N’Golo Kanté thrusts forward from midfield rather than shielding the defence. And Ross Barkley gets on the pitch.The turnaround...
Chelsea should try to keep the Belgian but the Spanish giants usually get their targets. At least Hazard is lighting up the Premier League for one more seasonThey don’t bother putting stars on Real Madrid’s shirt to signify all the times they have accumulated the sport’s most coveted trophies. For other clubs, those stars take the form of a status symbol. At Madrid, though, they go by the theory that all they need is their club badge to signify football royalty. No stars necessary – which is just as well because they would need to find space for their own constellation to reflect what makes them different to the rest.In total, they have had the European Cup in their possession...
Beating Newcastle lifted the spirits at Old Trafford but Mourinho’s defence will soon be tested by some of the bestAll that speculation over José Mourinho’s future subsided pretty quickly, did it not? There cannot really have been much of a crisis at Manchester United if a single last-gasp win over a team in the bottom three has made everything hunky dory again, though once the uneasy international break truce is over the matter will be put to the test at the weekend.United’s next three opponents are Chelsea, Juventus and Everton, a bit more of a challenge than Wolves, Derby and Newcastle, and it is not inconceivable based on recent form that they might struggle to win any of those games....
Phil Neville knows the names of his players’ pet dogs, but with the World Cup looming his squad need to be more clinical on the fieldEngland face two big tests in their preparations for the World Cup when they play Brazil and Australia in the next few days and I’m really excited to watch how they cope with stronger opposition having booked their World Cup spot in France.After watching the qualification campaign, it was hard to say that England looked ready to win a World Cup but these two games could be an indication of progress under Phil Neville. Related: Sport enters the WhatsApp age and dreads ever being asked to leave | Emma John The USA are always strong...
The Belgian was the star of the show for Chelsea once more but Liverpool have plenty of reasons to be cheerful despite the dip in form of their talismanic forwardTwenty minutes after the final whistle, with the sky above the stands fading to a deep pinky-blue, the Liverpool fans were still singing. This was an excellent game with elements of cheer for both teams in a 1-1 draw – and indeed for Manchester City, too, who saw both their main title rivals gouge a piece out of each other at Stamford Bridge.For Liverpool’s supporters, there was a little extra feeling in taking a well-deserved point through Daniel Sturridge’s brilliant late equaliser. There are two elements to this. Most obviously, Liverpool...