Chelsea described their 2019–20 season as “very successful”.
But?
All in all, I’d give them a 7/10. A little bigger than we expected, and that’s it. It’s often a step forward, a step back for this young team.
Yes, they were better to see that under Maurizio Sarri in 2018-19 and finished third and Frank Lampard finished fourth this season, it is safe to say that Chelsea is going in the right direction.
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Chelsea president Bruce Buck is very pleased with Frank Lampard’s first season at the head of the Blues and believes there’s a long shiny road for the West London club.
“In the round, we think it was a very successful season,” Buck said. “I think clearly we would have been a little happier if we had won the FA Cup. But I’m sure the coach and the players were very happy not to lift the trophy. Frank Lampard is a very positive force for Chelsea. Chelsea from start to finish and that remains evident. He’s got a lot of credibility. This is an exciting time for Chelsea.”
Looks like Buck’s too sexy, but you expect me to. He is the president of Chelsea and there have been many advances this season in complicated cases with a more sensible four, an FA Cup final and an eighth UEFA Champions League final.
Below is a review of the key classes of Chelsea’s 2019–20 season.
Frank Lampard had a movement ban to deal with until January, and he got up, no new players were bought. Instead, Chelsea has prioritized signing Hakim Ziyech and Timo Werner for 2020-2021 and either deal appears to be a long-term bargain. Chelsea now helps Lampard in the moving market due to his early deyet as boss. As for Lampard as coach, tactically, his team is exciting to see and spread in numbers. Defensively, leave everything to be desired. Some of the massive individual mistakes his team made were not his fault, however, his gambling philosophy means Chelsea will continue to take on dangers and, unless his defence particularly improves, he will continue to concede many goals. We have noticed how Bayern Munich have mercilessly exposed their defensive unity and those effects will remind Lampard how far he has to go.
It was Lampard’s first season as Premier League manager and a final in fourth place is successful, however, with Tottenham, Arsenal and Leicester ready to become even more powerful next season, Chelsea will have a war to reflect that arrival and maybe it was a bit of a chance that their London rivals would go so hard in early 2019-20. The way Chelsea vanished towards the end of the crusade will also be a challenge for Lampard and her reaction to the defeat at Sheffield United was revealing. The Chelsea legend said his team was a task in progress so many times and knew where his weaknesses were. Is he the man, in the long run, for this young team? We’ll soon notice what Lampard learned from his first season at the helm of the Premier League.
Part of this regression at the end of the season was due to the fact that Chelsea had such a young team. Tammy Abraham, Mason Mount and Fikayo Tomori started at the start of the season and were full of confidence after impressive championship loans in 2018-19. By mid-December, that confidence and enthusiasm were gone and, although Mount had recovered at the end of the season, all three struggled to get back in shape after a quick start to the campaign. Christian Pulisic struggled at first, but then discovered his mark again, although injuries hit him hard, while the abnormal season of the USMNT star summed up the shape of Chelsea’s youngsters. Unsurprisingly, they are progressing and next season the maximum of them will be better suited to PL and will be more consistent throughout the 38-game season. Tomori, Abraham, Callum Hudson-Odoi and perhaps even Mount could be located outdoors hunting inwards, as Lampard has brought more pleasure in the attack and is looking for new definers. Lampard can get away from the maximum number of young players he has been forced to use.
Nothing new here, however, the main flaws of this Chelsea team are obvious from The time season of Antonio Conte at the helm. Defensive mistakes have taken over Chelsea this season. Kepa Arrizabalaga lacked confidence in purpose and that extended the defensive unit. Lampard will have to point out two new centre-ups, a left-back and a new goalkeeper if Chelsea wants to become a true name contender in the coming seasons. Chelsea have to spend a lot, defensively, if they need to do more than fourth place. In fact, it’s that simple.
Overall, as I said, 7/10 turns out to be a fair assessment of this Chelsea team. They are in transition and are not the finished element and seal a position in the 4 most sensible with a team full of young players, besides that N’Golo Kante is not in its most productive due to injuries and after wasting Eden Hazard, is a overtaking. In the end it was a draw between Chelsea, Leicester and Man United to see who didn’t finish in the 4 most sensible and Chelsea felt fair enough as they watched some of their big wins and performances during the season. Lampard and his players deserve to be congratulated for a season above average, but that’s it. That’s all. Nothing less. Chelsea’s tough paintings have barely begun.
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Hungry for Premier League highlights?
That’s who we are.
The top clubs are back in action this week with our Tuesday pre-season friendlies in England, Scotland and Austria.
[MORE: Henderson’s new contract]
Liverpool received a double from Rhian Brewster against Salzburg from Jesse Marsch, while former Reds forward Andy Carroll scored a sensational goal for Newcastle.
Let’s start there.
Newcastle United 3-0 Alexandria Crew
Andy Carroll, Christian Atsu and Federico Fernandez scored for the Magpies in a win on Tuesday.
Carroll at his workplace for a beautiful football match, torso then got in position to turn around and break in the goal.
It’s a little too simple for the Gunners, who took so many opportunities on Wednesday.
Eddie Nketiah, Mark McGuinness and Reiss Nelson scored in the win, but the day’s goalscorer will be Egyptian midfielder Mohamed Elneny.
The veteran hit an empty target from a distance.
– Arsenal (@Arsenal) 26 August 2020
What was at stake was as high as in the last assembly between Jurgen Klopp and American manager (TM) Jesse Marsch, but there were still many goals left.
Liverpool’s goalscorers came from Rhian Brewster, a guy created through silky paintings through James Milner.
The two Salzburg targets came from Patson Daka. The 21-year-old Zambian is the newest on a long list of Salzburg strikers and flourished once Erling Haaland and Takumi Minamino went to new homes last winter.
The Reds put the highlights of the here.
v Liverpool FC (@LFC) 26 August 2020
Leicester scored a good purpose and produced thanks to intense tension when the Foxes secured a two-way victory for their league hosts.
There weren’t a lot of familiar faces in the initial lineup of the Foxes, Caglar Soyuncu, Youri Tielemans and Harvey Barnes started the day.
Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall scored a good goal in his attempt to rely on a Loan from Blackpool, while Marc Albrighton blocked a goalkeeper’s clearing at the Birmingham target for the time being.
v Leicester City (@LCFC) 26 August 2020
Chris Wilder’s Blades received only part of the game in Scotland, where Billy Sharp missed a penalty win through Sander Berge, but also received a rebound from the Norwegian midfielder.
A rain deluge was too much for players to play safely in the middle of the moment, and the game ended.
Excellent stacking of the Blades before yesterday’s goal. ? pic.twitter.com/GgyJ5g8cYJ
v Sheffield United (@SheffieldUnited) 26 August 2020
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We know the identity of the thirteen groups that are signed by Benfica, Dynamo Kiev and Ghent in the 3rd qualifying circular of the UEFA Champions League after Wednesday’s action in Europe.
[MORE: Henderson’s new contract]
Ferencvaros, AZ Alkmaar and Molde are among the 16 who will face each other soon, and the 8 winners will join Red Bull Salzburg, Olympiakos, Slavia Prague and Krasnodar in the knockout round.
The 8 survivors of this circular will be registered in the draw of the organizational phase.
An injury to Celtic star forward Odsonne Eduoard gave the match a sensation once David Siger opened the score for the visitors with great purpose in the 7th minute, and was a harbinger of a disappointment despite Celtic’s 28-7 merit in shots.
It was Ferencvaros’ only shot in the first half, with visitors with 30% possession.
Celtic discovered a purpose thanks to Ryan Christie, assisted by Southampton loan Mohamed Elyounoussi, in the 53rd minute, but the purpose of the moment proved almost as difficult to avoid in Glasgow.
In fact, it is the Hungarian team that would be at the bottom of the net with a quarter of an hour to play, the South-Scorpian winger Tokmac Nguen beating Vasilis Barkas to send the Scottish champion to the Europa League qualifiers.
The defeat will defy the momently term of Neil Lennon, who is much more in Celtic’s intention to claim a 10th consecutive Scottish Premiership title.
?? Fans in the U.S. can see the in app B/R: https://t.co/4BskcfONYm pic.twitter.com/KxTdGxtgRV
– B/R Football (@brfootball) August 26, 2020
AZ might boast Barcelona target Calvin Stengs, but all the fireworks came after the Dutch youngster left the pitch at the AFAS Stadium.
Teun Koopmeiners, once rumored for Everton, scored the tie injury time after David Limbersky propeled the Czech in the 78th minute.
Stengs’ 64-minute replacement, Icelandic Albert Gudmundsson scored twice in overtime for AZ to move on to the next round.
CFR Cluj 2-2 (5-6 penalty) Dinamo Zagreb
This is a beauty, even grief.
Cluj lost 1-0 at half-time, but temporarily had male merit when Kevin Theophile-Catherine was expelled for violent conduct.
It was 1-1 through Michael Pereira in ’64, but Lirim Kastrati helped the Croatians regain the lead, only with a purpose in the time off to force extra time.
The first 8 penalty shooters were converted, but the maximum of “first to fail” turned out to be false thanks to successive stops. Dinamo played their next two games before a failure to join Cluj in the Europa League.
Another part
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Will Colombian star James Rodriguez, however, make his Premier League debut?
[ MORE: Chelsea spends big on Chilwell ]
Will Jose Mourinho buy a player who scored against his last season?
These are our rumors about the PL rumor factory on Wednesday.
Carlo Ancelotti and James Rodriguez would like to meet at Goodison Park, writes The Liverpool Echo, but it is not an undeniable gesture.
Real Madrid would love to see James’s salary in the books, but the Colombian would have to go through a significant pay cut to move from the Bernabéu to Merseyside.
James has 18 purposes and 19 lends a hand in 51 appearances with Ancelotti, the Royal’s maxim. He had a purpose and to lend a hand in his only bundesliga exit with Bayern, nine days before the Italian’s dismissal.
He has put numbers wherever he has gone and has marked a purpose and five assists in his last 10 matches with Colombia. A new start with a friendly boss would be a wonderful way to see if the 29-year-old can fully realize his potential to stare.
James has also been associated with Manchester United and Inter Miami, Everton’s ties are even older.
Tottenham Hotspur coach Jose Mourinho would love to see Wolves right-back Matt Doherty in north London.
Doherty, 28, would bring nine games with the Republic of Ireland to the Spurs and a stellar presence on the right side, where Mourinho deployed Serge Aurier last season. Doherty is 11 months older than Aurier.
The Portuguese coach also played many 4s in the lag, while his compatriot Nuno Espirito Santo used Doherty almost exclusively in a 3-4-3 or 3-5-2 (a 5-4-1 also occasionally).
Doherty scored in the 3–2 loss to Spurs on March 1, making up for a near-Japhet Tanganga bout. The Irishman loves to go ahead and get into the mix.
The Spurs have sold Kyle Walker-Peters to Southampton and Japhet Tanganga can play a little backwards, but Mourinho wants Aurier to have a good time.
Wolves need about $25 million for Doherty, while Spurs would like a payment with significant additions. Athletic says a commitment is coming and $18 million may be reached.
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We have a real war over the goalkeeper’s post at Old Trafford.
If you had any doubts before Wednesday, it evaporates with the news that Dean Henderson has signed a new six-year contract with the Red Devils.
[MORE: Chelsea spends a lot on Chilwell]
Henderson has been loaned three times, twice to high-profile locations with Sheffield United. Another loan may be on the calendar for Henderson, but can he also have a chance to beat De Gea this summer and fall?
Henderson, now 23, returns to Manchester United with a number of honours. He was named to the PFA Ligue 1 Team of the Year while selling Shrewsbury Town in 2017-18, won the Golden Glove Championship when the Blades were promoted in 2018-19 and nearly led the club to Europe in their first PL season.
How smart is he this season? WhoScored.com dropped a statistic that shouts anything still “product of the system,” noting that of goalkeepers who made 25 or more Premier League appearances last season, their 75.2% smart fortune index is the pop score.
Here’s what Manchester United coach Ole Gunnar Solskjaer said about signing, tilting too many hands. From ManUtd.com:
“We are in a solid position in the goalkeeper branch and this provides us with the festival for the shots we are looking for in the team. Dean is another wonderful example of the kind of player who has passed through the Academy and understands what it means to be at Manchester United. We are all looking ahead to run with Dean and proceed to expand his talent.
The most important will be how Henderson does it with his feet, as Blades boss Chris Wilder has asked his pin to hit a lot of long balls in the back. Who do you think wins the job? And where does Henderson pass if he has to go on loan for a number 1 shirt?
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