Tag Archives: Cesc Fabregas

Fabregas In, Matic Out: The Chelsea XI To Dent Man United’s Champions League Hopes

Josh Challies April 16, 2017

Chelsea are on-course for Premier League glory but can hand a huge blow to rivals Manchester United this weekend with a victory. Here, we’ve selected the team Antonio Conte should select to win the match.

GK: Thibaut Courtois

Chelsea’s Belgian stopper has been a mainstay in Antonio Conte’s side throughout the season, starting all 31 Premier League fixtures for the Blues. During that time, Chelsea have kept 13 clean sheets- the highest amount in the division.

The Blues have also conceded just 25 goals in the Premier League, a number only Tottenham Hotspur and Manchester United can better, and Courtois has been vastly important to Chelsea’s solid defensive structure.

The game is being shown live on Sky Sports on Sunday afternoon (4pm kick-off UK time) and you can get a NowTV day pass and watch the game for just £6.29 with our fantastic 10% off a day pass offer.

Batshuayi in, Costa out: The Chelsea XI To Beat Man City On Wednesday

Josh Challies April 4, 2017

Chelsea surge towards Premier League glory was halted by Crystal Palace at the weekend and there’s a real danger that they could concede their advantage in the league standings over the coming weeks.

The Blues hold a seven point advantage over Tottenham Hotspur heading into the midweek Premier League fixtures and that could be cut to just four points by the end of play tomorrow, should Chelsea lose to Manchester City and Spurs beat Swansea.

Antonio Conte’s side need to treat the defeat to Crystal Palace as a wake-up call and make sufficient alterations to their side as a result, to ensure the squad is kept fresh and, crucially, doesn’t get complacent as we approach the latter end of the season.

With a few tweaks to the side that lost to Palace at the weekend, Chelsea can return to winning ways against Pep Guardiola’s side. Here, we’ve selected the ideal XI to tackle the Citizens.

GK: Thibaut Courtois

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The Belgian goalkeeper has been an ever-present figure for the Blues this season, playing all 29 games of the Blues charge to the top of the Premier League. During that time, he’s conceded just 23 goals- a number only Tottenham Hotspur (21) can better.

With 13 clean-sheets, the highest in the league, Courtois has been an important member of a Chelsea defence that has been extremely difficult to break down. They’ll need him to be at his best against Manchester City, who have scored 56 goals this season.

‘He Must Start Every Game’ Chelsea Fans Impressed With Midfielder vs. Swansea

Oli Price-Bates February 26, 2017

Chelsea managed to get past a resilient Swansea City side on Saturday with a 3-1 win. The Welsh side grew into the game after scoring an eqauliser against the run of play and at 1-1, the game could have gone either way. But Chelsea again found a way to win and move comfortably 11 points clear at the top of the league. Cesc Fabregas came in for Nemanja Matic and he proved to be the player that made all the difference on the day.

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Fabregas has had to sit on the bench for much of the season but his performances in recent weeks will have done his chances no harm whatsoever. Alongside Kante, Fabregas has more creative freedom to roam and make the difference in possession – the duo compliment each other extremely well and we are certainly seeing a more confident and better Fabregas next to Kante rather than Matic.

Cesc was the heartbeat of the Chelsea team, with 127 touches during the game - crucially he picked up a goal and an assist. The Spaniard is a much more creative option than Matic and that was shown not only with his goal and assist but also with his 5 key passes.

He completed a huge 108 passes with a 86% success rate - that’s more passes than anyone else on the pitch. Despite playing in a central position, he attempted 7 crosses, and 8 long balls with 5 of them accurate. Fabregas was not afraid to shoot either, he had more shots (5) than any other Chelsea player, with two of them finding the target.

Here’s how the Chelsea fans reacted to his performance on Twitter.

In my opinion Fabregas should be in the first team regularly, I think he has been better than Matic this season, although Matic of course has his benefits for when the game is more physical or Chelsea may be required to do more defending.

It’s great that Antonio Conte has options outside his first eleven though, as injuries could start to kick in in the latter stages of the season. Conte will also be keen to win the FA Cup and next up is Manchester United in the quarter final – he’ll certainly need his squad players to contribute then.

3 Players Arsenal Should Sign In The January Transfer Window

Fresh Football December 5, 2016

Arsenal moved up to second in the Premier League table after a 5-1 win over London rivals West Ham on Saturday, and having already secured qualification into the knockout stages of the Champions League, Arsene Wenger will be looking to add to his squad depth over the January transfer window so that he can make a push for the Premier League title as well as progress in the Champions League. Here are three players that Arsenal should try to sign in the new year.

1) Cesc Fabregas

Arsene Wenger has always rejected the idea whenever put to him that he wants to bring Cesc Fabregas back to the Emirates Stadium, but if he was given the opportunity to work with the Spaniard once again, then I am sure he would.

The Gunners could have the chance to secure the services of Fabregas over the course of the January transfer window according to reports emerging on Sunday morning from the Sunday Express. The 29-year-old has not featured regularly under Antonio Conte this season, despite playing in the 3-1 win over Manchester City on Saturday.

Santi Cazorla has been sidelined for three months, and despite denying it, Arsene Wenger will be keen to find a replacement in the new year. The signing of Fabregas would also add to Arsenal’s squad depth as they look to make a charge for the Premier League title whilst progressing as far as they can in the Champions League.

If Arsenal were able to secure the services of Fabregas, it would be an excellent signing for the Gunners. The Spaniard still has a lot to offer in the Premier League, and you just have to look at the ball Fabregas played up to Diego Costa for the equaliser on Saturday to see the quality he can offer.

Report: Chelsea Consider Making Shock Transfer Offer, Fans Aren’t Happy

Oli Price-Bates October 10, 2016

Chelsea could be about to make a very strange and massive transfer offer, if the papers are to be believed.

The report comes from The Sun, who lets face it, are not the most reliable source - so lets remember that before dissecting this story. The story suggests that Chelsea really want Leonardo Bonucci, and I can believe that. They also suggest that Juventus do not want to sell unless it is for a huge amount of money, also, understandable. They discuss the possibility of Cesc Fabregas being involved in any deal, that does make sense, with Conte clearly not a fan and the player offering obvious value to Juventus.

To me this doesn’t make sense and even after the season Eden has had, Chelsea would be able to sell him for in excess of £50million to a whole host of clubs. I can believe that Conte isn’t the biggest fan of Hazard, who prefers to roam rather than strict on the field discipline - however Conte isn’t stupid and offering Hazard plus cash for Bonucci makes zero financial sense. Hazard is younger and for me, has a higher value, despite the obvious brilliance of Bonucci.

It’s fair to say that these rumours have been met with a fair amount of scepticism and fear from Chelsea fans on Social Media. Here’s some of the best reaction.

Amazingly the paper claims Juventus would rather Fabregas than Hazard. I find that incredibly hard to believe. Yes Cesc may be more needed right now, but turning down the chance to sign a prime Hazard and instead opting for a ‘past it’ playmaker would seem incredibly odd. It makes the story even less believable.

Any deal for Bonucci, if it were to happen, cannot happen until at least January, so Chelsea fans need not worry for the time being. However if you are a Chelsea fan and an admirer of Hazard, you need to hope that he finds his best form soon and adapts to the Conte way of thinking, otherwise he may be moved on. At the end of the day Chelsea have opted to go with Conte as their manager, so they must buy into his style of play or leave. If Hazard leaves, Conte would more than likely replace him with a big name player that can play in his position and more to Conte’s style.

Reports: 5 Big Deadline Day Transfers Chelsea Could Be Set To Complete

Oli Price-Bates August 31, 2016

Chelsea could still be set to do some serious business this summer, despite just one day being left. We take a look at 5 potential signings Chelsea could make on deadline day, according to the latest reports.

1 - David Luiz

We told you all about the Luiz to Chelsea story yesterday. According to Sky Sports, Luiz has been subject of a £30million+ bid from Chelsea and the club are continuing negotiations with Paris Saint-Germain over the potential signing of the 29-year-old defender. Resigning Luiz would be a bit of an odd move, especially considering his questionable form at PSG last season. Despite only playing 25 Ligue 1 games, Luiz made 4 defensive errors last season, Cahill and Terry combined only made 3. Luiz also struggles in other key defensive areas. For example he only made 0.34 blocks per 90 last season, and won a miserable 1.16 aerial duels. His weakness in the air is particularly worrying and could see him exposed in the physical Premier League. If he joins Chelsea fans will hope that Conte can drive the errors out of the Brazilian and turn him into a disciplined defender.

Fresh Football Team Of The Season: Better Than PFA’s?

Oli Price-Bates April 28, 2015

I saw the PFA team of the year and as usual, didn’t agree. So I thought I’d create the team I think deserves to be there and see what others think. I don’t expect anyone to agree completely with my selection, but opinions are what makes football interesting.

David De Gea - Manchester United

Under close competition from Courtois, de Gea wins this one just about. He has been incredible for Manchester United this season, I very much doubt they would be in the top four without him.

Nathaniel Clyne - Southampton

He will be subject to some big bids in the summer I’m sure. Chelsea, Liverpool and Manchester United have been linked. A great season from Clyne and he deserves to be here.

John Terry - Chelsea

Terry might be getting on, but he has been brilliant this season for Chelsea. The English defender looks like he hasn’t aged a bit since Mourinho last managed the club.

Laurent Koscielny - Arsenal

Arsenal’s main man in defence, Koscielny’s quality has once again gone under the radar this season. He’s one of the best central defenders in the league, and this season, deserves a place in the team.

Aaron Cresswell - West Ham

The 25 year old deserves recognition for an amazing season. His form hasn’t gone unnoticed by the biggest teams in the league who are reportedly interested. His performances played a big part in the Hammers incredible first half of the season.

Eden Hazard - Chelsea

No need to justify this guys inclusion. The Belgian has been in terrific form all season and has been named the PFA Player of the Season.

Morgan Schneiderlin - Southampton

The Southampton midfielder is wanted by most of the Premier Leagues top four - you can see why. He has been a central figure to Southampton’s success this season and has even added goals to his game.

Cesc Fabregas - Chelsea

The most assists in the league. 16 assists in one season warrants a place in this team. Although his form has faded somewhat since Christmas (as have much of the Chelsea team) he still deserves to be in this team.

Alexis Sanchez - Arsenal

The Chilean has had an explosive start to his Premier League career. With 14 Premier League goals he has exceeded expectations. No doubt about his inclusion in this team, despite again not being as impressive in the second half of the season.

Sergio Aguero - Manchester City

Aguero was somehow left out of the PFA team despite, in my opinion being the best striker in the league this season. Whilst many City players have under performed this season, Aguero has bagged 21 Premier League goals - more than any other player.

Harry Kane - Tottenham

It’s been an explosive year for the Tottenham striker. He’s established himself as a top player this season, and whether he ca continue that form into next season is questionable, but his position in this eleven is not.

Subs: Thibaut Courtois, Emre Can, Jose Fonte, Francis Coquelin, Santi Cazorla, Christian Eriksen, Diego Costa

Unlike many team of the seasons, this side actually has balance. By that I mean it has a chance of winning real games against challenging opponents. I’ve seen too many teams flooded with all attacking midfielders and strikers, purely to include all the attacking talent on show in the league. The reality is there is a lot more to football than attack, and this team, and bench appreciates that.

What do you think of this team and what do you think of the PFA’s team? Tweet us at @FreshFootball.

‘Best Team In The World’: Fans React To Record Breaking Performance

Steve Wallbridge November 24, 2014

Chelsea have been in formidable form this season, and yesterday’s 2-0 win over West Brom shows that they have no intention of slowing down. The team set a new club record after they completed 812 passes during the game, beating their previous record of 803 against Arsenal. The Blues have now taken 32 points from their opening 12 games and many are wondering whether they can replicate the success of Arsenal’s 03/04 team and go unbeaten all season. They are the only title challenging team in the league that have shown real consistency this season, apart from Southampton, who have proven to be this years surprise package.

It’s no wonder Mourinho’s team is doing so well given the performances of some of their players, most notably Cesc Fabregas and Diego Costa. Fabregas has already racked up 10 assists in the Premier League, which means he is already only 8 away from beating the record held by Thierry Henry. Meanwhile, Diego Costa has hit the ground running at Chelsea and his goal yesterday means he is now on 11 for the season, one behind Manchester City’s Sergio Aguero.

Here’s how Chelsea fans reacted to the win: