2 HRS AGO - • Chelsea manager wanted Kanté back sooner for treatment• Lampard unimpressed with communication and DeschampsFrank Lampard has accused France of a lack of communication and criticised Didier Deschamps after N’Golo Kanté returned from international duty with an injury that will keep him out of Chelsea’s game against Newcastle today.Kanté has been plagued by fitness problems this season and the Chelsea midfielder had to withdraw from the France side that beat Iceland in qualifying for Euro 2020 after suffering a groin injury during the warm-up. Related: Premier League: 10 things to look out for this weekend Continue reading... Collapse

10/10/2019 - Héctor Bellerín played well for Arsenal Under-23s while returning from injury, but not every big star is a great exampleBy Gavin Willacy for Playing in the ShadowsMost of the Arsenal Under-23 team will have been unfazed by the thought of playing Liverpool at Meadow Park in Borehamwood in front of a crowd of 358. But a few of them may have been starstruck when they looked around and saw Héctor Bellerín in their defence. Bellerín’s appearance was unusual for two reasons. Star players returning from injury usually play for less than an hour and only do so in reserve games at the club’s own stadium. Bellerín played the full 90 minutes at a local non-league ground, setting up Arsenal’s second equaliser in a 2-2 draw.Lining up alongside an established international should help the young Arsenal players develop. However, star names often prove as much aggro as they are worth for Under-23s managers. One told me: “We get different first-team players every game and it’s always for the benefit Collapse

07/10/2019 - City need De Bruyne fit, Connolly is a rising star at Brighton and Everton’s Silva should beware the international breakThe Dozen: our pick of the weekend’s best imagesUnai Emery, in his programme notes for the game against Bournemouth, spoke about the importance of balance and how he wants his side to be “competitive both defensively and offensively”. That is excellent in theory but it needs to be put into practice and yet again on Sunday there was little evidence of that. Arsenal won but they did not play well and the most glaring issue is the lack of an obvious plan. Are Arsenal meant to press aggressively, and if so why did that part of their game drop off so alarmingly? Are they meant to dominate possession, and if so why do their midfielders appear to spend more time running than playing passes? It is confusing and while injuries are an issue for Emery, particularly in regards to his first‑choice full-backs, it is fair to expect that after more than a year in charge his vision Collapse

06/10/2019 - That new five-year deal for Callum Hudson-Odoi is already looking like smart business for Chelsea. A player whose future seemed to lie elsewhere when Maurizio Sarri was in charge was the best player on the pitch after being handed his first league start of the season, running Southampton ragged with a display that demonstrated precisely why Bayern Munich wanted to buy him earlier this year.Back from a serious achilles injury, Hudson-Odoi is playing with the determination of someone making up for lost time, someone desperate to show he is just as good as his fellow academy graduates. He has not looked out of place since returning to fitness and, having impressed as a substitute in recent weeks, he was outstanding from the start here, playing a starring role as Chelsea recorded a crushing victory over a clumsy Southampton side. Related: James Milner downs Leicester at the last to keep up Liverpool’s perfect start Continue reading... Collapse

05/10/2019 - Chelsea face a tricky trip to St Mary’s Stadium as they attempt to put together a run of results to launch them into Champions League contention. It has been an encouraging, if inconsistent, start to life as a Premier League manager for Frank Lampard. The supporters have been excited by his team selections and the […] The post Southampton vs Chelsea Preview | Team News, Key Men & Predictions appeared first on EPL Index - Unofficial Premier League Blog, Stats, Tactics & Podcasts at EPLindex.com. Southampton vs Chelsea Preview | Team News, Key Men & Predictions was first posted on October 5, 2019 at 8:00 am.©2018 "EPL Index - Unofficial Premier League Blog, Stats, Tactics & Podcasts at EPLindex.com". Use of this feed is for personal non-commercial use only. If you are not reading this article in your feed reader, then the site is guilty of copyright infringement. Please contact me at eplindex@gmail.com Collapse

03/10/2019 - The £58m American youngster has fallen down the pecking order in recent weeks at Stamford BridgeChristian Pulisic wore a stony expression in the aftermath of Chelsea’s victory over Lille. The American winger had spent the evening kicking his heels in the stands, a frustrated figure reduced to watching his new teammates kickstart their Champions League campaign without him at Stade Pierre-Mauroy.Pulisic’s early struggles at Chelsea have emerged as one of the more intriguing storylines at the start of the Frank Lampard era. There have been flashes from the £58m signing from Borussia Dortmund, an assist in the win over Norwich in August, a bright display in the Super Cup against Liverpool, but the 21-year-old has been frozen out in recent weeks. His only appearance since the start of September came in last week’s Carabao Cup win over League Two’s Grimsby Town and he did not even merit a place on the bench against Lille, much to the consternation of the US media. Related: Willian’s Collapse

02/10/2019 - For long spells it seemed that this was going to be another tale of frustration for Chelsea, another night when Frank Lampard’s young players would be undermined by their habit of following every step in the right direction with a costly stumble. They had thrown away another lead, fashioned by Tammy Abraham’s eighth goal of the season, and were being pushed to the limit by Lille.Yet the mood changed entirely when Willian’s deflected effort fizzed into the net with 13 minutes left. Chelsea had not been threatening to score a second goal but they were on their way to their third consecutive win under Lampard and had bounced back in style after losing their opening Champions League match, lifting them level with second-placed Valencia in Group H. Continue reading... Collapse

01/10/2019 - Chelsea have had an exciting start to the season with a number of young players making an impact under the guidance of Frank Lampard. The supporters will be hoping that they can now start to find consistency in results, with a kind run of fixtures upcoming. They lost their opening Champions League match of the […] The post Lille vs Chelsea Preview | Stats, Key Men & Team News appeared first on EPL Index - Unofficial Premier League Blog, Stats, Tactics & Podcasts at EPLindex.com. Lille vs Chelsea Preview | Stats, Key Men & Team News was first posted on October 1, 2019 at 8:00 am.©2018 "EPL Index - Unofficial Premier League Blog, Stats, Tactics & Podcasts at EPLindex.com". Use of this feed is for personal non-commercial use only. If you are not reading this article in your feed reader, then the site is guilty of copyright infringement. Please contact me at eplindex@gmail.com Collapse

28/09/2019 - Stamford Bridge is in danger of becoming the happiest ground in the country. The crowd remained patient even when Chelsea were struggling to break Brighton & Hove Albion down and it turned into a carnival atmosphere once Frank Lampard’s side, gifted a lead by a catastrophic error from Adam Webster, pulled clear of their opponents in the second half.Such is the effect of having Lampard barking orders from the dugout during these transitional times in this corner of west London. Chelsea’s supporters were not this understanding when it was Maurizio Sarri standing there last season. These days, though, they even bellow Jorginho’s name. A divisive figure last year, the Italy midfielder has emerged as a leader in recent weeks and it was his penalty that set Chelsea on their way to their first home win in the league under Lampard. Continue reading... Collapse