?It wasn’t the best start to his Chelsea career for £58m striker Alvaro Morata has he missed a crucial penalty at Wembley in the Community Shield against Arsenal on Sunday.
The Blues were beaten 4-1 as the Gunners lifted the traditional curtain-raiser trophy for a 14th time and for the third time in four seasons.
Morata didn’t start at Wembley, replacing Michy Batshuayi on 74 minutes before fluffing his lines in the shoot out which used the ABBA format.
Some Chelsea fans tweeted their hope that the Blues decide not to sell Diego Costa this summer.
Chelsea better keep hold of Diego Costa
— tómiDè?? (@aM_tomiDe) August 6, 2017
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If we aren’t buying any new players we need to keep Costa. Conte will get sacked and then at least we’ll have idolo ready to fire
— Adi (@Illumin_Adi) August 7, 2017
??A video also emerged on social media following the match that showed Batshuayi laughing with suggestions that he enjoyed Morata’s penalty miss.
??However, it seems that this was not the case as Batshuayi had been substituted so would not have been on the pitch during the penalty shoot out.
Furthermore, in the clip, there are a number of empty seats behind Batshuayi suggesting that the video comes after the conclusion of the shoot-out. The crowd at Wembley on Sunday was 83,325 so there would be have been a big bank of empty seats behind the Chelsea team.
Batshuayi tweeted that he was not laughing at Morata saying: “Wow lol some people really believe I laughed at my teammate and/or us losing?. Sorry to disappoint but I wasn’t.”
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Chelsea kick off their Premier League season on Saturday at home to Burnley before returning to Wembley to take on Tottenham.
Chelsea and Liverpool target Virgil van Dijk has finally handed in a transfer request at Southampton as he seeks to engineer a move away from the St Mary’s outfit this summer?.
The Netherlands international put himself on the market with some fine displays throughout the first half of last season and wants to switch clubs, but the Saints are continuing to play hardball.
Virgil van Dijk submits transfer request
— paul joyce (@_pauljoyce) August 7, 2017
The player’s statement, obtained by Sky Sports, reads: “I am incredibly ambitious and want to achieve as much as I can to fulfil my potential in what is a very short career as a professional footballer.
“I want to play European football again and challenge for major honours and as such I would like Southampton to consider the interest in me from top clubs should it still exist.”
Liverpool had been hot on the player’s trail earlier this summer, but were forced to back off after the Saints threatened to report them to various authorities for tapping up.
He has since been left out of training with the first team, with certain reports claiming that he had opted to make himself unavailable for practice with the rest of the squad.
But Van Dijk’s statement strongly denies these allegations, and he describes himself as feeling quite insulted by the suggestions of him absenting himself from training.
Premier League title holders Chelsea have also been monitoring the Dutchman, and are reported as readying a bid for the player. Figures at the London side are thought to be very optimistic, given the soured relationship between the Reds and Saints. And this latest development should prove a huge boost.
“As a proud professional I am truly insulted by the suggestion that it was me who refused to train and so feel it is important to point out the true version of events,” Van Dijk continued.
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“I had very much hoped to retain the good relationship I’ve always enjoyed with everyone at the club, especially the fans, but unfortunately in light of everything that’s happened this has now been seriously affected.”
?Chelsea captain Gary Cahill was left very unimpressed with the newly introduced ABBA penalty system after Chelsea’s loss to Arsenal in the Community Shield on Sunday.
The Blues went ahead through Victor Moses’ goal early in the second half, but Arsene Wenger’s men led a late charge that saw the game go to penalties, with Sead Kolasinac getting the equaliser.
Cahill stepped up to take Chelsea’s first spot kick, and scored with a brilliant effort, but it was all downhill from there as Thibaut Courtois and Alvaro Morata would both miss their attempts.
The new system implements something similar to a tennis tie-break, as opposed to just swapping turns.
The Blues found themselves down 2-1 after Cahill’s goal due to the fact that Arsenal were allowed to take two successive penalties. With Courtous and Morata missing, Theo Walcott and Olivier Giroud were left to win the shootout for the Gunners.
“My first impression of it is I’m not a fan,” Cahill said, via the ?Evening Standard. “We were a couple of goals down after one penalty so mentally that’s different than when you’ve got one, one, one, one.”
The new skipper also claimed that the team will rally around Morata following his unfortunate miss.
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“We’ll all get together and rally around him and I’m sure he’ll start the season well and bang in goals for us. It goes for any forward. As soon as you get a goal you’re up and running, you feel like it, so the sooner the better.”
We’re nearly there, people. Premier League football will be back in our lives in just a few days and not a moment too soon!
Champions Chelsea face a difficult second season under Antonio Conte, with all their rivals (except Tottenham) spending big this summer to take back the crown.
Here’s how the Blues are shaping up for the coming season.
7. Last Season
Chelsea were imperious last term, storming to the Premier League title with a record 30 league wins. It seems a long time since Chelsea suffered successive defeats to Liverpool and Arsenal in September, with many questioning Antonio Conte’s suitability for the Premier League at the time.
A switch to a 3-4-2-1 or 3-4-3 system reversed the Blues’ fortunes and saw the Italian’s dynamic side embark on a record equalling 13-game winning streak. Former loan exile Victor Moses was ingeniously deployed in a right wing-back role where he excelled and Conte moulded his side into a mercilessly effective counter attacking unit.
Tottenham were breathing down the necks of their London rivals into the season’s final weeks, finishing on 86 points, but for second half of the campaign Chelsea’s title credentials were never in doubt.
6. Transfers In
Conte was reportedly bitterly disappointed to lose out on proven Premier League goalscorer Romelu Lukaku to Man Utd when a deal looked all but done. The Italian settled for record signing Alvaro Morata for £60m, though it remains to be seen whether the Spaniard can adapt quickly to the demands of being a leading man in the Premier League.
However, the signings of Antonio Rudiger (from Roma) and Tiemoue Bakayoko (from Monaco), both look like savvy acquisitions.
Should Antonio Conte choose to deploy Cesc Fabregas in an advanced role in midfield as has been suggested in recent weeks, the prospect of a Bakayoko/N’Golo Kante partnership in middle of the park is incredibly intimidating.
5. Transfers Out
Chelsea youngsters Nathan Ake, Nathaniel Chalobah and Dominic Solanke were all offloaded in Chelsea’s traditional youth prospect wholesale. However, there’s every chance at least Ake and Chalobah will be back, should the Blues choose to buy them back for double the price in a couple of years. Ruben Loftus-Cheek has also left but only on loan to Crystal Palace.
Backup keeper Asmir Begovic departed for Bournemouth, to be replaced by Man City’s Willy Caballero, whilst club legend John Terry took his final bow.
4. Strengths
The boys in blue were solid without the ball last season, with a defensive record second only to Spurs and just five defeats and three draws all season.
The robust deep-lying midfield duo of Nemanja Matic and N’Golo Kante meant Eden Hazard, Pedro and/or Willian were released from much of their defensive duties, and waited for service just behind Diego Costa.
The Blues were mercilessly effective on the counter attack, with Marcos Alonso and Victor Moses overloading the opposition full-backs on either side.
3. Weaknesses
In short, a second gear. Diego Costa had an uncanny knack for arriving in the right areas but often left much to be desired where his link up play was concerned.
Chelsea fans will be hoping Alvaro Morata can provide a more versatile option up front, and help to bring others into the game with his back to goal.
The West Londoner’s reliance on Eden Hazard, for an attacking outlet is understandable given his world class ability but could prove disastrous should his injury problems drag on into the new season.
2. Key Man
You could argue N’Golo or even David Luiz, but it has to be Eden. The Belgian finally looked himself again last term after a torrid time in the 2015-16 season. The former Lille star scored 17 goals, seven assists including a masterful solo goal against Arsenal.
The Belgium captain has reaffirmed his commitment to the club, and is reportedly close to signing a whopping £300,000-per-week contract extension with Chelsea.
Potential Breakout: Andreas Christensen.
1. Predictions
Title challengers. Provided Morata can supply anything close to the 20 goals Diego Costa managed last season, there’s no reason the Blues can’t challenge again.
Whilst all other clubs in the top six still seem to be building, Chelsea are a team of veteran campaigners and league winners. The Blues’ stubborn ability to play extremely poorly for long periods of the season whilst nabbing results is the envy of their rivals.
Arsenal beat Chelsea by virtue of a penalty shootout to secure the first silverware of the season on Sunday, in a game that made up for a distinct lack of quality with plenty of talking points.
Victor Moses gave the Blues the lead early in the second half, before a Pedro red card and a Sead Kolasinac equaliser with ten minutes remaining forced the game into a shootout.
And the game was decided with the new penalty shootout format – ABBA – which is certainly likely to split opinion, here are five things we learned from events at Wembley.
5. We Could Have an All New Penalty Shootout Format (And Thibaut Courtois Really Can’t Take Penalties)
So, the ABBA format has arrived. Whether it’s here to stay or not will depend on the reception it gets following its trial in the Community Shield.
If you were unlucky enough to miss it, think of something similar to a tie break in tennis. The side that begin the shootout take just one penalty, before their opponents take two in succession. Each side then continue to take two each until a winner is found.
On this occasion, the winner was Arsenal, thanks in part to Thibaut Courtois’ horrendous attempt, which more closely resembled a goal kick.
4. Both Sides Have Plenty of Room to Improve
Neither of Arsenal and Chelsea were particularly impressive on the day, although it’s not entirely surprising that the game lacked an element of quality.
Both had key players missing or rested, and there was clearly some pre-season rustiness still to be shaken off.
That being said, there will be plenty of areas Arsene Wenger and Antonio Conte will have identified for improvement. The two goals were sloppily defended from both, with the scorers unmarked and in far too much space.
3. Alexandre Lacazette Looks Lively Ahead of Debut Premier League Season
He was by no means sensational, but there were hints of potentially exciting things to come from Arsenal’s £52m new signing Alexandre Lacazette.
The French forward very nearly put the Gunners in front with a curling effort that struck the post, and his movement caused the Chelsea defence a number of problems.
His inclusion in the team also seemed to free up space for Danny Welbeck and Alex Iwobi. Expect Lacazette to show more of his ability when the Premier League season kicks off against Leicester on Friday.
2. Defeat Could Help Vindicate Antonio Conte’s Squad Complaints
Chelsea were by no means poor against Arsenal, but the loss and the slightly lacklustre display may help Antonio Conte stress the importance of bringing in new arrivals.
The Italian coach opted to leave new signings Anton Rudiger and Alvaro Morata on the bench, and was without Eden Hazard, Tiémoué Bakayoko and Diego Costa, who is set to leave the club.
Conte has been repeatedly bringing up the need for reinforcements before the end of the window, and the depleted squad list in the Community Shield programme seemed to emphasise his point.
1. Sead Kolasinac Could Be Arsenal’s Next Fan Favourite
The powerful defender certainly made a positive impact in the time he was given as a second half substitute against Chelsea.
Kolasinac stamped his authority on the game with physicality, something Arsenal have been accused of lacking in recent years. The Bosnian, judging by today’s display, will quickly eradicate any concerns that the Gunners could be too lightweight.
To add to that, he scored the crucial late equaliser with a well guided header to take the game to penalties and an eventual Arsenal victory.
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