The official Chelsea website checks on the progress of some of our players out on loan and looks forward to the week ahead…
Loan highlights
Lucas Piazon scored a brace as Vitesse Arnhem strengthened their grip at the top of the Eredivisie with a 3-2 win over Stipe Perica’s NAC Breda.
The Brazilian, at the heart of much that was positive from the home side, scored the first of his two goals from the penalty spot 10 minutes before the break, and added a second five minutes into the second half.
Patrick van Aanholt, Christian Atsu and Gael Kakuta all featured, while Sam Hutchinson was an unused substitute.
Vitesse currently sit two points ahead of second-placed Ajax.
In Spain, Thibaut Courtois kept a clean sheet as Atletico Madrid beat Oriol Romeu’s Valencia 1-0, with both players completing the full 90 minutes.
Patrick Bamford’s fine run of form continued when he scored his 14th goal of the season as MK Dons recorded an impressive 2-0 win away at Wolverhampton Wanderers.
Milan Lalkovic, meanwhile, scored the only goal of the game as Walsall beat Shrewsbury, the Chelsea loanee pouncing nine minutes into the second half.
Josh McEachran returned to the Watford fold after illness but was an unused substitute in their 1-0 defeat to Sheffield Wednesday.
Former Blues
Following their 1-0 defeat at Cardiff City, former Chelsea player and coach Steve Clarke was dismissed as West Bromwich Albion manager.
The Scot had been in charge since replacing Roy Hodgson in June 2012. Saturday’s defeat was their fourth in a row.
Yossi Benayoun, meanwhile, has joined Queens Park Rangers until the end of the season. The Israeli midfielder had been without a club since leaving Stamford Bridge in the summer and signed for the Loftus Road club after impressing during a two-week trial.
The Chelsea week ahead
It’s another busy week for the Blues, starting today when we find out who we will face in the knockout stages of the Champions League.
On Monday evening, Dermot Drummy’s Under-21s return to league action with an away game at Bolton Wanderers and then on Tuesday we head north to take on Sunderland in the Capital One Cup quarter-finals, with Jose Mourinho’s side looking to secure a second win in the space of a fortnight at the Stadium of Light.
Our Spanish trio – Fernando Torres, Juan Mata and Cesar Azpilicueta – will be taking part in a Facebook Q&A on Friday which is also the day for a Christmas Party for our junior members at Stamford Bridge.
There is no game for the first team next weekend, with Mourinho’s men facing Arsenal on Monday, but our Under-18s take on Reading at Cobham on Saturday, kick-off 11 am.