Author: Crazy

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Nicolas Jackson fired Chelsea into the fourth round of the Carabao Cup as they beat Brighton 1-0 at Stamford Bridge.

The victory helped ease some of the early pressure on Mauricio Pochettino after a difficult start in the Premier League, with their passage to the last 16 of the competition sealed early in the second half.

It was also a vital goal for Jackson, just his second since arriving at Chelsea in the summer.

Brighton will have been frustrated to lose, particularly after missing two glorious chances in the first half. But with the Europa League to contend with this season alongside their brilliant start in the league, an early exit may have been a blessing in disguise for Roberto De Zerbi and his side.

Chelsea ease Poch pressure as they progress

Robert Sanchez swapped Brighton for Chelsea in the summer, but you would have been forgiven for thinking he was still working for the former in the first half.

On two occasions his misplaced passing presented glorious opportunities for Brighton. At first he gave the ball straight to Joao Pedro, only for the striker to dink onto the bar from the edge of the box.

Then he gave Moises Caicedo – another former Seagull – the ball in a hapless position, with the midfielder dispossessed only to be spared by the fact that Ansu Fati wasn’t then clinical enough.

Brighton would pay for those missed chances early in the second half as Chelsea took the lead. A fine team move culminated in the impressive Cole Palmer feeding a pass into Jackson – who finished coolly into the bottom corner from just inside the box.

Palmer shines on first Chelsea start

Palmer had to make do with three appearances off the bench in the Premier League since arriving at Chelsea, but it will be tough for Mauricio Pochettino to overlook him again for a place in his starting XI when they head to Fulham on Monday night.

The former Manchester City man was at the heart of everything Chelsea did well in an attacking sense, and teed up the first goal they have scored since his arrivival at the club.

The 21-year-old is silky with his feet, incisive with his passing, and also possesses presence and power in his game. Wednesday night could have been the start of a fruitful Chelsea career.

What’s next?

Both sides are back in Premier League action next. Brighton head to Aston Villa for a 12.30pm kick-off on Saturday. Chelsea visit local rivals Fulham on Monday Night Football – live on Sky Sports Premier League from 6.30pm, with kick-off at 8pm.

Chelsea boss Mauricio Pochettino says he ‘likes’ the club’s owners coming into the team’s dressing room after games at Stamford Bridge.

Pochettino revealed co-owners Todd Boehly and Behdad Eghbali, as well as co-sporting directors Laurence Stewart and Paul Winstanley, have been making regular post-match visits to the dressing room this season.

The Argentine confirmed the ownership visited the dressing room after Sunday’s 1-0 home defeat to Aston Villa which left Chelsea with just one win from their opening six Premier League games as they sit 14th in the table despite spending £1bn since being taken over in May 2022.

Speaking ahead of Wednesday night’s Carabao Cup third-round home tie against Brighton, Pochettino said: “I like when the owners come [in].

“In all my career as a coach at Espanyol, Southampton, Tottenham and Paris Saint-Germain, I think it’s good that the owner comes to the dressing room.

“The way in which they approach the players is most important. If they are in a good and correct way then they’re very welcome.

“After my press conference on Sunday [against Villa] they came and shared with us like normally. They also did it with [the games against] Liverpool, Luton and Nottingham Forest.

“They came with Paul and Laurence, Behdad and sometimes also Todd, and they share some comment and we talk about the game always after my media duties.

“I don’t see it in a bad way. For me it’s good always if they share with us and then they say hello to the players. If they came for a speech or a different thing, then of course maybe that is different.

“But in the way that they come, they are very welcome. They own the club, so I think they can do whatever they want.

“I think they are in a very good way and we are so glad that they came and shared time with us – even when we won the game or we didn’t win and we’re suffering.”

Pochettino also expressed his happiness at the conduct of the owners in the dressing room.

Co-controlling owner Boehly was heavily criticised last season for entering the dressing room and reportedly calling the team “embarrassing” in an address to the players after the home defeat to Brighton.

But Pochettino believes “they know how to behave”.

Asked whether he gave a speech to the players following Sunday’s defeat, Pochettino said: “Not really, but I think we’ve been speaking a lot with the players on Monday and Tuesday.

“It’s my duty that if I need to do a speech then it’s my decision – only me or the players or the captain.

“It’s not a job of the owner to come to the dressing room and to give a speech after the game, even when you win or lose. But they know very well how they need to behave.”

Poch on Bruno exit: He didn’t belong to my coaching staff

Pochettino also addressed the exit of first-team coach Bruno Saltor.

Saltor came to Stamford Bridge as part of Graham Potter’s coaching staff, and he acted as Chelsea caretaker boss when the former Brighton manager was sacked after just 31 matches in charge.

But Saltor has now left the Blues, with the two sides reaching a mutual agreement to terminate the remaining two years of his contract.

Pochettino said of the Spaniard’s departure: “It was a decision between the club and Bruno.

“He didn’t belong to my coaching staff and then it’s the best decision for him and for the club.”

Pochettino has yet to decide whether to bring in his own replacement.

Merson Says: Chelsea’s cup tie is crucial – Pochettino is getting panicky

Sky Sports’ Paul Merson:

Chelsea need the Carabao Cup more than any other team. Wednesday night’s cup tie with Brighton means more to Chelsea than any of the other teams left in the tournament.

I said Tottenham missed a trick by playing a weakened team in round two and going out. But you look at them now and the way they have started, they need to get in the Champions League so I can understand why they rested players now.

But Chelsea can’t win a game for toffee. They haven’t had a hard start either, a lot of clubs would have bitten your hand off for those fixtures. Newcastle started the season against Aston Villa, Liverpool, Manchester City and Brighton but have four more points than Chelsea.

The last thing Chelsea need to do now is go out to Brighton in the cup.

If you look at Chelsea’s fixtures, you worry for them. The next 10 games are so vital for their season that you can’t catch your breath. It’s a run where you actually don’t know when they’re going to win a football match.

So Wednesday is a huge football match. If they get beat here, they will have won three games in their last 24. One was against Luton and you don’t know when they will win a game. One was against AFC Wimbledon in the cup and they got over the line in that one. And the other one was against Bournemouth in the league last season but only after Bournemouth got enough points to stay up.

Even Mauricio Pochettino is coming out and is now saying: ‘It’s a process, you have to be patient’. When a manager comes out and says that, it shows they are starting to get a bit panicky. Even he doesn’t think it was meant to be like this.

If he is saying that already, it’s a worry. I hope he gets that patience and time, they have injuries too. But I’m worried.

Chelsea first-team coach, Bruno Saltor, has left the club amid a reshuffle of Mauricio Pochettino’s backroom staff.

Pochettino has yet to decide whether to bring in his own replacement.

After six games, Chelsea have had their worst start to a season since 1978.

Saltor came to Stamford Bridge as part of Graham Potter’s coaching staff, and he acted as Chelsea caretaker boss, when the former Brighton manager was sacked after just 31 matches in charge.

Potter and Saltor worked together at Brighton where the Spaniard was a youth development coach.

But Sky Sports News has confirmed Saltor has now left Chelsea too, with the two sides reaching a mutual agreement to terminate the remaining two years of his contract.

Poch: Players need to ‘grow up’

Mauricio Pochettino called on his players to collectively “grow up” after the 1-0 defeat to Aston Villa condemned them to their worst top-flight start in 45 years at the weekend.

Pochettino will now be without his starting striker Nicolas Jackson, who picked up a fifth yellow card in just his sixth Premier League game to earn himself a one-match suspension, and Malo Gusto after the Frenchman’s red card.

But the wider squad have now failed to score in three straight games and the poor run has left the Blues 14th in the Premier League, with their meagre five-point haul after six games their worst return since 1978.

“We need to grow up as a team, not only in an individual way,” Pochettino said. “A player like Nicolas is so young and is feeling his way into the Premier League and learning.

“He needs time, and in this type of game we are competing and want to win. But the players, when they are young, need to learn with experience and when they make a mistake.

“That is why we feel disappointed because we are paying too many situations like this. Things like this is another small detail and, in the end, we are losing the game. We are in a situation we need to change as soon as possible.”

Neville: Chelsea chaos ‘a mystery’

Sky Sports pundit Gary Neville:

“What’s happening? I’ve got great faith in Mauricio Pochettino, but he’s just got a huge pack of cards and he’s probably struggling to know which hand to play.

“It’s a mystery in terms of what’s happening at Chelsea. I’ve said before sometimes chaos flows right down through the club. I’ve said it about United and there’s no doubt there as well.

“There will be some changes, I don’t think they will change the manager at all, but I think there will be some changes there in terms of how they go about their business and who does the business in the next 12 months.

“I can’t see it lasting in terms of how it’s being run, it’s madness. They’re going to have to hang in there, because at the moment they’ve started really badly. The results are going to have to pick up quickly.”

Paul Merson says Arsenal may have to sign Ivan Toney in the January transfer window, with Gabriel Jesus and Eddie Nketiah not able to take the Gunners “to the next level”.

Both Jesus and Nketiah received criticism for missing big early chances in Arsenal’s 2-2 draw against Tottenham in Sunday’s north London derby – leaving them four points behind fautless leaders Manchester City.

Toney – who scored 20 Premier League goals for Brentford last season – is currently serving an eight-month ban for breaching the FA’s betting rules and will be eligible to return to action in January.

Read below for the Magic Man’s thoughts on the north London derby, Spurs vs Liverpool this weekend and what’s next for Chelsea…

I’ve always said it from day one – Eddie Nketiah is not going to win you the Premier League.

You need a proper centre forward. I’m not blaming Nketiah because they drew 2-2 with Tottenham but with 32 games to go and all the Champions League games they have to play, I don’t think he takes them to the next level. I don’t even think Gabriel Jesus takes them to the next level.

I was so confident that Arsenal would win on Sunday but when I saw the teams, I was majorly worried. Jesus on the wing, Nketiah up front, Fabio Vieira – I don’t think he’s good enough. Then Declan Rice comes off and Jorginho comes on.

It wasn’t Arsenal’s strongest team but when you think about the Champions League and all the games they have to play, it looked a bit weak on Sunday, didn’t it?

It’s alright sitting there and thinking: ‘they need a centre forward’ – but who is there?

Only Ivan Toney is available for them in January – there aren’t many centre forwards around in the world. They’re a dying breed.

I heard Michael Owen chatting the other day: years ago you had him, Alan Shearer, Teddy Sheringham and Robbie Fowler getting 20 to 30 goals a season and they didn’t get a million England caps. Ian Wright and Les Ferdinand too. Now you get to 20 goals in the Premier League and you play for England.

Toney is a good player – he can hold the ball up, he’s good in the air. Arsenal might have to go for him. But there are not a million centre forwards around.

Now, if Arsenal lose against Manchester City on October 8, they will be out of the title race. They would be seven points behind.

A lot of people say: ‘oh but there are still so many games left’. But Arsenal wouldn’t catch Man City if there were 600 games left if City had a seven-point head start. You just can’t make that up, as from then Arsenal would only have one game against City and it would be away.

That game at the Emirates is a huge match, it’s make or break already.

Liverpool beating Spurs would be massive

If Liverpool come away from Tottenham with a win next week then it’s a massive result. I’m not saying they will lose the game, but to go to Tottenham now, you’re up against a very good team with good players.

The first 35 minutes against Arsenal, I thought Spurs were pretty disappointing. I thought it was no different to watching Antonio Conte and Jose Mourinho’s Spurs. If Gabriel Jesus scores for 2-0 then it’s a completely different story. But he misses an absolute sitter.

What I liked about Tottenham after that is they kept on playing the way they like playing and I was so impressed with them.

I thought Arsenal would win easily. But for Spurs to come from 1-0 down and 2-1 down – normally they would lie down and get beat. Credit where credit is due. I thought they were outstanding and I now see them being around the top four.

Destiny Udogie was outstanding. For him to get booked so early on in the game then go up against Bukayo Saka – one of the best wingers in the world – is some going.

But credit goes to Ange Postecoglou, he said to him: ‘I have faith in you, you’re a full-back it’s your job to defend one-v-ones. Stay on the pitch’. Normally, against a player like Saka, a manager would take him off as you wouldn’t want a red card. But fair play to the manager and Udogie did his job really well.

Liverpool, meanwhile, still have got so much work to do. Manchester City are destroying the league at the moment, they’re putting so much pressure on everybody. It’s phenomenal what they’re doing.

Liverpool are doing well at the moment because you just have to stick in there. You have to take it a game at a time and you don’t want to be giving them a head start.

The biggest advantage that Liverpool have is they can draw to Tottenham and Brighton over the next two weeks because they still have to play Man City twice. And they can beat Man City twice.

Chelsea’s cup tie is crucial – Poch is getting panicky

Chelsea need the Carabao Cup more than any other team. Wednesday night’s cup tie with Brighton means more to Chelsea than any of the other teams left in the tournament.

I said Tottenham missed a trick by playing a weakened team in round two and going out. But you look at them now and the way they have started, they need to get in the Champions League. So I can understand why they rested players now.

But Chelsea can’t win a game for toffee. They haven’t had a hard start either, a lot of clubs would have bitten your hand off for those fixtures. Newcastle started the season against Aston Villa, Liverpool, Manchester City and Brighton but have four more points than Chelsea.

The last thing Chelsea need to do now is go out to Brighton in the cup.

If you look at Chelsea’s fixtures, you worry for them. The next 10 games are so vital for their season that you can’t catch your breath. It’s a run where you actually don’t know when they’re going to win a football match.

So Wednesday is a huge football match. If they get beat here, they will have won three games in their last 24. One was against Luton, and you don’t know when they will win a game. One was against AFC Wimbledon in the cup, and they got over the line in that one. And the other one was against Bournemouth in the league last season, but only after Bournemouth got enough points to stay up.

Even Mauricio Pochettino is coming out and is now saying: ‘it’s a process, you have to be patient’. When a manager comes out and says that, it shows they are starting to get a bit panicky. Even he doesn’t think it was meant to be like this.

If he is saying that already, it’s a worry. I hope he gets that patience and time, they have injuries too. But I’m worried.