Table Toppers It may not have been that spectacular, but Charlton Athletic fans are not complaining. Karlan Grant's 56th minute strike was enough to beat Preston 1-0 at the Valley on Sunday to make it an unexpectedly perfect start to this new Championship season for Nathan Jones' men. That made it three wins out of three for the Addicks, who are the only team with a 100 per cent record in the division. It once again owed much to a solid defence, with keeper Arthur Okonkwo hav

Blue all around : Opening home league game at the Bridge for Chelsea : Picture by @YTJourno Premier League Chelsea (3) 4 Lavia 4, Pedro Neto 14, Joao Pedro 32, Palmer 74 Brighton (1) 3 Yalcouye 35, Joao Pedro og 63 Gross 95 You can't get much more 'early days' in a new season than a first home league game of the campaign - but is it too early to get excited about Chelsea's prospects? It can be argued that it has been a good decade since they seriously challenged for the Premi

Barnet boss Dean Brennan : Picture by @YTJourno Dean Brennan is very much the glass half full man and despite having the frustration of seeing his team surrender a 100 per cent record in the league, he was full pf praise for the quality of entertainment on show and the direction of travel. The Bees started brightly and led at the interval in the Saturday lunchtime clash with Cheltenham Town at the Hive. But they needed some spirit and a late penalty to salvage a 2-2 draw afte

Time to usher in a new league season at the TH Stadium: Picture by @YTJourno Premier League Tottenham Hotspur (0) 0 Newcastle United (0) 2 Elanga 62, Wissa 72 The personnel may have altered quite a bit but the grim record for Spurs on their home patch shows no signs of immediate improvement. So much optimism has accompanied Tottenham into their new season after they splashed the cash with abandon. But once again they faded after a bright start in their first home league game

Rainy lunchtime at the Hive : Picture by @YTJourno League Two Barnet (1) 2 Lakin 11, Tshimanga 78pen Cheltenham Town (0) 2 Broom 60, McCann 65 Barnet did their best to prove that actions speak louder than words, but in the end had to be satisfied with just the point in their bid to silence the constant bellowing from Steve Cotterill from the sidelines. The Cheltenham boss may have had health scores a few years ago but he is clearly now in robust health and he was easily the l

Gathering of the Eagles faithful : Picture by @YTJourno Premier League Crystal Palace (0) 1 Donnarumma og 56 Manchester City (1) 4 Haaland 17, 84 Cherki 54, 59 Pierre Sage's first home game in charge of the Eagles ended in a resounding defeat as doubles from Erling Haaland and Ryan Cherki underlined the superior finishing of the domestic cup double winners. The defeat makes it two losses from the opening two games and even though there is no cause for alarm, it serves as a wa

Another day, another derby Carabao Cup Second Round Fulham (2) 3 Smith Rowe 37, Muniz 42, Gonzalo 90+3 AFC Wimbledon (0) 0 The big question for Alvaro Arbeloa after this one was: What did Oscar Bobb do to make him the only survivor from Monday night's clash with Chelsea. And was it reward or punishment? Either way, the Man City import seemed to enjoy being the one constant in a starting line up showing 10 changes from three days ago. One of those changes was particularly good

Blues v Hatters by @JTaylorSport Chelsea 2 Luton Town 0 Chelsea prevailed in this second round Carabao Cup tie against a determined Luton Town at Stamford Bridge to ignite a new era with Xavi Alonso in charge. The Blues earned a tie in the exit round against Leeds United, thanks to a comfortable 2-0 win – and a debut goal for Danny Welbeck. An own goal in 78 minutes by Hatters’ defender Hakeem Odoffin made matters safe and to draw more satisfaction for Alonso. It was sufficie

TOTTENHAM HOTSPUR 5 CHARLTON ATHLETIC 1 Two players at different stages of their careers helped Tottenham ease past Charlton Athletic in the Carabao Cup. Spurs eventually brushed the Addicks aside with a 5-1 victory and a performance which was a slow burn into a second half of some prime quality in north London. The sort which illustrates the gap between the Premier League and the Championship itself. A home debut goal from substitute Savio lit up the Tottenham Hotspur Stadiu

Fulham (1) 2 v Chelsea (2) 3 Premier League Matchweek 1 Talking Points By Kaz Mochlinski at Craven Cottage Has there ever been a more thrillingly promising start made by a new Chelsea manager than that produced by Xabi Alonso at Fulham? Rarely has such an immediate impact occurred with an opening goal after only 31 seconds. It provided the platform for a 3-2 away victory as all three of Alonso’s new forward line of Cole Palmer, João Pedro and Morgan Rogers scored on their fir

Exclusive by Alessandro Schiavone A Lens legend has urged Crystal Palace supporters to be patient with Pierre Sage — insisting the Frenchman will eventually deliver the goods at Selhurst Park. That is because the Eagles’ new French manager has been handed the baton by the club’s greatest-ever manager, Oliver Glasner. Succeeding the Austrian, who lifted the FA Cup, Community Shield and Conference League, means big shoes to fill. Not least for someone whose only previous coachi

First night assembly at the Cottage Premier League Fulham (1) 2 King 23, Gonzalo Garcia 54 Chelsea (2) 3 Joao Pedro 1, Rogers 41, Palmer 49 New managers. Some new players. But none of them were Harry Wilson. This is a fixture that has inspired some scintillating performances from the Whites in recent seasons - with Wilson the catalyst - but this time they had to accept they were second best as Cole Palmer ran the show for the Blues. The Chelsea midfielder was back to his stri

Exclusive by Alessandro Schiavone Ahead of the club's Prem curtain-raiser against Chelsea tomorrow, Sascha Riether spoke exclusively to Capital Football London about his two seasons at Fulham, his memories of life at Craven Cottage, the challenge of moving from the Bundesliga to the Premier League, and the world-class talent of former teammate Mousa Dembélé. The former Germany international also reflected on Fulham’s transformation since his departure, their recent stability

Picture by @YTJourno QPR turned in a dominant display in their first home league game of the season in the Championship but had to settle for a 0-0 draw against Bolton Wanderers. They won the shot count 18-2 with 10 on target compared to none for the Trotters. But they were unable to follow up last week's impressive win at Portsmouth with another victory. Julien Stephan was in philosophical mood afterwards, however - and happy to move on after a decent performance. "It's foot

Keith Andrews has much satisfy him after a great opening day for the Bees It is not his way to shout it from the rooftops but it was clear Keith Andrews was more than a bit pleased with the hugely impressive competitive debut from his new star signing. Mamadou Sangare already looks a perfect fit for the Brentford midfield and claimed an assist to set his new team on their way to a pulsating 3-0 win over an abject Spurs team who looked disjointed and bereft of spirit. The Bees

Big bus, big fuss. But it didn't translate into points on this occasion : Picture by @YTJourno Premier League Brentford (2) 3 Lewis-Potter 12, Janelt 32, Kayode 50 Tottenham Hotspur (0) 0 So much for all that spending in N17. Sometimes nothing compares to ingrained well-established practices and continuity. It turns out that a team that just missed out on European qualification a few months ago still looks miles better than a team that only just beat the drop. Spurs may have

Wall at the Den : Picture by @YTJourno Championship Millwall (1) 3 Arconte 18, 58, Cundle 84 Norwich City (0) 0 Cordoba s/o 64 He missed a sitter in last week's 2-0 win at Bristol City but today Tairyk Arconte was the star as the bagged two goals in a dominant win over Norwich. The winger's second strike was followed just past the hour with a second yellow card for City's Jose Cordoba for a foul on Arconte which put the Lions even further into easy street, much as last week w

Aiming for more of the same. The champions back in action. Premier League Arsenal (2) 3 Havertz 15, Saka 23, Odegaard 49 Coventry City (0) 0 The Champions are up and running and what a far cry from the last time they opened the season on a Friday night against a newly promoted side. Five years ago, a very naive Gunners side were beaten 2-0 at Brentford on a very sobering night at the Gtech. Tonight, Mikel Arteta's men were never going to let that happen to them. It was a stro

Exclusive by Alessandro Schiavone in Nijmegen Champions League play-ofg first-leg Nec Nijmegen 1-3 Bodø/Glimt Tjaronn Chery admitted to being blown away by QPR’s lack of progress since he left the Hoops nearly 10 years ago. Chery spent 18 months at the club between the summer of 2015 and January 2017, carving out a reputation for pulling rabbits out of his hat with the occasional wonder goal. Since their relegation to the Championship, just a few months before his arrival fro

Fratton Park ahead of kick-off : Picture by Julian Taylor Portsmouth 1-3 Queens Park Rangers Consistency. Staying calm. Trusting in the plan. A very satisfied Julien Stephan has pointed to the fundamental tenets for a successful QPR campaign. The R's boss had justified satisfaction following an opening day Championship raid on the south coast. A long-awaited 3-1 win at Portsmouth was well deserved. Coming from an early setback, two goals from Ilias Chair and another from Koki

By Alessandro Schiavone in Gelsenkirchen Schalke 04 0-3 Real Madrid Goals: Mbappé, Huijsen, Espi (RM) Achievements in football might have a short memory. But antics and football supporters certainly don’t. And football took a backseat when Marc Cucurella was introduced after the hour mark. The ex-Chelsea left-back, making his Real Madrid debut in Germany against Schalke 04 yesterday afternoon, replaced Álvaro Carreras and was met by a chorus of whistles. The freshly crowned W

What would be have made of it all? Picture by @YTJourno Championship Watford (2) 2 Bravo 12, Nabizada 25 Southampton (0) 1 Larin 56 Here we go again - with the usual set of imponderables about what is to come for the Hornets. Will this Italian-flavoured club finally get back on track? Is the new boss going to buck the revolving door trend for managers at Vicarage Road? And just who are half of these players in yellow and black that we've not seen before? For now, no-one will

Championship Charlton Athletic 2 (0) Jones 60, Campbell 80 Derby County 1 (1) Szmodics 23 Charlton Athletic came from behind to beat Derby Country 2-1 at The Valley. Big man for The Addicks was Tyreece Campbell, who scored the winning goal ten minutes before the end. The 22-year old winger had nearly left for Preston North End this summer, but last week he decided to stay put in London. In the opening game of the season Campbell proved his importance for Nathan Jones’ side. T

West Country opener. Ashton Gate before kick-off : Picture by @YTJourno Championship Bristol City (0) 0 Randell s/o 36 Millwall (1) 2 Coburn 41, 50 The Lions are on the prowl once more. One undoubtedly significant element of Millwall's success in the Championship last season was their excellent away form and adventurous approach on the road - and they are at it again. No-one bettered the 11 wins they managed away from the Den in the league last term - not even champions Coven