Brighton & Hove Albion (2) 3 v Arsenal (0) 0 Premier League Matchweek 5 Talking Points By Kaz Mochlinski at the Amex Community Stadium There is nothing which Mikel Arteta has done this season that was as impressive as his reaction to Arsenal’s first defeat of the new campaign with a painful 3-0 loss away to Brighton & Hove Albion. The Arsenal manager’s balanced response - acknowledging mistakes, admitting disappointment, crediting the opposition, and looking ahead to improvem

Brentford (0) 3 v Chelsea (0) 0 Premier League Matchweek 5 Talking Points By Kaz Mochlinski at the Brentford Community Stadium “Everything was disappointing” admitted a very chastened Xabi Alonso after his Chelsea team were badly beaten by Brentford, crumbling completely as they conceded three goals in the second half. It was by a long way the lowest point so far for Chelsea’s new manager, sending the side spiralling down the table with two wins, two defeats and a draw from h

Brentford (0) 3 v Chelsea (0) 0 Premier League Matchweek 5 Talking Points By Kaz Mochlinski at the Brentford Community Stadium “I just love watching us play” enthused Keith Andrews, entirely understandably, after Brentford brilliantly beat Chelsea 3-0 to repeat the scoreline of their opening weekend victory over Tottenham Hotspur and remain undefeated this season. Second half goals from Jaiden Anthony, Igor Thiago and Fábio Carvalho made it an unforgettable Friday night for B

Chelsea (1) 2 v Hull City (2) 2 Rogers 7 Belloumi 28 Belloumi 34 João Pedro 66 By Kaz Mochlinski at Stamford Bridge Premier League Matchweek 4 Chelsea’s latest reset with the appointment of Xabi Alonso as manager is not looking like it will conjure a new era of instant success on the evidence of Hull City’s 2-2 draw at Stamford Bridge. Just as in their defeat at Arsenal six days beforehand, Chelsea’s attack was unable to compensate for substantial shortcomings in defence, wit

Fulham (2) 2 v Crystal Palace (1) 3 King 11 Mitchell 36 Palacios 42 Mitchell 54 Chilwell 77 By Kaz Mochlinski at Craven Cottage Premier League Matchweek 3 Crystal Palace gained their first points of the new Premier League season with a vital victory at Craven Cottage, producing a spirited comeback from being behind at half-time to leave Fulham in despair after three consecutive defeats. All three Palace goals were scored by their left-sided wing-backs, with two from Tyrick Mi

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 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

Tottenham Hotspur (1) 1 v Everton (0) 0 João Palhinha 43 By Kaz Mochlinski at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium Premier League Matchweek 38 Tottenham Hotspur dramatically clung on to their Premier League status on the final day of the domestic season as they just about accomplished what they needed to do in getting a positive result against Everton to relegate West Ham United instead. On a nerve-shredding Sunday afternoon of almost unbearable tension, under cloudless skies in sun

Manchester City (1) 2 v Arsenal (1) 1 Premier League Matchweek 33 Talking Points By Kaz Mochlinski at the City of Manchester Stadium “We’re not really here!” is one of the favourite chants in the Manchester City fans’ repertoire, heard at almost every match since the club became re-established among the elite after climbing back up from having fallen into the third tier. Expressing their continuing feelings of near disbelief at the transformation, it echoed around the stands

Brighton & Hove Albion (1) 3 v Chelsea (0) 0 Kadıoğlu 3 Hinshelwood 56 Welbeck 91 By Kaz Mochlinski at the Amex Community Stadium Premier League Matchweek 34 Chelsea’s collapse under Liam Rosenior went into freefall at Brighton as the Blues were beaten for a fifth consecutive league game without scoring, to record their worst run of results for over a century. This is the first time that Chelsea have experienced such a sequence since 1912 - and it was completed by a capitulat