PEDRO Neto grabbed a second half brace to seal a 2-0 victory for Chelsea over Everton at the Hill Dickinson Stadium. Neto put his side in front only 44 seconds after the break and wrapped up the three points on 90 minutes to seal back-to-back wins for Xabi Alonso’s side. A pre-match injury to Pep Chavarria ensured there was one change to the starting XI from last weekend’s 5-1hammering of Bournemouth with Jorrel Hato stepping up as replacement. Teenage midfielder Mahdi Nicoll

By Alessandro Schiavone at Stade Roi Baudoin, Brussels Nations League Matchday 2 Belgium 0-1 France Goal: Olise 88' Defender Maxence Lacroix has started four games for Chelsea this season and has had to watch on as the opposition scored a staggering 10 times. Remarkably, he has been a crucial cog in France keeping back-to-back clean sheets against Turkey and Belgium in the Nations League in the past four days. Newspaper L’Équipe, something of a footballing Bible in France, de

By Alessandro Schiavone at Gtech Community Premier League Matchday 5 Brentford 3-0 Chelsea Both midfielders. Both born in the early 80's. But there were miles between the footballers Keith Andrews and Xabi Alonso. In every sense of the word. What Andrews could not provide in grace and flair, he made up for in spirit, grit and tenacity. Bite and spite. He was all thunder and fire. Meanwhile Xabi Alonso was the type of footballer who ran the business without having to get out o

Both pics by Wikimedia Common Exclusive by Alessandro Schiavone at Elland Road, Leeds Walter Benítez admitted that his hopes of ever becoming Argentina’s No.1 goalkeeper are slim due to the presence of Emiliano Martínez. The 34-year-old’s Blues career may not have got off to the best of starts after shipping 10 goals in just four Premier League fixtures. But the man from Mar del Plata has won one World Cup and two Copa América titles with La Selección. He also kept his countr

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

Friday night frolics : Picture by @YTJourno Premier League Brentford (0) 3 Anthony 61, Thiago 83, Carvalho 90 Chelsea (0) 0 It was the one thing that has been missing on the Brentford CV. Now in their sixth season in the top flight - how time flies - they had beaten everyone at the Gtech at some point, including Arsenal, Liverpool, Man City and United. The one exception: Chelsea. Now they have the set. And an unbeaten start to the season after five games into the bargain. Thi

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

All inhibitions are shed : Picture by @CapitalFootball UK League Cup Third Round Chelsea (0) 6 Palmer pen 53, 55, Pedro Neto 60, Welbeck 65, 90, Barco 80 Leeds United (1) 3 Muharemovic 23, Aarsonson 48, Calvert-Lewin 75 Four goals in a crazy 12-minute spell at the start of the second half turned a night of increasing drama on its head for Chelsea - having threatened to become one of dire embarrassment. Rarely in recent times have the Blues played as poorly as they did in the

First reverse for Alonso to get to grips with : Picture by @YTJourno Xabi Alonso suffered his first setback as Chelsea boss as the Blues fell 2-1 at the Emirates in a high-intensity clash - but insists the outlook is fine with so much of the campaign ahead. Despite the encouragement of an early Morgan Rogers strike for his side, the Gunners fought back well to take the points - ending the Blues' perfect start to the new season. "It was a game with different momentums and diff