Chelsea

Image source, PA Media

Chelsea midfielder Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall, speaking to TNT Sports after Thursday's 5-1 win over Shamrock Rovers in the Conference League: "Another good night at the Bridge.

"A lot of people will say we are big favourites and honestly, we probably are, but in football it is not easy to keep winning.

"Six wins out of six is pretty good.

"This tournament is relieving a lot of pressure for some of the people who play in the Premier League and it's a chance for young academy lads to make their debuts.

"It is a good vibe at the moment."

Were you at the game or following from elsewhere?

Have your say on Chelsea's performance

Come back to this page on Friday to find a selection of your replies

Image source, Getty Images

Chelsea boss Enzo Maresca has welcomed youngsters Josh Acheampong and Tyrique George to the first team with a warning that they must "everyday work in the right way".

Defender Acheampong and winger George, both 18, joined the Blues' academy at Under-8 level and have featured in the Uefa Conference League this season.

In a video posted on the club's social media, external, Maresca spoke in front of the squad before both players were shown their spaces in the first team changing rooms.

"I think personally when we graduate a player from the academy it's important first of all to give them a warm welcome," said the Italian manager.

"Also, it's important to let them understand they are not to take this for granted.

"When you join the first team changing room, first of all you need to defend that."

Uncertainty over Acheampong's future was ended with the signing of a new contract, external on Wednesday. Both he and George are expected to be involved in Thursday's final UCL League Phase match against Shamrock Rovers at Stamford Bridge.

Addressing his players, Maresca added: "The most important thing is that you convince them that they have to defend that. Defend that means everyday to work in the right way.

"If they don't work in the right way it's up to the senior players and the ones who graduated from the academy to convince them that is not the right thing to do. They have to work better.

"These kind of things I think help create the right culture."

Arsenal are considering a move for 26-year-old Chelsea and England midfielder Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall in January. (Caught Offside), external

Want more transfer stories? Read Thursday's full gossip column

Nizaar Kinsella
BBC Sport football news reporter at Cobham Training Centre

Image source, Getty Images

Chelsea may sit second in the Premier League table and top the Conference League, but Enzo Maresca has not been dealt an easy hand.

First, he had to deal with accusations of racism around his £107m midfielder Enzo Fernandez as the club's new boss was unveiled in the United States this summer.

Then, once Fernandez's situation was resolved, the narrative shifted to Chelsea being a "chaotic" club after a "bizarre" transfer window, as highlighted in comments made by Sky Sports pundits Jamie Carragher and Gary Neville.

Those remarks were reflected in much of the coverage as the Blues ended the summer window with a exiled group of around 13 players - nicknamed the 'bomb squad' - training away from the main first-team squad.

Maresca was defensive on this issue but took the club's side as they ruthlessly discarded their remaining fringe players after the transfer window closed.

A few players, like Ben Chilwell, remain stuck at Stamford Bridge until the transfer window reopens in January.

But, from Chelsea's point of view, Maresca toed the club line, sheltered his core 25-man squad from the noise and built results in a bubble at the training ground.

That performance environment has given the Blues the ability to build a seven-match winning run.

After the victory over Brentford, Mykhailo Mudryk's failed drugs test leaked from reports in Ukraine.

Questions on Mudryk understandably dominated the pre-match news conference before Shamrock Rovers on Thursday - a dead-rubber match for Chelsea in the Conference League given they have already qualified in the top eight.

This time around, Maresca handled the questions in an open and professional manner. An exemplary show of how to navigate difficult questions as head coach of a big club.

There remain questions about the situation at large but the Italian showed his ability to manage a club of Chelsea's size, having faced doubts upon joining from Championship team Leicester in the summer.

Yes, Maresca may have looked ruthless with players like Chilwell, and there has been criticism that he played down the Fernandez scandal a little bit too much, but he is navigating the noise enough to not impact the performance on the pitch.

Image source, Getty Images

Chelsea defender Tosin Adarabioyo says winning a European trophy would be "a dream".

The Blues have already secured their place in the knockout stage of the Conference League before Thursday's final league phase match at home to Irish side Shamrock Rovers.

Enzo Maresca's side have maximised their games in Europe's third-tier competition, scoring 21 goals in the process of winning their five matches so far.

"It's a competition we enjoy playing - so we might miss it until March, but we take each game as it comes," Tosin said.

"It would be great [to lift the trophy]. To win a European competition would be a dream so we are ready for it.

"We feel we can push on and get results all the way to the final."

The 27-year-old defender has played most of his football in the Conference League since his free transfer from Fulham in the summer, starting four of the five games so far.

However, he started Sunday's Premier league win over Brentford and acknowledged Maresca was right to take issue with the concession of a late goal to the Bees.

"The goal came at a time when we were a bit under pressure," he added.

"We didn't deal with the pressure the best in the last 15 minutes of the game. Those are the moments when you have to see out the game.

"He [Maresca] knows when you need an arm around you or when to have a go. He's got a softer side, and he played the game as well so he understands us."

Nat Hayward
BBC Sport journalist

Chelsea boss Enzo Maresca has been speaking to the media before Thursday's Conference League game at home against Shamrock Rovers (20:00 GMT).

Here are the key lines from his news conference:

• Maresca emphasised the need to support winger Mykhailo Mudryk, who has been provisionally suspended after testing positive for a banned substance: "We all are supporting Misha. We trust Misha and, when these kind of things happen, you need to support your player in all the aspects. Misha is a Chelsea player. We are all upset and sad. At the moment he can't train. We are waiting."

• He added: "We all believe [he is innocent]. For sure, he is going to come back. We all has the same feeling, in terms of his team-mates, of surprise. They were all surprised and at the same time sad."

• On managing players through off-field issues at the club: "Just try to convince the players that the only side we can decide is the pitch side. The things that happen around the pitch we can't control. If we need to solve things outside the pitch it is my job, not theirs."

• On Josh Acheampong's new contract: "Very, very happy. With Josh, it has been quite clear. He was with us in pre-season. I did not know him personally but, after two or three days, he really impressed me. Finally, the club arrived at an agreement with him and we are all happy. We think Josh can be a great player for this club."

• He is likely to rotate his squad against Shamrock Rovers and give minutes to young players once more: "We try to change players and tomorrow is probably one more option for that."

• On the challenge posed by Thursday's opponents: "We try to approach always in the same way - do our best and win the game. All the teams have something good. I watched four or five games and they are a good team. They defend in a block all together, have some good players. It depends on us and how we take that game."

• Maresca does not want to look at winning the competition yet: "The main target was group stage then we will see where we arrive and look at the next game. We are ahead of my expectation in how we play and our results."

Follow all of Wednesday's football news

Nizaar Kinsella
BBC Sport football news reporter

Image source, Getty Images

Chelsea defender Josh Acheampong is set to sign a new five-year deal at Chelsea, after a breakthrough in talks over the past week.

The 18-year-old has an agreement in principle over a new contract, with the two parties now finalising paperwork and the fine details of the deal.

The development ends a three-month freezing out period for Acheampong, where he was not selected to play for any of Chelsea's various youth teams or Enzo Maresca's first-team squad.

With just 18 months left on his current deal, Chelsea did reintroduce Acheampong at youth level and then back into the first team after the international break in late November.

This coincided with the contract talks restarting, allowing him to play at youth level again and make his first start of the season in the Conference League at Astana.

A series of meetings with senior figures behind the scenes, including Behdad Eghbali and Jose E. Feliciano from the ownership group, reassured a previously reluctant Acheampong to sign a new contract, rather than run down his current deal and assess his options in the summer.

When asked about the youngster last week, Chelsea boss Enzo Maresca told BBC Sport: "The club loves Josh - I love Josh."

Acheampong is poised to start against Shamrock Rovers in Thursday's Conference League fixture, and could get further chances to play at right-back as Reece James continues to struggle with persistent hamstring injuries.

The England Under-20 international had previously been linked with Bayern Munich, Real Madrid and Paris Saint-Germain.

Chelsea, Aston Villa, Newcastle United and Stuttgart are interested in PAOK and Greece Under-21 international Stefanos Tzimas, with the 18-year-old forward impressing on loan at Nurnberg. (ESPN), external

Want more transfer news? Read Wednesday's full gossip column

Nizaar Kinsella
BBC Sport football news reporter

Image source, Getty Images

Mykhailo Mudryk was already struggling at Chelsea before the results of his failed drugs test came to light.

It remains unclear what the outcome will be as the Football Association goes through its process after an "adverse finding from a urine test".

But this threatens any progress the Ukraine international - who denies any wrongdoing and has expressed his "complete shock" - is attempting to make under manager Enzo Maresca.

Mudryk has struggled since his move to the Blues - worth up to £89m - from Shakhtar Donetsk in January 2023, which was secured from under the noses of rivals Arsenal.

The weight of the price tag, not being fluent in English, his introverted character and numerous managers - including Graham Potter, Frank Lampard, Mauricio Pochettino and Enzo Maresca - have all been cited as reasons for his struggles.

Pochettino previously highlighted how Mudryk needed time to adapt slowly.

But Maresca has further elaborated that he has struggled to take on tactical ideas, explaining how he has struggled to arrive in the right positions, how he is progressing "slower than others" and outlined how he simply needed to improve his "quality" after his solitary league start against Wolves in August.

It took him 24 games to score Mudryk to score his first goal for the club and - until his goal against Armenian minnows FC Noah in November - he had gone on another five month goal drought.

Despite starting in various cup competitions for Chelsea, it is clear he has found it difficult to adapt to the culture, level and quality required.

Will Faulks
Fan writer

Image source, Getty Images

It would be going too far to say Malo Gusto has had a bad season, but after shining brightly at the start of his Chelsea career, it is certainly true that he has had the first tricky spell of his time at the club in the past few months.

When other players were struggling last season, Gusto looked great. But as the rest of the team has come together, he has found it hard to to find his form and his place. The roles he has been used in under Enzo Maresca do not always seem to suit his strengths, either.

We have seen Moises Caicedo used at right-back at times, allowing an extra midfielder to come in and Gusto to be taken out of the starting XI.

However, with Reece James injured and Caicedo needed back in central midfield while Romeo Lavia is out, Gusto was back in the side on Sunday and played a major role in the superb control Maresca's team showed, especially in the first half.

Brentford have caused Chelsea a lot of trouble in recent seasons, so the Blues needed to get on the front foot from the start and really strangle their opposition - and they did just that. Their first-half possession reached 80% at times, and while they did not get the second goal to kill the Bees off until later, they certainly created the chances to do so much earlier.

Gusto was a key part of that. He ended the game with 92 touches, more than any other player on the pitch, and almost 50% more than his opposite full back Marc Cucurella - who had 63.

Regularly stepping up to play alongside Caicedo and Enzo Fernandez in the middle, Gusto's performance was unspectacular but very effective, and he will hope this is the start of a return to form.

Find more from Will Faulks at Chelsea News, external

Pat Nevin
Former footballer and presenter

Image source, Getty Images

Chelsea cannot be ignored after another win that places them solidly in second place.

Nicolas Jackson tried hard to ruin my prediction of him reaching 20 goals this season by missing yet another unmissable opportunity, but at least he notched one later in the game later to take him on to nine.

The real story was the human spaniel Marc Cucurella. I usually use that description with affection - this time, less so. He scored a fine goal, played exceptionally with no apparent footwear problems and then went down as if poleaxed with a head injury after he walked into Brentford defender Sepp van den Berg.

In the ensuing fury that carried on post-match, Cucurella got a second yellow card and is now suspended, which felt awfully like instant karma.

On this occasion, I cannot say for sure that the 'head injury' was feigned. Maybe Cucurella did hurt himself, but Van Den Berg certainly had no blame at all.

If the Spaniard was play acting, like he has on a number of occasions - particularly when playing for his country - then he is off my Christmas card list and I don't care if I am off his.

Sign up to read more from Pat Nevin in his Football Extra newsletter

Image source, Getty Images

Chelsea winger Mykhailo Mudryk has denied doing "anything wrong" after failing a drugs test.

It was confirmed on Tuesday morning that the club were contacted by the Football Association after an "adverse finding in a routine urine test" for the 23-year-old.

Mudryk has made 15 appearances for Chelsea this season and last played in a 2-0 win at German side Heidenheim in the Conference League on 28 November.

He played the full 90 minutes of that game, scoring Chelsea's second goal - his third of the season - in the 86th minute.

Enzo Maresca's side have since played five more times - four games in the Premier League and one more in the Conference League.

The Blues head coach has had said publicly that Mudryk's absence since 1 December was down to illness.

In statement on social media, the Ukraine international said: "I can confirm that I have been notified that a sample I provided to The FA contained a banned substance.

"This has come as a complete shock as I have never knowingly used any banned substances or broken any rules, and am working closely with my team to investigate how this could have happened.

"I know that I have not done anything wrong and remain hopeful that I will be back on the pitch soon. I cannot say any more now due to the confidentiality of the process, but I will as soon as I can."

Image source, Getty Images

We asked for your thoughts after Sunday's Premier League game between Chelsea and Brentford.

Here are some of your comments:

Chelsea fans:

Dan: Fantastic performance for 89 minutes. Again, concentration cost Chelsea a clean sheet. What I don't get, though, is the red card. Cucurella just needs to walk away. He's got what he has come for and he goes and gets a red card for getting into a silly pushing game against a Brentford player. That could be costly to Chelsea's title-chasing ambitions. By the way, we aren't in the title race. We are just making things interesting.

David: Young team, they simply need a calm head out there and the message from Maresca to kill off games, rather than sending seven to score with five minutes left. Good performance against a very tricky team.

Mathew: Really happy to get the win at home. We played really well. I'm happy to see Cucurella and Jackson score but it's just a shame we couldn't keep a clean sheet. It's also good to end our poor streak against Brentford. Really good to see Tyrique George, Josh Acheampong and Samuel Rak-Sakyi in the matchday squad - hopefully they start on Thursday.

Brentford fans:

Mahir: Really tough team to break down... with 11 of them behind the halfway line. Good luck to them playing that way.

Benedict: Still don't understand how we are so poor away. Admittedly it's against top two side in Chelsea but we remain unbeaten at home. Don't know what the mindset is with the players at this stage in the season.

Highlights and analysis from Sunday's four Premier League fixtures, plus the best of the action from the rest of the weekend.

If you missed Match of the Day 2, catch up now on BBC iPlayer.

And you can watch Saturday's Match of the Day here.

Listen back to the weekend's full match commentaries on BBC Sounds:

• Liverpool 2-2 Fulham

• Nottingham Forest 2-1 Aston Villa

• Brighton 1-3 Crystal Palace

• Man City 1-2 Man Utd

Chelsea are prepared to allow English midfielders Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall, 26, and Carney Chukwuemeka, 21, to leave the club on loan in January. (Mirror), external

Leicester City are planning to bring Dewsbury-Hall back to the club, having sold him to Chelsea in the summer. (Football Insider), external

Want more transfer stories? Read Monday's full gossip column