Chelsea

Nizaar Kinsella
BBC Sport football news reporter

Image source, Getty Images

Chelsea manager Enzo Maresca says the Club World Cup is a "fantastic motivation" as his side look to win the newly-expanded competition.

The competition has been expanded to 32 teams, including 12 from Europe, and will take place across the United States between June and July.

The event has done its first round of media interviews and Maresca spoke of his "fantastic motivation" to pursue the title, adding: "That's what you need to see it as, as a source of motivation. As I've told you before, when you're at Chelsea, your goal is to win as much as you can. And when we're there, that will be one of our goals: to try to win it."

Sources close to the ownership have described how the competition is viewed seriously at Stamford Bridge, both because of the revenue it can generate, through a $1bn prize pot for all clubs, but also with an opportunity to market the club to a global audience.

Chelsea were also unable to use Cole Palmer during last summer's pre-season tour due to his involvement at the European Championships with England.

However, he is expected to be available to play at the Club World Cup.

"Cole Palmer is up there with the very best, top players who can produce something at any moment, create something out of nothing," Maresca added.

"He wasn't with me on the USA tour last summer, so it will also be a chance for him to experience the environment there and to introduce himself to [North] America."

Discussions remain ongoing with the FA to decide whether another transfer window will be implemented to allow Chelsea and Manchester City, the Club World Cup's English participants, to sign players early before the competition.

Image source, Getty Images

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

Here are some of your comments:

Arsenal fans

Adam: Win is a win. We need to put games to bed when we have the chance but as ever we like to try and control the ball too much. But, a win is a win.

David: Disappointing in attack, passing in and around box poor, not up to usual quality. Finishing was poor and chances must be taken if we are to beat Real Madrid. Need to inject more pace when moving forward, part of the problem being lack of movement from front men. Consolation taken from another fine defensive display.

Ian: Not a classic by far, but a competent performance by Arsenal. I'll say the glaring, and now becoming very boring, obvious point that Arsenal desperately need a striker. Sorry Mr Arteta.

Chelsea fans

Nick: Our football is just so boring and has been for months, worse even than the dark days of 'Sarriball'. All I want right now is for us to play with some pace and passion. Not sure Maresca knows what those are.

Fossie: Didn't really get going until we conceded the goal, and even then, despite all the possession, there was no penetration. Some strange decisions by Maresca, with only one attacking player among the subs, plus Sanchez as our goalkeeper. It just doesn't make sense. If short of strikers, go to the youth team and give them a chance.

Andy: We could still be playing in a week's time and still not score. I have never in my 55 years as a Chelsea fan seen such an impotent attack!

Image source, Getty Images

Chelsea are "on a good path" but will need to "rectify" their striker situation if they are to compete for league titles.

That is the shared view of former Premier League forwards Wayne Rooney and Troy Deeney after the Blues succumbed to a 1-0 defeat by Arsenal on Sunday.

Discussing the club's future prospects on BBC MOTD2, Rooney said: "They have signed a lot of players and it's still a really young team. There has been some good signs from Chelsea this season.

"That lack of experience as a group is probably catching up with them. I do think over the next couple of years we are going to see Chelsea elevating themselves to get them towards the top of the league.

"I do think they are on a good path."

Enzo Maresca's side have struggled with injuries over the winter period and were also without talisman Cole Palmer at the weekend, whose form and fitness has also dropped off.

"Palmer has been off it the last couple of weeks," said Deeney. "Maybe he's been carrying an injury, maybe it's been a lot of games and it is hard for a young player to keep doing it and being consistent.

"Nicolas Jackson is another big one for them, but again, over a billion pound spent so to only have one striker in the building is pretty poor. It is something they are going to have to rectify going forward.

"If you want to be challenging, you also need a proper goalkeeper and a proper centre-half and those are the three bits of the picture they need."

Watch the full discussion on BBC iPlayer

Ex-England captain Wayne Rooney feels that man-marking Arsenal midfielder Declan Rice was "a job too big" for Chelsea's Reece James as the Gunners won 1-0 at Emirates Stadium.

"I felt he struggled all game," said Rooney on Match of the Day 2. "He stuck to Rice and that allowed Thomas Partey to occupy the space that James should have been in.

"It meant Chelsea players were stretched all over."

Watch MOTD2 on BBC iPlayer

Highlights and analysis from Sunday's three 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:

• Ipswich Town 2-4 Nottingham Forest

• AFC Bournemouth 1-2 Brentford

• Arsenal 1-0 Chelsea

• Fulham 2-0 Tottenham Hotspur

• Leicester City 0-3 Manchester United

Chelsea and Arsenal have moved ahead of Liverpool in the race to sign Inter Milan and France striker Marcus Thuram, 27, who is reported to have a £71m release clause. (Football Insider), external

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

Follow the gossip column on BBC Sport

Image source, Getty Images

Chelsea are winless in their last seven away games in the Premier League (D2 L5) - the Blues' longest winless run on the road since October 2022-February 2023 under Graham Potter (D4 L4).

Image source, Getty Images

Chelsea boss Enzo Maresca, speaking to BBC Match of the Day: "We are in the right path. There was't a big difference between them an us in terms of creating chances. We could create something more for sure. In the end we lost from set-pieces."

On Reece James playing in midfield: "Reece is doing well, so are Enzo Fernandez and Moises Caicedo. We have Noni [Madueke], Nico [Jackson] and [Cole] Palmer out and they have scored most of our goals."

On Cole Palmer: "The feeling is that he can be back after the international break."

On whether Palmer will be absent for England duty: "For sure, because he is injured and he didn't play today."

Were you at the game or following from elsewhere?

Have your say on Arsenal's performance

What did you make of Chelsea's display?

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

There won't be many goals in this game - one goal might be enough to win it, and I am going with Arsenal to get it.

Declan Rice was very lively in his new attacking role against Manchester United and I can see him scoring again here.

Chelsea have flattered to deceive in recent weeks. They have won their past two league games, but they were against Southampton and Leicester. This is a much bigger test.

Sutton's prediction: 1-0

Read the full predictions and have your say here

Nizaar Kinsella
BBC Sport football news reporter

Image source, Getty Images

This time last year, parts of the Chelsea's ownership were losing faith in Mauricio Pochettino but they have no such feeling with new manager Enzo Maresca.

Despite criticism and low-level discontent about the Italian's style of play from sections of the support, even after a run of four back-to-back wins, there remains an atypical sense of stability at Stamford Bridge.

For so long, under Roman Abramovich and at the beginning of the Boehly-Clearlake era, this club has felt impatient with managers and, therefore, chaotic.

But Maresca, 46, continues to deliver what those who hired him wanted. Defender Levi Colwill described Maresca as "serious" this week, which is something people privately say reflects his character.

At times, Maresca has come out swinging for the, at times, under-fire ownership, such is his belief in the project.

He has defended the size of the squad, the January transfer activity and remained calm when suffering a poor run of just two wins in 10 matches recently.

Much of that run is put down to bad luck internally. Players like Joao Felix left on loan as others like Nicolas Jackson and Marc Guiu got injured in a busy period of fixtures.

That led to workload issues that are being felt across the league but Chelsea have deliberately tried to carry a slightly bigger squad than other teams as they tried to battle on five fronts - with participation in the Club World Cup to come in the summer.

Chelsea's senior staff see Maresca's early season form as more instructive of the future and a blueprint for the future.

And Maresca is also benefiting from Chelsea beginning to settle. The post-ownership revolution is calming down and the base to succeed is believed to be in place now with the next piece of work being to turn the club into winners again.

That's why Champions League qualification is seen as such a big target and, unfortunately, Maresca's one mis-step was tripping up over his language when discussing the importance of finishing in the top four or five.

It seemed like he was playing it down but he has since corrected it - as Chelsea chase the prestige, revenue and sponsorship deals that come with qualification.

Missing out would not be fatal for his Maresca but would be viewed unfavourably.

It's interesting that earlier in the season Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola urged Chelsea to be patient in his former assistant, who he compared to his other protegee in Arsenal's Mikel Arteta.

As Chelsea travel to face Arsenal, it feels like faith remains in Maresca and he has a platform to succeed.

Chelsea boss Enzo Maresca has spoken to the media before Sunday's Premier League game at Arsenal (kick-off 13:30 GMT).

Here are the key lines from his news conference:

• Maresca said the gap between Chelsea and Arsenal is "quite big", adding: "The reason why is because they are working with the same manager for five years so the difference is quite important. They also have the same players that have already played some important games. But our duty is to close that gap between us and them. In this moment, the table says the difference is just six points so we are quite close. We have nine games still to go."

• Maresca expects Arsenal to play the game with a high press and to be "aggressive", which will allow the Blues "more space to attack in behind".

• Chelsea are "used to playing in finals and fighting for titles", and Maresca said achieving the two targets of qualifying for the Champions League and winning the Conference League "are important for us".

• On whether he will make a goalkeeper change: "Yes, it will be Robert playing against Arsenal. Since we started, the idea was not to change the keeper, but we have had to be flexible with our gameplan since arriving. I think Robert needs some days off, or at least a rest mentally. Now he is back, we hope not to change until the end - but I also am happy with both keepers."

• On Cole Palmer: "Cole at the moment struggles to score goals. Of the three guys who score goals for us, two are not available [Nicolas Jackson and Noni Madueke] and one is available, a bit unlucky and missing goals - but there are other players that are doing well."

• The Italian said it is "strange" both London clubs find themselves without a recognised striker because of injuries, adding: "They are trying to find solutions and we are trying to find solutions. Pedro [Neto] is doing very well in that position. We will see if we use Pedro or try something else on Sunday. All the clubs have moments when they have injuries so they need to adapt."

Listen to BBC Radio 5 Live commentary of Arsenal v Chelsea at 13:30 on Sunday

Image source, Getty Images

Marc Cucurella has scored in his past two Premier League appearances, as many as in his first 69 for Chelsea.

All four of his goals for the Blues have come this season, with Reece James the last defender to score more in a campaign for the club (five in 2021-22).

Image source, Getty Images

Chelsea are the only English team in the Conference League and are the favourites to win it.

For the first leg of their quarter-final, they will head to the Polish capital to face Legia Warsaw, who are currently fourth in their domestic league.

If they beat Legia, then either Djurgarden or SK Rapid will await them in the semi-finals.

On the other side of the draw, Italian giants Fiorentina, La Liga side Real Betis, Slovenian champions Celje and Jagiellonia.

Image source, Getty Images

We asked for your thoughts after Chelsea progressed to the quarter-finals of the Conference League with victory over FC Copenhagen.

Here are some of your comments:

Andy: First half to forget but we were ahead in the tie so not too bothered. Second half was better. Good showing from Tyrique George. Marc Cucurella has won me over in the past 12 months - money well spent - and Moises Caicedo was excellent as always. Cole Palmer will find form soon (hopefully). Overall solid progression to quarters and closer to history. First team to win it all etc.

Phil: A game of two halves. Lethargic and poor in the first half. Changes at half-time and an injection of urgency allowed the game to be won. We have to be more consistent over the 90 minutes of all games and it cannot always be about possession.

Mathew: Really happy with the win and to see Dewsbury-Hall scoring. I still believe he is a great player and there are moments from him where he shows that he is a good player when he plays for us. Great to see Tyrique George starting, he was really good, running at his man and taking him on and turning inside and getting a shot on goal. It was also good to see Genisis Antwi coming on for his Chelsea debut. It's great to see academy players getting their chance in the Conference League.

Peter: Dreadful performance. I actually left at half-time because it was so boring. Maresca wants the fans to back the team but perhaps he should look at his style of play for the reason the fans aren't behind him!

Jeremy: Maresca has been found out as a one-trick pony. Out-classed by a poor Copenhagen side over two legs and scraped through. We genuinely won't be successful under him, mark my words.

Tony: So the manager studied the way Copenhagen were playing in the first half and then came up with suitable tactics to win the game (I don't know, maybe take the odd pot shot towards the opposition goal?) Brilliant, do it against Arsenal and we will be going in at half-time five down.

Nat Hayward
BBC Sport journalist

Image source, Getty Images

Developing a winning habit at this stage of the season is invaluable and - however unconvincingly - Chelsea have now won four in a row, and five on the spin at Stamford Bridge.

However, Thursday's 1-0 win over Copenhagen to edge into the Conference League quarter-finals 3-1 on aggregate was another example of Enzo Maresca's side emerging victorious from a performance that could be described as the bare minimum.

Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall's second half goal - a moment of release for both player and manager - was the highlight in a largely drab affair that could easily have become nervy had the visitors capitalised on their first-half dominance.

Supporters vote with their feet as well as voices and both were noticeable on Thursday evening. Boos greeted the Blues at half-time after a tepid first 45 minutes and television coverage showed thousands of empty seats with neither the context of the match or recent performances setting pulses racing.

Conversations around the club's future at Stamford Bridge are often centred on its relatively meagre capacity of around 41,000 but having visible empty seats, notably in the hospitality areas, is not a good look for an ownership group that have overseen ticket price rises and are keen to expand.

Those who were in attendance were not treated to a performance likely to help the Blues' atmosphere problem despite a coordinated 'singing section' in the upper tier of the Shed End - perhaps hindered by the proximity to the travelling Copenhagen fans who sung loudly throughout.

A trip to Arsenal on Sunday provides an opportunity to turn a string of nervy wins into genuine momentum and goodwill as Chelsea approach a difficult but vital run of fixtures.

However, you would be hard-pressed to find a Blues fan not looking at this particular derby with a degree of trepidation.

Real Madrid are targeting a summer move for Chelsea and Argentina midfielder Enzo Fernandez, with the 24-year-old said to be open to joining the Spanish giants. (Teamtalk), external

Chelsea could allow Fernandez to join Madrid as part of a swap deal for 25-year-old France midfielder Aurelien Tchouameni. (Four Four Two), external

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

Follow the gossip column on BBC Sport