Chelsea

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Chelsea boss Enzo Maresca, speaking after the Blues' 5-0 win over Barrow in the Carabao Cup third-round: "Very happy with the performance, with the result. We did many changes, but the idea from the team was exactly the same.

"This has to be one of our targets, no matter how we are going to play, it is important that the identity of the team is always there.

"This type of game, I'm always worried a lot because they are tricky games. Football is full of these games, where you underestimate the other team you concede goals and you concede chances, but tonight I think the performance was very good and we showed how serious we are."

On being happy for Pedro Neto scoring: "Happy. Happy for Pedro, happy for Christo [Nkunku] and for Joao [Felix], for all of them.

"They all deserve to play from the start in the Premier League but they are not playing in this moment. But the way they take the chances when we give them minutes is fantastic.

"No matter if it's five minutes, 45 minutes or 90 minutes, they are all ready and this is the most important thing."

On if Nicolas Jackson and Nkunku can play together: "It could be. But the problem is the defensive balance.

"We can think to play with Nicolas, Christo, Joao, Cole Palmer, Noni [Madueke] - fantastic! But then who is defending? Me and you?

"I would like to put all of them in because I really like football and I really like to keep the ball but the problem is when you lose the ball and then you have to defend. Not all of them can defend at the same level.”

Ukraine winger Mykhailo Mudryk, 23, is moving closer to leaving Chelsea in January. (Football Insider), external

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Joe Rindl
BBC Sport journalist

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There was one standout performer on Tuesday night...Christopher Nkunku.

The Frenchman completed his hat-trick inside 75 minutes through two confident finishes and a tap-in after he tackled the goalkeeper.

Thanks to his first Chelsea treble, the 26-year-old now has six goals in eight appearances this season for the Blues.

Nkunku was making his first start for the hosts since their opening-day defeat by Manchester City last month.

Yes Chelsea were playing a side 64 places below them, but you can only beat - and score - against the team in front of you.

With Nicolas Jackson and Nkunku both firing when playing up top, Blues boss Enzo Maresca may soon have a tricky decision to make.

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Will Faulks
Fan writer

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Chelsea's second team are back in action tonight, with full rotation expected from Enzo Maresca as he prepares his team to take on Barrow in the EFL Cup.

The distinction between the two sides is pretty clear by now, following the two Europa Conference League qualifiers against Servette, and there will be a number of players making their first start since the second leg of those games, almost a month ago.

Those players are the ones who need to impress to get a chance in the first team - and that won't be easy given the good performance against West Ham on Saturday.

Renato Veiga's versatility is working in his favour and giving him extra playing time here and there, but Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall is struggling to get any action at all.

In attack, Christopher Nkunku looks set to battle Nicolas Jackson all season for playing time. Mykhailo Mudryk and Joao Felix will be keen to impress if they get the nod. Even Pedro Neto seems to have lost his starting role very quickly.

A few minutes for Romeo Lavia would be much appreciated - his season has got off to a very disjointed start and he's a key player for depth in this squad. It's clear that the policy is to be extra cautious with him after last year's disaster, but at some point he's got to be thrown in there.

But what fans would love to see more than anything is some academy representation in the team. There's plenty of frustration that Josh Acheampong can't make the squad for Premier League games even when our first two options at right-back are out injured. If there's a similar prioritisation of imported senior talent over Cobham graduates in a game like this, those grumbles will grow far louder, despite any good results.

Find more from Will Faulks at Chelsea News, external

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The Monday Night Club panel have praised Nicolas Jackson's start to the season and backed the Chelsea striker to continue his upward trajectory.

Jackson has four goals and two assists in five Premier League games so far in 2024-25, after fourteen league goals in his debut campaign.

"Even last season watching Nicolas Jackson, he had everything but the goals," said former Everton and Crystal Palace winger Andros Townsend.

"He had the movement, he had the dribbling, he was getting into some great positions but he just wasn't finishing them off.

"But, the goals he scored on the weekend were taken competently and confidently like an expert striker. We weren't seeing that last season so maybe the early goals have done him the world of good and now we're going to see this player who is going to be clinical when he gets chances in front of goal."

Former Premier League striker Chris Sutton added: "With all the mayhem going on at Chelsea last season I actually thought he came out with great credit. I think he was signed initially as a development player but he got enough game time - maybe due to [Christopher] Nkunku's injury - and his goal tally was alright.

"I think that there are certainly parts of his game which he needs to improve. But, I think he's a player with excellent movement in behind, he has that pace, it's all about the timing of his runs and he stretches defences.

"With the players at Chelsea - the likes of Cole Palmer - he's a really good fit because they get on the ball, he makes the movement, and they find him.

"To have that type of striker and the way his confidence seems to have grown - that bodes well for Chelsea. There's always this debate about whether Chelsea need a number nine. Maybe, just maybe, they don't."

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Nizaar Kinsella
BBC Sport football news reporter

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Enzo Maresca is in a good place at Chelsea but his mood has never waivered in these press conferences so far.

When the Blues had four points from three matches and news broke of a rift between the owners – his mood was the same and so was his desire to focus on improving his team.

Now, amid a moment of calm and good results, he isn’t getting carried away and remains assured that his approach to management will ultimately lead to even better results.

The clarity of the Italian’s communication is impressive given he has never had a job at this level and is speaking in his second or potentially third language.

Of course, a match at home to Barrow in the Carabao Cup should be a certain victory but it was interesting to see him discuss the various players in his squad who are keen to earn minutes.

Defender Ben Chilwell will come back in to make his first appearances of the campaign after being in the ‘loan group’ and told he was surplus to requirements.

Similarly, Carney Chukwuemeka could also be involved while fringe players Mykhailo Mudryk, Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall and Benoit Badiashile were also mentioned.

It would be unsurprising if Maresca makes 11 changes from the team that beat West Ham 3-0 on Saturday as a busy period with two matches per week begins.

Nicola Pearson
BBC Sport journalist

Chelsea boss Enzo Maresca has been speaking to the media before Tuesday's Carabao Cup third round game against Barrow (kick-off 1945 BST).

Here are the key lines from his news conference:

• Maresca confirmed Malo Gusto is fit and available for the match, while Romeo Lavia has returned to training and will "hopefully" be ready for the Brighton game on Saturday.

• He said this game will be a "good chance" for those players who have not had regular minutes in the Premier League to get some time on the pitch, confirming that Ben Chilwell, Carney Chukwuemeka and some academy players will be involved.

• He added: "These players train very well every day but I can't give them chances [in the league]. It is not because they are doing bad - you just have to make decisions."

• He said he is "completely happy" with Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall, explaining the midfielder is having to "adapt mentally" after being the "main player [at Leicester] to not the main player [at Chelsea]".

• On the cup's priority given it is the first opportunity to win a trophy: "It is important not because we think we are going to win the competition, but because it is an official game. Our main focus has to be to try and win."

• After guiding Chelsea to fifth after five games and three points off the top: "We are ahead of where we expected to be but not in terms of results, but in the way the team is progressing and playing. We still need to learn a lot of things - attacking better, defending better - but it is important that the feeling we have is we are going in that direction."

• On a wider sense from fans that Chelsea are making progress: "[With] social media I am lucky because I don't have it. I think people just write things. If we win or lose, they just focus on that and not if we are improving. They just judge results, but we also need to analyse how the team is progressing."

• He acknowledged a "dangerous" game against Barrow: "Football is full of these kinds of games where you think it is an easy game and then it is a sticky game. In this moment, it is probably the worst game for us. This is why we need to take it seriously."

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A Chelsea related question was put to chief footballer writer Phil McNulty in Monday's Q&A.

Ben asked: Hi Phil, despite all the ongoing chaos off the pitch Chelsea have made a good start to the season. Can they finish in the top four?

Phil answered: Hello, Ben. They look very decent don’t they? They have settled into a recognisable style under Enzo Maresca and have very good players. It is simply allowing them to get some stability and learn to play with eachother.

Early days but I have always felt the fourth place is up for grabs behind Manchester City, Arsenal and Liverpool. My tip is Aston Villa but Chelsea have more than enough quality to be in that conversation.

Nizaar Kinsella
BBC Sport football news reporter

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Suddenly the noise around Chelsea has dissolved into the background.

They are winning and the two co-controlling owners Behdad Eghbali and Todd Boehly were pictured at the London Stadium together, watching the 3-0 win away at West Ham on Saturday.

That is not to say all is rosy behind the scenes at ownership level but at least it is clearly having little impact on results.

As Eghbali and Boehly battle to buy each other out, Chelsea look ready to make progress under Enzo Maresca who believes the team are ahead of where he expected them to be at this stage of the season.

They are taking on his ideas rapidly and picking up results when they play well and even when they do not.

Next should be a routine win at home to League Two table toppers Barrow on Tuesday night at Stamford Bridge in the Carabao Cup.

Maresca is likely to be asked about these topics:

• Whether he will give chances to any academy players

• How he will approach the League Cup while in five competitions

• Whether Chelsea can win something this season

• And perhaps about the good form of Nicolas Jackson, Moises Caicedo and Levi Colwill.

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We asked for your thoughts after Saturday's Premier League game between West Ham and Chelsea.

Here are some of your comments:

West Ham fans

Matthew: Where do I begin? No effort; no desire; not tactically right; no formation; defence is shaky; losing tackles; not running back; passing is poor and way too slow for a rapid Chelsea team. Players that start are either out of form or too old and we have absolutely no end product. From what I’ve seen so far, sacking David Moyes seems to be a massive mistake.

Bob: I thought that David was removed because he wasn't attacking enough in his tactics. I saw nothing that shows West Ham have the slightest idea tactically how to perform except badly. We cannot keep going through games without understanding that to win you need to stop the goals against whilst striving to score yourself.

Andy: Poorly set up. None of the new signings played at all well. We don’t look a team. Everyone going on about how good our window was are delusional. We needed young quality striker. Very unimpressed with the new manager and our signings.

Tom: MBBC= Moyes back before Christmas

Chelsea fans

Steve: Maybe the best performance since we won the Champions League. Moises Caicedo was at another level and even Enzo Fernandez looks like he has an understanding of his role. Clear competition for places in the front positions will pay dividends.

Mathew: Really happy with that win. Really good goals from Nicolas Jackson and Palmer. It still bewilders me that our supports don’t like Jackson. It was a really good performance from the whole team, but the man of the match had to be Caicedo - he was so good. Two clean sheets is good for the confidence of Robert Sanchez and the defence.

Ron: Levi Colwill was outstanding at the back, Caicedo was strong in midfield while Jackson and Palmer played well together again. West Ham were poor, but another good team performance and a clean sheet. Keep it going and the future looks good.

Bruce: Defence looked much better, Sanchez was solid, and the link up between midfield and the forward line was sublime. I don't know if we looked so good because of a mediocre Hammers display but it'll be interesting to see how we get on at Brighton next week. Feeling hopeful and positive.

West Ham had more possession, more shots, more shots on target and more touches in the opposition box than Chelsea on Saturday.

However, xG shows that the quality of chances was key to the final outcome - a 3-0 win for the visitors.

The chances West Ham created were of a lower quality, hence their xG number of less than one, while the chances they gave up to the Blues were very good.

Statistics collated by BBC Sport statistician Chris Collinson

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• Liverpool 3-0 Bournemouth

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Timothy Abraham
BBC Sport Journalist

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Nicolas Jackson and Cole Palmer will grab much of the limelight after Chelsea's emphatic 3-0 win over West Ham.

But there was another player at the London Stadium who also caught the eye.

Jadon Sancho started a Chelsea match for the first time since his move from Manchester United on deadline day.

In fact he started a Premier League game for the first time since 28 May 2023 when he scored for United against Fulham.

The 24-year-old bagged himself an assist for Chelsea's opening goal scored by Nicolas Jackson - Sancho's second for the Blues after coming on to set-up the winner against Bournemouth a week ago.

Sancho was industrious, used the ball intelligently and looks like he will be able to strike up a good rapport with Jackson and Cole Palmer.

He also had a passing accuracy of 90% as well as two chances created and two dribbles during the 90 minutes.

It's early days but these are encouraging signs for a player who has something of a point to prove after the way things went at Old Trafford.

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Chelsea boss Enzo Maresca has been speaking to BBC Match of the Day after the win: "It was a good game and a good result. The clean sheet has been important. We have many things to improve, we can attack and defend better but overall we are going in the right direction."

On goalscorer Nicolas Jackson: "We are completely 100% happy with Nicolas. He has been working hard since I arrived. He is very good on the ball in terms of numbers. We are very happy."

On defender Wesley Fofana: "He did very well. We have to protect him from his injury last year. He did fantastic."

On their position in the league: "The points are important but, in this moment, the most important thing is the way we are progressing. We are [going] in the right direction, but there are many things we can do better. We can attack better and defend better. It is a process and we are learning."

Chelsea forward Cole Palmer has been speaking to TNT Sports following the win: "A tough place to come and a good three points, we are happy.

"Everybody knows he [Nicolas Jackson] is a top player - he needs to keep going. The Chelsea fans and players rate him highly - we know what he is capable of.

"There will always be noise, we try to block it out and listen to the manager. We have a good manager and it can only help us to get better."

Chelsea forward Nicolas Jackson has also been speaking to TNT Sports about his confidence this season: "It's growing higher with my team-mates, they help me a lot and they have confidence in me.

"We keep going. This one is finished and next week we go onto another one. The most important thing is for the team to win.

"I'm happy to play always - to fight for the team and to win is the most important thing."

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Enzo Maresca is just the eighth manager in Premier League history to win each of his first three away games in the competition, and he is the first to do so since Pep Guardiola in September 2016.

Chelsea have won five consecutive away top-flight matches for the first time since December 2021 under Thomas Tuchel.

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