ENGLISH PREMIER LEAGUE
Chelsea 3Â
Watford 0
LONDON • This encapsulated Chelsea's bizarre campaign of extremes.
There had been heckles from the home support as the players went into the interval with the hosts fortunate still to be level, all the festering doubts over Maurizio Sarri's stewardship exposed yet again, only for those jeers to be choked within the opening few minutes of the restart by a taunting of Tottenham.
Maurizio Sarri's team ended the afternoon in third place, having leapfrogged Spurs, and one win from Champions League qualification.
The doubts will resurface while the Blues' displays veer from the sublime to the ridiculous so regularly, but Chelsea are still likely to achieve their objective of a return to Europe's elite competition.
Watford, such a dominant force through a one-sided opening period, were dismissed in those frantic exchanges at the start of the second half with a difficult occasion suddenly transformed into something of a breeze.
Sarri even threw on Gary Cahill for a first appearance since November for the final few minutes, granting the club captain the send-off he deserves.
That helped ensure the post-match lap of appreciation was conducted in a more celebratory mood than what had seemed unlikely when Watford were running rings round the home side.
For once, Sarri's half-time team talk had instigated an immediate upturn with Eden Hazard, previously peripheral, revived and Ruben Loftus-Cheek injecting urgency to Chelsea's approach.
The England midfielder had headed the hosts ahead, reaching Hazard's gloriously clipped cross to power his effort beyond Ben Foster. Within minutes, David Luiz sprinted late into the box to meet Hazard's corner and effectively complete the victory. Even Gonzalo Higuain, so desperately ponderous in his play up to the interval, chipped in an exquisite third.
Higuain, Olivier Giroud and Pedro might have added further plunder as a side who had initially appeared so deflated tore into the FA Cup finalists with relish.
There is no fathoming Chelsea's form at present. They are wildly unpredictable but, according to the Premier League table, the third best team in the country at present.
THE GUARDIAN
* Everton rode their luck for a 2-0 home win over Bournemouth. Football News. Soccer-Everton ride luck for 2-0 victory at home to Bournemouth.
Everton Ride Luck For Home Victory Over Bournemouth
England captain Kane wants to end career as NFL kicker
Starting this blog has been an adventure. I have never been so intimately linked with a football club and its fortunes. There were certainly many ups and downs, thrills and spills. The Good. Gaining an understanding of the Club. Through my limited interaction with the Club's staff, i gained a minor insight about how running a football club works.
17 Aug, 2014 by DhakaTribune - Issuu
Edinson Cavani missed a stoppage-time penalty as Paris St Germain continued their stuttering end to the season with a 1-1 Ligue 1 draw at home to Nice, with Neymar notching his 50th goal for the club.
Football: Neymar hits half-century as PSG are held by Nice
Liverpool and Milan are set to fight it out for Paris Saint-Germain defender Mamadou Sakho, reports suggest. French newspaper L'Equipe believe that the Rossoneri are preparing a €15m bid for the 23-year-old defender as they look to strengthen their backline before the end of the transfer window.
Tampines Rovers' bench for the 2019 SPL campaign will see Kadir Yahaya support new head coach Gavin Lee. He has been described as one of the most astute local coaches in recent times and it was no wonder when Tampines Rovers decided to recruit former Singapore international Kadir Yahaya
SEA Games on Flipboard | ABS-CBN, SEA Games, Gaming
PSG coach Tuchel hits out at Neymar after fan attack. (AFP) — Thomas Tuchel yesterday blasted Neymar for hitting a fan who insulted Paris Saint-Germain players as they filed up to collect
Qatar won the Asian Cup held in the UAE earlier this year. (AFP pic) HONG KONG: China was all but confirmed as host nation of the next Asian Cup tournament in 2023 after the only other bidders
China all but confirmed as 2023 Asian Cup hosts after Korea
Soccer Football - Premier League - Newcastle United v Crystal Palace - St James' Park, Newcastle, Britain - April 6, 2019 Crystal Palace's Luka Milivojevic celebrates after the match REUTERS/Scott
Late Milivojevic penalty sees Palace snatch points at Newcastle
Indian cricket's historic feat in Australia and Ikhsan Fandi's Norwegian trial. 13:37 mins. Synopsis: A Game of Two Halves is The Straits Times' weekly sports podcast out every Tuesday on all global podcasting platforms - Spotify, iTunes and Google Podcasts.
The Karyawan — Volume 13 Issue 4 by AMP_Singapore - Issuu
Gonzalo Higuain flops on PL debut as Chelsea fans boo Sarri on miserable night Wednesday on his debut last Sunday and again was quiet in the first half of his Premier League bow at Bournemouth
Maurizio Sarri - Khelpanda
Poor show but Emery backs Mustafi LONDON • Unai Emery bizarrely insisted Shkodran Mustafi "has been consistent all season" after his abject display against Crystal Palace ensured the top-four race remained wide open.
Unai Emery backs Arsenal's Mustafi ahead of Wolves
PSG take charge with 2-0 win at Manchester United, Paul Pogba
0 Kommentare:
Kommentar veröffentlichen