Vesper

2021 German Super Cup Borussia Dortmund Bayern Munich http://www.sportnews.to/sports/2021/dfl-supercup-borussia-dortmund-vs-bayern-munchen-s1/ https://www.vipleague.cc/german-dfl-supercup-borussia-dortmund-vs-fc-bayern-munchen-streaming-link-1

Chelsea dealt Jules Kounde transfer blow as shrewd Sevilla contract clause comes into play Chelsea will reportedly step up their transfer pursuit of Sevilla stalwart Jules Kounde in the coming days - but it will cost them significantly more to land the defender https://www.mirror.co.uk/sport/football/transfer-news/Chelsea-jules-kounde-sevilla-contract-24777061 Chelsea have received an expensive blow in their long-running pursuit of Jules Kounde due to a cunning clause in his Sevilla contract, according to reports in Spain. Blues boss Thomas Tuchel is a big admirer of Kounde, with the 22-year-old considered one of the most-promising centre-backs in Europe. The Frenchman returned to action for Sevilla at the weekend with a comfortable performance in a routine 3-0 victory over Rayo Vallecano in La Liga. Chelsea are said to be keen to step up their chase for Kounde in the coming days - but it will cost them significantly more to land their target. That is according to Diario AS , which claims the release clause in Kounde's contract increased from €80million (£68m) to €90million (£77m) ahead of the final two weeks of the transfer window. Nonetheless, the report adds Sevilla are nervous about their prized asset's future as they believe Chelsea may yet meet the increased price. Manchester City saw a €55million (£47m) bid for Kounde rejected last year before signing Ruben Dias from Benfica, and it is clear the player is worth significantly more now. Sevilla boss Julen Lopetegui insisted there is no indication Kounde will depart this summer as he spoke after the clash with Rayo Vallecano. "I don’t have the feeling that this is his last game," he said. "There is nothing that tells me that he will not continue with us. "He played a very good game. Things can happen until 31st August. We need to strengthen positions and we are working on it." Despite Chelsea's strong link with Kounde, Stamford Bridge hero Frank Leboeuf has questioned whether his former side needs another centre-back due to the emergence of Trevoh Chalobah. The 22-year-old impressed in the Super Cup victory over Villarreal and scored his first goal in the Premier League win over Crystal Palace on Saturday. "He had a very good Super Cup final game, then he had a very good game against Crystal Palace," Leboeuf told ESPN of Chalobah. "I have doubts that Chelsea need another defender because they already have lots of defenders. "I already said Kounde is a fantastic player and he should be playing for Chelsea, but you cannot make everyone happy. "So, what’s the point in having Chalobah, [Kurt] Zouma, maybe [Andreas] Christensen or [Antonio] Rudiger or maybe Thiago Silva on the bench? "He [Tuchel] will have to make choices. There are only two seats for five maybe six if Kounde comes. It’s too many. If Chalobah goes on like that, of course, they don’t need Kounde."

David Squires on … the Premier League’s big opening weekend Our cartoonist on the return of the English top flight, Arsenal embarrassment and VAR enlightenment https://www.theguardian.com/football/ng-interactive/2021/aug/17/david-squires-on-premier-league-opening-weekend

Rome wasn’t built in a day but it can be destroyed in a three-year cycle Tammy and José: what could possibly go wrong? Photograph: Fabio Rossi/AS Roma/Getty Images Daniel Harris @DanielHarris ROMAN HOLIDAY? Football is a strange old business, full of strange old people, so the Fiver is not remotely surprised to learn that Tammy Abraham has moved from Chelsea to Roma for a fee of £34m. Despite playing just 17 minutes in the final three months of last season, Abraham finished it as his club’s joint-top scorer. But Thomas Tuchel prefers the prolific Timo Werner, who took 20 additional games to match Abraham’s 12-goal tally and whose six goals in 36 league games to date evoke fond memories of Robert Fleck, Chris Sutton, Mateja Kezman and Andriy Shevchenko alike. Of course, it’s hard to criticise Tuchel, a footballing savant who somehow twigged that three centre-backs protected by two defensive midfielders and two defensive wing-backs would make his team hard to score against (especially when the opposing manager is even savantier). As such, Chelsea’s Champions League win not only secured Tuchel’s job for the foreseeable four months, but obscured the combover just about secured to his head so well that no one knows it even exists. Behold the power of tactical genius! Tammy Abraham completes £34m move from Chelsea to Roma Read more To replace Abraham, Tuchel has already bought Romelu Lukaku, because spending £97.5m on a 28-year-old striker with an unreliable first touch and questionable big-game record makes perfect sense. But before you – yes, you – get your fury on, please be assured that the Fiver recognises there is no better striker in the world (who plays like he’s carrying a grand piano) than Lukaku. As for Abraham, he joins José Mourinho at the Stadio Olimpico, Mourinho’s punishment for the mess he made at Spurs having been a move from Tottenham to the Eternal City. Though the Fiver hopes the deal works out well, it is necessarily fearful because, as the famous saying goes, Rome wasn’t built in a day but it can sure as hell be destroyed in a three-year cycle. QUOTE OF THE DAY “Cristiano is a Real Madrid legend and he has all my love and respect. I have never considered signing him. We look forward” – Carlo Ancelotti does us all a favour and squashes fresh Ronaldo-to-Real rumours via the medium of Social Media Disgrace Twitter. FIVER LETTERS “Monday’s last line was a link to the Newcastle club shop selling a hooded sweatshirt for £165. To be fair, that’s actually only part of the deal – the price also includes any first-team player of the buyer’s choosing” – Mike Wilner. “John Lawton [Monday’s letters] is mistaken – Arsenal weren’t top before they took the field on Friday. They were labouring in third alphabetically behind Abramovich XI and Abu Dhabi FC” – Nick Smith. “Never mind the great joke it played on Arsenal, that bloody fixtures machine obviously has a vicious sadistic streak. Why else would it serve up a 600-mile round trip to Barrow on a Tuesday night for travelling Exeter fans?” – Jeremy Boyce. “Looking at their upcoming fixtures, Arsenal will likely end the month of August with zero points from three games. Do we call the current team ‘the Invisibles’?” – Krishna Moorthy. Send your letters to [email protected]. And you can always tweet The Fiver via @guardian_sport. Today’s winner is Mike Wilner, who gets a copy of The Hard Yards: A Season in the Championship, Football’s Toughest League by Nige Tassell. It’s available in hardback from 19 August and we have more to give away. NEWS, BITS AND BOBS Two Mauritius FA board members have resigned and police are investigating after a phone was found recording video in a women’s bathroom at the governing body’s HQ. Harry Kane has taken part in Tottenham training for the first time under Nuno Espírito Santo and could feature in their Big Shield play-off against Paços de Ferreira, according to Lahn’s E’nin Stannah. In a surprise development, Manchester City club legend Pablo Zabaleta has said he hopes Kane moves to the Etihad. “We’ll see if the money is there but it will be nice to see him playing for City,” Zabaleta cheered while waving an inflatable banana. In equally shocking news, Louis van Gaal has backed himself to bring World Cup glory to the Netherlands. “I think if I was the Dutch FA, I’d also have approached me. Who else could have done it?” Van Gaal roared at his unveiling as the new Oranje manager. Look who’s back! Photograph: BSR Agency/Getty Images Formerly free agent Ørjan Nyland is free no more after the Norwegian goalkeeper put pen to paper at Bournemouth. In other transfer news, Derby have signed Phil Jagielka and striker Sam Baldock on short-term deals. Barcelona, Real Madrid and Juventus, seemingly happy with how that whole European Super League thing went, are now the only breakaway teams that haven’t returned to the European Club Association fold – all six English sides involved in the weird, misguided adventure have now rejoined. The Queen’s Celtic will make more signings before the transfer deadline, according to their manager [at time of writing – Fiver Ed], Ange Postecoglou. “It’s just a matter of timing and getting things done,” Postecoglou muttered. “It’s not as straightforward as it used to be.” And Mark van Bommel’s debut as Wolfsburg manager could have gone better: the new manager brought on too many substitutes in their German Cup win over fourth-tier Preußen Munster, with the Bundesliga side booted out of the tournament as a result. STILL WANT MORE? Wayne Rooney is facing an uphill task to keep Wayne Rooney’s Derby County in the Championship, according to Ben Fisher. USA! USA!! USA!!! star Carli Lloyd spent much of her career trying to prove her doubters wrong – and the results speak for themselves, writes Beau Dure. Carli Lloyd, who is set to end her playing career after this season. Photograph: Brad Smith/ISI Photos/Getty Images Is Son Heung-min the heir to Harry Kane as Tottenham’s attacking talisman? Jonathan Liew certainly thinks so. Meanwhile, Jacob Steinberg argues that Kane would offer Manchester City a much-needed ruthless streak, if they are prepared to pay the big bucks. Cristiano Ronaldo to join Lionel Messi at PSG All-Stars? Sure, why not, says today’s Rumour Mill. Catch up with the latest moves in our women’s and men’s transfer interactives. Oh, and if it’s your thing … you can follow Big Website on Big Social FaceSpace. And INSTACHAT, TOO! IT’S MY DECK NOW, BUDDY BOY

when Bats and Tammy are officially off, I will update my master list

it is not oki

Number one, I am not a bro, yours or otherwise Number two, sod off with your homophobia rationalisation attempts and down-playing

self delete

oh, so now casual homophobia is cool again? wog, nigger, faggot,, etc were regular words for millions for years too just because that racist cunt BoJo is the PM, doesn't give license to go back to the bad old day of dehumanisation and hate Boris Johnson called gay men 'tank-topped bumboys' and black people 'piccaninnies' with 'watermelon smiles' https://www.businessinsider.com/boris-johnson-record-sexist-homophobic-and-racist-comments-bumboys-piccaninnies-2019-6?r=US&IR=T

And that was the opening Premier League weekend that was That’s the photo. Photograph: Eddie Keogh/Getty Images Barry Glendenning @bglendenning WE GO AGAIN While the entirety of last season proved that football is nothing without fans, the opening weekend of this new one provided a timely reminder that despite their prolonged and enforced absence it would often be considerably better if some of them stayed at home. But despite the best attempts of assorted imbeciles in Manchester, Norfolk and Tottenham, among other nationwide locales, the sight of “House Full” signs up in Premier League grounds was enough to melt the flintiest of hearts. Brentford got the opening Premier League weekend off to a flyer, the famous bus-stop in Hounslow marking their first top-flight appearance in 74 years with a win over Arsenal that, while technically an upset, was no real surprise at all. Bees fans were left buzzing, none more so than Brentford super-fan Woody, whose post-match embrace with manager Thomas Frank adorned several of the morning papers being read by Saturday morning coffee-drinkers as they raised their heads quizzically upon hearing grown men thump each other with bins and restaurant furniture on the street outside. Sergi Canós: Brentford’s stadium can become a fortress after win over Arsenal Read more While Nasty Leeds fans set about the task of shedding their club’s reputation as neutrals’ favourites outside Old Trafford, their team did their bit inside the ground. Taken on at their own energetic, high-pressing game and soundly beaten at it by Manchester United, with Luke Ayling’s second-half screamer they could at least go home with the consolation of knowing they’d scored the game’s fourth-best goal. Meanwhile at Stamford Bridge, Trevoh Chalobah announced his Chelsea arrival at the top table in Chelsea’s humbling of Crystal Palace with a strike that made folk previously unfamiliar with his work sit up and notice that not only is he not his brother Nathan, but also that his name isn’t actually “Trevor”. At Goodison Park, Rafael Benítez got an unexpectedly warm welcome from fans of his new “small club” before their win over a Southampton team that’s shedding big-name stars in some sort of Saints supernova. Further south, everyone’s relegation-certainties Watford showed their title-winning credentials with a 3-2 demolition of Aston Villa that was nowhere near as close as the scoreline suggests. Their fellow promoted side Norwich had no answers for Liverpool, who cruised to victory under the new laser-improved gaze of Jürgen Klopp. Leicester just about triumphed over Wolves thanks to Jamie Vardy, while Sean Dyche’s Burnley XI couldn’t quite Burnley their way to a point against free-scoring Brighton xG. And so to Sunday, where normality was resumed at St James’ Park, as Newcastle’s players trudged off to the heartwarmingly unfamiliar sound of boos, albeit safe in the knowledge that they will almost certainly play worse this season. Meanwhile in London, Tottenham Hotspur weathered an early storm to pull off a somewhat surprising win over toothless champions Manchester City. Having ground out their win with a disciplined and determined team performance, their players could be forgiven for rolling their eyes at the raft of post-match headlines devoted to a certain teammate whose contribution was zero. QUOTE OF THE DAY “He’s one of the greatest legends in the history of FC Bayern. His achievements are unrivalled to this day and will forever be a part of the great history of FC Bayern and all of German football. As a player and a person Gerd Müller stands for FC Bayern and its development into one of the biggest clubs in the world. Gerd will forever be in our hearts” – Oliver Kahn pays tribute to Gerd Müller, one of the game’s all-time greats, who died on Sunday aged 75. Read Scott Murray’s brilliant tribute to the man they called Der Bomber and there’s also a lovely gallery, too. Gerd Müller doing what he did best. RIP. Photograph: AFP/Getty Images RECOMMENDED LISTENING Listen up! Get your ears around Football Weekly here! FIVER LETTERS “Nice to see Jim Rosenthal getting a rare runout in Friday’s Fiver (Still Want Mores). Gives me an excuse to link to this monumental piece of journalism, in which our hero is transported into a dream-like netherworld. This journey ends with him naked and being covered in lather by the country’s top scorer, his captain, and two mulleted magicians. What a man” – Nick Kinsella. “Were the Premier League fixture compilers indulging in a bit of devilment with the opening-day fixtures? Starting a match top of the Premier League and ending it bottom – it could only happen to Arsenal” – John Lawton. “Given their propensity to plumb new depths each passing day, the Gunners could file for a change of emblem from the current one to the Mariana Trench” – Krishna Moorthy. “When Chelsea score at home the big screens flash up GOAL!! GOAL!! followed by the name and photo of the scorer. When Trevoh Chalobah scored on Saturday the screens duly flashed up GOAL!! GOAL!! but of name or photo there were none. So I propose a new term to describe a young player making an unexpected splash: ‘Too unknown to have his name in the big screen display computer’” – Nick Moon. Send your letters to [email protected]. And you can always tweet The Fiver via @guardian_sport. Prizes are back, baby! Today’s winner is Nick Kinsella, who gets a copy of The Hard Yards: A Season in the Championship, Football’s Toughest League by Nige Tassell. It’s available in hardback from 19 August and we have more to give away. NEWS, BITS AND BOBS Renowned rom-com enthusiast Virgil van Dijk says his return to action for Liverpool against Norwich felt “very emotional”. “It was sort of like a hurdle,” he Richard Curtis-ed. “I had to get over that.” Barcelona chief suit, Joan Laporta, has blamed Josep Bartomeu for a “terrible inheritance” which has led to debts of €1.35bn (subs, please check). “We could not pay the salaries,” Laporta blubbed. “The previous regime was full of lies.” Granit Xhaka has scrawled his name all over a new contract at Arsenal until 2025. Like an impatient parent trying to get his teenager out of bed, Spurs manager Nuno Espírito Santo wants Harry Kane to hurry up. “He has to get ready and help the team,” he pleaded. And José Mourinho has found £34m down the back of a fine leather sofa at Roma and is ready to swap it for Tammy Abraham. STILL WANT MORE? We know you’ve missed them: 10 glorious talking points coming right at ya. Did somebody say composite photo? Composite: Reuters/Getty/AP/Getty Andy Brassell’s Bundesliga blog addresses how Robert Lewandowski and Erling Haaland will try to emulate the great Gerd Müller this season. An extract from Ryan Baldi’s new book explores the rise of Trent Alexander-Arnold, featuring sulks, a position change and fetching the balls he would kick in anger. Alan Ruschel lost 19 of his Chapecoense teammates in a plane crash five years ago. He recovered from his injuries, became the club’s captain and led them to two trophies. Josué Seixas speaks with the 31-year-old. Ligue Urrrrrrrn is already two weeks in: Eric Devin is here to update you on champions Lille getting absolutely walloped by Nice. Fans of Rumours can get their fix here, fans of transfer tittle-tattle might want to click on this link instead. Catch up with the latest moves in our women’s and men’s transfer interactives. Oh, and if it’s your thing … you can follow Big Website on Big Social FaceSpace. And INSTACHAT, TOO! £165 ANYONE?

It’s now Manchester City, Chelsea, Liverpool and Manchester United: The big six is no more https://gameofthepeople.com/2021/08/16/its-now-manchester-city-Chelsea-liverpool-and-manchester-united-the-big-six-is-no-more/ FOR THE past decade, English football has been dominated by two clubs: Manchester City and Chelsea. Between them, they have won 17 of the 30 domestic trophies (20 out 40 counting the CS) on offer and Chelsea have won a further four five European prizes. The pandemic has left both clubs’ relatively unscathed though City made a hefty loss in 2019-20, but the economic strength behind both clubs means they can smile when it’s a rainy day. Not so for most of their rivals. The debacle that was the European Super League was not necessarily their idea, but they are like any other club, they suffer from FOMO (fear of missing out), so they appeared to go along with the flawed idea. The ESL needed Chelsea and Manchester City more than they needed the ESL. Paris Saint-Germain were in the same ballpark. PSG didn’t bite the bullet and steered clear and the Premier duo were the first to call time on the proposal. The fact is, for all three of these clubs, the status quo works just fine. Those desperate to regain the status and advantages they had before ultra high net worth individuals got involved in the game were the keenest advocates. The owners of Chelsea, Manchester City and Paris Saint-Germain have different agendas than those behind Liverpool, Arsenal and Manchester United. For US investor/owners, sports team ownership is an asset class, which is why private equity firms have developed a taste for football clubs. It is likely that Roman Abramovich and Sheikh Mansour do not expect to make money out of owning a football club, although the involvement of private equity firm Silver Lake at City does change the dynamic. One area that makes US investors squirm is relegation – it’s something they try to eradicate from American sports. With so much wealth behind these clubs, it is no surprise that the pandemic has put paid to the Premier League’s so-called “big six”, a group of clubs founded on the basis of their financial power, their position in the game and their heritage. While Chelsea and City will forever be looked upon as “new money” by fans of Arsenal, Liverpool and Manchester United, their modern records are impressive. Before the two clubs’ owners took over, Chelsea had won eight major prizes, City nine. Between them, they had three league titles, Chelsea’s coming in 1955 and City’s in 1937 and 1968. They were underachieving clubs that lived in the shadows of their local rivals – in Chelsea’s case, Arsenal were always the top name in London, while City’s honours list was dwarfed by Manchester United. Fans of English football’s old “big three” taunted Chelsea and City as having “no history”, but increasingly it counts for nothing other than making books more interesting. History is created on a daily basis, clubs are not born with a ready built honours list. And while sceptics might claim that success has been “bought”, that has almost always been the case in football, going right back to the days when mill owners subsidised and paid for success for the local club. The figures just happen to be far greater today. The type of ownership at Chelsea and Manchester City enables the clubs to weather storms that affect others. The models at Arsenal, Liverpool and Manchester United are different in that their owners expect a return. As a result, their clubs make money and dividends can be paid. As for Tottenham, their ownership is ENIC, a UK investment company that may have similar objectives to the club’s north London neighbours. There is a growing presence in football of private equity firms entering the market which indicates there could be a rise in professional investment that knocks companies into shape, makes them more efficient and then sells them to make a profit on their investment. While there is nothing legally wrong with this practice, it does not align itself to the spirit of the game. But then should it be obliged to? Football Finance experts such as Kieran Maguire of Liverpool University and The Price of Football fame have long acknowledged that football was never a well-run business from a financial perspective. Football doesn’t like the wealthy owner model, but neither does it appreciate the professional investor expecting something back. What does football really want? With the pandemic, in all probability, ending an era of exponential growth and excess, clubs like Chelsea and Manchester City will surely only strengthen their position at the top of the game. The other members of the “big four” will be Liverpool and Manchester United, primarily because of their vast worldwide support that will be further monetised, and sound management. But both clubs will not have the same financial power of Chelsea and City. These clubs will have to rely on skilful recruitment and player trading, along with their commercial prowess, which is considerable. No matter how successful they are, Chelsea and Manchester City will never have the same cachet as Liverpool and Manchester United. This is where history and longevity has its advantage. Liverpool won the Premier League in 2020 because they had an excellent coach and had been very astute in the transfer market. That can happen again, but ultimately, those clubs with fewer financial restrictions will rise to the top. So how did six become four? In truth, Tottenham’s flirtation with the “big six” was brief. Their trophy haul has been abysmal in the past 40 years and their last title was in 1961. With the construction of their new stadium, they have a brilliant home, but this will undoubtedly have an impact on their disposable income for a period of time, just as Arsenal’s Emirates Stadium slowed the club down. Arsenal went nine years without a trophy before scooping a quartet of FA Cups between 2014 and 2020, but Spurs have gone into a period of possible restriction after their best team in years peaked. Arsenal’s problems seem to be manifold: Poor succession planning following Arsene Wenger’s long tenure; sub-optimal recruitment; lack of ambition for too long; and detached, unpopular ownership that has made them uncompetitive. The culmination of a period of stagnation is that Arsenal will not be playing in European competition for the first time in 25 years in 2021-22 season. But this is still Arsenal and their time will come again, one presumes. Arsenal, over the past five years, have seen their revenues decline by 3%, while Spurs have enjoyed an 87% rise from £ 209 million in 2015-16 to £ 391 million in 2019-20. Chelsea and Manchester City both saw their income go up by 23%, while Liverpool’s revenues rocketed by 62%. The dynamic between Arsenal and Spurs is interesting – in 2016, Arsenal had a £ 150 million advantage of their rivals but are now £ 50 million behind them. Similarly, Manchester United and City is a story of one club falling and another rising – in 2016, United earned £ 123 million more, but in 2020, the gap was £ 27 million. With Premier League clubs likely to suffer more challenges once the 2020-21 figures are revealed, the Chelsea-City axis could take a renewed stranglehold on the English game. For the foreseeable future, we may see what many people predicted a while ago when clubs started to become the property of wealthy oligarchs and oilmen. The advantage they gave these clubs may become more and more visible. If the cry of “foul” was heard then, it may become somewhat louder when the next wave of crisis sweeps over professional football.

fucking scouse vermin Soccer Fans Scream Homophobic Chant at Player, Liverpool Condemns https://www.advocate.com/sports/2021/8/16/soccer-fans-scream-homophobic-chant-player-liverpool-condemns

Positional play against Spurs shows that relationship between Sterling and Grealish will need work By Dan Zeqiri Pep Guardiola's football is known for positional rigour, choreographed attacking movements and careful spacing of players across the pitch. Jack Grealish is known for playing with a thrilling sense of freedom and abandon. How the two mesh together promises to be a fascinating aspect of his British record transfer to Manchester City. There were some positive signs on his debut at Tottenham despite the game ending in defeat. Grealish completed the second-most 'progressive carries' of any player who featured in the opening Premier League weekend of the season, with nobody completing more into the penalty area. Guardiola was full of praise for his performance. Grealish played in a more central role for City, starting on the left of a midfield three, with Raheem Sterling occupying the wide left position in which he thrived for Aston Villa. Both right-footed dribblers who favour the left side of the pitch, there is potentially a risk that the pair stand on each other's toes. Their touchmaps at Spurs were very similar. As explored in this piece, Guardiola might need to employ a lighter touch tactically and allow Sterling and Grealish to rotate. Despite being England team-mates, Sterling and Grealish have not played much together with Gareth Southgate tending to use Grealish as an impact substitute. Knowing to stay inside when Sterling is wide or swing wide when Sterling narrows is the kind of pattern Grealish will grow more comfortable with over the coming months at City. More weekend analysis New Premier League signings rated: How Jadon Sancho, Ben White and Junior Firpo got on in their debuts Referee's view: Premier League referees have finally learned their lessons - and improvements are long overdue Oliver Brown: Spurs' fans ire for Harry Kane shows transformation from hero to has-been can happen in a heartbeat Back in contention: The cogs are coming together again in Liverpool's winning machine The battle for hearts and minds: How steely Rafael Benitez got his Everton tenure off to the perfect start against Southampton Picture of the weekend CREDIT: MATTHEW PETERS, MANCHESTER UNITED/VIA GETTY Crowd control: Fred celebrates Manchester United's fifth and final goal in the rout of Leeds on Saturday. The victory was built on the flourishing partnership between Paul Pogba and Bruno Fernandes. Today's best stat 8,000 Roberto Firmino scored Liverpool's 8,000th goal in the Football League/Premier League. They are only the second side to hit that total, after Manchester United (8,089). Here's how the cogs in the winning machine might be coming back together.

https://football-observatory.com/IMG/sites/b5wp/2021/wp343/en/

'Send Lukaku back': Some Chelsea fans jokingly react after Michy Batshuayi scores five goals yesterday https://www.thechelseachronicle.com/club-news/send-lukaku-back-to-inter-some-Chelsea-fans-jokingly-react-to-forwards-display-yesterday/ Chelsea supporters on social media took a light-hearted approach to Michy Batshuayi’s five-goal haul against Weymouth on Sunday afternoon. Thomas Tuchel’s team hosted the non-league side at Cobham in a behind closed doors friendly yesterday, handing several of his first-teamers some well-needed minutes. The likes of Thiago Silva, Reece James, Ben Chilwell, Callum Hudson-Odoi, Ethan Ampadu and Emerson Palmieri all featured. Tuchel’s side certainly enjoyed the outing, as they scored 13 times past their guests. Ross Barkley hit a hattrick, Hudson-Odoi bagged a brace, but the lion’s share of the spoils went to Batshuayi. He netted on five occasions, which is three more than he managed in the entirety of last season. Following the arrival of Romelu Lukaku, the 27-year-old looks surplus to requirements at Stamford Bridge. However, Chelsea fans humorously said they didn’t need Lukaku now Batshuayi has found his shooting boots. Here’s how they reacted on Twitter:

someone has an authoritarian mum 😆

what a smashing first goal from an insane long bomb pass by Tomori (Giroud scored a brace and hit the post or would have had a hat trick) Highlights | Giroud does the double | AC Milan 2-1 Panathinakos

I just cannot do that at this point in season 😰

2021-22 English Premier League Tottenham Hotspur Manchester City http://www.sportnews.to/sports/2021/premier-league-tottenham-hotspur-vs-manchester-city-s1/ https://www.totalsportek.com/tottenham-hotspurs-vs-manchester-city/

Drama, wild inconsistency, lazy defence and sulking Pogba: Mount: null

1 1

1 nil Newcastle Wilson with his 9th goal in 11 games against West Ham

2021-22 English Premier League Newcastle United West Ham United http://www.sportnews.to/sports/2021/premier-league-newcastle-united-vs-west-ham-united-s1/ https://www.totalsportek.com/newcastle-united-vs-west-ham/

guehi was no loss at present, IMHO. Livramento may well be. The RB pool out there that is actually available is so shit atm. top ten most valuable RB's on T-Markt atm this is why I was so gutted over the non grab of Hakimi (who I would SO take over TAA, as TAA is shite on defence) and then Livramento bouncing out 👍🏽