Vesper

what a save by Donnarumma

wow Rice should have buried that header

‘I’ve been at Twickenham for matches and this is exactly what Chelsea fans could experience' Chelsea are deciding over a temporary switch to the home of English rugby at Twickenham as they discuss plans for a new stadium to replace the iconic Stamford Bridge https://www.mirror.co.uk/sport/football/news/twickenham-stadium-Chelsea-stamford-bridge-35178942 The idea of Chelsea moving to Twickenham makes a lot of sense. Yes, the Range Rovers, picnic hampers and tweed jackets would be nowhere in sight. Instead, they'd be replaced with a uniform of designer gear and a copious amounts of lager, rather than champagne. Twickenham's anthem of 'Swing Low, Sweet Chariot' would likely morph into something less palatable. However, one constant would be a sports team having the privilege of calling a world-class stadium their home. It seems like a logical move for both the football club and the Rugby Football Union (RFU). The proposal has been suggested because Chelsea wants to either redevelop Stamford Bridge or build a new stadium near Earls Court, and would need somewhere to host their home games in the meantime. Meanwhile, the RFU is in desperate need of additional income, due to the ongoing struggle with record losses. If Chelsea did relocate to England HQ, as it's known in rugby circles, we would get to see if the London club is as big as it believes it is. Twickenham, when full, is one of the finest stadiums in the UK. It can hold 82,000 spectators and is capable of creating a thrilling atmosphere. But could Chelsea fill it? That remains to be seen, but what Twickenham is also good at is retaining spectators long after the final whistle. The vast space surrounding the ground is filled with places to eat and drink, albeit at steep prices. Rugby fans seem to linger around the stadium after a match, and perhaps Chelsea could find ways to keep their own fans outside following games. However, it's worth mentioning that commuting to and from Twickenham can be a nightmare. The traffic is unbearable, there's no direct underground link, and the overland trains pack commuters like sardines in a tin. RFU chief executive Bill Sweeney has hinted that Richmond Council might be hesitant to let Chelsea become new tenants of Twickenham. Twickenham sits right in the heart of one of London's wealthiest boroughs, and local residents have strong objections to the number of events held there. So, the idea of thousands of Chelsea fans flooding their tranquil suburban streets is likely to fill them with dread. However, London Mayor Sadiq Khan is open to discussions. "My message to Chelsea is come and speak to us in relation to what you want to do," he said (via the Daily Star). "Chelsea are victims of their own success, and Stamford Bridge is now too small for them. After all, this is a team that has twice won the Champions League. We work closely with all seven of our Premier League clubs but I'm sure Chelsea look with some envy at the stadiums some of their rivals in London have." Despite Khan's comments, Chelsea haven't clinched the league title since 2017. Their popularity as the biggest club in the capital is also an ongoing competition, which puts the potential move to Twickenham as a real test of their stature in football. Because if this venue turns out to be impractical, Wembley could then be a potential alternative, but that would present an entirely new set of challenges.

Moises Caicedo: Chelsea’s player of the season who has thrived out of position https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/6336960/2025/05/07/moises-caicedo-Chelsea-player-of-the-season-out-of-position/ Cole Palmer looked more comfortable on the pitch than at any other time since January in Chelsea’s 3-1 victory over Liverpool. He also looked more at ease than at any other time in his post-match interview when he was invited to praise the team-mate standing next to him. “When you’ve got (Moises) Caicedo next to you, it’s a dream, really,” he told Sky Sports. “From the start of the season until now, he’s been our best player. He’s a machine. He wins everything back (for the team), always gives 100 per cent every day, he’s humble, he’s nice to everyone and everyone loves him.” The rest of the Chelsea dressing room and a majority of the voting supporters clearly agree, since Caicedo took home both of the men’s first-team player of the year gongs at the club’s awards night at Grosvenor House following the Liverpool win last Sunday. Caicedo’s candidacy was strong even before Palmer entered his 18-game goal drought. He is the only Chelsea player to start all 35 Premier League matches this season and, for long stretches, has given the impression that his ferocious tackling, relentless intensity and smart distribution were the glue holding Enzo Maresca’s team together. The numbers, illustrated below, back that up (true tackles are tackles attempted plus fouls plus challenges lost, and true interceptions are interceptions plus blocked passes). But his case has arguably been further strengthened in the last week by the return from injury of Romeo Lavia. Maresca’s preferred method of integrating the Belgian into his team is to recast Caicedo as a right-back who moves into the base of midfield, and the Ecuador international has embraced this combination of novel and familiar responsibilities with trademark enthusiasm. Lavia’s ability to identify and play passes that break the opposition’s midfield line dramatically expands Chelsea’s capabilities in possession, and he demonstrated as much by slipping Palmer in behind Curtis Jones to ignite the move that yielded the opening goal against Liverpool. But those gains can only be consolidated if Caicedo can bring his usual dominating presence to central midfield while not neglecting his right-back responsibilities. The early indications suggest that he can; Liverpool’s visit was the fifth Premier League game this season that Caicedo has started at right-back with Lavia as the No 6, and Chelsea have won four of them (the other being a 2-2 draw with Bournemouth at Stamford Bridge in January). Caicedo’s natural aggression translates readily to the right flank, where he is always looking to pick off passes hit towards the winger he is marking. Shortly before half-time against Liverpool, he pounced on a ball out of the visitors’ defence intended for Cody Gakpo. Lavia then picked out Nicolas Jackson in the penalty area, but the striker was narrowly offside: Despite this front-foot approach, Liverpool found it difficult to exploit the space behind Caicedo. He is agile and aware enough to pick off passes aimed over his head. He sprinted back with Gakpo to nod this floated pass from Jones on to goalkeeper Robert Sanchez: Liverpool were only able to get behind Caicedo once, when Kostas Tsimikas pinned the Ecuador international to his back in the ninth minute before laying the ball off to Gakpo. Pedro Neto did not track the Dutchman’s run and Caicedo could not recover, but Sanchez saved the eventual shot comfortably: Caicedo’s unique ability to do two jobs at once is best highlighted by the sequence below from Chelsea’s 1-0 win over Everton. In the 11th minute, he made a trademark interception in the middle of the pitch, jumping in front of Iliman Ndiaye to poke the ball towards Palmer. He fell to the floor on landing but when possession was quickly lost, he got back to his feet and sprinted with Ndiaye back towards the left touchline, scrambling to his defensive position so quickly that the Everton winger ultimately decided to abort his forward run: Caicedo, 23, may not be quite the progressive passer that Lavia is, but in this hybrid positional role, he is a meaningful passing upgrade on Malo Gusto or even club captain Reece James, the two other players Maresca has deployed as inverting right-backs in the Premier League this season. Here he is against Tottenham Hotspur in December, bringing down a looping cross from Brennan Johnson under immediate pressure from Dejan Kulusevski in his own box and calmly curling a left-footed pass out to Neto: ‘Inverted’ into central midfield in the 36th minute against Aston Villa, he rattled a pass between two opponents and Lavia into the feet of Enzo Fernandez, initiating the slick move involving Palmer that ended with the Argentina international firing in Chelsea’s second goal of the game: Antoine Semenyo is the one winger who has given Caicedo real trouble as a right-back, beating him one-vs-one to clip in a dangerous low cross in the first half. He then outsprinted Caicedo and lured him into a clumsy barge in the penalty area early in the second half, after Justin Kluivert had dispossessed Lavia: Caicedo’s excessive eagerness to win the ball back is the only obvious weak spot in his game. He has garnered 10 or more yellow cards in each of his last three Premier League campaigns for Chelsea and Brighton & Hove Albion and is averaging 3.2 fouls per 1,000 opposition touches this season, second only to former team-mate Alexis Mac Allister in the competition. But it is more a matter of minor adjustment than major adaptation. Chelsea want and need Caicedo to be aggressive in his pursuit of the ball and that, coupled with his indefatigable engine, enables him to be hugely influential in the closing stages of matches back in his natural midfield role when Lavia — who is still yet to complete 90 minutes for Maresca — leaves the field. Caicedo helped Chelsea cement their territorial dominance once he was restored full-time to the middle of the pitch against Villa in December. In this pretty ridiculous sequence, he charged forward to make a successful tackle in the attacking third, then immediately pivoted and jumped to pluck the visitors’ attempted clearance out of the air and regain possession for his team: Perhaps the most consequential example of Caicedo’s relentlessness came in the 95th minute against Liverpool. He had no right to beat Jarell Quansah to Dominik Szoboszlai’s sloppy infield pass in the visitors’ penalty area, but did so with sufficient poise to win the spot kick that sealed Chelsea’s biggest win of 2025 and enabled Palmer to end his scoring slump: The ease with which Caicedo has adapted to his positional shift evokes memories of Chelsea legend Michael Essien, who continued to be one of Jose Mourinho’s best and most consistent performers when injuries elsewhere required him to move from midfield to right-back for much of the 2006-07 season — even surging upfield to score one of the greatest goals Stamford Bridge has ever seen to earn a 1-1 draw against rivals Arsenal. Essien was rewarded for his positionless brilliance by being named the club’s player of the season in 2007. Caicedo may now be on a similar path, and his versatility is enabling Chelsea to build real momentum in this defining final stretch of the season.

The fallout of Club World Cup’s play-in pivot for LAFC, Club América, León https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/6337655/2025/05/06/fifa-club-world-cup-playoff-lafc-america-leon-james-rodriguez/ The FIFA Club World Cup is just over a month away, yet we already have our first major controversy. On Tuesday, the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) rejected appeals from Mexican side Club León and Liga Deportiva Alajuelense (LDA) of Costa Rica, as both organizations sought avenues to play in the summer tournament. FIFA confirmed the decision, which means that León, winner of the Concacaf Champions Cup in 2023, has been excluded from the competition for violating the Club World Cup’s regulations concerning multi-club ownership. León is owned by Grupo Pachuca, which also operates CF Pachuca, a club that also qualified for the competition. LDA felt it had a case to replace León due to its ranking in the region, but CAS thought otherwise. Now, FIFA’s solution is a one-game playoff between MLS’s Los Angeles FC, the runner up to León in 2023, and Mexican powerhouse Club América, Concacaf’s highest-ranked team that has not yet qualified for the competition. The win-and-in playoff will take place on May 31, with the victor entering Group D in the Club World Cup along with Chelsea, Flamengo and Espérance de Tunis. So, what does this decision mean for all the parties involved? And what about Colombian star James Rodríguez, who signed with León in January with the Club World Cup cited as a major reason why he moved to Mexico in the first place? Let’s discuss. North American soccer will get a $10m showcase MLS clubs and Liga MX sides find ways to play each other every year. Whether it’s a summer friendly, the MLS All-Star Game or in a tournament like the MLS-Liga MX Leagues Cup, the U.S.-Mexico storyline is forced upon American soccer fans like a hot iron. The problem is that those games are far from meaningful. A one-game playoff for a berth to the 32-team Club World Cup features stakes that an MLS vs. Liga MX game has never had. Not only is this an opportunity for LAFC or Club América to compete against some of the top clubs in the world, a ticket to the Club World Cup includes a nearly $10 million bonus for all qualified teams, with more prize money on offer depending on performance. Although MLS players on participating teams can only earn $1 million collectively from the astonishing $1 billion total prize money, the financial factor is significant for teams in this region. The game is reportedly set to be held at LAFC’s BMO Stadium, which boasts one of MLS’s best matchday atmospheres. Add in Club América’s massive following in LA and around the U.S., and you’ve the makings of a blockbuster moment for North American soccer. Inspiration or devastation for León? On Tuesday, a press release by León described the CAS decision as “a difficult sentence” before pointing the finger at supposed Liga MX rivals who conspired to keep León out of the Club World Cup. Without naming FIFA, León felt harshly judged by “an organization that is dedicated to promoting the game,” before adding “but from the beginning, there were no sporting principles at play during this case.” To call León the victims in this situation is debatable. But the fact is that the team earned a spot in the Club World Cup by winning a major continental trophy. In that sense, the reaction is understandable. Meanwhile, León is currently in the quarterfinals of the Liga MX playoffs, where it’ll face Cruz Azul, a team that recently reached the final of this year’s Concacaf Champions Cup — and the winner is due to face either Pachuca or América, in another fun twist. Will the sting of this CAS decision derail the club’s title hopes or inspire a championship run? Time will tell. León and James Rodríguez miss out on the FIFA Club World Cup. (Photo by Leopoldo Smith/Getty Images) Is there still a a way for James to play in the Club World Cup? The short answer is yes. There will be a brief 10-day transfer window from June 1 to June 10 that will allow teams to sign players on a temporary basis. The tournament begins on June 14 in Miami. Rodríguez, 33, could be moved to León’s sister club CF Pachuca, which has already qualified for the Club World Cup. Conceivably, Rodríguez could be added to a number of teams, but it’s doubtful that he’d have a list of suitors at this stage of his career. The Club World Cup was a big reason why the Colombian playmaker signed with León in the first place. Rodríguez is a big-stage player. He proved that last summer after leading Colombia to the Copa América final against Argentina. Rodríguez won the Golden Ball after setting a tournament record with six assists, which broke the previous record held by Lionel Messi. In that sense, it’s a letdown to see the Club World Cup lose one of its more recognizable stars. In March, Rodríguez referred to the possibility of León being expelled from the tournament as “a grave injustice.” “We won on the pitch,” Rodríguez told reporters. “The club and the players are hurt by this. Thinking about this, if we’re out, it’s not fair. The team that would replace us would be stained, football would be stained.” LAFC’s Hollywood story could go global Celebrity owners, a classy black and gold strip, and a short history of success in American soccer. That’s LAFC’s story since entering MLS in 2018. The club lifted its first MLS Cup in 2022 after a Gareth Bale header sent the final against the Philadelphia Union to extra time, and LAFC eventually prevailed on penalties. That team featured Bale, Carlos Vela and Italian legend Giorgio Chiellini. Today’s squad is less star-studded, although France World Cup winner Olivier Giroud is the backup No. 9 (and could meet one of his former clubs, Chelsea, in the group where LAFC would enter if successful). The Club World Cup, however, would give the LAFC’s project the global boost that all MLS teams covet. Outside of Inter Miami and the LA Galaxy, there are few brands in MLS with a worldwide following. A win over Club América in the playoff and a respectable performance at the Club World Cup could change that for LAFC. Club América gets put on the spot According to Club América, the team has over 45 million fans around the world, of which 15 million reside in Southern California. The club should feel at home inside LAFC’s BMO Stadium. That won’t surprise anyone who follows North American soccer. The Mexican giants are the top brand in the region and perennial favorites to win the Liga MX title and the Concacaf Champions Cup. Appearing in the Club World Cup is a great opportunity to accentuate that point and grow its global footprint. On the flip side, the worst-case scenario could be quite humiliating, as a loss to LAFC in a game of such massive consequence would be a major setback for América and Mexican soccer. The rivalry that exists between the U.S. and Mexico on the pitch is often hostile and nationalistic. As of late, the North American sides have clawed their way back and enjoyed more success at the international level. Club América will carry the weight of its century-old history into the playoff, but it’ll also represent the pride of a nation whose football has hit rock bottom of late. More on the FIFA Club World Cup Why Club World Cup’s significant bonus money won’t trickle down to MLS players Participating clubs stand to make a good deal of money this summer, but there's a reason why players won't be reaping the benefits.

madness that a soon-to-be (in 4 months) 90 year old bloke worth 5 billion and a part owner of Chels is just strolling about totally alone after a football match versus the scouser vermin

EXCL: Chelsea the first suitor to officially present project to Dean Huijsen Chelsea are pushing the most right now https://siphillipstalkschelsea.substack.com/p/excl-Chelsea-the-first-suitor-to The 20-year-old is not the only centre back that the club have on the radar for the summer, and there is still a chance that they sign two centre backs, with the second being a more versatile defensive option such as Jorrel Hato of Ajax, who the club are also ready to move in on with foundations being laid there. Huijsen has many potential suitors, but the three main ones are Chelsea, Liverpool, and Arsenal. As reported here, The Blues have held positive talks with the reps of Huijsen in the last few weeks, leading to this latest exclusive news from our sources…. snip

we quoted them 200m euros for Enzo

probably the best game of the season deffo the best 2 legged tie especially considering it was to reach the CL final

FT 4 3 7 6 agg what a game!!!!

best game by a keeper in a game with 3 scored by the other team I have seen in years

what an INSANE save by Sommer on Lamal

figuring 2 minutes added there are 10 minutes to go

surface is soaked from the torrents of rain

De Vrij on for Dumfries

massive miss by Lewa on a header

one at the back for Barca so so open for a counter

Gabi on for Cubarsi

what a call do not understand that do not recall ever seeing that before

wow a thru ball for Inter, they were in on goal and the ref blew for HT of extra time crazy call

7 6 agg what a tie

4 3 Fratesi

Sommer has just been brilliant (which is strange to say in a 3 3 match)