Vesper

Ground defence: best U23 midfielders worldwide https://football-observatory.com/WeeklyPost492 Using technical data collected by our partners Wyscout, the CIES Football Observatory has developed various synthetic indices on a base of 100 to measure the level of performance of players in six areas of the game (more details ici). This Weekly Post presents the hundred U23 midfielders from 46 leagues around the world with the highest values in ground defence (see below). Borussia Mönchengladbach's Rocco Reitz has the highest score. The German is ahead of another big-5 league player, Barcelona's Spaniard Marc Casadó, and Genk's Guinean Ibrahima Sory Bangoura. After a season in the reserve team, Bangoura is emerging as a potential transfer candidate to an even bigger club. Two other players from outside the big-5 are in the top 10: Amine Lachkar (Willem II) and Nick Fichtinger (Zwolle). Tenth overall, Las Palmas' Portuguese Dário Essugo (on loan from Sporting CP) has the highest score among players who have not yet celebrated their twentieth birthday. The three youngest players in the top 100 are Frenchmen Ayyoub Bouaddi (LOSC Lille) and Warren Zaïre-Emery (Paris St-Germain), as well as Swede Lucas Bergvall (Tottenham). Of the 46 leagues analysed, 32 are represented by at least one player in the top 100. The ground defence index is calculated by adding up the defensive duels won by players below elbow height, pass interceptions and anticipations on loose balls (without clear possession) in relation to the average values measured at team and position level (on a pro rata basis of the different positions played). The value obtained is corrected by the success rate of ground duels undertaken and the sporting level of the matches played. Ground defence index, best U23 midfielers At least 450 domestic league minutes, season 2024/25 until 12/02/2025, 46 leagues worldwide

What Gasperini said... "Lookman was not supposed to take that penalty, he is one of the worst penalty takers I've ever seen," Gasperini said after the 5-2 aggregate defeat. "He has a frankly terrible record even in training, he converts very few of them. Retegui and De Ketelaere were there, but Lookman in a moment of enthusiasm after scoring decided to take the ball and that was a gesture I did not appreciate at all."

Bayern just won the tie in the last 45 seconds of added time 1 1 3 2 agg FT Davies

red card (direct) for Toloi he lost his mind, lolol

Celtic scored nil 1 2 2 on agg

2 different positions (Lookman is a winger/SS versus Pašalić, who is a CMF)

pen for Atalanta Mignolet saved it from Lookman

he has been injured for weeks, and they collapsed without him

Lookman on Lookman scores 1 3 5 2 agg

nil 3 HT 5 1 agg

we may get blown away in this one Villa Park is a cauldron

Dutch and Belgian leagues flexing tonight

Chemsdine Talbi 19yo winger on a hat trick already

nil 2 Bruge 4 1 on agg likely done and dusted

Mateo Retegui goal chalked off (offside)

this is great for us 2 Serie A teams crashing out perhaps makes that 5th EPL CL spot more likely

wow nil 1 Brugge now up 3 1 on agg

https://www.vipleague.pm/champions-league/atalanta-vs-club-brugge-2-live-streaming

AC Milan crash out

Do Maresca’s Chelsea need to learn to embrace the chaos? https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/6143439/2025/02/18/athletic-fc-podcast-Chelsea-maresca-tactics/?source=dailyemail Chelsea’s season appears to be unravelling before our very eyes. The Blues could have topped the Premier League just two months ago, but now sit sixth and have a real fight on their hands to secure Champions League qualification. Enzo Maresca’s side have won just two of their last nine league games and failed to register a single shot on target in their 3-0 loss against Brighton — the first time that unwanted statistic has happened to them in a Premier League game since September 2021. On the latest episode of The Athletic FC Podcast, Ayo Akinwolere was joined by Chelsea reporter Liam Twomey and senior football writer Oli Kay to discuss why ‘Maresca-ball’ is proving so divisive with the fans. A partial transcript has been edited for clarity and length. The full episode is available on YouTube below or in “The Athletic FC Podcast” feed on Apple Podcasts and Spotify. Ayo: Liam, how well have Chelsea adapted to what Maresca wants? If you look at some of the stats from Friday (the 3-0 defeat to Brighton), Chelsea had 69.5 per cent possession but lost the xG count, had fewer shots and had no shots on target. Now, you worked on a piece about Maresca’s controlled style of play ahead of Friday night’s game. Is there an argument to say that this team performs better under chaos than actually when they try and control a match? Liam: It’s a nuanced one because, in attack, there’s certainly reason to think that some of Chelsea’s attackers do their best work in transition. Cole Palmer finds passes in those chaotic moments when opponents aren’t set better than just about anyone else. Nicolas Jackson, when there’s space to run in behind, is really hard to deal with. You’ve got Noni Madueke, who loves to run at back-pedalling defenders. And Pedro Neto showed at Wolves, probably more than he has done at Chelsea so far, that he can be a super dangerous transition player. You think about the goal they scored against Newcastle at Stamford Bridge earlier in the season. The sublime pass that Palmer played to Neto and then to Jackson. I think that was seven seconds from one end of the pitch to the other. That is not Enzo Maresca’s vision for Chelsea and how they should play. In fact, after that game was his first mention of, “We don’t want to get into a basketball game”. But there is definitely an argument that playing that way weaponises Chelsea’s attackers to the fullest extent. But we also have to acknowledge that Chelsea were historically bad defensively under Mauricio Pochettino. The constant chaos and the kind of unstructured nature of the team were a big part of that. They made so many mistakes. They were so disorganised when they were trying to defend against teams that were counterattacking them. The defence has improved this year under Maresca, but it’s not improved enough. In terms of their average expected goals against (xGA) this season, they basically expect to give up 1.4 goals a game, which is about mid-table in the Premier League. It’s actually very close to Manchester City, which would normally be a badge of honour but not this season. So they’re not historically bad defensively by Chelsea’s modern standards, but they’re still not good enough at that end to be anything other than clinical in attack. So what we’ve seen in the last couple of months is their ruthlessness has deserted them, but their defence hasn’t improved. Therefore your margin for error shrinks to almost nothing, so you’re getting quite a few draws and losses that just look really bad and undermine the momentum that Maresca had seemed to build up. Ayo: Oli, that comparison to City is interesting, with Maresca being a disciple of Guardiola, but also Guardiola being a coach who loves to control matches. But then you look at the personnel and experience — from Manchester City to Chelsea, it’s vastly different. You’ve got a bunch of young kids who are still trying to figure out how they’re trying to play and find their strengths in the game. Then you’ve got a City team, maybe not this season, who historically have got some of the smartest, brightest and most experienced players. Can we expect the same from Chelsea; control at this stage in their progression? Oli: It’s difficult. One area where I sympathise with Maresca is if you really are trying to introduce a totally new way of playing, I don’t think the schedule is conducive to that, where you’re playing every midweek. It’s been Thursday nights in the Conference League and very little recovery time before Premier League games. It’s not very easy to introduce this whole new style. But I agree with Liam, Chelsea’s best this season has been when they’ve been playing quick counter-attacking, transition-based football. That is what they’ve been good at. It’s what Cole Palmer and Nicolas Jackson have been good at. That’s where they’ve looked very good in certain matches. (Shaun Brooks – CameraSport via Getty Images) It’s often been when the opposition has been coming onto them and they’ve been one or two goals ahead and then they’ve been able to run riot, just like they did at Southampton and Wolves. That’s what they’ve been good at, but they seem to be going in a completely different direction. One thing that came to mind when Liam was talking earlier about Maresca and how he was saying, ‘That isn’t particularly the way I want to play’. He’s obviously a young coach wanting to play in a much slower, more controlled way. It took me back to over 10 years ago with Brendan Rodgers at Liverpool. He arrived there as this sort of disciple of slow, patient, possession-based football and was very evangelical about it and about the way he played at Swansea. He didn’t want chaos, he didn’t want quick football – he wanted to pass teams to death. Then he suddenly realised, ‘I’ve got (Luis) Suárez, I’ve got a very young (Raheem) Sterling, I’ve got (Philippe) Coutinho and (Daniel) Sturridge’. He flipped and he moved away from his beliefs in some ways and embraced the strengths of the squad. To me, the strengths of this young squad are quite similar; where you’ve got players who are so good on that side of the game. But Maresca seems to be diluting those strengths. Maybe it’s a step back to take three steps forward. And maybe we’ll all be looking at this in a year’s time and saying, ‘Wow, he was right to dismantle it and rebuild it along those lines.’ But at the moment, it does look like they are neutralising their strengths a bit and concentrating on things that a young, thrown-together squad aren’t terribly good at. You can listen to full episodes of The Athletic FC Podcast for free on Apple Podcasts and Spotify, and watch on YouTube.

Why Chelsea have hired rugby league star Willie Isa: ‘He is a cultural architect’ https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/6141390/2025/02/18/willie-isa-Chelsea-why-rugby-league/ After two wins in nine Premier League games, few will dispute that Chelsea look like they could do with fresh inspiration from someone new right now. The surprise is they have turned to a figurehead from rugby league for it. The news that Chelsea have recruited Willie Isa from Wigan Warriors to act in a player-support role caused a bit of a stir last week and was certainly not met with much enthusiasm from the fanbase. Isa has had a superb career in rugby league, starting out at two Australian clubs — Penrith Panthers and Melbourne Storm. He really made his name after moving to England in 2011 at Castleford Tigers, Widnes Vikings and especially Wigan, where he won 10 major honours in eight years, including two club world championships. One of the people who know him best is Wigan head coach Matt Peet, who led the club to a remarkable four major trophies last season, with Isa one of the key men in the dressing room. He has no doubts Isa will make a big difference at Chelsea behind the scenes. Peet tells The Athletic: “I don’t expect the supporters to ever physically see the impact he has at Chelsea. But he is a cultural architect. He will make the environment better and all the individuals around the environment better. Ignore the different shape of the ball that he is associated with, Willie’s skill set is all about high-performing teams, leadership and dealing with people. “Everyone at Wigan and in rugby league understands why Chelsea have made this move. It’s intelligent.” Chelsea fans might take a bit of time to come around to Peet’s way of thinking. There appears to be a general cynicism about the number of jobs and positions created since the Todd Boehly-Clearlake consortium took over the club in 2022. Recent results on the pitch do not help the mood — Chelsea are struggling to avoid going a third season without qualifying for the Champions League. But turning to someone from an actual different ball game has led many supporters to ask one question: “Why?”. Much has been made of the amount Chelsea have spent on the squad via the transfer market since the takeover, with more than £1billion ($1.3bn) committed to new signings. But the club have invested in several of its departments, including performance and medical. This is where Isa comes in. Bryce Kavanagh, the director of performance, was hired in October 2023 after seven years at the Football Association, the English game’s governing body. He has overseen the growth of a 24/7 player support division, surrounding medical, fitness and conditioning. Kavanagh worked in rugby (Munster and Melbourne Rebels, both of the union code) as well as netball (Australia’s NSW Swifts) before being employed by the FA. Beginning outside of football has not been a hindrance to him and the expertise he can bring. Sources at Chelsea, who like many of those spoken to for this article have been kept anonymous to protect relationships, feel the same applies to Isa. Besides, this area of the club does not involve the tactics deployed on the pitch. Isa, with the ball, playing for Wigan (Gareth Copley/Getty Images) Kavanagh, head coach Enzo Maresca and co-sporting directors Paul Winstanley and Laurence Stewart all played a role in the hiring of Isa. In Maresca’s case, he talked to the 36-year-old New Zealand-born Samoa international before he was given the post. A Chelsea source said the club’s thinking is to give every resource possible to help each player, on and off the pitch. Isa’s experience of playing at the highest levels of rugby league, knowing what it takes to win and maintaining his physical condition during a gruelling season, is just part of the reason he was hired. He can advise on how to maintain a healthy mind as well as body. He is seen as someone who can be there for somebody if they are going through a slump and not having a good time of it, providing words of advice. It helps that Isa has such a strong background in professional sport and is a proven winner. Yet it quickly became apparent he has an ability to connect with people and communicate with players, too. That may well be put to the test at Chelsea, where the majority of players are on far bigger salaries than their rugby league counterparts and have far greater value in their sport’s transfer market. Sky Sports reported that Wigan Warriors’ total wage bill for last season was £3.1million whereas Chelsea’s was £404m in the most recent reported annual accounts, for the year ending June 30, 2023. Might the barrier of talking to millionaires and the potential egos involved be a problem? Peet gives the notion short shrift, saying: “Willie won’t be intimidated by anything.” This should not be confused as some kind of part-time mentoring role, like someone coming in to give a speech once in a while and then clearing off. Isa, who has already started working at the club, will be based at the Cobham training ground full-time and be part of the staff working with Maresca. Last week, he was in the building, getting to know the personnel. One of the most extraordinary aspects of this development is how quickly it has all happened. Isa agreed a new two-year contract last October to continue playing at Wigan and was involved in pre-season training for their 2025 campaign when Chelsea made their first approach last month. This interest was kept secret but, in late January, he announced his retirement as a player, saying: “I have been offered an opportunity to pursue.” Peet did not see Isa’s departure coming this soon but was not that shocked either. “We played a pre-season game a few weeks ago at Oldham and Willie didn’t play in it,” Peet said. “He requested a meeting and straight away I had an inkling that he wasn’t playing for one reason or another. When he told us what his reasoning was, the club were very supportive. “When you have achieved as much as he has and you have so much respect for him, like I do, you cannot stand in his way. With Willie, when you know he has set his mind on something, we all want him to fulfil it with 100 per cent commitment and support. “I knew this kind of job was something he was considering going into when he stopped playing. I am not particularly surprised at the nature of the role he has taken at Chelsea. The timing came a little bit out of the blue but it is an area that Willie is passionate about, looking after players and helping them achieve their goals. Improving the organisation, too. I think it is a perfect fit. Isa was going to play for Wigan this year but a move to Chelsea’s staff came together quickly (George Wood/Getty Images) “I had had discussions with him in the past about what life after rugby league looked like for him and he was talking along these kind of lines. “You have to remember that since I have been coach (he was hired by Wigan in 2022), Willie has been in the leadership group with me. He already had one foot in that camp where he dealt with coaches and served as a link between… not just the coaches and the players but also the senior leadership of the club as well, the board and the CEO. He is well prepared for this role, I have no doubts.” One of the biggest changes the Boehly-Clearlake consortium has brought about since summer 2022 is reducing the average age of the squad. Chelsea have consistently fielded the youngest XI in the Premier League this season under new coach Maresca, who is only his second campaign in charge at first-team level himself, but that has led to questions over who the team’s leaders are and whether the camp is missing someone with a more senior voice. Perhaps Isa can help fill this void — although not during the games themselves. Peet thought he already knew everything there was to know about Isa’s leadership qualities until he heard even more tales during a group exercise he called last year. “We had a team meeting around the culture of the group and I asked the lads to name a time when someone had helped them but no one else knew about it,” Peet said. “Around half of the stories were about Willie. Bear in mind we are talking 25 to 30 players in the room here. “It was things like getting to stay at his house, lending them stuff, going around supporting them, checking in on them in times of trouble or when they’re having a bit of a down time. He would catch up with the lads for a coffee away from the building. Just lots of little actions. I have plenty of other examples I could give you of what he is like but this alone sums him up for me. “Chelsea are getting a consummate professional. He is a fierce competitor. He was super-aggressive on the field. Off it, he is an absolute gentleman, caring, and very aware of his responsibilities to his team and also to the sport he represented. I am sure he will be a great ambassador for Chelsea. He will drive standards, a high-performance culture and he will do it from a position of looking after people.” Just going off what Peet has to say about the guy, Isa’s characteristics sound like exactly what Chelsea need.

Chelsea agree to loan Deivid Washington to Santos https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/6142173/2025/02/17/Chelsea-deivid-washington-santos-loan/ Chelsea have agreed to loan striker Deivid Washington to his former club Santos for the 2025 season. Washington, who was part of the Brazil side which won the Under-20 South America Championship over the weekend, is now expected to play alongside Neymar at Santos to continue his development. The league season in Brazil starts on March 29 and ends on December 21, but Chelsea have installed a break clause which can be triggered in the English summer. There is also no option to buy included and Santos will pay his salary. There is no loan fee involved. Washington has made just three substitute appearances for the first team since joining from Santos for €16m (plus €4m in add-ons) in August 2023. Neymar, 33, agreed to join Santos on a six-month deal after the former Barcelona forward mutually agreed to terminate his contract with Saudi club Al Hilal. Meanwhile, Kendry Paez has arrived at the club’s training base to start a period of acclimatising to European football ahead of officially completing a transfer to Chelsea in the summer. Chelsea agreed a fee (including add-ons) with Independiente del Valle in 2023 when he was just 16. He cannot formally complete the transfer until he turns 18, with his birthday coming in May. But FIFA rules do allow him to spend some time at the club beforehand to have a period of adaption, as long as he doesn’t play for the club. Paez playing for Ecuador in a World Cup qualifier last year (Franklin Jacome/Getty Images) This is just the start of his experience and he is expected to remain in Europe rather than go back to play for Independiente del Valle, which is what he has been doing since negotiations were completed.Like Washington, Paez was also at the Under-20 South America Championships. He captained the side at the tournament but they were knocked out in the first group stage. GO DEEPER Kendry Paez, Ecuador's Chelsea-bound sensation: 'The bigger the challenge, the better he gets' (Top photo: Chris Lee – Chelsea FC/Chelsea FC via Getty Images)