Vesper

https://next.soccerstreams100.io/league/uefa-champions

https://www.vipleague.pm/football-sports-stream

RB Sаlzburg – Brеst Сhаmріоns Lеаguе / 1 October at 17:45 Stuttgаrt – Sраrtа Рrаguе Сhаmріоns Lеаguе / 1 October at 17:45

Is Chelsea’s ‘amazing’ Cole Palmer the best attacking player in the Premier League? https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/5801912/2024/09/29/cole-palmer-Chelsea-best-player-premier-league/ As he passed the Matthew Harding Stand on Chelsea’s lap of appreciation following a 4-2 win over Brighton and Hove Albion, Cole Palmer tucked his well-earned match ball under the front of his shirt to free his hands and return the applause. His intent may have been practical, but the image it created was indelible: a 22-year-old superstar, pregnant with genius? Many in the Premier League would contend that particular birth has been and gone. Brighton coach Fabian Hurzeler admitted in his post-match press conference that, after six matches of a season that has already seen his team meet Manchester United and Arsenal, Palmer is the best individual player they have faced. “They had one amazing player that punished every mistake we made,” Hurzeler said of Palmer. “He punished every individual mistake. You can’t stop him in one-against-one situations. We have to defend against him as a team.” Palmer made Premier League history against Brighton, becoming the first player to score four first-half goals. There was a tap-in, a typically nerveless penalty, a sublime free kick and whipped near-post finish. He had another goal ruled out for a correct but close offside and hit the post. Off all those things that happened between the 19th minute and the 41st minute, only the miss was shocking. “I said to Cole that he scored four goals, but he could have scored two or three more,” Chelsea head coach Enzo Maresca said with a smile in his post-match press conference. “It’s good that he continues to be hungry, ambitious.” Maresca went on to explain why he never worries about Palmer letting all of his rapidly growing fame, adulation and list of individual accolades go to his head. “I know Cole from many years ago, I had him for one entire season with the under-23s at Manchester City,” the Italian said. “The best thing he has is that in the way he is today as a boy, he was three or four years ago. So goals, assists, best player of the Premier League… this doesn’t change who he is. He’s a simple guy, a humble guy, and this for me is the most important thing.” One part of Maresca’s answer stuck in the mind: “best player of the Premier League”. In context, it seemed more like a passing comment to underline the extent of Palmer’s grounded nature than a bullish claim about his place at the top of the superstar hierarchy, but there is a growing appetite to make a sincere argument on his behalf. ‘Best player’ debates in football are often tedious, not least because when most people say those two words they really mean ‘best attacking player’. Rodri lost one match in 18 months for club and country before rupturing his ACL against Arsenal; how do you compare the value of midfield controllers and defensive destroyers with those who deal in the currency of goals and assists? Erling Haaland has been the logical choice for best attacking player in the league virtually ever since arriving at Manchester City in the summer of 2022, and a ridiculous 10 goals in his first six Premier League matches of 2024-25 suggests he has no intention of surrendering that particular mantle anytime soon. The only attacker whose output merits serious comparison with the Norwegian phenomenon is Palmer. His six goals and four assists in 2024-25 give him the same number of direct goal involvements as Haaland (10) and since the beginning of last season he is one ahead, with a significant gap to the best of the rest: In such rarefied air of attacking brilliance, personal preference tends to be the final differentiator. Haaland is the most relentless, physically overwhelming pure goalscorer of his generation, almost entirely single-minded in his focus on finishing moves. Palmer scores less — considerably so from open play last season — but creates much more, making him a natural hub through which Chelsea’s entire attack flows. This was the story of much of the second half at Stamford Bridge; with four goals in the bag, Palmer dropped deeper into midfield, carving through Brighton’s high defensive line with perfectly weighted passes rather than the incisive runs that underpinned his first-half goal rush. He might have added three assists to his tally if Nicolas Jackson had not misplaced the composure in front of goal that he had shown against West Ham. But it is these spectacular scoring bursts that do more than anything else to alert the rest of the Premier League and football supporters at large to Palmer’s dominance. In a little more than a year as a Chelsea starter, this is his third match ball and, incredibly, it might not even be his most impressive four-goal haul in a game (sorry, Everton). Palmer has as many Premier League hat-tricks as Didier Drogba, Frank Lampard and Jimmy-Floyd Hasselbaink. His 10th straight successful penalty kick — converted against Brighton after grinning and nodding at Bart Verbruggen’s attempts to put him off — moves him to within one of Yaya Toure, the man who boasts the most Premier League penalties scored without a miss (11). If the raw numbers are not enough to convince that Palmer has an increasingly credible claim to be considered the Premier League’s best attacker, the illustrious statistical company he keeps should be. The heralded achievements of bona fide legends are being matched and surpassed by a man with fewer than 60 league appearances to his name and who does not turn 23 until May. He will be 31 when his Chelsea contract expires. Palmer has a superstar trajectory, a long runway and, with a bit of luck, a real chance to become the benchmark for all other Premier League attackers.

Four Goals, Cole? Four? That’s Insane https://www.scoutednotebook.com/i/149616622/four-goals-cole-four-thats-insane And that might be an understatement. By now, you have probably heard that Cole Palmer is the first player to score four goals in the first half of a Premier League game. But that is just the shallow end. This is the second time Palmer has scored four goals in a Premier League game. Robbie Fowler, Michael Owen and Yakubu Aiyegbeni are the only other players in the competition’s history to score 4+ goals in a Premier League match before their 23rd birthday. Only Palmer and Fowler have done it twice. Across Europe’s Big Five Leagues, the only other under-23 player to do so multiple times in this timeframe is Alberto Gilardino. In fact, since 1992/93, only 20 players of any age have scored 4+ goals in multiple Big Five European League games. Cristiano Ronaldo holds the record with seven, Messi is next on five. Luis Suárez (3) and Sergio Agüero (3) are the only others to score 4+ in at least three matches. Incredibly, Palmer has as many 4-goal games in Big Five League matches as Erling Haaland. Let’s descend further. This is the third time that Palmer has been directly involved in 4+ goals in a Premier League match. Since 1992/93, only 20 players have been directly involved in 4+ goals in at least three Big Five European League matches. Luis Suárez, Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo are the only players to reach double figures for 4+ G/A hauls. The fact that Cole Palmer is on this list after 58 Premier League appearances is insane. The fact that he has only started 38 league games is insane. The fact he is only 22 years old is INSANE. Since 1992/93, only five players have been directly involved in 4+ goals in at least three Big Five European League matches before turning 23 years old. Palmer has equalled Erling Haaland’s record. With his birthday in May, he has seven months to break it. But two of Haaland’s under-23 hauls came for Dortmund in the Bundesliga. That means Palmer is the first player in Premier League history to be directly involved in 4+ goals in three different matches before turning 23 years old. Robbie Fowler (2) and Cesc Fàbregas (2) are the only others to do it multiple times. Hold on, this is already the second time this season that Palmer has been directly involved in four goals in a Premier League game. Since 1992/93, only three players have dropped multiple 4+ G/A hauls in a single Big Five European League campaign before turning 23 years old: Cesc Fàbregas (2009/10), Kylian Mbappé (2018/19) and now Cole Palmer (2024/25). The record haul in a single season for a player of any age within this timeframe is four. Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi both did so in 2014/15 before Luis Suárez did so in 2015/16. Palmer has 32 games to try to join the club this season. If not, he has the next decade… at least. Everyone that watched Palmer at youth level will tell you that he had generational potential. Even for Manchester City’s senior side he averaged a goal or assist every 175 minutes, scoring in the UEFA Super Cup and Community Shield before completing his move to Chelsea. His supreme technical ability, ice-cold composure, clarity of thought and unwavering belief in his own ability have been there from the start. And they will send him to the very top. Well, they already have. Of all players in Premier League history with at least 450 minutes, only Erling Haaland has been directly involved in more goals per 90 than Cole Palmer. This season, Palmer sits alongside Haaland on 10 league goals and assists combined, the first two players in Europe’s Big Five Leagues to reach double figures. With the likes of Lamine Yamal, Michael Olise and Bukayo Saka also in supreme form this season, it seems like the next generation could be defined by the left-footers.

Riccardo Calafiori is Arsenal’s wild horse – his chaos can complement their calmness Italian defender has had an all-action start to life at the Emirates since his summer move from Bologna https://www.telegraph.co.uk/football/2024/09/29/riccardo-calafiori-arsenals-wild-horse-chaos-defence/ With his galloping stride and flowing mane of hair, Arsenal’s Riccardo Calafiori played against Leicester City like a wild horse on the loose. The Italian is the buccaneering sort, an all-action defender, and for the Emirates Stadium crowd it was a thrill to watch him charging into tackles and flying forward to join attacks. As Arsenal dominated Leicester, but somehow still required a stoppage-time goal to win the game, Calafiori was at the centre of the drama throughout. No player had more shots on target than the left-back, who signed from Bologna for an initial £34 million, and no player won more duels or headers. Over 90 minutes, no player triggered more excitement. To be clear, it was a long way from being a perfect performance by the 22-year-old. Calafiori is not yet a refined defensive product and, in his first few appearances for Arsenal, there has been a rawness to his game that has occasionally put him and his team in trouble. Against Manchester City last week, for example, he erroneously dived into a challenge in advance of Erling Haaland’s goal. And then against Leicester on Saturday, he was fortunate not to be sent off for a second yellow card, after tripping Facundo Buonanotte in the second half. “I got really worried when that happened,” Mikel Arteta admitted afterwards. Calafiori’s slightly reckless nature, though, seems to be a significant part of his charm, and it also helps him to stand out as a different option for Arteta. In a defence full of ice-cool individuals — the likes of William Saliba, David Raya and Ben White are rarely ruffled or rattled — Calafiori is the one who can offer a blazing fire. Indeed, one of Calafiori’s competitors for the left-back position is Oleksandr Zinchenko, who is loved by Arteta for his precise distribution and clever passing angles. Zinchenko is the sort of player who helps Arsenal to pick a defensive lock. It seems that Calafiori, by contrast, would rather smash the entire door off its hinges. His goal at City last weekend was a vivid demonstration of these wildcard qualities. When the ball came to him on the edge of the penalty area, most observers would have expected the Italian to cross the ball. Instead, he curled it into the top corner. There is also a stylistic contrast with Jurrien Timber, another full-back in Arteta’s squad. The former Ajax player was excellent against Leicester at right-back. Strong and technical, Timber thrives in small spaces and congested areas. Calafiori, on the other hand, seems to enjoy striding into open turf, eating up the ground in front of him. Calafiori certainly does not lack courage and it is this fearlessness that has endeared him to Arsenal’s coaching staff since his arrival. The trip to face City marked his first start for the club, after all, and Arteta said last week that he would not have thrown anyone else into the deep end in such a way. “With another player, probably I would not do it,” said Arteta. “But because I know how he copes and, when I explained to him, he really wants it, I decided to do it. He has adapted really well to the group, his understanding is exceptional and you see he is a player with an enormous courage and personality to play. He is going to give us a lot.” It is a measure of Calafiori’s personality that he has so quickly embraced life at a new club, in a new country. When a fashion show was held pitchside at the Emirates earlier this month, Calafiori was more than happy to get involved, wearing an eye-catching denim outfit and posing for pictures. The club, as well as the supporters, appreciate such an attitude. Over time, Arteta and his coaches will no doubt smooth out the rough edges in Calafiori’s game, bringing him more into line with the slick collective approach they have installed in recent seasons. If they can do so, while retaining Calafiori’s admirable sense of adventure, then they could have one of the Premier League’s most effective and entertaining defenders at their disposal.

Cole Palmer’s Match of the Day interview says everything about the BBC’s battle to win over Gen Z Chelsea player’s performance against Brighton brought comparisons with Dennis Bergkamp – just do not expect him to know who that is https://www.telegraph.co.uk/football/2024/09/30/cole-palmer-match-of-the-day-gen-z-dennis-bergkamp/ Theo Walcott had compared Cole Palmer to Dennis Bergkamp. Then the BBC interviewer relayed this honorific to Palmer, after his match-winning performance against Brighton, as one offering an exquisite jewel to a young prince. Palmer, who comes across like a decent lad if not a lively mind as such, mumbled that it was all a bit before his time although he’d seen some clips online. Subtext: u wot grandad? It was indicative of a problem. BBC’s Match of the Day and, let’s be fair, newspapers are covering this massively popular national obsession and extravaganza but it’s contested by people who live in a totally different entertainment landscape. It was ever thus – I doubt that William ‘Fatty’ Foulke was poring over daguerreotypes of previous footballing eras in his spare time. But it’s all the starker now that the Gen Z players and, just as importantly, their peers who are supposed to be the subscribers and customers of tomorrow are engaging with sport coverage in ways that are totally alien to the people producing much of the content. Dennis Bergkamp! We used to call him the Non-Flying Dutchman you know! That takedown control against Argentina! Yes yes dear, you’ll get your Ovaltine in a minute. Ah, cruel time. For the older viewer, it was especially bracing in that Walcott himself has been an avatar of apparently endless youthfulness in football. Famously, he first entered the national consciousness when the late, great Sven-Goran Eriksson named in him in England’s 2006 World Cup Squad at the tender age of 17, leading to a mildly deranged media frenzy because he had a girlfriend who was still in sixth form, and lots of articles about how “when Theo was learning how to tie his shoelaces, England team-mate Sol Campbell was already onto his THIRD set of DENTURES… and by the time Theo is old enough to SHAVE, footy fans will arrive at the stadium of the future on HOVERBOARDS” etc. It’s possible that Theo’s boyish, unthreatening looks and polite, you-could-take-him-home-to-meet-mum manner helped him in a playing career that was always very much there or thereabouts without quite becoming the absolute thriller it once promised as he flashed down the wing as a slip of a lad for Southampton. He was a perennial promising youngster, and he seems to have slipped into the role of protege/one for the future on the BBC as well, a recruitment drive that has incidentally become more pressing since Jermaine Jenas banjaxed his own chances. Gary Lineker congratulated him on an encouraging MOTD debut at the end of Saturday’s programme in an avuncular way that you can’t quite see Gary doing with an earthier operator of similar vintage to Theo, an Andy Caroll, say, or a Jill Scott, once her total annexation of all earth’s television programming enters its crushing final phase. Strictly Come Jill Scott. Coronation Jill Scott. The News At Jill Scott. For Palmer, Walcott might as well have been Stanley Matthews. Or Bergkamp. Same difference, whatever. The way he referred to Walcott as “Theo Walcott” was very funny, as if Cole was really having to concentrate on who the bloke was and what everyone might be on about and he was trying to cut out all unnecessary risks. Palmer is clearly a player of exceptional footballing intelligence whose capacities are not competing for neurological resources with any other sort of mental inquiry. It is hard to imagine him wracked with confusion about the meaning of it all, unless the meaning of it all is a particularly tricky clue on the Take-A-Break quick crossword. And why should he? He’s the one doing it, the man in the arena. And I recognise that I have fallen, in the previous sentence, into the exact trap I have outlined above. Of course he doesn’t read a newspaper or magazine or do a crossword. Why should he? Why would he? That all belongs to a complete different era. Not Cole’s problem, not his bread and butter, not his area of concern. Like Dennis Bergkamp. Or, horrifyingly, like ickle Theo Walcott.

top valued left-footed CBs on the planet, this list is every one valued at 30m euros (£24.97m) or more this shows how rare they are many on here are not available Gvardiol is listed as a LB, or he would be top here as well (Colwill would drop from 4th to 5th most valued) in order: (italics are the only ones remotely available and who I also rate to replace Badi, strike-throughs are hard passes for me) Gabriel Magalhães Alessandro Bastoni Micky van de Ven sigh Levi Colwill Riccardo Calafiori sigh Gonçalo Inácio Sven Botman Pau Torres Lisandro Martínez (so overrated, fuck this thug dwarf) Jarrad Branthwaite (so expensive though) Piero Hincapié Castello Lukeba Nico Schlotterbeck Nathan Aké Murillo Willian Pacho sigh Dávid Hancko Alessandro Buongiorno Nayef Aguerd Max Kilman Jorrel Hato Lucas Beraldo Benoît Badiashile Jakub Kiwior Hiroki Ito

he is better than Sanchez IMHO not a great keeper atm, but certainly I would take him over Sanchez

Russell Martin absolutely ripping his SOTON side wow said they lack courage, desire

we need a GREAT GKer (Diogo Costa is by far the best available option atm) and to flush Disasi and Badi at CB and replace them with real quality (age not so important, would be nice to have one experienced leader type there) plus we need to decide on Reece IF he continues his insane injury trends CF I have no clue what we are going to do

is our goal to have 20 left-footed AMF/wingers under contract?

Antoine Semenyo is a baller blows Mudryk away and would have cost 80m quid less! London lad too born in Chelsea

the wizard on it again

Arsenal and Real Madrid interested in signing Brazilian prospect Vitor Reis https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/5806575/2024/09/30/arsenal-real-madrid-vitor-reis/ Arsenal and Real Madrid are among a host of top European clubs who have shown an interest in signing Palmeiras centre-back Vitor Reis. The two sides have made initial enquiries with Palmeiras and the player’s representatives regarding his availability, although there have been no formal approaches as of yet. The centre-back renewed his contract this summer until December 2028, with his previous deal expiring in February 2027. His termination clause is €100m and Palmeiras have not set an asking price as the intention is to keep him until after the 2025 Club World Cup. Chelsea, Liverpool and Barcelona have also expressed interest in the teenager. Arsenal are not short of defenders, having added Riccardo Calafiori to an already impressive list of defensive options. That said, a talent like Reis is always going to be of interest to them. The difficulty will be in persuading a young prospect to choose a club where, in Gabriel and William Saliba, Arsenal already have a pair of outstanding central defenders in their prime. Real Madrid need a centre-back after failing to sign Leny Yoro, who joined Manchester United in July. Carlo Ancelotti only has two first-team centre-backs available for this season — Eder Militao and Antonio Rüdiger — with David Alaba still recovering from a serious knee injury suffered last December. The Austria international recently returned to light training, but the club do not want to take any risks with his reintegration and the plan is to reintroduce him to first-team training in December. Reis arrived at Palmeiras in 2016 and made his professional debut for the Verdao in June, racking up 15 appearances since then, scoring two goals. Born in 2006 — the same year as Real Madrid’s Brazilian forward Endrick — Reis has been compared to compatriots Marquinhos and Eder Militao in style and characteristics. He has been capped 13 times by Brazil’s youth teams, always as captain.

lol, the erstwhile wizard of chels is on sky at HT

that is actually pretty bangin for a keeper kit

Kepa back to the 90s

3 nil rout is probably on

2 nil SOTON are horrid

1 nil Evanilson