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There were understandable doubts about Enzo Maresca's ability to manage at the top level - given his inexperience in only taking charge of Leicester City and Parma - when he took over at Chelsea in July 2024. But in taking charge of his 82nd game in all competitions, Maresca has arguably joined the Chelsea greats during his 18-month stint so far. Not just for winning the UEFA Conference League and FIFA Club World Cup, but his improving managerial record to go above respected bosses such as Carlo Ancelotti.

Arne Slot defied the odds in his first season as Liverpool manager. Many had reservations over the difficulty of replacing a club legend like Jürgen Klopp, but the Dutchman came in with no new major signings and led the Reds to just their second ever Premier League title. Then came an extremely busy summer, in which the champions broke the Premier League transfer record twice to sign Florian Wirtz (€125 million) and Alexander Isak (€145m) and spent a grand total of €483m. They were labelled huge favourites to retain the title and few could have predicted what has followed in the first third of...

With most top divisions in Europe now roughly a third of the way through their league campaign, we can finally begin to see which clubs have enjoyed impressive starts to the season and which ones will undoubtedly wish they could begin the whole season all over again. A number of factors come into play when it comes to how clubs do or do not perform on the pitch, but few are as important as the severe impact of injuries. Tactics and team morale can only get a club so far, but a serious injury to key players can often torpedo all the hard work that went into pre-season and bring down a team’s ca...

Chelsea and Barcelona will renew their famous Champions League rivalry tonight at Stamford Bridge. There’s been some iconic clashes between the two European giants across the last two decades after Chelsea established themselves as a major force in the most prestigious club competition.

Chelsea enjoyed the perfect Champions League night against 10-man Barcelona at Stamford Bridge, beating the Spanish giants 3-0 and able to rest some players ahead of Sunday's Premier League clash against Arsenal. Their star man going forward was none other than 18-year-old Brazilian Estêvão, who outshone teenage counterpart Lamine Yamal in West London.

When it comes to comparing one manager’s success to another’s there are certain limitations. A league table is extremely useful, if both managers work in the same division. But that doesn’t take into account the success or failure of the head coaches in question in cup competitions. And while impressive runs in domestic or European knock-out competitions can easily highlight the best and worst tacticians in the modern game, it also doesn’t take into account the slow and steady grind of the domestic league. So, to try and get a better picture of which managers and head coaches are outperforming...

It’s estimated that over 1.5 billion people live across Africa and the continent has produced some iconic footballers over the decades. Roger Milla is widely recognised as the first global African superstar after his heroics with Nigeria at the 1990 World Cup and his famous corner-flag celebration.

This weekend first-place meets second-place in the Premier League at Stamford Bridge in what is looking like a mouth-watering match-up. Not only that, but the encounter comes just after Chelsea have beaten Spanish giants Barcelona 3-0 in the Champions League, whilst their upcoming opponents Arsenal dismantled Bayern Munich 3-1 at the Emirates. The Blues are currently six points behind the league leaders, but a win on Sunday would put Enzo Maresca's team firmly in the title race and send a strong message to Mikel Arteta's team.

Before this weekend's Premier League action, Chelsea and Arsenal occupied the top two slots in the league standings. On the basis of their encounter at Stamford Bridge on Sunday afternoon, however, you wouldn't have been able to that tell from the performance alone. This game had everything, apart from the quality that many would expect from two star-studded squads both exceeding €1.1 billion in market value. But it was a London derby, which often produces fiery tackles, cards galore and controversy, and certainly delivered on that front. While Arsenal would've perhaps settled for a point goin...

Just five months after joining, James Trafford reportedly wants to leave Manchester City due to frustrations over his lack of first-team opportunities. The 23-year-old returned to the Citizens in the summer after they agreed a €31.2 million fee with Burnley for the goalkeeper. Trafford was promised that he’d be first choice at City but that’s not materialised after Pep Guardiola signed Gianluigi Donnarumma on deadline day.