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Jadon Sancho has revealed Chelsea players are saying ‘we haven’t done anything yet’ amid talk of them being in the Premier League title race.

The Blues have massively impressed this season under head coach Enzo Maresca and sit second in the top-flight after their opening 15 games.

Chelsea are currently two points ahead of third-placed Arsenal and four points ahead of fourth-placed Manchester City, who were considered bigger title challengers by pundits and fans at the start of the season.

With Chelsea just four points behind leaders Liverpool, many football pundits have argued that Chelsea are now in the race for the trophy.

Blues head coach Maresca and his players, though, have been extremely coy about their chances of coming out on top.

Sancho has continued that trend in a new interview with Sky Sports as he was asked about what Chelsea can achieve this season.

‘We’re taking it game by game,’ Sancho said, who is on loan at Stamford Bridge from Manchester United.

‘Every game is going to be a tough game, and it’s still a long season ahead. None of the boys are thinking anything right now.

‘Obviously we are glad to be in this position but we have to take it game by game.’

Quizzed if Chelsea’s players needed to block the outside noise about their title chances, Sancho added: ‘That’s what all the guys are saying to each other – we haven’t done anything yet.’

Sancho has, however, admitted that Chelsea have a key advantage this season due to the west Londoners playing in the UEFA Conference League, which has allowed Maresca to rotate his squad and keep key players fit.

‘A thing about our squad is that we can rotate at any moment,’ Sancho explained.

‘We have two or three players in every position. With the Premier League and Conference League back-to-back, it can be tough sometimes. To have that right balance of playing time is crucial.’

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Chelsea vs Brentford and Southampton vs Tottenham both kick-off at the unusual time of 7pm in the Premier League this Sunday evening.

Typically, the final game of the weekend begins at 4.30pm and this Sunday will see Manchester City host Manchester United at the Etihad Stadium at that time.

However, both Chelsea and Tottenham have seen their games moved to the later time of 7pm in order to give the two clubs extra recovery time after their matches in Europe on Thursday night.

Chelsea face a 16-hour round trip to Kazakhstan for their Conference League game against Astana, which kicks-off at 3.30pm on Thursday due to the five-hour time difference.

Spurs, who are away to Scottish side Rangers in the Europa League on Thursday night, were also offered the rare 7pm slot after their game was selected for live broadcast by TNT Sports.

Premier League games broadcast by TNT Sports are usually scheduled for 12.30pm on Saturday, however, Spurs’ Europa League commitments on Thursday have meant that the Sunday 7pm slot is the only one available in order to avoid televised clashes with Sky Sports’ live fixtures.

Manchester United will also play Fulham at 7pm on January 26, 2025, after they demanded more recovery time following their Europa League game at home to Rangers on January 23.

The decision to host Premier League matches at 7pm on a Sunday has been criticised by The Football Supporters’ Association (FSA).

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‘The Sunday evening kick-off slot is really unpopular with match-goers as public transport options are limited and it’s no good for families with young kids,’ a spokesperson for the FSA said.

‘When the general slot was announced the Premier League told us it was a ‘contingency’ — but it seems to be getting used an awful lot for such a provision.

‘A big part of the problem is allowing broadcasters to choose ‘conditional’ picks which are then moved when a team progresses in Europe.

‘The Premier League puts broadcasters first by allowing them to select such games knowing full well conditional picks are very likely to be rescheduled again.’

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Nicolas Jackson was inconsolable on the bench after he was substituted during Chelsea’s 4-3 victory over Tottenham on Sunday.

The 23-year-old has been in excellent form for Enzo Maresca’s side this season with eight goals in 14 Premier League games so far.

However, Jackson struggled to make an impact against Spurs at the weekend before he was replaced by Christopher Nkunku with 14 minutes of the match remaining.

Worrying footage has subsequently emerged of Jackson’s reaction after being brought off as he was sat directly behind Maresca in the Chelsea dugout, leaning forward with his head bowed.

Towards the end of the 68-second clip, Jackson covered his shirt over his face and put his hands on his head.

A supporter sat behind the Chelsea striker said: ‘Jackson, you’ve been taken off, you’re gutted I know, you’re in my fantasy team, how do you think I feel?’

As Chelsea’s players and coaching staff applauded the away fans inside the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium after the full-time whistle, Maresca was seen running back to Jackson who was on his own and slowly making his way towards the supporters.

Maresca put his arm around Jackson’s shoulder and was seen speaking with the Senegal international as he made his way over to the Chelsea fans.

Chelsea’s win over Spurs has put them second in the Premier League table and four points behind Liverpool, who have a game in hand after their Merseyside derby against Everton was called off on Saturday dur to Storm Darragh.

‘It’s an important win, firstly for the way it arrived, because to come in this stadium against this team and concede two goals, and then continue with the same plan on and off the ball, shows how the players are mentally strong,’ Maresca said.

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‘We are trying to work with the players on an off the pitch, but we’re also trying to work on mentality and togetherness. To come in this stadium and think you are going to win without suffering is impossible.

‘For that, probably it’s the perfect win because two goals down, it was the worst picture for us, even if we were in control. We conceded two goals from Cucu, we created chances, we controlled the game, we kept the ball. At half-time we changed something tactically, and second half we deserved to win.

‘There was no problem first half. The plan was working well, we were attacking and controlling the game after conceding two goals. I was very happy.

‘The only thing was watching the way they were pressing. First half we had Cole Palmer on one side, and Enzo Fernandez on the other. Second half we had Palmer on one side, and Cucurella on the other, and we changed something in behind. It was for this reason, it worked quite well and we won the game.’

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Tottenham have no plans to sack manager Ange Postecoglou ahead of a key set of fixtures despite the club’s worrying run of form.

Sunday’s 4-3 defeat to London rivals Chelsea means Spurs sit 11th in the Premier League – seven points off the top four – and with only one win from their last seven games in all competitions.

Earlier in the season, Postecoglou had boldly proclaimed that he will win silverware with the club this campaign, but the defeat to Chelsea represented an all-too-familiar defeat for his side.

Questions have also been asked of the Australian’s unbending commitment to his gung-ho attacking style, particularly as Tottenham continue to deal with several injuries throughout their side.

However, according to The Telegraph, Postecoglou has retained the support of the club’s senior hierachy ahead of what is a crucial run of fixtures.

The report adds that senior figures within the club are understanding of the injury crisis that has affected Postecoglou’s efforts.

January may well be a time to add reinforcements, with Postecoglou said to have already met with technical director Johan Lange to discuss the club’s plans.

Must-win games in the Europa League against Rangers and in the league versus Southampton are next up for Spurs before a Carabao Cup quarter-final clash with Manchester United.

Postecoglou’s side then host league leaders Liverpool before a trip to high-flying Nottingham Forest, managed by former boss Nuno Espirito Santo.

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Postecoglou has also been publically backed by Cristian Romero who said the players were still fully behind their boss.

‘He’s a great coach. We saw it in the first season. In this second one we’ve suffered a lot of injuries,’ Romero, who came off in the second half on Sunday with a niggle, told Telemundo.

‘Players are the first one to be criticised, then if we lose 10 games, the staff can be changed, but nobody talks about what is actually happening.

‘We are very happy with this staff, me and my colleagues. We love how they work and the football they try to play. We’ll try to move on quickly.’

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Tottenham boss Ange Postecoglou rued the ‘hugely disappointing’ injury suffered by Cristian Romero during his side’s 4-3 defeat to Chelsea on Sunday.

Spurs threw away a two-goal lead as Chelsea beat their London rivals thanks to a brace from Cole Palmer and goals from Jadon Sancho and Enzo Fernandez.

Postecoglou named Romero and Micky Van de Ven in his starting line-up, much to the surprise of Tottenham supporters.

The pair have missed the last month of action through injury but they passed late fitness tests to start.

However, Romero lasted just 14 minutes on his return to action and was visibly distraught as he had to be substituted.

And Postecoglou admits the side may now be without the Argentine for another extended period following an injury to his leg.

‘Romero is just obviously hugely disappointing,’ Postecoglou said.

‘He felt something in his quad. He trained really well. He wasn’t the one I was worried about, to be honest, but it’s just the way the season’s going for us unfortunately.

‘So we just have to wait and see.’

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Van De Ven came off in the second half and was seen stretching his hamstring.

However, Postecoglou says the Dutchman’s removal was planned and that Brennan Johnson was suffering through illness.

‘Brennan just didn’t feel well. He didn’t feel well at half-time, but he wanted to give it a go, but he just wasn’t feeling 100 per cent, so I had to take him off,’ said the Australian.

‘And then, well, the plan was always for Micky to play 60, 70 [minutes] today. Obviously, I thought Romero would be okay to play 90, but Mickey, probably 60,70.’

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Cristian Romero has thrown his support behind Tottenham boss Ange Postecoglou after their disappointing defeat to Chelsea on Sunday.

Spurs raced into an early 2-0 lead against their London rivals but capitulated to a disheartening 4-3 defeat after a brace from Cole Palmer as well as goals from Jadon Sancho and Enzo Fernandez.

The result intensifies pressure on Postecoglou whose side sit 11th in the Premier League and have won just one of their last seven games in all competitions.

Despite promises to win a trophy in his second season, Spurs fell to an all-to-familiar defeat under the Australian, with Jamie Carragher suggesting that Postecoglou is risking getting sacked if he doesn’t change his ways.

‘There’s this idea of playing a pure game and the Tottenham fans singing “We’ve got our Tottenham back” but you won’t win anything, you won’t challenge,’ Carragher said on Sky Sports.

‘I wake up every morning hoping the sun is shining, so I can put some shorts and a T-shirt on but if it’s raining, you put your coat on. You can’t have this idea about playing one way, it won’t work. If it doesn’t change, he won’t be here next season.’

Romero, however, insisted his side are still happy under Postecoglou and said injuries were to blame for their topsy-turvy form this campaign.

‘He’s a great coach. We saw it in the first season. In this second one we’ve suffered a lot of injuries,’ Romero, who came off in the second half with a niggle, told Telemundo

‘Players are the first one to be criticised, then if we lose 10 games, the staff can be changed, but nobody talks about what is actually happening.

‘We are very happy with this staff, me and my colleagues. We love how they work and the football they try to play. We’ll try to move on quickly.’

Postecoglou, meanwhile, was still confident that his methods and tactics had buy-in from the players despite the lack of results in the last months.

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‘They are giving everything they can,’ he said after the game. ‘It diminishes performances as well because they probably need a rest but we can’t give them a rest.

‘I think it is something we need to tackle head on and keep pushing on. There is still plenty to play for us between now and January just to make sure we keep performing.

‘I still sense within this squad there is a real conviction in what we are doing and if we maintain that we will turn our season around and hopefully at some point we hit some smoother waters in terms of some of the things that are happening at the moment.’

Spurs will look to get back to winnings ways in midweek when they travel to face Rangers in the Europa League.

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Arrow MORE: Jamie Carragher slams ‘absolutely braindead’ Tottenham star after Chelsea defeat

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Jamie Carragher labelled Yves Bissouma as ‘braindead’ after the Tottenham midfielder gave away a costly penalty against Chelsea.

Tottenham flew out of the traps at home against their London rivals, with early goals from Dominic Solanke and Dejan Kulusevski putting them two goals ahead after 11 minutes.

Jadon Sancho’s superb long-range strike gave Chelsea hope at the break and Enzo Maresca’s side continued to grow into the game after the interval.

However, the Blues were given a gift when Bissouma gave away a penalty after flying recklessly into a challenge on Moises Caicedo.

Cole Palmer duly converted from the spot and later added a second penalty when he was bundled over clumsily by Pape Matar Sarr as Chelsea earned an impressive 4-3 win to move four points behind Liverpool.

Analysing the two penalties at full-time, pundits Carragher and Jamie Redknapp did not hold back in their critique of the Spurs duo.

‘Some of the things Tottenham players do is absolutely ridiculous,’ Carragher told Sky Sports when asked about Bissouma’s foul on Caicedo.

‘It’s a certain penalty. That is absolutely braindead. Who’d be a manager?’

Redknapp added: ‘Caicedo when he went central just started to run the game. Bissouma had 27 seconds of madness.

‘He’s not showing enough pace to get back in there. He dives into a ridiculous tackle. Absolutely ridiculous.’

And the former Tottenham midfielder was equally scathing in his criticism of Sarr’s challenge on Palmer later in the second half.

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‘You know how skilful he [Palmer] is,’ he said. That is so clumsy, that is so bad because this was the moment that cost them the game.

‘Ridiculous challenge, you just cost your team. That’s two ill-disciplined [tackles] from your two defensive midfield players.’

Posting on social media after the game, Bissouma apologised for letting down his teammates and fans and said: ‘I’m so sad for that mistake it’s burning me because we lost the game today from this mistake.

‘I feel sorry for my teammates staff and fans I take all the responsibility for that one I’ll learn from this one it’s time now to show the real me. Thanks for all the support.’

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Arrow MORE: Enzo Maresca highlights key reason why Chelsea aren’t ‘ready’ for Premier League title race

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Enzo Maresca said Chelsea are not yet defensively solid enough to challenge for the Premier League title after their 4-3 win over Tottenham.

The Italian has repeatedly rebuffed the suggestion that his side are contenders for the league title despite their promising start under his tutelage.

But after slip-ups from Arsenal and Manchester City on Saturday, as well as Liverpool’s postponed fixture against Everton, the Blues have daylight in second place and are just four points off top spot.

The manner of Chelsea’s win on Sunday, coming back from 2-0 down to win away from home against local rivals, may only serve to strengthen their title credentials in the eyes of some.

But for Chelsea defender Levi Colwill, it merely reaffirmed just how much they still have to work on if they are going to contend for the title in forthcoming seasons.

‘We have still got a lot to improve on, when we’re ready to push for a title we won’t be 2-0 down in the first 10 minutes,’ Colwill told Sky Sports.

‘That’s the level we need to be at and that’s what we need to keep working on.’

And Maresca was quick to agree with his centre-back’s assessment, insisting that his side are still some way off being considered title hopefules.

‘No, exactly,’ the Italian replied when asked whether he agreed with Colwill’s comments about his side’s perceived lack of defensive solidity.

‘After the game, my message to the players was to be focused day by day, in our session, the next game on Thursday and then Sunday.

‘The main focus has to be to enjoy the day off and when we come back, 100%, train well, go for the game.

‘The fans can dream because from the outside, it is quite clear and inside, the reality is we are not ready but the important thing is we improve day by day.’

Maresca, who was noticeably passionate at full-time, was instead keen to take in the moment and what a big derby-day win meant for the fans.

‘We work every day for these kind of moments, celebrating with the fans,’ he added. ‘For sure, tonight was a derby and the way we are in this moment, we are all happy. To share that moment is fantastic.

‘We need our fans, home and away. I will tell them now in this moment that we need them against Brentford. It won’t be an easy game so we need them to help and push us.’

Jamie Carragher was another who suggested that Chelsea’s defensive options may hold them back as the season drags on.

‘I still look at the goalkeeper and two centre-backs, [Benoit] Badiashile who played today, and I just think I can’t see someone winning the Premier League with that goalkeeper and without a real standout centre-back,’ Carragher told Sky Sports.

‘I think you’d say City winning it with Ederson and [Ruben] Dias, Liverpool with [Virgil] van Dijk and Alisson, going back to Petr Cech and John Terry. those figures, you think, that you need to win a title, I still think Chelsea are a little bit short in those areas.’

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Jamie Carragher has branded Chelsea star Marc Cucurella ’embarrassing’ after his double error in Sunday’s showdown against Tottenham.

Goals from Spurs duo Dominic Solanke and Dejan Kulusevski saw Chelsea trail 2-0 with just 11 minutes on the clock in north London.

Cucurella was partly at fault for both goals as the Spain international defender lost his footing and allowed his opponents to regain possession.

The 26-year-old ran to the touchline to change his boots after Kulusevski made it 2-0, which infuriated Sky Sports football pundit Carragher.

‘Cucurella’s coming to the bench, don’t blame anyone else – it’s your own fault son!’ Liverpool legend Carragher said on commentary duties.

‘Absolute schoolboy stuff. Embarrassing. He slips again. Look at him shrugging his shoulders. Did he not do a warm-up?’

Clinton Morrison, working as a pundit for the BBC, added: ‘It is brilliant. Cucurella is blaming his boots.

‘Look at yourself, you are the professional player. But from Kulusevski, that is a brilliant finish.’

Chelsea signed Cucurella from Brighton in a deal worth over £60m in the summer of 2022 and he endured a tough start at Stamford Bridge

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He faced lots of criticism from pundits, but has since turned his form around and has impressed this season under head coach Enzo Maresca.

Earlier this year, Cucurella took a swipe at the critics who ‘kept coming’ for him during his difficult spell when he first joined the club.

‘I had been at humbler teams before Chelsea and I got there at a time of change, a difficult time, with lots of players, lots of coaches,’ Cucurella told The Guardian.

‘It was [like it was] all my fault; they kept coming for me. People see the price and think you’re a machine that’s going to score 50 goals and provide 50 assists. That’s business between clubs: they agree [the fee], nothing to do with me.’

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Chelsea are looking to keep pace at the top of the Premier League heading into a huge London derby against Tottenham today.

The Blues have plundered eight goals in their last two games and head to north London in wonderful form, sat in second place behind league leaders Liverpool.

Enzo Maresca made seven changes against Southampton midweek, changes that paid off brilliantly as his side cruised to a 5-1 win Christopher Nkunku among the goal scorers.

Nicolas Jackson was given the night off but will be expected to return to the starting XI at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium where he scored a hat-trick last season.

Noni Madueke has been part of Maresca’s relatively settled attacking unit this season but the Chelsea coach took aim at the winger on Wednesday night.

Despite scoring and starting against Saints, Maresca accused the winger of taking his foot off the gas as soon as he ‘scores or assists’, dropped from the side last weekend as a result.

Elsewhere, Levi Colwill was also rested midweek and will likely return today. Wesley Fofana and Reece James are still ‘weeks away’ from being available again, with the Frenchman’s absence a blow at the back.

Benoit Badiashile and Tosin Aarabioyo have proven to be capable deputies this season with Axel Disasi also playing the full 90 minutes for the first time in the league this season midweek.

Mykhailo Mudryk is Chelsea’s only other fitness doubt with the winger struck down by illness this week.

Tottenham meanwhile are reeling from a midweek defeat at Bournemouth that saw away fans aim their ire at Ange Postecoglou post-match.

Dominic Solanke was back in the side on Thursday, playing the full 90 minutes after his recent illness absence.

Spurs are desperately short at the back and will hope to have Cristian Romero available again.

The Argentine has not played since October with a toe injury with Micky van de Ven also still not available. Should Romero not be deemed fit, Archie Gray is likely to fill in alongside Radu Dragusin.

Rodrigo Bentancur remains suspended with goalkeeper Guglielmo Vicario sidelined with an ankle injury.

Son Heung-min was rested against the Cherries midweek and will be expected to return to the starting XI today.

Predicted Tottenham XI to face Chelsea

Forster, Porro, Romero, Dragusin, Udogie, Bissouma, Sarr, Kulusevski, Johnson, Son, Solanke

Predicted Chelsea XI to face Tottenham

Sanchez, Gusto, Badiashile, Colwill, Cucurella, Fernandez, Caicedo, Neto, Palmer, Sancho, Jackson

Where to watch Tottenham vs Chelsea? Kick off time and TV channel

Tottenham vs Chelsea kicks off at 4:30pm on Sunday 8 December.

The match will be available to watch live on Sky Sports Premier League and Sky Sports Main Event. Subscribers can also live stream the match on Sky Go and NOW TV.

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