Wishing a happy retirement to Cesar Azpilicueta Thank you for everything 💙🏆

The dawn of a fresh beginning. Welcome, Xabi 💙

I’ll be on BBC Radio 5 Live Breakfast tomorrow morning just after 6:15am, discussing Chelsea v Port Vale. Tune in if you’re awake!

It is astonishing that a mainstream sport media outlet posted these completely fake quotes on an account with over one million followers. ESPN need to do better.

Reece James extending his contract is fantastic news. Chelsea now have Reece, Cole Palmer, Enzo Fernandez, Moises Caicedo, João Pedro, Estêvão and Levi Colwill all under contract until at least 2030. The challenge in upcoming windows is to build upon this foundation.

Chelsea face a mighty task at Stamford Bridge and only have themselves to blame. They matched PSG for most of the game, but sloppy defending, risky play from the back and a missed save late put clear daylight between the sides. Self-sabotage is the most frustrating way to lose

Nobody wants to see a 22 year-old goalkeeper hooked in the first 16 minutes. I have no idea why Igor Tudor started Antonin Kinsky; and then to take him off so early is simply awful management. I’m glad most of the Spurs subs went down the tunnel to check on him after that.

The reaction to yesterday’s tie has been genuinely insane. I have seen pundits and fans openly admit they want VAR scrapped because it intervened correctly on two occasions and did not give them the Wrexham win they wanted. Refereeing to the narrative is the worst thing.

Chelsea are into the FA Cup Quarter Finals after a 4–2 victory over Wrexham. It was far from a vintage performance, but we navigated the ultimate banana skin intact. Crucially, Chelsea picked up no injuries and were able to give a full week’s rest to Enzo Fernández, Moisés Caicedo, Reece James and Trevoh Chalobah ahead of Wednesday’s massive Champions League Round of 16 clash with PSG. The difficulty of ties like this can often be underestimated. Almost everyone watching around the world who wasn’t a Chelsea fan was hoping for a Wrexham victory. The media narrative in the build-up leaned heavily towards the possibility of a major upset. The atmosphere at the Racecourse Ground was always going to be hostile, and so it proved as Wrexham took their first shot at an elite Premier League scalp since the takeover. Chelsea, however, found a way. They will be neither the butt of the jokes nor an “iconic” feature on a Hollywood series coming to a streaming platform near you. Ultimately, the result is what matters most. Victory means Chelsea remain in the hunt for domestic silverware this season. That said, there are areas of concern that the head coach and players will need to reflect upon. Defensively, Chelsea looked shaky and rarely appeared secure at the back for sustained periods. Liam Rosenior’s switch to a back three did not pay off. The lack of familiarity with the system, as well as between players who do not often play together, likely contributed to the ropey display. It was disappointing to be caught on the counter for Wrexham’s first goal, and Chelsea were perhaps fortunate not to concede from a set piece again, spared only by the intervention of VAR. Aside from isolated moments of quality, Chelsea did not threaten Wrexham’s goal consistently and lacked creativity in the final third for long spells. It felt as though the team only began to play with real freedom after going behind and later when João Pedro was introduced. This match should serve as a reminder to Liam Rosenior of the importance of the players rested tonight, and how performance levels can drop in their absence. There were, however, several positives worth highlighting. Alejandro Garnacho followed his excellent display at Villa Park in midweek with another strong performance, scoring the winning goal with a perfectly timed run and a calm finish. Since Rosenior shifted him to the left wing, his performances have been encouraging. Dário Essugo returned after a lengthy injury layoff and made an immediate impact, providing a crucial assist in one of Chelsea’s few moments of attacking quality. Romeo Lavia also returned and completed 65 minutes unscathed; an encouraging sign that he could be an important midfield option during the run-in. Josh Acheampong scored a vital second equaliser with a finish many top-level strikers would be proud of, and was arguably Chelsea’s best defender on the night. Marc Cucurella demonstrated his value after his own recent injury, making a key impact off the bench. João Pedro continued his outstanding form, scoring his tenth goal in ten games across all competitions. Finally, Jesse Derry was given 20 meaningful minutes. It was a positive example of Rosenior showing faith in an academy player at a key moment. Chelsea now head into Monday’s QF draw knowing that a trip to Wembley is just one game away. Potential Quarter Final opponents: Liverpool, Arsenal, Newcastle/Manchester City, West Ham/Brentford, Fulham/Southampton, Port Vale/Sunderland, Leeds/Norwich. What did you make of the performance tonight?

Massive victory at Villa Park. This result puts Chelsea in 5th and level on points with Liverpool and within 3 points of Aston Villa with 9 PL games to play. It was great to see a statement victory, and Liam Rosenior set up well by exploiting the Villa press and attacking wide areas in the final third. Aston Villa had no response to our attacking buildup, and this game has to go down as a tactical victory for Liam. João Pedro has to be MOTM. He continues his fine vein of form with an excellent hat trick tonight, always in the right place to finish chances and timing runs well. That is now his 8th goal in 8 PL games. Alejandro Garnacho had his best game in a Chelsea shirt to date. He was finding space, making the right decisions on the ball and ended with a well-deserved assist. It was equally good to see Cole Palmer get on the scoresheet. Hopefully this will grow his confidence after a tough patch of form - he is too good to stay down for long. Moises Caicedo again looked back to his old self, our dynamic, ball-winning, metronomic midfielder that adds a layer of protection. Enzo Fernandez was distributing well - phenomenal pre-assist for the first goal. Jorrel Hato growing very nicely at LB. Nice to see Marc Cucurella and Romeo Lavia come off the bench - both will be important if they can stay fit for the run-in. This result is made even sweeter by Liverpool dropping points, and here is hoping that Newcastle can hold Manchester United. Onwards to Wrexham on Saturday - and then two massive games against PSG and Newcastle.

Wolves beating Liverpool tonight makes tomorrow’s game against Aston Villa even more important. Chelsea will close the gap on Villa to 3 points with a win and go level on points with Liverpool with a better goal difference. Aston Villa, Liverpool and Manchester United are our biggest competition for Champions League Qualification, and Wolves beating two of them in 5 days has opened the race up. We HAVE to take advantage. Otherwise, we will fall at least 6 points behind Aston Villa and have to rely on Liverpool dropping more points to get back into the top five. This is a potentially season-defining opportunity to get within touching distance of Aston Villa and Liverpool with 9 PL games to play.

Disappointing defeat for Chelsea that was once again largely self-inflicted. Pedro Neto picked up our seventh red card in 28 PL games this season, which cost us any realistic chance of recovering from their second goal which came against the run of play. Seven red cards is one less than the joint Premier League record in a single season, and there are still 10 games left to play. Indiscipline has been a continuous problem all season, and is a major reason that we face an uphill battle for top five. Pedro Neto is one of our most experienced players and he, in a similar way to Wesley Fofana against Burnley, let the team down badly today. Mamadou Sarr didn’t have the best full debut, which was always going to be a tough proposition at Arsenal, but was placed into this starting position by Wesley Fofana’s red card against Burnley. I did think the chance he missed was harder than it first looked. The tactical approach was solid today from Liam Rosenior. The team didn’t concede numerous chances from open play, and Arsenal’s threat was mainly limited to set piece situations. Chelsea did create goalscoring opportunities from open play and set pieces, especially in the second half, and I think starting the extra midfielder helped massively. Interestingly, Chelsea had the most possession today of any visiting side to the Emirates since the start of last season. Reece James looked strong today, and caused Arsenal real problem with his inswinging delivery from corners. Encouraging with PSG ahead. Bernardo Cueva does deserve credit for this set piece threat today against the best dead ball team in the Premier League. However, he will face questions about our approach to defending set pieces after two more goals conceded were conceded from them today. Data suggests that defending set pieces has been a consistent pitfall this season. Moises Caicedo looked closer to his usual standard, and made several key tackles and interceptions to prevent Arsenal counters. Robert Sanchez had a rare bad game. He looked streaky when distributing and flappy when defending set pieces. The second goal was unfortunately on him. David Raya probably was the difference for Arsenal in the other net. The officials will be a hot topic for discussion. Chelsea were denied a clear penalty in the first half, and it was fortunate that we scored immediately after that incident. I think the David Raya penalty incident in the second half was debatable, as he did get the ball first. The referee also appeared to stop play and disrupt the flow of the game instead of allowing advantages on multiple occasions. On Pedro Neto red — I thought the dissent yellow was disappointing and poor from the player but inconsistent from the referee, because no Arsenal players were punished for similar offences. The second yellow card was a poor mistimed challenge, no complaints there. It has not been the finest day for PL officiating across the matches. Ultimately, the tactical approach and elements of our performance allow optimism for PSG in the Champions League. However, indiscipline and unforced errors have put our top five challenge in jeopardy. Aston Villa on Wednesday is MASSIVE

Aston Villa losing to Wolves creates an opening for Chelsea in the next two games. Even if we lose to Arsenal on Sunday, we can close the gap on Villa to 3 points with a win at Villa Park on Wednesday. If we can get even a point at the Emirates, and win at Villa Park, we can close it even further to 2 points. Aston Villa, Liverpool and Manchester United are our biggest competition for top 5, and we HAVE to take advantage of their slip-ups. This is a golden opportunity to get within touching distance of Aston Villa with 9 PL games to play.

Damaging result. After dominating the game, another poor red card has cost us vital points again. Concerning statistic reads that Chelsea now have 7 red cards this season. We have also failed to beat any of the three promoted sides at home this season. Wesley Fofana committed two cheap fouls, and it is impossible to justify the sending off. Fixtures will now only get more difficult, and Fofana now misses Arsenal (a) which makes the game considerably more difficult. The most disappointing thing about this result is that it was totally self-inflicted. Players need to take greater responsibility for these game-changing incidents that severely jeopardise our chances of top 5. Conceding numerous set pieces in the second half after James Ward-Prowse was introduced was always going to be risky given his known prowess from these situations. There were positives from individual players - Moises Caicedo looked improved in a deeper position, and played a wonderful pass to Pedro Neto for the opening goal. João Pedro continued his excellent goalscoring form - 5 goals in his last 6 PL fixtures. Cole Palmer looked more confident, and was making moves to break the deep Burnley block open. It will take time, and I do this in top form he scores the cut-back he received mid-way through the second half. Ultimately, though, these are the results that will cost us UCL qualification if we fail to make it. Liam Rosenior is still unbeaten in the PL, and has 14/18 points, but tougher fixtures lie ahead that will determine how costly this result is.

Professional performance and result. It was great to see Chelsea win the game early, effectively securing progression to the 5th round early in the second half. Pedro Neto was excellent, with a well-taken hat trick, including a rare Olimpico corner goal. Liam Delap was persistent and a consistent threat despite the early missed chance. It was nice to see him a hat trick of assists. I was impressed with Mamadou Sarr’s domestic debut tonight. He was solid defensively and will be a reliable CB option going forward. It was lovely to see Jesse Derry get a first-team debut as well! I have been excited by our dominance and chance creation under Liam Rosenior, and our zone rotations are clearly looking effective going forward. It was nice to see a 90-minute performance today, as well as an overdue clean sheet. Liam Rosenior and the team now have a much-needed 8 day gap before our next fixture against Burnley next Saturday. This was the perfect way to start the weekend, and we can enjoy the rest of the ties knowing we have done the business. UTC 🔵

The football that we played for the opening 60 minutes and final 10 minutes yesterday should be grounds for optimism. We played at a good tempo, created several chances, and looked dangerous. Keep this up, and we will be fine.

Two points thrown away. Six crazy minutes involving a dumb penalty and poor defensive coordination deprived us of the win. The late Palmer miss was bonkers, but that game should not have required an injury time winner. Disappointing.

Four PL wins in four for Liam Rosenior. It was good to have the game won by HT, and even better to see Cole Palmer find a spark that could be a catalyst for his return to form. It is imperative that we follow this up on Tuesday against Leeds.

Valiant effort tonight. It was always going to be an uphill task overturning a deficit at the Emirates, but I thought Liam Rosenior set up well, balanced risk and reward, and gave us a chance. Ultimately it wasn't to be, but there are positives to take from that showing.