Author: Tristan Wells

On his eagerly anticipated Chelsea debut, Brazilian teenager Estevao opened the scoring in the 18th minute, finishing into an empty net from Cole Palmer’s lobbed effort.Substitute Joao Pedro sealed the win in added time as he finished from Genesis Antwi’s cut-back to cap a routine victory for the Blues.Chelsea return to Stamford Bridge on Sunday to take on AC Milan.Standard Sport’s Sam Tabuteau analyses the Blues’ performance…Young Brazilian talents can seem to be a dime a dozen, but Estevao looks to be a cut above.The 18-year-old looked right at home on his first Chelsea start, driving with pace and purpose…

At that stage in the game the Reds had been playing for almost 20 minutes with a man less after Gravenberch was shown a straight red card for a professional foul on Daichi Kamada.However, as that was the season finale the Dutchman is yet to serve his suspension. Furthermore, as his dismissal was not for violent conduct, he is only expected to banned will be for one match.Ryan Gravenberch has featured for Liverpool in pre-seasonGetty ImagesIs Ryan Gravenberch banned for Liverpool vs Crystal Palace?In one word, no. Gravenberch is eligible to be involved in the Community Shield clash.This is because…

His ability to play on the left would be useful in light of Heung-min Son’s departure, but he has really excelled – perhaps more so than Grealish – as a central attacking midfielder at Palace, delivering eight goals and eight assists in 30 league appearances last season. That, of course, is the very role Spurs needs to fill most in light of Maddison and Kulusevski’s injury woes. Source link

There should be plenty of fresh faces for Chelsea supporters to watch for the first time, with new recruits Jamie Gittens, Willian Estevao, and Jorrel Hato in line to feature.Chelsea take on a Leverkusen side managed by former Manchester United manager Erik ten Hag, and the Dutchman has overseen plenty of change in personnel since his arrival in Germany. Big names such as Florian Wirtz, Jeremie Frimpong, Jonathan Tah, Odion Kossounou, and Granit Xhaka have all departed, but ten Hag has already put his stamp on the squad with the arrivals of Mark Flekken from Brentford, Jarell Quansah from Liverpool,…

The Blues returned to training after a three-week break following their Club World Cup final win over Paris Saint-Germain, where Cole Palmer starred with two goals in the final. New signing Joao Pedro also got on the scoresheet, netting his third in two games since his arrival from Brighton. There could be three fresh faces that make their Chelsea debuts as well, with Jamie Gittens, Willian Estevao, and Jorrel Hato all available to Enzo Maresca this weekend. The world champions then take on AC Milan at the Bridge next week, before they kick off the Premier League campaign at home…

Arsenal host Athletic Club at the Emirates on Saturday evening for each team’s final pre-season action of the summer.It offers both sides a chance to turn their respective fortunes around before their league campaigns begin; the Gunners have lost each of their last two outings – against Tottenham and Villarreal – while their Basque opponents have been beaten in five straight appearances, including a double-header against Liverpool earlier this week.Also at stake is the honour of winning this relatively low-stakes pre-season competition, which has been held 12 times since its inception back in 2007. Arsenal have emerged victorious on eight…

The Reds clinched last season’s Premier League title at a canter, finishing 10 points clear of the chasing pack despite winning only one of their last five matches. They’ve lost a few stars since then in the form of Trent Alexander-Arnold and more recently Luis Diaz, but there have been plenty of eye-catching new arrivals who have already integrated into Arne Slot’s squad throughout pre-season.Palace, meanwhile, enter Sunday’s showpiece as the reigning FA Cup holders, having triumphed over heavy favourites and seven-time winners Manchester City to hoist the club’s first major trophy in history.Date, kick-off time and venueCrystal Palace vs…

Following their stalemate with the Magpies on Sunday, Frank’s squad is travelling to Bavaria to face Bundesliga champions Bayern at the Allianz Arena in the Telekom Cup.Bayern, meanwhile, kicked off their own pre-season action by beating French side Lyon on Saturday. That came after a matchless month for Vincent Kompany’s team, who reached the quarter-finals of this summer’s Club World Cup before losing to finalists Paris Saint-Germain.After this, Spurs will take on Champions League PSG in the Super Cup on August 13, at Italy’s Stadio Friuli, before hosting Burnley for their 2025-26 Premier League campaign opener.Date, kick-off time and venueThe…

Tottenham legend Harry Kane will line up opposite his former club today as Bayern Munich host the north Londoners at the Allianz Arena in a pre-season friendly.The striker scored 280 goals in 435 Spurs appearances before moving to Bavaria in 2023, and will now face the Lilywhites for the first time since leaving.It has been a mixed pre-season campaign for Thomas Frank’s men, who have just two wins from five outings so far. They are, however, yet to taste defeat, a record they will look to preserve in Munich as they play their final friendly before facing Paris Saint-Germain in…

Arsenal were handed their second defeat of pre-season as they were beaten by Villarreal.Arsenal hit back through efforts from Christian Norgaard and Martin Odegaard, but it was not enough to stop them falling to a defeat.And, here, Standard Sport takes a look at some talking points from the game…Arsenal will take time to adapt to GyokeresFans had arrived eager to get their first glimpse of Viktor Gyokeres, but instead it was Norgaard who found the net.The Danish midfielder headed home at the back post midway through the first half after Gabriel Martinelli’s corner found him unmarked.It was the sort of…