The Fußball Chatter

It may be just five games into the new Premier League season but Chelsea are already making a statement on their title chances this season as Tuchel's side are still unbeaten and performing a commanding 3-0 win over Tottenham on Sunday at the Tottenham Hotspur stadium. Thomas Tuchel made a number of changes from midweek with the big surprise being Kepa Arrizabalaga coming in on goal for Edouard Mendy while Spurs brought back Son Heung-Min who was not available last week. Chelsea and Spurs were neck and neck in the first 45 minutes as the Lillywhites took six shots with Son's effort in the 33rd minute the only one to test Kepa. N'golo Kante came on in the second half for Mason Mount and Chelsea took it up a gear. They scored three without reply as Thiago Silva, Kante and Antonio Rudiger scored to give a big win for the Blues . Despite the early promise in the first half, Spurs were very passive as their PPDA (Passes Per Defensive Action) was at 14.9, giving Chelsea the initi...

The UEFA Champions League is back for another exciting season as the heavyweights of European football battle it out to become Champions of Europe with the Final taking place on the 28th of May at the Krestovsky Stadium in Saint Petersburg, Russia. This Champions League season will be the first after UEFA scrapped the away goal rule in the summer, meaning games in the knockout stages that remain level will go into extra time. The season also sees the return of football supporters in stadiums after last season when fans did not attend games due to the pandemic. With big business done during the transfer window, expectations are quite high for this season. So, here are the eight groups in the competition and which teams have higher chances of going through to the knockout stages. GROUP A: MANCHESTER CITY, PSG, RB LEIPZIG & CLUB BRUGGE Pep Guardiola managed to get Manchester City to their first-ever appearance in the Champions League Final. However, they left empty-handed losing 1-0 t...

The 2021 Summer transfer window finally shut up shop on Tuesday night at 11pm, ending a very memorable transfer season that we would discuss for years to come. Circulation of money across Europe was not much as the game is still suffering the effects from the coronavirus pandemic as various teams have made huge losses over the past eighteen months with little to no matchday income, reduction of merchandise sales, and the lowering of broadcasting rights from the 2020/2021 season. This made it a buyers market rather than a seller's market as those who had the capability to buy did whilst those who turned to make sales over the window struggled as they were lack of suitors. So, here's the four major stories to come out from the summer transfer window. PSG: THE NEW GALACTICOS Paris Saint-Germain was looking to make a statement after an underwhelming season which saw them lose the Ligue 1 title to Lille and failing to win the Champions League, losing to Manchester City in the semifi...

Great players come and go, they define an era of their teams and the sport itself. They produce moments that we tell to younger generations decades after, the innovate the game that many follow what they did and their success adds to their immortality. Pele defined the Brazil side of 1958 to 1970, Johan Cruyff defined the Netherlands team in 1974, Franz Beckenbauer defined West Germany and Bayern Munich during the 1970s, Diego Maradona defined Napoli and Argentina during the 1980s, Ronaldo Nazario defined the 1990s, etc. There's without a doubt that Lionel Messi has defined Barcelona over the past 15 years producing incredible moments, taking Barcelona to the top of world football and has rarely let his performances drop despite being in his 30s and seeing Barcelona's decline as a force in the European game. Now, he's finally leaving Barcelona after an emotional press conference on Sunday confirming he is leaving the club where he came in as a 13-year-old from Rosario, Arge...

The Seleçao of Brazil achieved history. They became the first team since Argentina to get back-to-back gold medals after defeating a well-matched Spanish side 2-1 after extra-time thanks to former Barcelona player Malcolm, who scored the winner in the 108th minute. They managed to keep gold in football but it was quite difficult for the five-time World Cup winners to clinch Olympic gold. Let's take a look at the past seven Olympic gold winners in football from the 2016 Olympics in Rio de Janeiro.  Rio 2016: Brazil  Brazil may have two gold medals in a row now but they sure searched hard to finally get it. They finally achieved gold on home soil in the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro. Following their failed attempt to win the World Cup on home soil in 2014, there was tremendous pressure to win gold. A fate no Brazilian team had ever done. Led by star player Neymar plus having the likes of Gabriel Jesus, Marquinho, Gabriel Barbosa, and Rafinha, they topped their group whi...

The long relationship between Lionel Messi and Barcelona has now come to an end. Or has it? On Thursday evening, Barcelona announced that they could not sign Lionel Messi to a new deal. This was a shock as the Argentine and the club agreed on a new deal where the player will take a 50% wage cut with an announcement imminent. However, strange turns of events saw Barcelona unable to sign Messi to a new deal, leaving the Argentine a free agent, which he has been since July 1st when his former Barcelona contract expired. It is a very bitter pill to swallow for Barcelona fans as the greatest player the football club has ever seen is gone. A relationship between the player and the club spans over twenty years when Messi was in La Masia before making his first-team debut in November 2003 and has gone on to make 778 appearances, scoring 672 goals and winning 35 trophies with the Catalan club. Although this scenario was there, it is still a shock as some thought Messi would see out his career a...

Italy won the European Championship for the first time since 1968, defeating England 3-2 on penalties after a 1-1 draw after extra time. Gianluigi Donnarumma saved the decisive penalty from Bukayo Saka to win Italy the trophy, denying England their first trophy since 1966 and crowning Italy's unbeaten run with silverware. Roberto Mancini did not make any change for the Azzurri with Leonardo Bonucci and Giorgio Chiellini partnering in defence, Jorginho in the base of midfield with Nicolo Barella and Marco Verratti ahead of him while Ciro Immobile played up-front. England played with a back three with Gareth Southgate making just one change with Mason Mount coming in for Bukayo Saka. England had the dream start with Luke Shaw scored, firing a shot past Donnarumma in just two minutes to give England the lead. Despite having the upper hand from the first twenty minutes, that would be England's only shot from the first half as they pushed back to hold on to their lead before halftim...