Gary Cahill concedes Chelsea lost their way tactically under Jose Mourinho, but believes the team is making great strides under Antonio Conte to overcome last season s disaster .

Mourinho led the Blues to a Premier League and League Cup double in the 2014-15 season, but his second spell in charge at Stamford Bridge came to an end in December last year after Chelsea lost nine of their opening 16 Premier League games and they eventually slumped to a 10th-place finish.

The Portuguese s relationship with key players came under scrutiny, while key players such as Eden Hazard suffered a dramatic dip in form.

Hazard aimed a thinly veiled dig at Mourinho when he told L Equipe Conte knows how to treat players having played at the highest level himself and centre-back Cah…

Southampton have signed Liverpool forward Takumi Minamino on loan for the remainder of the 2020-21 Premier League season.

Liverpool sanctioned a deadline-day temporary move for Japanese star Minamino on Monday after Southampton allowed Shane Long to join promotion-chasing Championship side Bournemouth on loan.

Minamino has made 31 appearances and scored four goals for Premier League champions Liverpool since arriving from Austrian giants Salzburg in January last year.

The 26-year-old Japan international has scored one goal in nine Premier League matches this season, and four across all competitions.

Welcome to ,

— Southampton FC (@SouthamptonFC)

I am very pleased to welcome Takumi to our squad for the rest of this season, said Southam…

What a difference a year makes. Except in north London, where time has stood still.

It was a February midweek game in 2020 when Timo Werner ran Tottenham ragged and RB Leipzig should have won by a street, rather than just 1-0 in the Champions League.

There was no Harry Kane that night due to injury and Tottenham gave a lethargic performance until coming to life very late in the game.

As Jose Mourinho said that night: What worries me is that these are our players for the next however many matches.

Well, Jose, it s not quite Groundhog Day (that was Tuesday), but where is the progress with Spurs?

A 1-0 home defeat to Chelsea means Mourinho has not won any of his last seven games against his old club, and for the first time in his career he has lost …

English Premier League basement club Portsmouth denied on Thursday reports they were going to enter administration.

Speculation about the south coast club s financial position has been ongoing since the start of the season and intensified last week after it emerged players at Fratton Park had been paid their wages late for the second time this term.

Portsmouth are currently the subject of a Premier League transfer embargo, having undergone two changes of ownership this season.

Sulaiman Al-Fahim s protracted takeover took three months to complete, preventing the club from signing players during the pre-season while the likes of Peter Crouch, Glen Johnson and Niko Kranjcar, all left.

And Al-Fahim s time in charge lasted just six weeks, with the players wag…

With all eyes from across Europe falling on the Etihad on Wednesday night, Manchester City moved into pole position to defend their Premier League crown as they claimed a stunning 4-1 romp against Arsenal.

Knowing that they faced a season-defining showdown on home soil, Pep Guardiola’s side took just seven minutes to open the scoring as Kevin De Bruyne produced a wonderfully placed effort past a helpless Aaron Ramsdale.

Now sat just two points adrift of their bitter title rivals and laying down what was a crucial marker here, City didn’t look back on either side of the half-time break as England international John Stones saw his towering header marginally awarded following a lengthy VAR check.

While Rob Holding might have eventually snatched the Gunners a co…

Paris Saint-Germain will look to get back to winning ways when they host Lorient on Friday.

Laurent Blanc s outfit scrambled to a 2-2 draw at a 10-man Saint-Etienne on Sunday, halting a run of four straight victories in Ligue 1.

It could have been worse for PSG, who trailed 2-0 at one stage, but a red card for Fabien Lemoine gave them an opening.

And Edinson Cavani duly reduced the deficit before Blaise Matuidi levelled proceedings in the third minute of injury time, extending PSG s unbeaten league run to 22 matches.

Despite the small blip PSG remain on top of the league, with 25 points from their 11 Ligue 1 fixtures enough to see them goal difference ahead of newly promoted Monaco.

Blanc has been boosted by the return to training of full-back Chr
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Roberto Soldado says he was unable to recover his best form at Tottenham once Andre Villas-Boas left White Hart Lane.

The 29-year-old joined Spurs from Valencia for a fee believed to be £26million in August 2013, but the Spain international failed to hit the form he showed in La Liga and moved to Villarreal in August.

Soldado has now claimed the sacking of Villas-Boas, who brought him to White Hart Lane, in December 2013 proved to be the tipping point for his time in England.

I went there with excitement and enthusiasm, thinking that the Premier League offered the perfect football for me, he is quoted by AS.

But it was the opposite. After the departure of Villas-Boas, who was the one who signed me, everything was turned upside down.

I lost con…

Chelsea and Manchester United failed to put down a marker on a position in the top four after a scoreless draw between the two sides at Stamford Bridge on Sunday.

Having seen Leicester City lose to Arsenal earlier in the day, it was a huge opportunity for both sides, one which neither took. On the balance of play, Chelsea enjoyed the better of the game and the chances but Thomas Tuchel s men were not able to find a way through. The Red Devils thought they should have been awarded a penalty in the first-half for a handball by Callum Hudson-Odoi but neither the referee or VAR were interested as both sides eventually claimed a point.

Here are three things we learned from West London:

Chelsea unfortunate?

Despite having earned what turned out could be a positive po…

Jean-Clair Todibo condemned refereeing in Ligue 1 as scandalous after being sent off just nine seconds into Nice s home game against Angers.

The former Barcelona player was red-carded after a clumsy tackle on Abdallah Sima when he was considered the last man by referee Bastien Dechepy.

It was the fastest card – yellow or red – shown in Ligue 1 since Opta started collecting data in the league in the 2006-07 season.

Defender Todibo clearly felt there was cover, with Dante also in close attendance to Sima when the challenge was made.

The 22-year-old reacted on Twitter, writing: A refereeing decision that shocks me and condemns my team to start the match with a big disadvantage.

The decisions of the referees at the start of the season are very …

Swansea have finalised the signing of midfielder Jonjo Shelvey from Liverpool for £5 million.

The 21-year-old, who moved to Anfield from Charlton in 2010, passed a medical with the Welsh club on Wednesday.

Shelvey, who was also reported to interest the likes of Crystal Palace and West Ham, made 69 appearances for Liverpool, scoring seven goals, but found his opportunities limited last season.

He is likely to see much more first team football at the Liberty Stadium while he will also have the opportunity to feature in the UEFA Europa League.

Following the move Shelvey tweeted: Just wanna say thank you to every one of the Liverpool fans for there support! They were first class. And will be truly missed.. Will miss the city very much.. And the club! Owe a lot to …