European Super Football

Chelsea have announced the appointment of Enzo Maresca as their new head coach The Italian takes over from Mauricio Pochettino, who left by mutual agreement on 21 May after just one season at Stamford Bridge. Maresca, 44, assumed control of the Foxes in June 2023 and guided them to the Championship title last season. Maresca celebrates his former club's Championship title win. Picture from  fuji.tim | Flickr Starting his new role on 1 July, Maresca becomes Chelsea's  sixth managerial appointment in five years and the fourth since May 2022. Chelsea had a mixed 2023-24 season but finished strongly, winning their last five matches to secure sixth place and qualify for the Europa Conference League. The Blues also finished as runners-up in the Carabao Cup and reached the semi-finals of the FA Cup. Following Pochettino's departure, several candidates were considered, including former Brighton manager Roberto de Zerbi, Ipswich boss Kieran McKenna, and Brentford's Thomas ...

Chelsea v Southampton preview Two struggling teams in dire need of a turnaround meet on Tuesday night, as Chelsea host relegation-bound Southampton at Stamford Bridge. Author - Lauren W Chelsea players celebrate scoring at Southampton Enzo Maresca’s side come into the game off the back of three consecutive defeats in all competitions, the latest being a 2-1 loss to Aston Villa . Meanwhile, Southampton offered little resistance in a heavy 4-0 defeat to Brighton & Hove Albion. There were at least some positives for Chelsea in their response to a 3-0 hammering by Brighton earlier this month .  Maresca reportedly admitted that this loss was the "toughest" of his tenure so far. Their troubles away from home continue, with the Blues now winless in seven on the road and suffering four straight defeats. However, Stamford Bridge has been far more forgiving. Chelsea have won three of their last four home games, scoring at least twice in each, with their only defeat in their las...

Chelsea 2 - 0 Servette  Christopher Nkunku’s penalty helped Enzo Maresca claim his first win as Chelsea manager, with the Blues securing a two-goal lead against Servette in the first leg of their Conference League play-off. A significantly rotated Chelsea side had been struggling to break down their Swiss opponents until Nkunku was brought down by goalkeeper Jeremy Frick early in the second half. The French forward, one of only two players to retain their place from the team that started the 2-0 defeat to Manchester City   calmly converted the penalty, marking the first goal of the Maresca era. Nkunku, a former Paris St-Germain player, celebrated in his signature style by inflating a blue balloon in front of the ecstatic Chelsea supporters. Chelsea nearly extended their lead shortly afterwards when Frick hesitated with the ball, allowing 18-year-old Marc Guiu to pounce. The Spanish youth international seemed poised to score, but he lost his composure, and Frick managed to ...

Real Betis 1 - 4 Chelsea  Enzo Maresca’s bold tactical reshuffle and astute use of personnel steered Chelsea to victory over Real Betis in the Conference League final. Author | Lewis W Stadium | Stadion Wrocław The opening 45 minutes had offered little encouragement for the Premier League side. Betis were deservedly in front at the interval, with Isco orchestrating the first half and providing a no-look assist for Abde Ezzalzouli, who surged through to fire the Spaniards ahead inside nine minutes. But the match flipped after the break. Cole Palmer was afforded greater freedom and, capitalising on the injury-enforced withdrawal of Betis left-back Ricardo Rodríguez, delivered a commanding display that earned him player of the match honours. Palmer's teasing, dipping delivery from a central area was then expertly glanced in by Enzo Fernández just after the hour mark. READ MORE | A recap of our live coverage from the night READ MORE | Chelsea fan reaction on London Super News ...

Nottingham Forest 0 - 1 Chelsea Chelsea secured their place in next season’s Champions League with a narrow, hard-fought win at Nottingham Forest Author | Kieran M Stadium |  The City Ground The result confirmed a fourth-place finish for Enzo Maresca’s side and dashed any lingering hopes Forest had of qualifying for Europe’s premier competition. The decisive moment came five minutes after the break, when Levi Colwill bundled home from close range. It was enough to ensure Chelsea met the expectations set for them at the start of the campaign.  Maresca admitted afterwards that their summer transfer plans were shaped by which European competition they would be in. The win also provides timely momentum ahead of Chelsea’s appearance in the Europa Conference League final against Real Betis in Poland on Wednesday. For Forest, who battled to survive on the final day last season, this campaign represents significant progress. Despite falling short of a Champions League spot, sevent...

Crystal Palace 1 - 1 Chelsea Crystal Palace snatched a late point with a 1-1 draw against Chelsea at Selhurst Park, extending the Blues’ winless run into 2025. Author - Lauren W Jean-Philippe Mateta struck in the 82nd minute to cancel out Cole Palmer’s early opener, just as Chelsea seemed on course for a much-needed victory. The result deepened Chelsea’s festive woes, stretching their winless streak to four games and further derailing their fading title ambitions. A closer look at what happemed Palmer’s goal, slotted past Dean Henderson in the 14th minute, was a moment of class. The finish was clinical, but it was Jadon Sancho’s assist that truly stole the spotlight. Sancho skilfully outmanoeuvred Chris Richards before delivering a precise cross into the box for Palmer to convert. Chelsea dominated the early stages, with their wingers enjoying plenty of joy against Tyrick Mitchell and Daniel Muñoz. The visitors almost struck within three minutes when Pedro Neto’s inviting cross fou...

Chelsea 1 - 0 Everton Chelsea climbed back into the Champions League positions with a narrow victory over Everton. Author - Lauren W Stadium - Stamford Bridge The result lifts the Blues to fourth in the Premier League, level on points with Nottingham Forest and one ahead of Newcastle, who face Ipswich later on Saturday. With Forest and Aston Villa involved in FA Cup semi-finals this weekend, Chelsea are guaranteed to stay in the top five at least until Thursday, when Forest take on Brentford. Nicolas Jackson secured the decisive three points, ending a 13-game goal drought dating back to December. The striker struck instinctively from 20 yards, firing low past Jordan Pickford into the bottom corner after 27 minutes. Although Chelsea were the more dominant side, they failed to put the game beyond doubt. With the race for Champions League qualification finely poised and a challenging run-in ahead, there were anxious moments as Everton improved late on. Robert Sanchez was called into a...

Manchester City 4 - 2 Chelsea Erling Haaland scored a hat-trick to lead Manchester City to a 4-2 pre-season victory over Chelsea in Columbus. Haaland, 24, scored two quick goals in the first five minutes, taking advantage of two mistakes by Chelsea.  The first goal came from a loose pass by Tosin Adarabioyo, with Levi Colwill fouling Haaland for a penalty, which the Norwegian scored after a re-take. Haaland then doubled City's lead, intercepting a misplaced pass and scoring.  Pre Season: Celtic thrash Chelsea (eurosuperfootball.blogspot.com) Click here for more Manchester City news and stories In the second half, City added two more goals, with Raheem Sterling's mistake allowing Oscar Bobb to score, followed by Haaland's hat-trick goal after another error from Malo Gusto. Despite Chelsea scoring twice, City secured the win.  Both managers blamed the "dry" pitch for the errors. City will now face Manchester United in the Community Shield, while Chelsea will pla...

Heidenheim 0 - 2 Chelsea Jadon Sancho marked his first start since October 20 by providing assists for both goals, helping Chelsea maintain their perfect record in the Conference League with a victory over Heidenheim in Germany. Author - Lauren W   A closer look at what happened The on-loan player from Manchester United set up Christopher Nkunku for his fifth goal in four group phase games before assisting Mykhailo Mudryk with just four minutes remaining. However, Chelsea relied heavily on goalkeeper Filip Jorgensen, who made several crucial saves to secure the win against their Bundesliga rivals. With the score still level, the 22-year-old made an impressive one-handed stop to deny 18-year-old Paul Wanner. After Nkunku's opener in the 51st minute, Jorgensen once again came to his team's rescue, saving attempts from both Leo Scienza and Wanner. Chelsea ended the match with ten men after midfielder Cesare Casadei was sent off in the sixth minute of stoppage time for receivin...

Brighton & Hove Albion 3 - 0 Chelsea Kaoru Mitoma scored a sensational opener as Brighton loosened Chelsea's grip on a place in the top four of the Premier League with their second win over the Stamford Bridge club within a week. Author - Lauren W Stadium - Amex Stadium The result means the Seagulls, who also knocked Enzo Maresca's side out of the FA Cup last Saturday, move up to eighth in the table. They are now only four points behind Manchester City in fifth. There's still a chance that finishing fifth could earn someone a Champions League place for next season. A closer look at what happened Mitoma set the home side on their way, superbly controlling goalkeeper Bart Verbruggen's long pass forward with a fantastic touch. He then cut inside Trevoh Chalobah and curling a low effort past Filip Jorgensen into the right corner of the Chelsea net. A Brighton win never looked in doubt from that point. They deservedly recorded their first home league win since Novem...

Aston Villa 2 - 1 Chelsea New signings Marco Asensio and Marcus Rashford combined twice as Aston Villa came from behind to beat Chelsea, grabbing three valuable points in their push for European qualification. Author - Lauren W Stadium - Villa Park An excellent piece of play out wide from Pedro Neto fashioned a ninth-minute opener for Chelsea, with the winger skipping past Ian Maatsen before drilling a low delivery across the face of the goal which only required a slight prod from Enzo Fernandez to turn it past Emiliano Martinez. Although Chelsea appeared to have the upper hand, they failed to maintain control of the match. The introduction of Rashford at halftime proved crucial; he was initially ruled offside, but the video assistant referee overturned that decision. Rashford then assisted Asensio by tapping a Matty Cash cross across the six-yard box, allowing Asensio to score for Aston Villa and level the game. After again being fed by fellow mid-season recruit Rashford, Asensio ...

Astana 1 - 3 Chelsea Former Barcelona player Marc Guiu made a big impression as Chelsea secured their spot in the UEFA Conference League knockout stage with a victory over Astana in freezing Kazakhstan. Author - Lauren W The Blues embarked on the 3,600-mile journey to Almaty, where they faced challenging conditions, including biting temperatures of -11°C. However, a heavily rotated Chelsea side showed their mettle, wrapping up the win with three first-half goals. Eighteen-year-old Spanish youth international Guiu was among several young players given an opportunity to shine, and he seized it. In the 14th minute, he opened the scoring with an impressive solo run, calmly finishing to put Chelsea ahead. Just four minutes later, Guiu's effort from Pedro Neto's cross was deflected in by Aleksandr Marochkin, doubling the lead and putting Chelsea firmly in control. Renato Veiga added a third just before half-time with a well-taken header – his second goal of the season. Spurs 3 - ...

Chelsea's rebuild continues with another new signing. Chelsea have secured the signing of midfielder Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall from Leicester City for £30 million. The 25-year-old, who came through Leicester’s academy, has committed to a six-year contract, keeping him at the club until 2030. Dewsbury-Hall will be reunited with manager Enzo Maresca, who took charge at Chelsea this summer after leading Leicester to the Championship title last season. Last season, Dewsbury-Hall was in outstanding form, netting 12 goals and providing 12 assists in 44 league matches. His performances earned him both Leicester’s Player of the Season and Players' player of the Season awards. He becomes Chelsea's fourth summer signing, following the free transfer of defender Tosin Adarabioyo from Fulham, the £19 million transfer of midfielder Omari Kellyman from Aston Villa, and the £5 million acquisition of teenage forward Marc Guiu from Barcelona. Read more Chelsea appoint Enzo Maresca as new bo...

FC Copenhagen 1 - 2 Chelsea Chelsea took a significant step towards the Europa Conference League quarter-finals with a hard-fought 2-1 victory over Copenhagen in Denmark. Author - Lauren W Stadium - Parken Enzo Maresca’s side were uninspiring in the first half, failing to register a shot on target, but they burst into life immediately after the break. Marc Cucurella, introduced at half-time for the injured Malo Gusto, made an instant impact by surging down the left and cutting the ball back for captain Reece James, who lashed a superb low drive into the bottom corner from 30 yards out. Copenhagen came agonisingly close to an equaliser moments later when Viktor Claesson’s angled strike cannoned off the inside of the post and fell kindly into the hands of relieved Chelsea goalkeeper Robert Sanchez. The Blues made their hosts pay for that missed opportunity in the 65th minute. Cucurella, once again influential, won possession high up the pitch before Christopher Nkunku played in T...

The race for automatic promotion to the Premier League is shaping up to be a nail-biter. Last season's relegated teams Leicester City, Leeds United and Southampton are all eager to make a swift return to the top flight.  However, Kieran McKenna's Ipswich side currently holds the lead at the top of the table in a tense four-way contest. As the new year rolled in, Enzo Maresca's Leicester seemed destined to secure promotion straight back to the Premier League. They were sitting pretty at the top of the Championship table, boasting a commanding 13-point lead over Southampton in third place. However, after Southampton's victory over Preston on Tuesday, the promotion battle has tightened considerably, with four teams now in the mix and only a handful of games left to play. The best place to find more news from the Championship  What do the fans think? Jamie, a Leicester City fan, said: "The league has been so unpredictable that making any predictions is foolish. I d...

Southampton 1 - 5 Chelsea Jadon Sancho opened his Chelsea account as the Blues took full advantage of Southampton's mistakes to secure what proved to be a commanding victory. Author - Lauren W Sancho rounded off the scoring after goals from Axel Disasi, Christopher Nkunku, Noni Madueke, and Cole Palmer had already put Chelsea firmly in the driving seat. The home side briefly levelled at 1-1 through Joe Aribo but their capacity to self-destruct was underlined again. Not long after falling 3-1 down, captain Jack Stephens was sent off or pulling Marc Cucurella's hair. Views from the away end Some analysis from me: "I would ultimately describe that as a competent performance overall, but the defence still needs improvement. Some of our player give the ball away too often, and they were caught out by Southampton multiple times early in the match. To 'dominate' the Premier League, we need a settled team with our best players consistently on the pitch." Lewis W a...

Leicester City 1 - 2 Chelsea Nicolas Jackson and Enzo Fernandez fired Chelsea to an impressive away victory over Leicester City. Author - Lauren W Jackson, 23, continued his red-hot form, netting his fifth goal in four consecutive away games. He showed great strength to outmuscle Wout Faes and latch onto a long ball, with Enzo Fernandez providing the decisive pass. Jackson coolly finished in the 15th minute to give Chelsea the lead. Fernandez then doubled the advantage, heading home from close range after Leicester keeper Mads Hermansen parried Jackson's initial effort. Leicester managed a consolation deep into stoppage time when Jordan Ayew converted a 95th-minute penalty following Romeo Lavia's foul on Bobby de Cordova-Reid in the box. Premier League news and stories: 2024/2025 season Chelsea dominated on a dreary afternoon at the King Power Stadium, controlling over 66% of possession and dictating the tempo from start to finish. For Leicester, it was a tough return to Pr...

Ipswich Town 2 - 0 Chelsea Liam Delap's standout performance inspired Ipswich Town to their first home victory of the season, dealing a blow to Chelsea’s dwindling Premier League title ambitions. Author - Marcus Ipswich Town v Chelsea European Super Football has all the reaction- eurosuperfootball.blogspot.com/p/premier-le... [image or embed] — European Super Football ( @superfootball.bsky.social ) 31 December 2024 at 15:10 The 21-year-old striker opened the scoring in the 12th minute, confidently converting a penalty he earned after VAR determined goalkeeper Filip Jorgensen had made sufficient contact as Delap weaved past him. Just eight minutes into the second half, Delap turned provider, seizing on Axel Disasi's wayward back pass to set up ex-Chelsea winger Omari Hutchinson for Ipswich's second goal. Despite dominating possession, Chelsea were wasteful in front of goal, with Joao Felix’s would-be first-half equaliser ruled out by VAR after a lengthy offside check. I...

Chelsea 1 - 4 Celtic The second match of Chelsea's USA Tour saw them face a Celtic team playing their fifth game of pre-season and entered the contest on the back of beating Premier League champions Manchester City in their last match. Chelsea created several chances in both halves but goals from Matt O'Reily, Kyogo Furuhashi, Luis Palma and Mikey Johnston helped Brendan Rodgers' side to victory, with Christopher Nkunku adding a late consolation from the penalty spot. How did the teams line up? There were two alterations to Maresca's starting line-up for Chelsea. Wesley Fofana made his first start in more than a year in place of Tosin Adarabioyo and Mykhailo Mudryk replaced academy graduate Tyrique George. The Hoops went into this game at Notre Dame’s iconic stadium in South Bend, Indiana full of confidence. In this match, their 4-3-3 formation featured several players that won them the double last season. Kyogo Furuhashi, Callum McGregor and Daizen Maeda all start...

Chelsea 4 - 0 Southampton  Chelsea boosted their top four hopes and ended their three-match losing run with an emphatic win over Southampton at Stamford Bridge. Author - Lauren W Christopher Nkunku put Chelsea ahead in the 24th minute, nodding home after Tosin Adarabioyo flicked on a corner. Twelve minutes later, Nkunku turned provider, slipping in Pedro Neto, who slotted past Aaron Ramsdale with a composed low finish. They extended their lead just before half-time, with Levi Colwill outjumping the defence to guide in Neto’s wide free-kick. The victory was sealed in the 78th minute when substitute Tyrique George teed up Marc Cucurella, who capped off a swift counter-attack with a precise drilled finish. Click here for more Premier League news and stories Chelsea were desperate for this win After a strong start to the season—winning 18 of their first 26 games in all competitions—the Blues had managed just three wins in their previous 12 matches before facing Southampton. However...