Chelsea midfielder John Obi Mikel insists the free-scoring Premier League champions will be happy to win ugly against Stoke today.
Carlo Ancelotti’s side have made an astonishing start to their title defense after following their 6-0 rout of West Brom on the opening day with another 6-0 victory at Wigan last weekend.
The Blues, who scored a Premier League record 103 goals last season, have picked up where they left off in May, when an 8-0 win against Wigan clinched the title.
Stoke’s defenders, who conceded seven goals at Stamford Bridge last season, could be forgiven for experiencing a few sleepless nights at the prospect of facing Chelsea in this mood.
However, Nigeria international Mikel knows there is little chance the league leaders will continue to beat teams with such ease.
As a defensive midfielder, Mikel takes as much satisfaction from a hard-fought 1-0 win as his team’s forwards do from a high-scoring victory.
“We all have a good understanding at the moment. I think it’s pretty much working out as we want it to all the time,” Mikel told Chelsea’s Web site.
“We know we’re not going to score six every game. If you manage one and get three points, it’s all we need, but at the moment it is enjoyable to be a part of it and playing, and I hope it keeps going like this.”
While Chelsea are clearly in the groove, Manchester United gave a less convincing display in their 2-2 draw at Fulham last weekend.
It is still early days in the title race, but United boss Sir Alex Ferguson was unimpressed with the way his team twice squandered the lead at Craven Cottage to fall two points behind the Blues.
Ferguson will expect a far more dominant performance against West Ham, who have lost their first two league matches, at Old Trafford today.
Tottenham, fresh from qualifying for the Champions League proper for the first time in nearly 50 years, travel to bottom-of-the-table Wigan with boss Harry Redknapp looking forward to a few days off during next week’s international break.
Redknapp led his side to victory over Young Boys in the Champions League play-off round in midweek, but he has no plans to strengthen his squad before the window shuts on Tuesday. Instead he will go on holiday with his wife, Sandra.
“After the game on Saturday against Wigan, I just want to take my wife away for five days, which I probably will do in all honesty,” Redknapp said.
“I don’t see anything happening in the transfer market and I am not too bothered if it does or doesn’t. I have not pressed the chairman to buy anybody,” he said.
How Liverpool manager Roy Hodgson must wish he could say the same.
Hodgson’s team host West Brom on Sunday looking to bounce back from a 3-0 defeat at Manchester City which raised serious questions about morale at Anfield.
The Reds looked woeful for long periods and Hodgson also has to deal with the departure of Javier Mascherano and possibly Dirk Kuyt, who had an offer from Inter, but has recently indicated he’d like to stay with Liverpool.
Barcelona have agreed a transfer fee with Liverpool for Mascherano and the Argentine midfielder is expected in Spain for a medical this weekend, the clubs said yesterday.
Barcelona said on their Web site the two clubs had agreed on a transfer that would send Mascherano to the Catalan club for four seasons.
City will aim to build on that Liverpool win when Roberto Mancini’s expensively assembled squad travel to Sunderland, while new Arsenal defender Sebastien Squillaci, signed from Sevilla on Thursday, won’t feature when the Gunners take on Blackburn at Ewood Park.
Fixtures:
Today
• Blackburn v Arsenal
• Blackpool v Fulham
• Chelsea v Stoke
• Man Utd v West Ham
• Tottenham v Wigan
• Wolves v Newcastle
Tomorrow
• Aston Villa v Everton
• Bolton v Birmingham
• Liverpool v West Brom
• Sunderland v Man City
Japan’s Shohei Ohtani is the record-breaking baseball “superhuman” following in the footsteps of the legendary Babe Ruth who has also earned comparisons to US sporting greats Michael Jordan and Tom Brady. Not since Ruth a century ago has there been a baseball player capable of both pitching and hitting at the top level. The 30-year-old’s performances with the Los Angeles Dodgers have consolidated his position as a baseball legend in the making, and a national icon in his native Japan. He continues to find new ways to amaze, this year becoming the first player to hit 50 home runs and steal 50 bases
Zhang Shuai yesterday said that she nearly quit after losing 24 matches in a row — now the world No. 595 is into the quarter-finals of her home China Open. The 35-year-old is to face Spain’s Paula Badosa as the lowest-ranked player to reach this stage in the history of the tournament after Badosa reeled off 11 of the last 12 games in a 6-4, 6-0 victory over US Open finalist Jessica Pegula. Zhang went into Beijing on a barren run lasting more than 600 days and her string of singles defeats was the second-longest on the WTA Tour Open era, which
Taiwan’s Tony Wu yesterday beat Mackenzie McDonald of the US to win the Nonthaburi Challenger IV in Thailand, his first challenger victory since 2022. The 26-year-old world No. 315, who won both his qualifiers to advance to the main draw, has been on a hot streak this month, winning his past nine matches, including two that ensured Taiwan’s victory in their Davis Cup World Group I tie. Wu took just more than two hours to top world No. 172 McDonald 6-3, 7-6 (7/4) to win his second challenger tournament since the Tallahassee Tennis Challenger in 2022. Wu’s Tallahassee win followed two years of
Taiwanese martial artists bagged one gold, four silver and three bronze medals at the World Junior Wushu Championships in Brunei, the Taipei Economic and Cultural Office in Brunei Darussalam said yesterday. Liu Yu-tzu won the gold medal in the girl’s taijiquan A group and also picked up a silver medal in the girl’s taijijian A group. Hu Hsin-ling, Yu Min-hsun and Chen Chao-hsiang each won a silver medal in the girl’s jianshu B, boy’s nangun B and boy’s taijijian A groups respectively. Hu also won a bronze medal in the girl’s qiangshu B group, while Yu and Lin Shih-hung picked up bronze medals
RSS