Shaun Wright-Phillips claims Chelsea have become a true team since Frank Lampard was replaced, and that makes them a major threat to Manchester City in Saturday's FA Cup semi-final.
The former England winger will have divided loyalties for the Wembley clash, having played for City in two stints either side of a three-year spell at Chelsea.
Wright-Phillips won the Premier League and FA Cup while with Chelsea, playing for the London club alongside club legend Lampard who went on to have 18 months as manager before being dismissed in January of this year.
Thomas Tuchel has brought a more pragmatic approach since being appointed as successor to Lampard, not foregoing the element of fantasy but placing a greater emphasis on industry, with the hard work paying off.
Chelsea are through to the Champions League semi-finals and could yet meet City in the final of that competition, with Real Madrid and Paris Saint-Germain standing in the way of the Premier League pair.
"I think what Chelsea have brought to the table now is a resilience," said Wright-Phillips, speaking to Stats Perform News.
"I've seen a lot of their games. I believe they've not necessarily blown teams away, but they're starting to keep clean sheets and they're taking their chances.
"But there are opportunities there to be exploited which I have seen in games, and the teams that have had them haven't really taken them."
The 39-year-old Wright-Phillips says some of the early-season verve has gone from Chelsea's play, but for good reason.
"I must say they're not as exciting and free-flowing going forward, but they're defending a lot better as a unit, as a team, and they're pressing as a team rather than as individuals," he said.
"He's got them defending with a lot of discipline which has been hard to break down for a lot of teams, so I think if you can stop conceding goals, as for example City have, it does take a lot of pressure off your attackers to have to force situations.
"They can learn to be more patient based on the fact they have massive belief in their defenders and they don't need to rush anything, because they know if it doesn't work out then our defenders are going to keep a clean sheet."
Chelsea have underperformed in terms of finishing off their chances under Tuchel, scoring just 12 goals in the Premier League from an xG (expected goals) total of 16, but at the back they have kept it tight, conceding seven times from an xGA (expected goals against) of 6.6.
Those Opta figures exclude penalties, with Chelsea having scored four and conceded no spot-kicks across the 12-game span, and own goals, of which they have scored one and let in one.
A 5-2 home defeat to West Brom on April 3 ended a run of 14 games unbeaten since Tuchel assumed the role of head coach, but Chelsea have got back on track since by thrashing Crystal Palace 4-1 and edging out Porto in the Champions League quarter-finals.
Wright-Phillips sees "a lot of firepower" in the Chelsea ranks yet believes they have become "very, very solid", pointing to the example of "outstanding" centre-back Antonio Rudiger, a colossus in defence for Tuchel.
Since January 26, the date of Tuchel's appointment, only Chelsea team-mate Cesar Azpilicueta has had more clean sheets among Premier League defenders than the seven achieved in 10 games by Rudiger, with Azpilicueta's eight coming from 12 league appearances.
In the same period, Rudiger is one of only five Premier League defenders with 300 minutes or more of action to have made at least 15 tackles and won 70 per cent or more of such challenges in the competition. Sheffield United's Jayden Bogle, James Tarkowski of Burnley and Leicester City's Wesley Fofana and Ricardo Pereira are the others.
The battle between rival coaches Tuchel and Pep Guardiola is bound to intrigue, with City having been surprisingly beaten by eventual cup winners Arsenal at this stage last season.
Wright-Phillips is relishing the clash in styles, predicting the reinvigorated Chelsea will look to break at pace after soaking up City pressure.
He said: "It makes for an interesting game. They don't mind not having the ball, whereas City love having the ball, so they'll most likely play on the counter-attack against City."
Mikel Arteta salutes ‘unbelievable’ Kai Havertz after another impressive display
Mikel Arteta hailed an “unbelievable” performance from Kai Havertz after his two goals helped Arsenal move three points clear at the top of the Premier League with a thumping 5-0 win over Chelsea at the Emirates Stadium.
The 24-year-old, who struggled in his early appearances after swapping Stamford Bridge for north London in the summer, gave a superb display against his former side as the leaders heaped more misery on visiting manager Mauricio Pochettino, who saw his ninth-place team slump to a worst-ever league defeat against Arsenal.
Havertz struck twice as part of an 18-minute blitz in the second half as Arteta’s team won for the second time in four days, continuing their recovery from successive losses to Aston Villa and Bayern Munich.
“He (Havertz) was unbelievable, in all departments,” said Arteta.
“For a nine to score two goals the way he scored, his contribution was great. It’s a question for him but I’m sure he’s very pleased.”
The Arsenal onslaught began after only four minutes, Declan Rice sliding the ball into a channel on the left of the penalty area from where Leandro Trossard took over, dinking past defender Alfie Gilchrist, on his first Premier League start, and thudding it through the legs of Djordje Petrovic.
Thereafter Chelsea competed gamely, going close to equalising when Axel Disasi just failed to reach a flick-on from a corner and again when Nicolas Jackson’s effort was deflected onto the post by Gabriel, but in the space of under 20 minutes after the interval they fell to pieces.
First, Ben White reacted quickest to sweep home after Rice’s shot was blocked, then Havertz got his first of the night with a lofted finish over the goalkeeper.
The former Chelsea forward made it 4-0, his shot pinging in off the post with Petrovic rooted, before White provided the moment of the match with a cross-shot that sailed across the face of goal and in from Martin Odegaard’s pass.
“It was a big performance, collectively and individually,” said Arteta, whose side moved clear at the top ahead of Sunday’s derby against Tottenham but have played a game more than Liverpool and two more than Manchester City.
“I thought we were really good, against a really good team that was in great form and were going to ask us a lot of questions. I think we responded really well.
“From the start we were really determined, really flowing, playing with a lot of courage and making things happen. Really happy with the result. It’s a big day for our supporters.
“It’s great for us, for the confidence and for the belief that we can do it, we can come to these stages against big teams and win games the way we’ve done it tonight. So enjoy it, then it’s back to work tomorrow because we have a big one on Sunday.”
Chelsea boss Pochettino, for whom Arteta admitted to have “all the sympathy in the world,” gave a downcast assessment of his team’s prospects of qualifying for Europe after a humbling loss.
“Now it is difficult to see the future because after this game we feel disappointed,” he said. “It is difficult to talk about objectives.
“If we compete like Saturday (in the FA Cup semi-final defeat to City), OK. But if we compete like today, I think we deserve to go into Europe? I think in this way, no.”
Reggae Girl Van Zanten eyes strong comeback from season-ending injury
The thought of being sidelined for an entire season is almost too much for some players to bear, but Jamaica international Kalyssa ‘Kiki’ Van Zanten has embraced her darkest hour with confidence that she will emerge stronger than before.
Van Zanten, 22, who represents Houston Dash in the United States’ National Women’s Soccer League (NWSL) was placed on the season-ending injury list, after she suffered damage to her left foot in the match against the Washington Spirit last Friday.
The American-born Reggae Girlz winger, made the revelation on social media, as she expressed her readiness to take on whatever obstacles came her way on what will be a challenging road back to enjoying her passion.
“Absolutely devastated that my rookie season has been put on hold. I’ll come back better and stronger,” Van Zanten captioned the post, which included an X-ray image of the injury.
Van Zanten was drafted with the number 21 overall pick in the 2024 NWSL Draft and signed with Houston Dash on March 15. She paraded her skills in four games this season and earned her first start on March 30, when the Dash earned three points on the road against Bay FC.
Prior to her professional move, Van Zanten strutted her stuff for University of Notre Dame in the NCAA Division 1 Women’s tournament, where she made 95 appearances and scored 27 goals.
On the international stage, the soft-spoken player, whose mother is Jamaican and father of a Dutch descent, made her Reggae Girlz debut during the Concacaf Women’s World Cup qualifiers in 2022. She scored her lone international goal against Costa Rica in Jamaica’s Concacaf Women’s Championships third-place finish in Mexico.
Van Zanten known for her speed and flair on the channels, was also a part of Jamaica’s history-making team that secured a famous Round of 16 finish at last year’s FIFA Women’s World Cup in Australia and New Zealand.
While she grapples with the reality of her injury, Van Zanten finds solace in the support of her teammates, coaches, and fans. Their words of encouragement and unwavering belief in her ability to come back stronger provides the comfort and strength required to face the long road to recovery.
“Thank you to my team, family and friends for all the support,” she said.
Enzo Maresca delighted as ‘fantastic’ Leicester move to brink of promotion
Enzo Maresca praised his Leicester players for the 5-0 thrashing of Southampton that put the Foxes a win away from clinching automatic promotion.
Ghana winger Abdul Fatawu scored three of them, with Wilfred Ndidi and Jamie Vardy also on target.
Leicester need only to win at Preston on Monday, or at home to Blackburn on the final day, to make sure they will finish ahead of at least one of Leeds or Ipswich. Indeed, if Leeds lose at QPR on Friday Leicester will be up before they take to the field again.
Maresca, in his first season as City manager, said: “I don’t think that was the best performance of the season but the performance was fantastic, very good on and off the ball.
“We could have been better on the ball but we are all very happy because the opposition are a fantastic team.
“The good thing about tonight is that now we know that with one win we get promoted.
“It was a good feeling at the end, the fans have been fantastic.”
Fatawu, on loan from Sporting Lisbon, opened the scoring in the 25th minute when Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall played him through. The 20-year-old might have been offside but the flag stayed down. Southampton manager Russell Martin was also aggrieved that a challenge on Saints striker Che Adams by City defender Wout Faes was not given as a foul by referee Robert Madley.
The second half belonged to Leicester though, with Ndidi charging in to head home a cross from Stephy Mavididi to double the lead.
Fatawu struck again in the 75th minute when he accepted a pass from substitute Hamza Choudhury before smashing past goalkeeper Alex McCarthy.
Fatawu set up Vardy for a well-taken fourth and completed the rout with an emphatic finish after the former England striker returned the favour.
Maresca, however, joked: “I just said ‘next game you will be on the bench’ because with Abdul and young players especially, after three goals he is already thinking he is a top player.”
Saints – famously beaten 9-0 by Leicester in the Premier League in 2019 – must now pick themselves up for the play-offs barring an extraordinary combination of results and scorelines.
Martin made it clear he would not be doing that for them though, so disappointed was he with their capitulation.
“The players need to show a bit of love for each other and pick each other up, I’m fed up of doing that,” he said.
“They need to feel some pain – the same pain that I’m feeling right now.
“Rolling over like that, it’s actually pathetic, losing 5-0. They have to rally round as a group and show some care for each other.
“I did not like what I saw from my team one bit at 2-0 down. Self-preservation, our body language and people throwing their hands up in the air.
“It surprised me actually. What can you do? I told them I didn’t like it.
“I told them Che Adams is out of contract this summer and the one person who has the excuse if he didn’t really want to be all in and not work hard for his team, but he did that more than anyone. So it was inexcusable for anyone else not to do that.
“The fans were amazing, they were still clapping at the end and deserved better than that.”
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