Amid all the dirt and counter-dirt flying around, I find the scarcity of Chelsea player social media tributes to Maresca the most interesting thing

Ok, I’m now officially considering my future on paternity leave

Maresca now carefully managing his own minutes post-match

Chelsea always need a player who can go off Maresca's script, and Estevao is at his most wonderful when he's improvising

This might also be Chelsea's most talented creative alignment (Garnacho, Fernandez, Palmer, Estevao all starting), yet Delap continues to look a jarringly bad fit at the point of this attack

The problem with Bournemouth out-shooting Chelsea 14-8 in that first half is we know (or can at least be reasonably confident) who the fitter, better conditioned team is

Not sure which is dafter - James Hill beating Chelsea's three tallest starters to flick on their first long throw goal, or Trevoh Chalobah doing the same job for Bournemouth on the second

Chelsea’s energy levels visibly dipped in the second half against Villa. Their almost non-existent preseason only becomes more relevant as this season progresses. Not for the first time, Chelsea’s bench depth also looked very unimpressive

Palmer and Estevao on the pitch together would be a fun idea

Howe has built an impressive Newcastle identity around physicality and athleticism across the board, but if chasing an equaliser with Joelinton and Willock in the half-spaces doesn’t highlight a need for a bit more final third craft, I don’t know what does

Only 56 games and 21 defeats into his tenure, Ruben Amorim concedes Manchester United would need “to spend a lot of money and time” to play “a perfect 3-4-3”, switches to 4-2-3-1 and they immediately look a more competent team against Newcastle. Would this be football’s first sackable win?

Physical intensity has never been high up the list of what Chelsea look for when recruiting, and it costs them every single time they have to play in this type of game

James and Gusto both on the pitch, neither playing right-back. Maresca would probably invert time if he could

Is there a case that Jarrod Bowen is the Premier League’s modern day Matt Le Tissier?

I’ve never been as convinced about the depth of Chelsea’s squad as they are. They’re a really strong team at full strength and Maresca is a smart coach, but they can’t challenge for the Premier League as long as nights like this are still part of their nature

I’m sensing a lot of frustration at Maresca’s five changes, but let’s look at who came out: Caicedo (enforced) James and Fofana (load management, perennial injury risks) Gusto (plays a lot, runs a lot when he does) Neto (standard winger rotation) It’s hard to see where to castigate Maresca tbh

This is much closer than the Arsenal game to what I imagined life without Caicedo might look like for Chelsea

🔹 Pride at representing Thailand 🔹 Missed penalty on his international debut 🔹 Scored two in his second game, an Asian Cup qualifier 🔹 His time at #CFC and #THFC 🔹 A new start at #GTFC My interview with former #CFC striker Jude Soonsup-Bell www.nytimes.com/athletic/684...

𝑷𝑶𝑺𝑻 𝑨𝑹𝑺𝑬𝑵𝑨𝑳 𝑷𝑶𝑫! 🚨 Plenty for @mattdaviesadams.bsky.social, @sjohnsonsport.bsky.social & @liamtwomey.bsky.social to be positive about after #CFC's 1-1 draw with Arsenal... 👑 Reece James, midfield maestro 🟥 Managing after Caicedo sees red 😳 A quiet one ahead at #LUFC pod.fo/e/35d942

51st from his 51 games in terms of completed passes, 1st from his 51 games in terms of aerial duels - yesterday was the the day when Enzo Maresca finally felt like a proper Chelsea manager. www.nytimes.com/athletic/685...

Chelsea’s most impressive draw in a long time. Managed the game brilliantly with 10 men (the players and Maresca) and did much more than just defend. Reece James the best player on the pitch

I saw Flamengo twice at the Club World Cup, against Chelsea and Bayern, and came away both times feeling like I’d watched the best South American team. Good to see that confirmed by the Libertadores. Filipe Luis is a coach with a big future

Barcelona need four Kyle Walkers to make this defensive line work against high level opposition - and that’s with 11 men. Lunacy from Flick

With all due respect to Stamford Bridge, on the evidence of tonight I think quite a lot of people on the planet would be happy to be “just a shit Estevao”. What a talent

He’s the Messi of the NBA. A basketball genius

𝗟𝗔𝗧𝗘𝗦𝗧 𝗣𝗢𝗗! 🚨 @mattdaviesadams.bsky.social, @reallycerys.bsky.social & @liamtwomey.bsky.social assemble for... 🤯 Malo Gusto scores an actual goal! 🤔 Should Estêvão be starting? 📈 Chelsea are third - what does it all mean?! 💥 Alyssa Thompson's outrageous strike #CFC pod.fo/e/34fc7b

A Malo Gusto goal 😱 Worth a pod alone for @mattdaviesadams.bsky.social, @reallycerys.bsky.social & @liamtwomey.bsky.social (!) We’ll be chatting about that - and the 3-0 win over Wolves in general - and we’d love your thoughts or questions 🙏💬 #CFC

A disappointing performance and result for Chelsea in Baku, but you’ve got to take your Hato off to Qarabag

Dominik Szoboszlai is a spectacular footballer

I’m a husband and a father, but I’m honestly not sure I love anything as much as Cody Gakpo loves the shoot button

Spurs very poor but an excellent performance from Chelsea, imposing themselves in all areas. Caicedo the best player on the pitch by a huge distance. Should have been 4-0 or 5-0

Immense sequence from Caicedo. He must be horrible and/or terrifying to play against

Danny Welbeck having a Karim Benzema season is the best subplot in the Premier League right now

Enzo Maresca accused Liam Delap of ‘playing for himself’ after the Chelsea striker was sent off for two yellow cards in the space of seven minutes in Wednesday’s 4-3 win over Wolves in the Carabao Cup fourth round tie. More from @sjohnsonsport.bsky.social

The spirit of Nicolas Jackson lives on in Liam Delap. Chelsea don’t have an indiscipline problem though…

It’s getting harder and harder to avoid the conclusion that Andoni Iraola is the best coach in the Premier League

Fully deserved win for Sunderland. Arrived with a smart game plan to stifle Chelsea and executed it almost flawlessly, with much more intensity. Maresca’s starters were very flat and the subs didn’t work

What the hell happened to Ajax? This team would be in a relegation battle in the Premier League. Chelsea’s (largely) second string cruising despite barely exerting themselves

How did it come to this? Piece from #NFFC, on a brilliant atmosphere pissed away in six weeks, Postecoglou & a drift into apathy. www.nytimes.com/athletic/672...

“He looks really at ease. It doesn’t surprise me that the fans have already been charmed by him.” Palmeiras youth academy coordinator Joao Paulo Sampaio knows Estevao Willian better than most - his fast adaption to #CFC is the talk of Brazil. 👇 www.nytimes.com/athletic/672...

What a moment for Estevao. What a win for Chelsea and Maresca. Their best performance and result without Cole Palmer in the Cole Palmer era

Mourinho back at Stamford Bridge coaching a squad that includes a Ferreira and an Ivanovic. Football heritage

Death, taxes and Danny Welbeck scoring against Chelsea

You’d think it would be a source of acute embarrassment at this point that however poor they may be, Manchester United always know that hard running and physicality will be enough to bully Chelsea at home

Another bad moment for Sanchez, who gave Chelsea panic when they needed reassurance from their goalkeeper. Chelsea’s ability to find new and ever more creative ways to shoot themselves in the foot at Old Trafford really is remarkable

Chelsea have to settle for a point 🤝 Plenty for @mattdaviesadams.bsky.social, @sjohnsonsport.bsky.social & @thom-harris.bsky.social to get stuck into on Monday’s pod… We’ll look back on this game AND look ahead to Wednesday in Munich 🇩🇪 Let’s get your thoughts/ questions! #CFC

Tosin as the last defender against a fast forward usually means big trouble. Even more worrying is Chelsea’s attack. Aside from the (very) occasional flash of Brighton-era chemistry from Joao Pedro and Buonanotte, there’s been nothing to trouble Brentford’s low block

The only entertainment in the final minutes at London Stadium has come from watching how desperate Kudus is to not celebrate scoring a goal against West Ham

Pablo Torre isn’t just a brilliant journalist. He’s also a groundbreaking one, unveiling the kind of investigative reporting that turns a sport upside down primarily on a personalised (and very entertaining) podcast/Youtube show rather than through a traditional media outlet. It’s remarkable

Huge news. His football decisions have been questionable at times but Levy’s done a brilliant job with Spurs from a business perspective. He leaves them as sustainable top four/five contenders with one of the best club stadiums in Europe