Manchester City’s Nico O’Reilly gets first England call-up after Reece James injury withdrawal James sustained an injury during Chelsea's win over Liverpool, while O'Reilly moves up from the Under-21s.

Updated story from earlier about #CFC defender Reece James withdrawing from England duty through injury…issue is a minor, rather than major, one. More here: www.nytimes.com/athletic/669...

So many noteworthy factors in #CFC’s win over #LFC on Saturday. One thing I noticed…it is pretty remarkable that the team they finished with to clinch the win had a younger average age (22.4) than the one Maresca started with (23.7). #CHELIV

Enzo Maresca’s wild celebration against Liverpool will endear him to Chelsea fans Enzo Maresca allowed his guarded mask to slip against Liverpool and the crowd responded to his passion

www.nytimes.com/athletic/669... Enzo Maresca’s wild celebration against Liverpool will endear him to Chelsea fans 👇

Enzo Maresca’s wild celebration against Liverpool will endear him to Chelsea fans Enzo Maresca allowed his guarded mask to slip against Liverpool and the crowd responded to his passion

Enzo Maresca has struggled to win over #CFC fans since taking over. All the best moments in his highlight reel had been away from Stamford Bridge…until now. Beating #LFC and his Jose Mourinho impression is the breakthrough he needed. My column here: www.nytimes.com/athletic/669...

Chelsea 2 Liverpool 1: Estevao winner, Caicedo’s stunner, third defeat in a row for Slot’s side Estevao gave Chelsea a late 2-1 win over Liverpool at Stamford Bridge - our writers break down the key talking points.

An attempted on the whistle piece from @TheAthleticFC on that crazy @CHELIV game…I focused on how Caicedo doesn’t score tap-ins and why this win was all the better for #CFC given their centre back crisis: www.nytimes.com/athletic/668...

Chelsea vs Liverpool preview: New signings, rotation woes, rivalry and predictions The Premier League and Club World Cup champions meet in the English top flight on Saturday. Two of our experts have previewed the match...

Chelsea vs Liverpool preview: New signings, rotation woes, rivalry and predictions #CHELIV www.nytimes.com/athletic/668...

I asked Enzo Maresca if Cole Palmer will return from a groin problem for #CFC against Nottingham Forest after the international break. He didn't give any guarantees: "I don't have any update at the moment. We have a meeting this week to see how it is."

Chelsea’s centre-forward crisis could undermine their Champions League challenge Enzo Maresca started with Tyrique George up front, but his side needed an own goal to get a win against Benfica on Tuesday evening

Tyrique George is an academy graduate who prefers to play on the wing and almost joined Fulham last month. So how come he is currently leading the line for #CFC, who have spent a £1bn+ in 3 years on players, in the Champions League? An explainer here: www.nytimes.com/athletic/667...

Straight Outta Cobham: A show about Chelsea: Unconvincing against Jose's Benfica - but (perhaps misguided) hope ahead of Liverpool The Jose show was back in town for one night only... Matt Davies-Adams has got Luke Bosher and a sleep-deprived Liam Twomey back alongside him to reflect on Tuesday night's narrow 1-0 win over Benf...

𝗟𝗔𝗧𝗘𝗦𝗧 𝗣𝗢𝗗! 🚨

@mattdaviesadams.bsky.social, @lukebosher.bsky.social & @liamtwomey.bsky.social are here with:

🇵🇹 The Jose show w/ @sjohnsonsport.bsky.social
🤕 Injury woes/ CWC to blame for poor form?
🤔 The strange striker situation
🔴 Feeling... good?! about Liverpool!

#CFC

pod.fo/e/334e0c

Jose Mourinho: He meant everything to Chelsea fans in his heyday, but what about now? As Mourinho returns to Stamford Bridge with Benfica, his legacy with Chelsea is up for debate

Jose Mourinho should be loved universally by #CFC fans right? He turned the club into winners but some antics & managing rivals clubs had an impact on his popularity. I spoke to supporters to see how he is viewed ahead of his return as Benfica coach: www.nytimes.com/athletic/667...

Jose Mourinho greets #CFC’s veteran employee Thresa Conneely with a warm hug. He doesn’t forget.

Jose Mourinho: Chelsea are ‘back on track’ and can win Champions League The Portuguese head coach won five trophies in his two spells with the London side, between 2004-07 and 2012-15.

Jose Mourinho admits he feared #CFC were losing their identity but believes the club are now back on track and can win the CL. More here:
www.nytimes.com/athletic/667...

Enzo Maresca: ‘I could have done better’ in Chelsea defeats after red cards Maresca insisted "there is no reason to be negative" over Chelsea's form after successive Premier League losses.

Enzo Maresca calls for calm after recent #CFC results but admits he needs to improve at managing games with 10 men. More here: www.nytimes.com/athletic/667...

The cross for the goal that won Brighton the game (the third was token) against #CFC. Sums up the lack of organisation going on among the players…a mishmash of some caught ball watching, playing for offside and dropping back.

Chelsea 1 Brighton 3 – Are Maresca’s side their own worst enemies? Is it time for Disasi be recalled? Simon Johnson analyses a disappointing home defeat for Chelsea against Brighton and Hove Albion on Saturday

www.nytimes.com/athletic/666... Chelsea 1 Brighton 3 – Are Maresca’s side their own worst enemies? Is it time for Disasi be recalled? 👇

Cole Palmer to miss Chelsea’s next three games due to groin injury Head coach Enzo Maresca also said it is unlikely that centre-backs Tosin Adarabioyo and Wesley Fofana will feature in the next few weeks.

Cole Palmer is ruled out of the next three games as Maresca confirms Axel Disasi won’t be called up to the #CFC squad to help deal with their centre back injury crisis. More here:
www.nytimes.com/athletic/666...

Why Raheem Sterling didn’t leave Chelsea – and what’s happening now The 30-year-old forward is out of favour and the major transfer windows are shut. This is the latest on his situation

A piece on what’s going on with Raheem Sterling at #CFC. He’s had a few training sessions with the U-21s since ‘that’ Instagram pic but neither the club or the player are in a situation they want to be in. How can it be resolved? www.nytimes.com/athletic/665...

#CFC will play at Wolves in the Fourth Round of the Carabao Cup.

Josh Acheampong is not involved in the #CFC squad tonight due to having the flu.

Premier League shareholder meetings: Who speaks for your club? There will be plenty of new faces when Premier League executives gather this week. Who are they and what alliances exist between clubs?

Premier League shareholder meetings: Who speaks for your club?
👇https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/6644076/2025/09/23/premier-league-meetings-levy-lewis

Dissecting Maresca’s bad week at Chelsea: Three games, one point and many poor decisions The Italian made big decisions in all three games last week and the concern will be he got many of them wrong

This was the first test Maresca has faced in his coaching career when it comes to managing a squad through a PL-CL-PL schedule & the results alone will say he did not pass it. However, there is more to scrutinise. #CFC👇 www.nytimes.com/athletic/664...

Straight Outta Cobham: A show about Chelsea: Old Trafford curse continues after calamitous first half collapse 13 games without a league win at Old Trafford... THIRTEEN!!!Matt Davies-Adams has got Luke Bosher and Simon Johnson along for our post-Man United pity party after the shambolic showing in the torre...

𝗟𝗔𝗧𝗘𝗦𝗧 𝗣𝗢𝗗! 🚨

We're in it together, guys 🥲

@mattdaviesadams.bsky.social, @sjohnsonsport.bsky.social & @lukebosher.bsky.social have got all bases covered...

🌧️ Misery in Manchester
🏆 A third round visit to the Imps
🔵 Old friends Brighton come to town
🦫 Aggie at it again

#CFC pod.fo/e/32f309

Dissecting Maresca’s bad week at Chelsea: Three games, one point and many poor decisions The Italian made big decisions in all three games last week and the concern will be he got many of them wrong

Results will show #CFC did not have the best of weeks. Some of the decisions made by head coach Enzo Maresca didn’t help. More here:
www.nytimes.com/athletic/664...

Manchester United 2 Chelsea 1 – Amorim’s side hold on after red cards for Sanchez, Casemiro Our writers break down the key talking points as Manchester United beat Chelsea on a rain-soaked evening at Old Trafford.

In #CFC section of live briefing, I had to focus on their terrible start summed up by the triple sub and Rob Sanchez. More here #MUNCHE
www.nytimes.com/athletic/663...

Chelsea played the long game to sign Alejandro Garnacho from Manchester United The 21-year-old is set to return Old Trafford in a blue shirt on Saturday, just three weeks after a £40m move to west London

Alejandro Garnacho returns to Old Trafford for the first time today since leaving #MUFC for #CFC. Who got the better end of the deal? 👇 www.nytimes.com/athletic/664...

Enzo Maresca has played down Chelsea’s treatment of Raheem Sterling and Axel Disasi, saying his dad had a much tougher life as a fisherman.

More from @sjohnsonsport.bsky.social

🔗 bit.ly/4pwrdKG

Enzo Maresca on Raheem Sterling, Axel Disasi situation: ‘My father the fisherman has a hard life, not players’ "I have been in Raheem and Axel’s situation as a player. For sure, I know it is not the best feeling," Maresca said on Friday.

Enzo Maresca says his dad had a much tougher working life than frozen out #CFC duo Raheem Sterling and Axel Disasi. More here: www.nytimes.com/athletic/664...

Bayern Munich 860 Chelsea 117: The numbers behind a naive Champions League start by Maresca’s side ‘In terms of experience, I think there was a huge difference,’ said Maresca, who backed his side to build ‘something special’ from the loss

Bayern Munich 860 Chelsea 117: The numbers behind a naive Champions League start by Maresca’s side 👇https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/6639227/2025/09/18/chelsea-champions-league-bayern

Straight Outta Cobham: A show about Chelsea: SOC Extra: Bayern 3-1 Chelsea reaction Not *quite* the return to Europe's top table we were looking for...Producer Lucy's got The Athletic's Chelsea reporter Simon Johnson on hand to bring his post-match reaction to the 3-1 defeat by Ba...

𝗦𝗢𝗖 𝗘𝗫𝗧𝗥𝗔 🚨🏆

A bitesize look at the 3-1 defeat out in Munich with @sjohnsonsport.bsky.social

👉 Individual errors and lapses prove costly
👉 Yep, Cole Palmer belongs on this stage
👉'Something special' can come from defeat says Enzo

#CFC

pod.fo/e/32cb74

Teething problems on Chelsea's return to the Champions League were perhaps inevitable.

This is obviously a serious upgrade on the UEFA Conference League they won last season, where errors are not punished as ruthlessly.

✍️ @sjohnsonsport.bsky.social

🔗 www.nytimes.com/athletic/663...