MATCH REPORT: Arsenal vs Chelsea

Guus Hiddink's Chelsea carry on their undefeated win as they beat 10-man Arsenal 1-0 at the Emirates. 

If you look at the statistics for previous meetings between the two, then it would have been obvious that the game would end with a Chelsea win; Arsenal have failed to beat Chelsea since 2011 and Chelsea are yet to lose a game since Jose Mourinho left the club. 

However, Arsenal have been in excellent form this season and if they had won today, they would have gone back to the top of the table which would have been the best way to celebrate Theo Walcott's 10 year anniversary at the club. It just wasn't meant to be though.

In the first 2 minutes of the match, both teams had already registered a good chance. Joel Campbell was played in by a great cross from Walcott and he had to adjust slightly to get to the ball but he didn't catch it right and his volley ends very wide of the target. 

Down at the other end seconds later, Laurent Koscielny plays a slack pass straight into the path of Oscar who was just outside the penalty area. With little time to get his shot away, the midfielder hit the shot to catch Petr Cech out, but the keeper got down low to turn it away.

Out of the two sides, it was Arsenal who looked the most likely to score. Campbell played a one-two off Olivier Giroud on the edge of the box and found Mathieu Flamini in the middle of the box. His touch is poor though and he lost control of the ball, leaving Thibaut Courtois with an easy save. 

Not long after, that's when things started to heat up in the match. A brilliant ball is played over the top to Diego Costa and his first touch allows him to go past the defender and he was in the clear. Per Mertesacker, as the last defender, rashly slid in to the back of Costa, which left the referee no choice but to send him off the pitch. 

Mark Clattenburg shows Mertesacker a red card for a bad challenge
Image from: http://www.mirror.co.uk/sport/football/match-centre/arsenal-vs-chelsea-live-reaction-7209910

Following Mertesacker's dismissal, Arsene Wenger decided to bring on Gabriel Paulista for Giroud to try and keep some defensive solidarity in his team. This decision wasn't received well from both the fans and Giroud, but the need for another defender seemed to weigh on Wenger's decision. 

The manager's decision didn't have the desired effect. Branislav Ivanovic was left in some space down the Chelsea right and he played an excellent ball into the Costa in the box. The forward got around Gabriel without much difficulty and easily stroked the ball past Cech at the near post. 

From there, it was all Chelsea in the first half. Cesc Fabregas swung a cross towards the far post which cleared the head of Hector Bellerin and landed with Costa. He tried to hit the shot on the volley but failed to get a clean connection with the ball and the shot finished off target.

Costa stepped up again not long before half time when Willian played a square ball into him. The forward took the ball around the defender to get a one-on-one with the keeper, but he couldn't direct the ball past Cech at his near post.

The pressure mounted minutes later as Chelsea swung a corner into the box and it was Ivanovic who rose best to power a header towards goal. Cech was diving across his goal line, and he would have got there, but Nacho Monreal cleared the ball off the line to keep his team in it. 

Costa getting the better of the Arsenal defence and slotting the ball into the back of the net
Image from: http://www.mirror.co.uk/sport/football/match-centre/arsenal-vs-chelsea-live-reaction-7209910

Chelsea had the upper hand in the second half, and they will feel that Arsenal got very lucky just before the hour mark. Fabregas got away from his defender and drifted into the box and with no other cover, Koscielny went across and barged into him, causing him to topple to the floor in the penalty area, but the referee simply waved play on. 

Arsenal were still pushing for a goal though, and it looked most likely to come from a corner. As the ball was into the box, Chelsea made a huge mess of defending it. Arsenal had a few shots on goal, but the ball pin-balled off the defenders and they eventually cleared the danger out of their box. 

Towards the end of the match, Chelsea struggled to deal with another Arsenal corner. This time it was the keeper as he failed to hold onto the ball twice and just about managed to shield the ball from the Arsenal players while his defenders cleared the box. 

It was Arsenal who finished the match the stronger of the two. After the introduction of Alexis Sanchez and Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain, Arsenal seemed to see a lot more of the ball and cause problems for the Chelsea midfielders and defenders.

The last big chance of the game came when Oxlade-Chamberlain took a swing at the ball in the penalty area and instead of hitting the target like he planned, the ball bounced into the path of Flamini. He couldn't sort his feet out quick enough though, leaving Courtois with an easy catch and a quick clearance. 

Chelsea remain in the bottom half of the table but also have an unbeaten record under Hiddink
Image from: http://www.mirror.co.uk/sport/football/match-centre/arsenal-vs-chelsea-live-reaction-7209910

So, Arsenal missed their chance to go back to the top of the league table after falling behind both Leicester and Manchester City. Nobody is writing off their chances of winning the Premier League trophy just yet, but if they want to keep up with the other title challengers, they will need to bounce back from this loss pretty quickly. 

As for Chelsea, they have bounced back very well in the past few weeks and have put more space between themselves and the relegation zone, which they will feel they were too close to. If the results continue this way, then they might be able to push for a higher finish in the table than many people thought possible only a couple of months ago...

FA Cup Third Round [2016]

It's that time of year again when all the teams around the country are pulled together into one competition to form some of the best entertainment a football fan can find. This is the competition where form doesn't come into consideration and even the least likely winners can come forward. And so, as the Premier League and Championship teams joined in, the fun commenced...

The first game of the weekend saw League Two Exeter City face Premier League Liverpool at their home ground, and it was a game that Liverpool would be expected to win. However, it wasn't quite the game many expected. Exeter gave Liverpool a very tough time in the game and two goals from Tom Nichols and a brilliant one scored from a corner by Lee Holmes on either side of a goal by Jerome Sinclair put some real pressure Jurgen Klopp's side. 

Brad Smith managed to pull one back for Liverpool to earn a replay, but the outcome could have been very different if Exeter had managed to convert some of their chances when they were 2-1 up. 

Tom Nichols applauding the fans after his great performance against Liverpool
Image from: http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/football/35155398

The shock of the round actually happened today though. Oxford United of League Two welcomed Swansea City and the away side seemed to get off to a brilliant start as a superb goal from Jefferson Montero took them into the lead. Oxford rallied brilliantly though. A debatable penalty was awarded and scored by the home side on the stroke of half time and switched into another gear when they came out for the second half. 

Kemar Roofe was the player to truly rub the salt into Swansea's wounds as he scored two wonderful goals and gave his team some breathing space. Bafetimbi Gomis did pull one back for Swansea, but it was a little too late meaning that they exited the competition. 

Oxford players celebrate a brilliant win against Swansea City
Image from: http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/football/35216450

Cardiff City were another team that were beaten by a lower league team and had to exit the competition. Andy Mangan of Shrewsbury Town headed the visitors into the lead on the hour mark and the League One side held onto their lead as Cardiff wasted many chances that could possibly have earned them a replay. 

It wasn't the exit to a lower league side that would have been embarrassing for Cardiff, but the fact that less than 5,000 people attended the game in total to watch the game. So all-in-all, not a great day for the home side. 

There was a lot of late drama in the game between Tottenham and Leicester. Christian Eriksen drew first blood early in the first half after the keeper parried Nacer Chadli's shot back into the penalty, but Leicester soon fought back. Marcin Wasilewski and Shinji Okazaki pulled the game back for the away side and Spurs were handed a lifeline. 

The ball hit Nathan Dyer's hand in the penalty area as he tried to tackle Danny Rose and the ref awarded a penalty which Harry Kane converted to earn the replay. However, it is debatable as to whether it was actually a penalty or not as the handball didn't seem deliberate, but I'm sure the Spurs team will be happy they get another chance to get to the fourth round. 

Harry Kane converts a late penalty to earn Spurs a replay at the King Power Stadium
Image from: http://www.independent.co.uk/sport/football/fa-league-cups/fa-cup-third-round-live-oxford-vs-swansea-chelsea-vs-scunthorpe-and-tottenham-vs-leicester-city-a6804636.html

For West Bromwich Albion, it was almost a shock exit as well. They took the lead halfway through the second half through Saido Berahino, but Bristol City managed to flip the game in their favour when Jonathan Kodija scored from close range and minutes later Kieran Agard added a second. 

It looked like they might just come away with the win, until James Morrison pulled a goal back in the dying minutes of added time in the second half to earn his team a replay and stop any celebrations from the Bristol City faithful.

There were, of course, the results that everybody expected in this round. Manchester City played well away against Norwich and Sergio Aguero started off the flurry of goals in the 3-0 result. 

Last season's winners Arsenal also pulled together to win 3-1 after they went behind to a Jeremain Lens goal for Sunderland. 

Chelsea didn't have the smoothest of games, but they still managed to overcome Scunthorpe with a 2-0 win thanks to goals from Diego Costa and Ruben Loftus-Cheek.

Manchester United were another team that struggled against lower league opposition as Sheffield United put on a brilliant and resilient defensive display at Old Trafford. However, the visitors suffered heartbreak in the third minute of added time as a penalty was given away and converted by Wayne Rooney. 

And so comes the end to another FA Cup weekend. The replays will be played in just over a week and it will be interesting to see if any teams who almost pulled off a great shock in this round will be able to finish off what they almost started. For the fans of those teams that did make it through to the next round, the draw will happen tomorrow and the next round of predictions about possible upsets will make their appearance pretty soon after. 

The only question left is whether or not any of the underdogs will cause the upsets so many fans crave during that round. 

MATCH REPORT: Crystal Palace vs Chelsea

Today's game definitely showed a lot of promise for last season's champions as they beat Crystal Palace 3-0 away from home. 

Many Chelsea fans would be hoping for that New Year cliché of 'new year, new me' to apply to their team after they suffered through a horrendous start to the season which saw their team sitting in 16th place with only 20 points. Guus Hiddink had already overseen two games which resulted in two draws against Manchester United and Watford; the latter of the two could have been a win if Oscar hadn't missed a late penalty. 

It was Palace that started the game brighter out of the two teams. Their first chance came after Joel Ward put a great ball into the centre of the box where Fraser Campbell had the perfect opportunity to put Palace ahead, but his shot was deflected which took the ball wide of the post. 

They had a second not long after which came from Wilfried Zaha who put a lot of power behind his long range shot but the ball simply skimmed across the surface and past the far post.

They followed this up not long after through another two good chances for them to take the lead. Damien Delaney wriggled away from his defender on a corner but he didn't make the most of this opportunity as he couldn't control his header and the ball looped up and into the waiting gloves of Thibaut Courtois. 

Campbell stepped up minutes after him after Jason Puncheon played a brilliant cross into the box from the left wing. The cross sailed over the head of Scott Dann, and Campbell was waiting at the far post. He connected with the ball, but it wasn't a great touch and the ball finished well wide of the post.

Palace didn't make the most of their chances at the beginning of the first half and Chelsea punished them just before the half hour mark. Cesc Fabregas played a great ball in behind Delaney who mistimed his clearance and Diego Costa carried the ball into the Palace box. Instead of taking on the shot himself, like many of the Palace players expected him to, he squared the ball back to Oscar who calmly slotted the ball into the open net to put Chelsea ahead against the run of play. 

From left to right: Pedro, Oscar, Costa, Willian and Cesar Azpilicueta celebrating Oscar's goal
Image from: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/football/teams/chelsea/12077653/Crystal-Palace-vs-Chelsea-Premier-League-live.html

Palace didn't let this deter them though. They went straight back up the other end and Chung-Yong Lee received the ball in the box and he tried to direct the ball on target with his first touch but instead hit the ball high over the crossbar. 

At the other end of the field minutes later, Lee lost Azpilicueta and the defender was left in a lot of space when inside the box to try and catch Wayne Hennessey out at his near post. Hennessey got down well to clear the ball away with a little help from his defender for the rebound. 

However, if the first half had been all about Palace, Chelsea certainly proved their worth in the second half, with a much brighter performance than they've shown in recent weeks. Mile Jedinak gave away a free kick which allowed Willian to whip the ball into far post where Kurt Zouma got his head onto the ball, but he couldn't find the target with his header. 

Palace did have a couple of half chances in the second half, but one chance stood out from the rest after the Chelsea team seemed to stop. They felt they should have had a free kick which the referee didn't give, and Campbell carried on going and passed the ball through to Zaha. He hesitated before taking the shot though which allowed the Chelsea defence to get back and his final attempt was tame and easy for Courtois to save.

The keeper set his team off quickly following the Palace attack and the ball was passed into Fabregas who quickly played in Oscar. Just before he could run into the box, he was tripped and Willian took the ball from him and with his first touch he sent the ball flying into the top corner of Hennessey's net with some power and it was a truly stunning goal from Chelsea's star player this season. 

Willian scores a brilliant goal which soars past the Palace defender and keeper to double Chelsea's lead
Image from: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/football/teams/chelsea/12077653/Crystal-Palace-vs-Chelsea-Premier-League-live.html

Just over five minutes later, Palace were really made to rue the many chances they had missed throughout the game. Willian was at the centre of the build-up play once again as he made a direct run into the Palace box and from the right side he squares a ball across the front of the keeper. Hennessey sensed the danger of the ball and got down to palm the ball away but only got it as far as Costa at the far post and he was left with a simple finish to finish the game for Chelsea.

Chelsea remained in complete control of the game after this and Palace were unable to get their foothold in the game again. Chelsea only really had half chances for the last part of the game and Palace did well to snuff them out and prevent any more damage being done.

Chelsea did have one last stand out chance in the match just before full time when Willian was left in a lot of space down the right and he gave the ball to Costa once again at the far post. Costa pulled back to hit the shot on the volley, but the ball was sent into the stands over the crossbar. 

Oscar and Costa celebrating after Costa's goal sealed the points for Chelsea
Image from: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/football/teams/chelsea/12077653/Crystal-Palace-vs-Chelsea-Premier-League-live.html

So, Chelsea kicked off the new year with their first win under Hiddink and if performances carry on in this way, they should be able to turn their situation around and climb back up the table and forget the beginning of this season. 

Palace may not be smiling after this match, but their silver lining is that they finished the day in 7th position which is a much improved position compared to the lowly 16th they found themselves in last year. Surely, Alan Pardew and his team will see this as a blip in their progress and will turn their full focus to the task ahead of them in the FA Cup next weekend. 

The Special One: Sacked

There you have it. The breaking news of today. I must admit, even though it has been one of the most talked about things this season I didn't actually see it coming. Chelsea had decided to sack Jose Mourinho after the beginning to a season that has been one of the worst in their history. The team currently sit 16th in the Premier League, only three points above the relegation zone and have endured a dismal run of nine defeats in 16 games. 

After reading statistics like that, it may come as no surprise that Mourinho has been sacked. However, he did lead his team to the success of his third Premier League trophy only last season, which he won with an 8-point margin over Manchester City in May. His team last year soared to the top of the League and every team feared the date on their fixture list when they read the name 'Chelsea' next to it. So what changed?

I think that is still a question that a lot of people, including the Chelsea fans and the owner, are trying to figure out the answer to. Only a few changes were made to the squad that did so well last year, like the signing of Pedro from Barcelona. Many people asked why they weren't making more changes, but why would they need to? The squad was already strong and had proved that the season before and they would be expected to perform exactly the same way to get the same results, just like any other team that wins the Premier League. 

Jose Mourinho watching his side draw with Tottenham
Image from: skysports.com (http://www.skysports.com/football/news/15116/10102525/jose-mourinho-where-next-now-hes-left-chelsea-a-second-time)

However, football is a game where the results matter. No matter how badly the players are doing, the burden always falls onto the manager's shoulders as they should be the person that can change everything and get the right results again at the end of a bad spell. In some ways, Mourinho did manage to do this. He turned the tables and led his team to a place in the knock-out stages of the Champions League as winners in their group. In the League, this has been a little more than just a bad spell for Chelsea though. 

They never really kicked off their season. It started with a draw and since the opening day, they have only managed to scrape together 4 wins, hence why they are at the bottom of the Premier League table. They're poor run isn't just the lack of wins though, because Chelsea have lost to big rivals Manchester City and Liverpool already this season and have lost to Stoke, West Ham and newly promoted Bournemouth. The final straw for Chelsea owner, Roman Abramovich, seems to have been the 2-1 loss on Monday to League leaders Leicester City as talks about Mourinho's future followed on from this game. 

So, what's next for Chelsea? They have a game against Sunderland on Saturday afternoon and the news is that the owners have sent Mourinho on his way with a new manager in mind to take over. Who is this man though? Many names will circulate in the next few days, but it will be interesting to see if they bring in another former manager of if they bring in someone completely new to try and put their own spin on the team. Either way, the person that steps up will have a big task ahead of them and it will be interesting to see if they can get Chelsea out of the tight spot they find themselves in at the moment. 

The Fall of the Champions?

It happens every year (or so it seems). One team absolutely dominates the Premier League and wins the trophy with only a slight blip to their season in terms of results or performances. Last season, that was Chelsea. The season before that: Manchester City. And before that: Manchester United. There's definitely a pattern there. Then at the beginning of every new season, journalists and football pundits sit and they put forward their guess of who is going to win the league based on the previous campaign and their business in the transfer window. This season, there was an almost unanimous vote that Chelsea would go from strength to strength, as they had last season, and win the trophy again due to the sheer talent of their squad and the pure genius mind of Jose Mourinho. 

In no way am I saying that they won't win it. The Premier League can be extremely unpredictable at times and throw up shock results that could flip the table on its head at times. The way Chelsea have started the season though, especially in comparison to Manchester City, it doesn't look like they will be as highly rated to retain their title as we head towards winter. City have had a dominating start to the season, which came to an end on Saturday tea time, but before that they won 5 on the bounce and Joe Hart was still to concede a goal this season. Whereas, Chelsea didn't get off to a winning start and their back line, which was so tough to face last season, suddenly looked very shaky and looked a different 4 people to the ones that lined up last season. 

They have only managed two wins since the beginning of the campaign; an unconvincing performance against West Brom who almost managed to take something from the game after Chelsea had a man sent off, and last weekend against 9-man Arsenal. It isn't completely clear why they are struggling as much as they are. They made a few good signings in the summer which coupled with last season's squad could have been unstoppable, but instead of scoring goals for fun and putting on performances to draw out results that fans are used to, they just can't get it right. 

Like I said before though, this isn't the first time it has happened, and Chelsea certainly won't be the last to suffer because of it. There was the title defence of Manchester United the season after Sir Alex Ferguson retired, which was extremely poor and even saw the team drop out of the Champions League places. It was a big change for the team, but nobody could have predicted that their title defence would have been as poor as it was. The following season, Manchester City just couldn't keep up with the dominant force that was Chelsea. It's almost like the pressure of retaining the title is too much for a team no matter how much the manager tries to improve it. 

Anyway, back to Chelsea. Even though they beat Arsenal at the weekend, it was against a team who they had a 2 man advantage over, so some would say it was a much easier game than it could have been. Even though they did record a win over another top team in the league, people weren't left talking about the brilliant performance of the team, or how they did well to take advantage of the game like they would've last season. No, it was Diego Costa that found himself in the headlines again after the game. Unfortunately, once again it was for all the wrong reasons, and it all started through Arsene Wenger complaining about him not being sent off (which he should have been). Costa is an important player for Chelsea even if he isn't scoring goals for them, but has got a hot headed nature in many of the games he's played. So to have him banned after a retrospective investigation is a big loss to the team, especially when they are struggling so much to get the results that they so badly need. 

If you ask me, I think that Mourinho isn't handling the situation very well. He's always been calm in interviews, never loses his head in a bad situation and has a knack for saying exactly what his fans need to hear, but in recent weeks instead of reassuring the fans, he has looks like he has been trying to please everyone, or so it seems. He claimed that he wanted fans of other teams to enjoy his this period while his team are struggling because it was a rare thing to happen to him before tagging on the end that he would sort out the situation. You'd expect any other manager in his situation to put his own fans first, but then again, Mourinho isn't like the other managers. True to his words though, he has given the fans a lift with the win over Chelsea no matter how they got it.

Now, don't get me wrong, I can see Chelsea bouncing back and going on a strong run in the league. Everyone knows they aren't going to stay 15th and be sucked into a relegation battle (if they are, that is certainly one shock that nobody could have seen coming), but it might take them a while to get back into their stride. What looks like the toughest task for them at the moment will be trying to catch up to Man City who, even though they lost at the weekend, have been so strong that it is unlikely Chelsea would be able to catch them to retain their title. It has been said many times before though, it's a long season, and anything could happen.

Transfer Overload?

So, as the transfer window in Britain came to a close yesterday, a few big stories made their way onto the back pages. There was of course, the carry-ons of the big stories that have been circulating around the footballing world for the past two or three months, and then some surprises that the fans weren't expecting. The fans were expecting something from their clubs on this day though as they always are. 

The biggest transfer story over Monday and Tuesday was the collapse of a deal between Manchester United and Real Madrid. This is a deal that has been in the news since about January, sometimes in glaringly obvious articles and other times just subtle hints as people guessed what would happen on the market. This was one of the deals that everyone expected to happen, including the United fans who genuinely thought they would see their keeper leave in this window. If that was the case, it seems to be a mystery that Real didn't make a bid that would make United happy earlier in the window instead of leaving it so late. By Monday night, it looked like people would be waking up to see David de Gea standing in Madrid with his new shirt in hand telling everyone how happy he is to see the deal happen. Only that wasn't the case. Both clubs are pointing the finger at each other when asked who was late with the paper work, so it doesn't look like there will be actual answers any time soon. To add to all of this, it is now said he is thinking about signing a contract extension and will be reintegrated into the team. I don't think you'll ever see an opinion change as quickly as that for a long time again...

Then of course there was the constantly rejected bids from both Chelsea and Tottenham for John Stones and Saido Berahino respectively. Everton dealt really well with the advances from Chelsea and turned down all of the bids with seemingly easy decisions. There was some confusion at one point when Stones handed in a transfer request that wasn't a transfer request, but the news quickly blew over and he still seems to be an important player for him team as they move forward. 

Berahino was another story. Now, I've been told that we shouldn't judge him too harshly due to a rough childhood and that he should be better protected by his agent instead of being allowed free reign when it comes to social media and the press. He obviously isn't happy at West Brom, as he has made clear in the not so distant past, and he wants to move onto "bigger things". However, there is probably a right way to do it, and many people would agree that it is not by sending out a rash tweet while you're angry stating you never wants to play for them again. He's been given time off (most likely to think about what he's said and cool down a little bit) but it'll be interesting to see what comes of him in the next few weeks. 

There obviously were deals that actually happened that got the fans excited, and not just sat staring at their phones and TV screens to see how the drama played out. Watford had a lot of new players come into the squad (15!), not big name signings, but players that show a lot of potential to shine for their team if they can get them to gel properly. Stoke was another team to add a lot of names to their squad list, including the good signing of Xherdan Shaqiri who got his first game for them recently. Again, if they can get the team to gel, they look like they might be in with a good chance of pushing for a top table finish. 

Then, there was the big spenders at Manchester City. Over the recent seasons, they have been known to splash their cash on some great quality players, and this season looks to be no different. Raheem Sterling was another well talked about transfer in the lead up to the window, and City pulled together the deal really quickly so they would have him ready for their pre-season. He seems to have settled in really well, and got his first goal for the club recently, and has already forged a partnership with David Silva that looks very dangerous. Then there was the other big money signing of Kevin De Bruyne from Wolfsburg a couple of days before deadline day. He was another player with a lot of speculation surrounding him, and it seems the club pulled through. On top of that, they managed to snatch the deal of Nicolas Otamendi who looked on his way to their city rivals and Fabian Delph. After an already sparkling start to the season and a strong intake of players, it looks like City could be on their way to another brilliant season. 

Speaking of Fabian Delph, in some ways it looked like Aston Villa might struggle after some of the players they lost. Delph was the captain last season and they also lost Christian Benteke to Liverpool; two of their best players leaving early on in the window. However, Tim Sherwood did some good business to rest his fans at ease. He strengthened the defence, firstly by bringing in Micah Richards at the beginning of the window and on deadline day, adding Joleon Lescott as well. It was a signing up front though that proved to be worth it. Rudy Gestede coming in from Blackburn looks like he might just be able to fit into the space that Benteke vacated. On his debut, he managed to lead Villa to a win, and if he stays fit and can find a constant rhythm in his form, it looks like he will be in for a good season. 

Swansea were another team that made a great signing when it came to the forward position. Andre Ayew, a free transfer, has already scored in three of his first four appearances which isn't a particularly easy thing to do, but it proves to be even more impressive when you realise that two of those appearances were against Manchester United and last season's champions Chelsea. There are of course other players brought in by Gary Monk, but Ayew has certainly got that star quality that not a lot of people would have expected from him. So far though, he has been brilliant and if he pulls more performances like that one out of the bag, then a lot of football fans will be clamouring to watch him. 

As last season's champions, a lot of people expected Chelsea to bring in some reinforcements for an already brilliant squad. Last season they looked almost unstoppable, and although many fans expected them to start right where they left off, it doesn't seem to have quite happened like that. A stand out from his debut for them was Pedro who they brought in from Barcelona, and having scored on his debut in a match that Chelsea won (not as comfortably as they thought they would in the end though), it looked like they might have just found another quality player to help them with the goals this season. They also brought in Radamel Falcao, who scored his first goal for them at the weekend, so their attacking options are looking particularly strong. They maybe could have done with another defender being brought in. Even though they were solid last season, it doesn't look to be the same this time out. They tried and failed to secure Stones, but maybe with the power and confidence of their forward players, their defence will get back up to the expected heights. 

Manchester United saw a host of new players come into the club, but it was the long list of players that left the club that had people talking about that as much as the de Gea saga. The British record transfer signing Angel di Maria had insisted that he would be staying at the club instead of leaving after a relatively lacklustre first season at the club. However, it all seems to have been an empty promise as he left for Paris Saint Germain pretty early on in the transfer market. The United fans also saw two of their strikers leave in Robin van Persie for Fenerbache and fan favourite Javier Hernandez for Bayer Leverkusen. It seems that Hernandez especially struggled to earn a place under Louis van Gaal after he was also loaned out to Real Madrid last season. Van Gaal also chose to send Adnan Januzaj out on loan to Borussia Dortmund after assuring fans he wouldn't be leaving the club, but he will be back next summer as there is no option to buy at the end of the deal. So, van Gaal is clearly marking United as his own as he works to building his perfect side that could win the title. The list of departing players is more than likely to carry on growing though as time goes on. 

Arsenal always seem to leave their big money signings until the last minute, leaving their fans guessing up until the dying moments. Sometimes it looks like there might be nothing happening before the news filters through that a big name player or one with a lot of potential has turned up at their training ground or is heading to his medical; kind of like the deals of Mesut Ozil and Danny Welbeck. This year though, something felt different. They brought in Petr Cech very early in the season, who is a great keeper and looked like he would give the solidarity at the back (first match aside that is). While Arsenal fans waited as the minutes counted down to the deadline, nothing else was happening and when it closed, they only had one new name on their team sheet. There was of course rumours about Karim Benzema and Edison Cavani possibly putting pen to paper, but the rumours fizzled out pretty quickly. Arsene Wenger is clearly happy with the squad he has though, and it will be good to see if his belief in them truly pays off. 

I feel like there is so much here that I haven't had chance to comment on, but the amount of players moving between clubs is too much to keep up with, coupled with the amount of rumours flying around. It looks like some fans are still unhappy with the signings not made at their clubs though, depending on whether or not that marquee signing did or didn't show up at their training ground. And with another record breaking spending (£870million!) it looks like the transfer market is growing ever bigger as the years go back. Now though, the stress is over and the fans can relax and finally enjoy the football with the knowledge that their favourite player is still going to be wearing that team's kit as the weeks go by. 

MATCH REPORT: Man City vs Chelsea

It's the first big battle between two of the heavy weights in the Premier League as the last season's runners-up welcome the Champions. Chelsea didn't have a great run out last week after losing their goalkeeper and dropping 2 points, while Manchester City certainly started with style. They dominated their opening game and came out with a 3-0 to show for it. It will still be an interesting game judging by these games last season which showed off both team's attacking and defensive qualities. In a game like this though, anything could happen.

It was City who came out of the blocks flying and they certainly took the game by the scruff of the neck within the opening minutes of the game. Sergio Aguero, especially, proved to be a big threat to the visitors from the very beginning. Within the first minute, David Silva had slipped a ball through to him, and he got in between the two defenders before forcing Asmir Begovic to make himself big to stop him from scoring. Shortly after, Aleksander Kolarov swings his free kick round to the near post where Aguero almost managed to get his boot to it, but Begovic was placed well to catch the ball anyway. 

In the 15th minute, Aguero had another chance in front of goal. His shot was powerful and was heading towards the bottom left corner before Begovic got down to block the shot with his arm. Not even a minute later, Aguero had a similar chance. This time he was on the left corner of the six-yard box and hit the shot with just as much power and Begovic pulled off a similar save to deny him again. Five minutes after this one, Aguero had his fifth chance of the first half after John Terry couldn't deal with a cross into the box at the risk of him scoring an own goal. Aguero failed to sort his feet out quick enough though and the scuffed shot went wide of the post as Begovic closed him down. Aguero even applauded the keeper for his many successful saves against him. 

Somewhere between Aguero's quick hat-trick of chances, Chelsea managed to find a foothold in the game. They finally had their first big chance of the game following a Cesc Fabregas free kick which on its first go didn't cause any problems, but City couldn't close the Chelsea players down quick enough. Eden Hazard eventually managed to chip the ball towards Nemanja Matic at the near post, but the midfielder could only direct his header wide of the post. They also had a few long range efforts from outside the box, but it looked like they were finally going to prove a threat to their opposition. 

However, even though they had started to look good when moving forward. It was a different story when they came to defending. It took until just after the half hour mark for Aguero to finally get the better of the Chelsea defence. No pressure was put on him from the Chelsea defenders until it was too late, and even then he managed to turn three of the defenders before he calmly slotted the ball into the bottom left of the goal. The goal certainly unsettled Chelsea and they almost came unstuck again just before half time when Kolarov put a brilliant free kick into the box which Eliaquim Mangala got his head to. He chose to just glance the ball onto the target though, not putting enough power behind it, meaning the ball ended wide of the post. 

Chelsea did come out for the second half looking like a more confident team. Ramires had an early goal wrongly disallowed after some good build-up play from Chelsea that finally took them past the City defence. Hazard switched the play from right to left before coming in to the centre of the field to slip the ball through to Ramires in the middle of the 18 yard box. He lifted the ball past Hart, but it was quickly disallowed to keep City in the lead. Chelsea had another chance to pull a goal back on the counter attack after City committed too many men forward. Diego Costa lead the attack and almost lost the ball before he pulled it back to Hazard who hit the ball hard, but straight at the keeper and Joe Hart pulls off a great save to prevent the goal. 

10 minutes later, the City captain made Chelsea rue the chances that they missed. Silva floated a corner into the near post where Vincent Kompany got the better of Branislav Ivanovic and headed the ball against the inside of the far post to help the ball into the back of the net. It was another poor goal for Chelsea to let in, especially as this goal was extremely similar to the one he scored in his last game. Yaya Toure followed this up a few minutes later with a shot from the edge of the box that curved round as he sent it towards the goal, but Begovic was in the right place to turn the ball away.

Minutes after this, Chelsea defence was given the run around once again as Fernandinho finished off the game for City. It was a City counter attack led by Samir Nasri that started it, but the initial cross into the box was turned away by Juan Cuadrado, who had drifted into the left back position. After a few half chances, the ball landed to Fernandinho outside the box and he hit the ball sweetly and the power of the shot carried it into the bottom left corner of the net. The goal might have been prevented though if Cuadrado had stayed in his defensive position instead of drifting off, and Chelsea fans would argue that Fernandinho was lucky to still be on the pitch after he only saw a yellow card for an elbow on Costa at the end of the first half. 

The game ended with Chelsea attacking the City goal in the hopes of simply getting a consolation goal. Costa had his go first but could only direct his shot against the near post, and Radamel Falcao followed this up, but Hart came out of his goal quickly to smother the shot and keep his clean sheet. 

So, the defending champions new title challenge has gotten off to a pretty dismal start, and Jose Mourinho will need to think about improving his side's defence if they want to catch up to City in the coming matches. However, it is looking good for City as they challenge for the title this time out after moving 5 points ahead of Chelsea and recording two very convincing, consecutive 3-0 wins. It is still early on though, and anything could happen over the course of the season knowing the Premier League...

Premier League: Opening Weekend

The new Premier League season was kicked off with a big fixture as Manchester United faced off against Tottenham Hotspur. Spurs were particularly dominant in the opening exchanges of the match, and had two chances from Christian Eriksen and Harry Kane to prove this. However, they didn't make the most of this period and they came to regret it after a sloppy piece of play by Nabil Bentaleb which gave the ball to Juan Mata. He played the ball across to Matteo Darmian on the right, and he put a brilliant cross into Wayne Rooney in the six yard box. He hesitated to take the chance, and Kyle Walker tried to clear the ball out from behind, but instead saw the ball nestle neatly into the corner of his own net. United grew in confidence following this, but didn't create any more clear cut chances until the second half. Spurs did have the chance to possibly snatch a late goal, but their pressure came too late, and United secured all three points thanks to debutant goalkeeper, Sergio Romero. 

Leicester seemed to pick up exactly where they left off. Even though Sunderland had the better chances early on, it was the home side that recorded the first goal through Jamie Vardy after he flicked the ball in off the inside of the post from a free kick. Riyad Mahrez followed this with two goals in quite quick succession. The first was a header flicked into the side netting from a Marc Albrighton cross and the second was from the spot after Lee Cattermole gave away the penalty kick. He sent the keeper the wrong way and calmly slotted the ball into the bottom corner. Sunderland had a reply though; Adam Johnson slipped the ball into the box where Jermain Defoe was in place to slot the ball under the keeper. Leicester weren't done yet though. After a number of failed attempts, Albrighton eventually managed to deflect his shot off Younes Kaboul which took it past the keeper. Steven Fletcher added another goal for Sunderland, but it came too late for them to mount a successful comeback.

Another team to pick up where they left off was Crystal Palace. Early in the first half, Wilfried Zaha had already put his team ahead. Jason Puncheon came down the right and put a brilliant cross into the box, which missed all the other players and landed to Zaha, in space, who turned the ball into the goal off the keeper. Damien Delaney followed this up from a Palace corner. Pape Souare made a last second run into the box, so wasn't picked up and headed it to Delaney on the post who calmly nudged it over the line. Norwich had a lot of chances in the game, but they didn't take any of them until the second half. Nathan Redmond managed to create something out of nothing as he took on the shot from outside the box and caught the keeper of guard as it hit the net. Cameron Jerome also had a great volleyed goal wrongly disallowed, as the referee pulled play back for a high boot. Yohan Cabaye rounded it all off for Palace though as he timed his run perfectly before he tucked the ball under the keeper.

On paper, it looked like new boys Watford would have a tough game against Everton as their first, but they made quick work of the match. They settled into Premier League life relatively quickly, and looked confident on the ball. Miguel Layun was in the right place on the penalty spot to lift the ball up and over the keeper to settle in the goal when Everton failed to clear their lines. Everton didn't have many good chances until midway through the second half. Seamus Coleman crossed the ball into Arouna Kone on the edge of the box, who had his back to goal, so he teed up Ross Barkley who put some power behind his shot and watched it pinball through the players before it flew over the keeper. Watford took the lead again though when Odion Ighalo took the ball past John Stones and curled the ball around the defender and the keeper. However, it was Kone who had the last say in the match when he converted his late goal from a tight angle on the right side of the box. 

Bournemouth also looked comfortable in their first half against Aston Villa, and they created a lot of chances that would have allowed them to take a foothold in the game. Villa did well to defend against these chances though and came out for the second half looking like a different team. It was new boy Rudy Gestede who proved to be the difference between the two sides. From a Villa corner, he rose above everyone else in the box and powered his header past the keeper and into the back of the net. Bournemouth just couldn't get past the defence though, and they learnt the hard way that they need to take their chances to go further in the Premier League. 

The defending champions faced off against Swansea as they mounted their challenge to retain their trophy. Swansea came closest to scoring at the beginning of the match, but it was Oscar who put his name on the score-sheet. A free kick taken from outside the left side of the box was whipped across the front of the crowd of players and settled into the side netting. Swansea had a reply for this shortly after though. Swansea had a number of chances before Andre Ayew eventually slotted the ball under Thibaut Courtois following this. They weren't level for long however, after Willian went up the other end and crossed the ball into the box, but it looped off Federico Fernandez and over his keeper. However, the game was flipped on its head when Courtois saw red and gave away a penalty for preventing a goal-scoring opportunity. Gomis sent the keeper the wrong way and the goal gave Swansea a new sense of confidence. Chelsea did rally towards the end, but it was too late to get anything. 

Arsenal were looking confident at the beginning of their match after last week's Community Shield win over Chelsea. They had a particularly good spell at the beginning of the half, one in which they didn't take their chances, which allowed West Ham to really come into the game. Both teams had half chances in the lead up to half time, but this was when West Ham found their breakthrough. A free kick is looped into the box and Petr Cech came flying out of his goal to punch the ball away, but Cheikhou Kouyate beat him to it and powered his header into the empty net. Arsenal looked clumsy and laboured after this goal, and it carried on into the second half. Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain couldn't clear his lines and was dispossessed by Mauro Zarate on the edge of the box. He turned and fired the shot into the bottom corner past a wrong-footed Cech. Although Arsenal had more chances towards the edge of the game, West Ham did well to defend their lead. 

Newcastle under their new manager in this game looked a completely different side to the one that finished last season. They made a bright start to the match and confidence flowed through them as they registered the better chances of the two teams. Against the run of play though, it was Graziano Pelle that put the visitors ahead. Cedric Soares put a brilliant ball into the box and Pelle got up well and had no trouble powering his header past the defenders and Tim Krul. Just before half time, Newcastle fought back. Massadio Haidara's cross looped up off Sadio Mane and Papisse Cisse simply had to chest the ball over the line from close range. Newcastle took the lead through a counter-attacking goal when Gabriel Obertan whipped his cross into the box where Georginio Wijnaldum guided the ball into the net past the stranded keeper. Shane Long finished the game off with another perfectly placed header when he beat his defender to the ball at the far post.

Fans had high hopes for the match between Stoke City and Liverpool after Stoke recorded a 6-1 thrashing over their visitors. This match couldn't have been more of an opposite from that one though. The beginning of the game was extremely cagey and very lacklustre compared to that game when Stoke were 5-0 ahead by half time. The home team did have the better of the first half chances though, the best of which came from ex-Liverpool defender Glen Johnson when he hit the ball over the crossbar. The second half saw Liverpool grow into the game though, but Stoke were still managing to contain them and turn away the chances. Late in the game, Liverpool picked the ball up midway through the Stoke half and Philippe Coutinho turned past Steve Sidwell and sent his long-range strike into the top of the net and over Jack Butland. Stoke had a few late chances, but were ultimately unlucky not to get anything out of the game. 

The opening weekend ended at the Hawthorns with a first half that was dominated by City, and although Tony Pulis set his team up in a defensive set-up, it just didn't work. Yaya Toure got two goals within a short period in the first half. His first is a slight doubt between him and David Silva. Toure scuffed his initial shot and it took a deflection off Silva and Craig Dawson before nestling into the bottom of the net. The second certainly had no doubt over it though. From the edge of the box, he found the top of the net with a brilliantly struck shot that just cemented City's dominance in the game. West Brom were a lot better at the beginning of the second half, and managed to create a few chances which the City defence turned away. It was all over from a Silva corner though. Vincent Kompany made a run towards the near post and ended up turning the ball into the net using a mixture of his head and his shoulder. Even though it seemed like the visitor eased off after their third goal, West Brom just couldn't get past their defence to get their goal. 

MATCH REPORT: FA Community Shield

Less than a week before the new season truly begins, last season's Champions face off against the FA Cup winners of last season. This time out in the FA Community Shield, Chelsea faced off against Arsenal, who listed this Shield a year ago. Chelsea were without Diego Costa in this game due to injury and Petr Cech faced off against his old team after leaving them earlier in the summer, but would he get the better of his old team so early into the season? If the stats were anything to go by, it looked unlikely as Arsene Wenger had never been able to beat Jose Mourinho before.

Arsenal came out of the blocks extremely quickly in the game. Within the first minute Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain had crossed the ball into a dangerous position from the right, but Thibaut Courtois came out of his goal to get to the ball before Theo Walcott could cause any problems. Both teams were pushing forward when they got the chance with the ball meaning that there was a quick pace to the game in the opening minutes. Chelsea put together their first good opportunity on the 11th minute when Willian forced his way through the Arsenal midfield and passed the ball to Cesar Azpilicueta down the left wing. He put in a good cross, trying to find Loic Remy, but Hector Bellerin got across well to put the ball out for a corner. 

It was Arsenal who looked the more dangerous of the two teams in the first half though. The Chelsea defence did well to deal with the quick pace of the Arsenal front players and the short passes that they tried to play in between the defenders. Arsenal had a good chance from a free kick which was whipped into the box. Walcott got his head to the ball and flicked it on towards goal, but Courtois was in place to easily catch the ball and prevent the goal. Only a minute later though, Courtois had no chance of preventing what happened. Walcott got the ball in the middle of the field and passed the ball onto Oxlade-Chamberlain down the right. He was left one-on-one with Azpilicueta and got around him to create enough room to curl his shot around the defender and into the top corner with his left foot. 

Chelsea seemed to come to their senses following the goal and began to press forward with more intent. Just after the half hour mark, they almost got the better of Arsenal as the ball was slipped into Willian, who didn't have any players around him, on the left wing and his cross was put into a crowd of players in the middle of the box, but Arsenal cleared it. Ramires also had two good chances not long after this. For his first, he got past the 4 Arsenal defenders around him and tried to curl his shot around them, but it ended up wide of the far post. The second came from a Cesc Fabregas cross which Ramires got his head to, but again, he couldn't direct his shot on target. 

It was Arsenal who finished the half with good chances. Aaron Ramsey hit the side netting from close range, but it was close enough to the goal that it forced Courtois to dive low if he needed to prevent a goal. Oxlade-Chamberlain set up another chance as well after getting around two Chelsea defenders. It looked for a second as though he might have taken the ball too far, but he cut it back as Courtois came out to him. Good defending by Branislav Ivanovic meant that the danger was cleared after he put his head on the line. 

Chelsea started the second half brightly and looked like they may be able to get a goal back. However, even though they created some half chances, none of them looked like they were causing too much trouble for the Arsenal defence until the hour mark. First, a long ball over the top of the Arsenal defence caught them out, but Radamel Falcao couldn't get his boot to the ball. This was shortly followed by Fabregas putting a great ball into Eden Hazard on the edge of the box. He had a free run into the box, but he just couldn't make the most of the chance as the ball went wide of the target.

The introduction of Olivier Giroud was good for Arsenal, as the momentum swung back their way when he came onto the field. Another good cross from Oxlade-Chamberlain aimed towards the near post where Giroud had pulled away from Ivanovic, and he stretched his left leg out, but could only direct the shot over the crossbar. Not long after, Santi Cazorla wriggled himself away from his defender on the right of the six yard box and cut the ball back to Giroud, who again couldn't keep the ball down. 

Chelsea weren't finished yet though. From a free kick, Fabregas put the ball into a good area of the box where Kurt Zouma got up above his defender to direct his header. It was aimed towards the centre of the goal and Cech made a straightforward catch to prevent the goal. Another free kick minutes later was whipped in behind the defence was met by Ivanovic, who didn't get picked up for being offside, but he couldn't direct his header onto the target. 

In the last minute of added time, Kieran Gibbs had the chance to double Arsenal's lead and double Chelsea's misery. The ball was slipped through the defence and the defenders didn't stick to Gibbs as he tried to poke the goal towards goal. Courtois did really well to get down and smother the shot.

The result of this match means that Arsenal won the Community Shield for the second time in a row, and Wenger has finally gotten the better of Mourinho on the football field. Arsenal are certainly looking a strong and confident side on the pitch, and will be feeling confident going into the new season, especially with a win like this under their belt. Chelsea will also be feeling confident though as they await the return of Costa in the near future and they are, of course, the defending Champions and favourites to retain their trophy. It's going to be a very interesting season...

Premier League Review: Top 5

Tottenham Hotspur - 5th (64 points)
This was just another season of transition in a line of many for Spurs after hiring Mauricio Pochettino as their third manager inside a year during the summer. It wasn't exactly a bright season for the team, minus some new talents coming through from the academy. Pochettino was still left with a lot of work to get the squad working well together. 

They made a winning start to the season after a 1-0 win over West Ham, which they then followed up with an emphatic 4-0 win over QPR. This was followed by a run of 4 games without a win though, which pretty much summed up Spurs' season. They would earn a really good win one week, but then follow it up with a number of weeks without a win. 

By November, Harry Kane had made a name for himself after being brought in from the youth team and became the first-choice striker for the club. This seemed to boost the morale of the team, and their form was slightly more consistent than earlier in the season. The festive period especially proved to be a good period for Spurs. They went unbeaten in these games, and it was topped by a brilliant 5-3 win over eventual champions Chelsea on New Year's Day. 

Although they made an early exit out of the FA Cup, they did make it to the final of the Capital One Cup, but went on to lose in the final 2-0 to Chelsea. Despite this, it did look like they were going to enjoy a much better second half to the season and possibly push on to challenge for a top four spot. 

Again though, their consistency proved to be a big problem as they dropped many points in games they would be expected to win. They recorded good wins over local rivals Arsenal, as well as the likes of Leicester and Newcastle, but ultimately, it seemed they had started their challenge for Champions League too late. They finished the season on a positive note after two consecutive wins which secured their fifth place finish and Europa League place.

Manchester United - 4th (70 points)
It was a second new start for United in as many season as Louis van Gaal took charge of the club. Even though they had a near perfect pre-season in terms of results, coupled with the array of new names brought in, van Gaal just couldn't get his team going when the time came. 

Before the first international break of the season, United struggled to win. In their first 10 games of the season they only managed to record 3 wins. During this spell, they also lost 5-3 to Leicester, and were held to draws by Burnley, West Brom and Sunderland. Along with this came the embarrassing 4-0 Capital One Cup defeat to League One's MK Dons. This sequence of results was brought to an end on their 1-0 derby defeat to Manchester City.

A 1-0 win over Crystal Palace marked the start of better times for the club. Following this, United went on a 10 game unbeaten streak which saw them through from November to January. They registered good wins against Arsenal, Southampton and Liverpool in this time before Southampton beat them in the reverse fixture 1-0. However, United still weren't convincing in the manner that they won these games, but it seemed to help in boosting their confidence during the second half of the season. 

At the quarter final stage of the FA Cup, after a relatively easy run in the competition compared to their opponents, United old boy Danny Welbeck - a player van Gaal judged to be an unneeded asset to his team - sealed their fate after scoring the winning goal for Arsenal. 

They did have a brilliant run of performances and results from mid-March to mid-April after the convincingly dispatched of Spurs, Liverpool, Aston Villa and Man City. However, their form for the majority of the season was inconsistent, which was proven as they lost 3-0 to Everton not long after this run. Van Gaal will also be hoping he can get the best out of his record signing Angel di Maria as he pushes for a higher league finish next time out. 

Arsenal - 3rd (75 points)

It was a very up and down season for Arsenal. They suffered their worst start to a season since 1982 which saw a lot of pressure piled onto Arsene Wenger once again, but after Christmas, they were the in-form team which had the fans dreaming of a title success. 

Their opening games didn't include any losses, but it did include a lot of needlessly dropped points in their collective draws. One of the biggest problems for Arsenal seemed to when they faced off against the big teams. In the beginning of the season, they managed to rack up a couple of points, but they struggled to beat them in the early stages. 

Their Champions League campaign also didn't start great as they lost to Borussia Dortmund, but they qualified the group stages with ease with only one other slip up. It also looked like they would reach the quarter-finals for the first time since 2010 after they drew Monaco, but they threw this chance away after a terrible result in the home tie. Although they won the return leg, it just wasn't enough to take them through. 

They did improve dramatically after Christmas which saw them rocket up the table to sit snugly in the top four, very close to the top and to the leaders Chelsea. They went on a long unbeaten streak and secured good wins against Manchester City and Liverpool, as well as good draws against Chelsea and Manchester United. They did endure some frustrating games and losses to the likes of Swansea towards the end of the season, but they still finished the season on a high. 

After their final weekend win against West Brom, they faced Aston Villa in the FA Cup Final. Last season, Arsenal didn't start quickly enough and needed an extra time goal to seal their win. This season, it seemed they had learnt their lesson. With a few brilliant goals, they sealed their trophy win in style, while overtaking all other teams to become the one with the most FA Cup wins. 

Manchester City- 2nd (79 points)
Man City started the season as the defending champions and added two additional players to the squad in the hopes of retaining their trophy. However, just like the last time they were in this situation, they struggled to maintain performance levels in order to challenge Chelsea throughout the campaign. 

They had a particularly good first half to the season. In this period, they suffered only two losses - to Stoke and West Ham - but also dropped a lot of points through draws in games they would normally be expected to win. During the previous season, Yaya Toure proved to be a star player by helping to push his team to the title by scoring 20 goals, but his 2 goals by late November definitely didn't reflect this, and results for City also showed this. 

Their Champions League group stage wasn't the brightest, but they put together enough good performances at the end of it to see their name in the draw for the last 16. This included a brilliant performance to earn a 3-2 win over Bayern Munich. They went out to the eventual champions Barcelona at this stage after a 3-1 aggregate defeat, which could have been a lot worse if it hadn't been for keeper Joe Hart. 

In the Premier League, there was no separating City and Chelsea at the top of the table on New Year's Day, but they were unable to keep their momentum. After this, they went 4 games without a win, which included a lucky last-minute draw with Hull. It was their consistency that let them down during the second half of the season. After losing two consecutive games to Crystal Palace and Manchester United at the beginning of April, they managed to turn it around. 

The season ended with City rediscovering their form from the beginning of the season. They finished in style by recording 6 consecutive wins, including a very good performance to beat QPR 6-0. Even though they had such a strong finish to the season, by not winning a trophy this term, their under-achievements were highlighted as this is the first time this has happened since the season that Mark Hughes started at the helm. 

Chelsea - 1st (87 points)

The summer signings that Jose Mourinho brought in at the beginning of the season proved to be the best business by a mile. Diego Costa and Cesc Fabregas proved their worth instantly. Costa scored 7 goals in his first 4 appearances alone and the latter easily earned the title of top play maker. Along with bringing Thibaut Courtois back to the club and installing him as the number 1, he created a team that was pretty much unstoppable. 

They hit the top spot on the Monday night after beating Burnley and became the dominant team from then onwards. They picked up 36 points in their first 14 games which included some magnificent performances. They put 6 past Everton, beat Liverpool at Anfield and eased past Arsenal. They also earned two good draws against both Manchester teams. 

They did suffer a few blips along the way, but they only suffered three losses in the league to Newcastle, West Brom and Spurs. The last of the three was quite a heavy defeat, but it was a reality check for them. After this match they went 16 Premier League games unbeaten which left them extremely well off as they hit the home straight before they claimed their trophy. 

They did wrap up the title with three games to go. A lot of people mocked the performances of Mourinho's team in the latter stages of the season, but it still proved to be effective for them which is why Mourinho defended his tactics so relentlessly. 

The Premier League wasn't the only trophy they picked up this season. They beat Spurs 2-1 to lift the Capital One Cup at Wembley, and although many fans thought they could go on to win the quadruple, they were proved wrong. 

The FA Cup and the Champions League were the only major disappointments for them. Chelsea breezed past Watford in the third round of the FA Cup, but came unstuck after a brilliant comeback from Bradford in the next. They also looked pretty comfortable after the group stages of the Champions League. They got the ever important away goal in the first leg, and after scoring a penalty in extra time of the second, it looked good for them, only for a late goal from PSG which sealed their fate. This leaves Mourinho room to improve for next season though as they are once again going in as favourites.