Rodri has suffered another injury setback (Photo: Getty)

Pep Guardiola has given an injury update on Rodri after he limped off during Manchester City’s 1-0 win at Brentford on Sunday.

Erling Haaland scored the only goal at the G-tec…

More bad news for the Gunners captain.

‘When he’s up against you, you’re in trouble.’

Owen Hargreaves has named the two signings Chelsea need to take the next step and win the Premier League or Champions League.

The Blues finished fourth in the Premier League last season, 15 points behind champions Liverpool.

Enzo Maresca’s side threatened to push Liverpool all the way during an impressive first-half to the season but fell away after Christmas.

Chelsea beat the likes of PSG, Real Madrid and Bayern Munich to win the Club World Cup over the summer and also enjoyed a productive transfer window, spending over £300m on new signings.

The Stamford Bridge board hoped the new additions would help Chelsea challenge for the Premier League title this season but that already looks doubtful.

Chelsea have won two, drawn two and lost two of their first six games in the league, slipping seven points behind defending champions and early pacesetters Liverpool.

In the Champions League, the west Londoners have six points after two games, following up an opening defeat to Bayern Munich with a narrow win over Jose Mourinho’s Benfica.

Despite Chelsea’s incredible spending in recent years, Hargreaves is still of the belief that a ‘world-class goalkeeper’ and an ‘experienced centre-back’ is needed for the Blues to win major silverware.

‘If Chelsea want to go and win the Premier League and the Champions League, they need a world-class keeper and an experienced centre-back,’ Hargreaves told TNT Sports.

‘For the centre-back, a player like [PSG and Brazil legend] Marquinhos to help these young players along the way.’

Joe Cole agreed that Chelsea would benefit from strengthening in those two positions but warned that the club’s owners are unlikely to deviate from their current transfer strategy.

‘That’s what everyone wanted,’ said Stamford Bridge hero Cole in response to Hargreaves’ assessment.

‘What the club are trying to do is work and develop young players. That’s all well and good.

‘They’re waiting for Robert Sanchez to come to the level, he did have a good Club World Cup and started the season well before that red card [in the defeat to Manchester United].

‘Chelsea fans need to get their heads around this because the club are going down this route and are going to stick with it.’

A number of pundits have speculated that Chelsea will struggle to compete for the Premier League or Champions League without a new goalkeeper.

Jamie Carragher says it was a big mistake not to sign a replacement for Robert Sanchez over the summer, especially as the club held talks with France goalkeeper Mike Maignan and knew Gianluigi Donnarumma was available.

‘The glaring flaws last season were in goal and at centre-half,’ Carragher wrote in a column for The Telegraph. ‘Despite 12 new arrivals over the summer, those areas remain the Achilles’ heel.

‘Chelsea were linked with AC Milan’s French keeper Mike Maignan, but the message was they were not prepared to pay more than £12m. Why not?

‘Manchester City showed what ambitious clubs do when an obvious issue needs sorting out, signing Gianluigi Donnarumma.

‘Why were Chelsea not part of the conversation for the PSG keeper? He could have been a transformative signing for them.’

After returning to winning ways against Benfica, Chelsea will look to clinch their first Premier League win since August 30 this weekend when Liverpool visit Stamford Bridge.

Liverpool won their first seven games of the season before suffering rare back-to-back defeats to Crystal Palace in the Premier League and Galatasaray in the Champions League.

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Wayne Rooney believes Arne Slot was lucky to avoid criticism after Liverpool’s 1-0 defeat to Galatasaray in the Champions League this week.

Victor Osimhen’s penalty sealed the win for Galatasaray at RAMS Park while Slot delivered two major surprises with his line-up in Turkey as Dominik Szoboszlai started at right-back, while Jeremie Frimpong was preferred to Mohamed Salah on the right side of Liverpool’s attack.

The defeat leaves Liverpool outside of the top eight in the Champions League table and automatic qualification for the knockout phase could prove tricky as Slot’s side still have Real Madrid and Inter to play.

‘I thought they were really poor,’ Rooney said on the BBC’s ‘The Wayne Rooney Show’.

‘I think a worry for me would be them losing the game and it looked like, even with still quite a bit of time left to go, he’s just put every attacking player on the pitch and just said, ‘right, go and figure it out’.

‘It could’ve got a lot worse for Liverpool with the amount of times they’ve given the ball away at the back and losing it and getting broke on, and Alisson getting injured.

‘I think when you win the league, like Arne Slot did last season with Liverpool, then sometimes some of the decisions you make get overlooked.

‘His decision to play a midfield player at right-back and a right-back at right wing was… [pause] for instance, if that was Amorim at Manchester United, he’d get absolutely slaughtered.’

Liverpool are next in action in the Champions League on October 22 as they travel to Eintracht Frankfurt.

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‘He has to get better.’

He’s been exceptional for the Gunners.

Another game without a goal for the striker

Another game without a goal for the striker

United sold him for £15m three years ago.

United sold him for £15m three years ago.

Can the Gunners finally do it this season?

Can the Gunners finally do it this season?

Rasmus Hojlund (NurPhoto/Shutterstock)

Rasmus Hojlund has cleared up the meaning behind his celebration after scoring twice for Napoli in their 2-1 win against Sporting CP in the Champions League on Wednesday night.

The 22-year-old got of…

The defender was forced off late on in Wednesday’s game.

‘The fans do this silly thing.’

‘The fans do this silly thing.’

Jose Mourinho has heaped praise on Chelsea summer signing Estevao Willian, insisting he has ‘great potential’ and is already ‘playing at the highest level’.

Chelsea secured a deal for Brazilian sensation Estevao in the summer of 2024 but agreed to let him stay at boyhood club Palmeiras for one more season.

The Blues saw off competition from several clubs to sign Estevao, who is rated as one of the most promising young players in the world and has been compared with his compatriot Neymar.

Chelsea paid an initial £29m to sign the 18-year-old but the overall fee could rise to just under £50m if various add-ons are met.

Estevao featured for Palmeiras at the Club World Cup over the summer before finally moving to Stamford Bridge in August ahead of the 2025-26 season.

Enzo Maresca has opted to start Estevao in four of Chelsea’s six Premier League games so far this season and the teenager made his Champions League debut as a second-half substitute in Tuesday’s win over Benfica.

‘Estevao is a talent,’ new Benfica boss Mourinho, who suffered a 1-0 defeat on his return to Stamford Bridge, told TNT Sports Brazil.

‘People might have thought he would take time to adapt because of his youth, inexperience and the competition he has at Chelsea.

‘But he arrived, is playing at the highest level and is a player with great potential.’

Estevao’s bright start to life at Stamford Bridge has also attracted praise from Chelsea hero Dennis Wise, who believes he could be the club’s ‘next superstar’.

‘He’s only young, and there’s still a long way to go, but he’s already shown what he’s capable of,’ Wise told Sky Bet.

‘As a Brazilian international, he’s even scored his first goal for his country, which is a huge milestone at such an early stage of his career.

‘He looks every bit like a little superstar in the making. That said, he still has to prove himself on a regular basis.

‘At Chelsea, he’s got competition for his spot, so he’s got to hold that place, and make sure he’s constantly the main man in the team.

‘He’s got fantastic ability – it’s just about consistency, week in, week out. He’s also got to keep ahead of the individuals sitting behind him, waiting to get into the team, because they’ve got a lot of talent too.

‘He’s a great talent and he’ll have a massive impact on the Premier League. We’re all excited, especially because he’s only 18 years old.

‘To be doing so much at such a young age is fantastic – but he’s got to keep it going.’

Chelsea lost their Champions League opener against Bayern Munich but bounced back with a battling win over Benfica.

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