CHELSEA FACE ENZO FERNáNDEZ WORRY AHEAD WEEKEND TRIP TO FOREST
Chelsea face a fitness worry as Enzo Fernández's Argentina friendly was rescheduled, giving him a short turnaround before the Nottingham Forest match. The Blues have several injury concerns.
After the international break, the Blues are already worried about several important players for the match at the City Ground.
Due to the rescheduling of Argentina's friendly match versus Puerto Rico, Chelsea midfielder Enzo Fernández will have a short turnaround for their trip to Nottingham Forest next week.
Argentina's Monday night match against Puerto Rico in Chicago was postponed to Florida and will now take place one day later.
Luca Serra, a spokesperson for the Chicago Park District, told The Associated Press (AP) on Wednesday that the game's preparations had changed, but no formal announcement has been made as of yet.
He acknowledged that the Argentina vs. Puerto Rico game had been cancelled in Chicago. "Low ticket sales led the promoter to make the decision this morning."
The move was prompted by disturbances in Chicago, where President Donald Trump has used the National Guard to put down protests over the immigration crackdown, an Argentine Football Association (AFA) executive told AP.
The friendly, which was initially scheduled for Monday at Soldier Field, will instead take place on Tuesday at Chase Stadium in Fort Lauderdale, the home field of Argentina captain Lionel Messi's Inter Miami, according to news agency Reuters.
Fernandez will have a shorter turnaround heading into next week's Premier League trip to Nottingham Forest, which kicks off at 12:30 pm BST on Saturday, October 18, which is a blow for Chelsea.
Argentina's rescheduled friendly was initially slated to begin at 7 p.m. local time in Chicago, but the exact time has not yet been revealed.
Fernandez would not conclude the game against Puerto Rico until Wednesday morning at roughly 1 am BST if it stayed at that time.
After that, the midfield player would have to fly back across the Atlantic before preparing for Saturday's game at the City Ground before lunch.
In addition to Cole Palmer, Liam Delap, Andrey Santos, Levi Colwill, Wesley Fofana, Tosin Adarabioyo, and Dario Essugo, Benoit Badiashile and Josh Acheampong were both substituted out of the team's thrilling victory over Liverpool before the international break, for which Trevoh Chalobah received a suspension.
DID LIAM ROSENIOR’S PAST AS A PUNDIT INFLUENCE HIS DEFENSIVE STRATEGY AT ARSENAL?
Chelsea boss Liam Rosenior hits back at critics after a defensive approach saw the Blues exit the Carabao Cup semi-final.
Liam Rosenior stood by his cautious approach after Chelsea couldn’t overturn their first-leg deficit against Arsenal in the Carabao Cup semi-final.
Down 3-2 from the first match, Chelsea never really put Arsenal under pressure at the Emirates. In the end, Kai Havertz—of all people—put the game to bed in stoppage time, scoring against his old club.
Rosenior switched things up, going with a back three and playing it safe. He wanted to keep the game close and try to push hard late on. He brought on Cole Palmer and Estevao around the 60th minute, hoping for a spark, but Chelsea still couldn’t carve out real chances. Arsenal just wouldn’t budge.
Pundits didn’t love Rosenior’s tactics and let him know it. He brushed it off. “I’ve been a pundit. It’s easy. It’s easy in hindsight,” he said. “If I go all-out and press high, we could give away two early goals, and then everyone asks what I’m thinking. That’s just how it is. Lose, and you’re hammered. Win, and you’re a genius. Usually, it’s somewhere in the middle.”
Chelsea were up against the league leaders, and with both Reece James and Pedro Neto missing due to minor injuries, Rosenior planned to hang in there and try to frustrate Arsenal—and maybe turn the mood in the stadium.
“That was the idea. You saw it,” he said. “I thought the psychological side of the tie mattered, and you could feel it in the stadium too. At 60 minutes, I brought on Cole and Estevao, and suddenly we had some moments around the box. I think people sensed this game could flip.”
It didn’t happen, though. Rosenior said he couldn’t fault his players for their effort, and in the end, Arsenal’s clinching goal came while Chelsea were throwing everything forward, desperate to turn things around.
IS JOãO PEDRO ACTUALLY BETTER THAN LIVERPOOL’S £79M HUGO EKITIKé? THE STATS REVEAL ALL
Liam Rosenior makes history as Chelsea win three in a row! Discover why João Pedro is the Premier League's best summer signing.
Since Todd Boehly and Clearlake Capital took over Chelsea in 2022, they've been anything but quiet in the transfer market. In just three and a half years, they've signed 54 new senior players and spent well over £1 billion.
Some of these signings haven’t even made it onto the pitch for the first team—guys like Gaga Słonina, Ângelo Gabriel, Omari Kellyman, and Caleb Wiley, just to name a few. But others have really made their mark. Think Marc Cucurella, Moisés Caicedo, Enzo Fernández and, of course, Cole Palmer. Now, the question is, has one of Chelsea’s latest summer signings done enough to join that group? Is he about to become one of the Premier League’s signings of the season?
Let’s talk about Chelsea’s summer addition and what he’s bringing to the table. It’s been a great week for Liam Rosenior’s squad. On Saturday night, they were 2-0 down at halftime to West Ham at Stamford Bridge. Somehow, they turned it around and won 3-2, with Enzo Fernández scoring in stoppage time to seal it.
That win made it three league victories in a row for Rosenior. He’s now only the fourth English manager to start his Premier League career with three straight wins—joining Bobby Gould, Sam Allardyce, and Craig Shakespeare. Not bad company at all.
Just three days earlier, Chelsea booked their spot in the Champions League round of 16 after a wild 3-2 win away at Napoli. Down 2-1, João Pedro scored twice in the second half to turn the game around. The Brazilian’s goal at the weekend kicked off Chelsea’s comeback, bringing his total to 15 goals for the club—including three at the Club World Cup. So, how does he stack up against other strikers who switched clubs last summer?
Looking at the numbers, here’s how the new strikers have done since moving in the summer of 2025:
Hugo Ekitiké (Liverpool, £79m): 15 goals (10 PL, 2 UCL)
João Pedro (Chelsea, £60m): 12 goals (9 PL, 3 UCL)
Viktor Gyökeres (Arsenal, £54.8m): 11 goals (6 PL, 4 UCL)
Nick Woltemade (Man United, £69m): 9 goals (7 PL, 1 UCL)
Benjamin Šeško (Man City, £66.3m): 6 goals (5 PL)
Alexander Isak (Newcastle, £125m): 3 goals (2 PL)
Liam Delap (Spurs, £30m): 2 goals (1 PL, 1 UCL)
Only Ekitiké has scored more than João Pedro across all competitions, but Liverpool paid about £20m more for him than Chelsea paid for Pedro. In the whole Premier League, only Erling Haaland, Igor Thiago, Antoine Semenyo, and Ekitiké have more league goals than Pedro’s nine.
But stats aside, Chelsea just look more dangerous with Pedro leading the attack. Their last league defeat? He started that one on the bench at Craven Cottage. Since Rosenior took over, Pedro has started and scored in every match.
Chelsea have brought in plenty of players from Brighton during the BlueCo era, but with the way things are going, João Pedro might end up being the best of the bunch.