ARSENAL SHOWDOWN: PEDRO NETO ISSUES BOLD TROPHY WARNING AHEAD OF NORTH LONDON DERBY
From Maresca to Rosenior: Explore how Chelsea climbed to 6th and why Pedro Neto is convinced silverware is coming this season.
Pedro Neto isn’t hiding his ambition at Chelsea under new boss Liam Rosenior. The Portuguese winger has set the bar high for himself and the team; he’s convinced they can do something special now that Rosenior’s at the helm. Rosenior’s start at Stamford Bridge has definitely caught people’s attention, and Neto wants to keep that momentum rolling.
When Rosenior landed the job earlier this year, not everyone was on board. Swapping out the well-liked Enzo Maresca for a coach from another BlueCo club got some people talking. But Rosenior has answered his doubters, stringing together some solid results that show he belongs in the Premier League.
Since taking charge in January, Rosenior has led Chelsea through 12 matches. The results? Eight wins, two draws, two losses. He’s also made an impact on players like Cole Palmer and Joao Pedro, helping them rediscover their scoring touch.
Right now, Chelsea sits sixth in the table, just three points behind Liverpool and Manchester United. Along with Aston Villa, these four teams are fighting for three Champions League spots. Chelsea still has ground to make up, so they need to keep their strong run going over the final 11 games.
This weekend brings another big test as Chelsea head to north London to face Arsenal. Rosenior’s two defeats so far have both come against Mikel Arteta’s side in the Carabao Cup semi-final, so this Premier League meeting is set to be his toughest challenge yet.
Even with Arsenal looming, Neto isn’t backing down. He wants Chelsea to finish the season on a high note and, with Rosenior, believes they can make it happen. Neto’s even got his eye on picking up some silverware before the summer.
Talking to Chelsea’s media team, Neto spelt out his goals: he’s aiming to improve on last year and push for everything possible with both club and country. “The club aims to win as many trophies as possible,” he said. “We’re still in the FA Cup and the Champions League. The league title’s a bit out of reach, but getting into the Champions League is a must. We know what we want: to win trophies. That’s how we want to end the season.”
Neto’s already tasted success since moving from Wolves, picking up the Conference League and Club World Cup with Chelsea. That’s why he came to win. But he admits the job isn’t done yet. “I joined this club to win, as we did in my first season. That was incredible. This year, there’s still a long way to go and plenty to fight for. Expectations are high. At a club like Chelsea, that comes with even more responsibility.”
On Sunday, Arsenal will be waiting, riding high after thrashing Tottenham 4-1 last weekend. The Gunners are pushing hard for their first league title since 2004, and Viktor Gyokeres is in great form; he scored against Chelsea in the League Cup and will be looking to add to his tally. It’s a huge test for Rosenior and his squad, but Neto and Chelsea are determined to rise to the challenge.
MUDRYK SPOTTED: STAR TRAINS PRIVATELY AT UXBRIDGE FC WHILE SERVING A MAJOR FA SUSPENSION
Mykhailo Mudryk is training alone! Read about his Uxbridge pitch rental, the 4-year FA ban threat, and his offensive gaming ban.
The Ukrainian international hasn't played for the Blues since their Europa Conference League win over Heidenheim back in November 2023. After joining Shakhtar Donetsk in 2023, he racked up 10 goals and 11 assists in 73 matches.
People started talking when he showed up on a football pitch this week, even though he's still suspended.
Mudryk Trains at Uxbridge FC
According to talkSPORT, Mudryk wasn’t actually training with Uxbridge. He just rented their 3G pitch and brought his own private coaching team along. The Honeycroft ground is about 40 minutes from his place, and his representatives booked it directly.
Chelsea had nothing to do with these solo sessions. Mudryk’s FA charge bans him from training or playing with the club.
If he’s found guilty, Mudryk faces a ban from football that could last up to four years. But the time he’s already spent suspended counts toward that total.
Back in December 2024, Mudryk said, “I know that I have not done anything wrong and remain hopeful that I will be back on the pitch soon. I cannot say any more now due to the confidentiality of the process, but I will as soon as I can.”
Other players like Sandro Tonali, Eric Cantona, Ivan Toney, and Luis Suarez have also received long bans.
Mudryk Banned from Gaming Too
Football isn’t the only place Mudryk’s hit a wall. In February, he got a four-week ban from the Counter-Strike 2 platform FACEIT for making offensive comments during a game.
Apparently, he made several remarks about the massacres of Poles in Volhynia and Eastern Galicia during WWII. These killings carried out by the Ukrainian Insurgent Army between 1943 and 1945 left up to 100,000 Poles dead, many of them women and children.
FACEIT’s rules say a four-week ban goes to repeat offenders, so this probably wasn’t Mudryk’s first time getting punished for his behaviour on the platform.
In a message to his fans, he wrote, “Happy New Year to all my fans. I just wanted to say thank you for your support. I see all your messages and truly appreciate them, so please don't give up on me, as I have not given up on myself. Can't wait to see you soon.”
DISCIPLINE CRISIS: WHY CHELSEA IS ON THE VERGE OF AN ALL-TIME PREMIER LEAGUE RECORD
With 10 games left, Chelsea's top-five hopes rest on fixing a disciplinary record that is the worst in the Premier League.
Chelsea manager Liam Rosenior isn’t messing around anymore. After yet another red card, this time Pedro Neto got sent off in the second half of their 2-1 loss to Arsenal. Rosenior’s patience has run out. That’s now nine red cards for Chelsea this season, which is over twice as many as any other Premier League team. Even Enzo Maresca picked one up when he was in charge.
It’s not just Neto. Marc Cucurella, Joao Pedro, and Moises Caicedo – they’ve all been sent off at some point. Chelsea’s disciplinary record has gone from bad to worse, and Rosenior’s fed up. With Neto now suspended for the big game against Aston Villa, Rosenior wants his players to get their act together and start taking responsibility.
“It needs to improve,” he told reporters on Monday. “My job is to build a culture where people own up to mistakes. If you mess up, admit it and make sure it doesn’t happen again. That goes for me too. If I pick the wrong team or make a bad call, I need to be accountable, and I expect the same from my players.”
Rosenior’s message couldn’t be clearer: sort yourselves out, or you’re out. With ten league games left and a top-five finish and a Champions League spot still within reach, Chelsea can’t afford to keep shooting themselves in the foot. They’re only two reds away from the all-time Premier League record. At this point, they could nearly field a whole team of players who’ve seen red this season.
Neto’s sending off came hot on the heels of Wesley Fofana’s red card in the draw with Burnley. Rosenior said, “You need your team-mates, but you’ve got to help yourself too. Pedro apologised to everyone, but we’re missing him on Wednesday. I need to see better behaviour, not just from Pedro, but from everyone. Too many silly bookings, too much dissent. If we’re serious about improving, we need to change this now.”
It’s not a new problem either. Chelsea finished bottom of the Premier League fair play table last season under Maresca, and they were bottom the year before with Mauricio Pochettino.
Asked how he plans to fix it, Rosenior explained he even had to sub Cole Palmer and Enzo Fernandez against Arsenal to avoid more reds. “It’s not always about punishment,” he said. “Sometimes, you have to show the value of staying disciplined. The stats don’t lie: when we keep 11 men on the pitch, our chances of winning go way up. That should be all the motivation we need.”
He knows setbacks happen, bad passes, and questionable refereeing, but he wants his players to react positively and move on. “I can’t keep losing players every couple of games. If someone can’t control themselves, I’ll have to leave them out.”
Chelsea’s running out of excuses. It’s time for the players to step up or step aside.
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