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.
ALEJANDRO GARNACHO ADMITS "DOING WRONG THINGS" DURING FINAL MONTHS AT MANCHESTER UNITED
Alejandro Garnacho breaks silence on his Man Utd downfall. Read why he admits "doing the wrong things" before his Chelsea move.
Alejandro Garnacho has opened up about why things ended the way they did at Manchester United, admitting he played a part in how it all fell apart at Old Trafford.
At 21, Garnacho was once one of United's top young talents. He joined the club as a teenager back in 2020, but things turned bad pretty quickly after that early promise. Once he had a fallout with Ruben Amorim, he found himself pushed aside, and it was obvious he wasn’t going to stay in Manchester much longer.
That long, drawn-out £40 million move to Chelsea finally went through last summer. At the time, speaking in December, Garnacho said he didn’t regret how it ended at United. “Sometimes in life, you have to change things to move forward or get better as a player. This was the right club and [moving] was an easy decision,” he said.
But a few months later, talking with Premier League Productions, you could tell his feelings had shifted. He looked back at his last stretch at United and said, “I remember in the last six months, I just wasn’t playing like before. I started ending up on the bench. Not the worst thing, I was only 20, after all, but in my mind, I felt like I should be playing every game.”
Then he admitted, “Honestly, maybe some of it was on me. I started doing the wrong things. But that’s how life goes; you have to make decisions. I’m proud to still be in the Premier League and playing for a club like this.”
When someone asked if leaving United hurt, Garnacho got a little nostalgic. “Yeah, probably. I loved that club, you know? They believed in me from the start. They brought me from Spain to the academy and then to the first team. It was four or five years of love for the fans, the stadium, everything was really good."
"But sometimes, you have to make changes for your own good or the next step in your life. I only have good memories of Man Utd.”
JOE COLE SLAMS "DISGRACEFUL" ENZO FERNANDEZ COMMENTS; DEMANDS FIRM CHELSEA RESPONSE
Enzo Fernandez is suspended! Joe Cole warns Chelsea to take a firm stance against the star's Real Madrid transfer talk.
Chelsea have been told it’s time to lay down the law after Enzo Fernandez’s recent remarks about a possible future in Spain set off a wave of controversy. Joe Cole, one of their former wingers, says the club needs to make a clear call, especially with all the rumours linking Fernandez to Real Madrid.
Cole isn’t thrilled about this Fernandez situation popping up again. Once Fernandez started talking openly about how much he likes life in Madrid, the Real Madrid speculation heated up fast. Chelsea responded by suspending him for two games, including the big clash this weekend with Manchester City. Cole, looking at how the saga’s played out, warns that this is turning into a real problem.
Talking to Paddy Power, Cole pointed out the danger here: with the Fernandez drama happening more than once now, the club’s authority is starting to look shaky. In his words, Chelsea has reached a point where they can’t dodge the issue anymore; they need to be clear and decisive about what’s acceptable from their players.
"It’s tough," Cole said. “This isn’t even just about punishment, I mean, this is the second time Enzo’s done something like this. The club has to take a firm stance. Honestly, for players like Enzo, this isn’t what they signed up for when they joined Chelsea. Sure, I get why he’s frustrated, but coming out and talking about leaving just isn’t on. Now the club has to decide if the ban fits the crime. Eventually, if Enzo wants out, he needs to actually ask for a transfer, not just talk.”
He also thinks Chelsea holds all the cards, thanks to Fernandez’s deal running for years, until 2032. The priority, Cole says, needs to be protecting their team culture, not just keeping star players happy.
"We don’t really know how long this has all been bubbling under, but if Chelsea felt they had to suspend him for a match as big as City, nobody’s coming out ahead, neither the player nor the club," Cole added.
“If you’re running Chelsea, you just tell Enzo, ‘You’re with us for another five years. Keep acting out, and you’ll just be sitting on the bench, career on pause, wasting your weekly wage.’ I get it’s a mess, and I’m not sure there’s a perfect way through, but I haven’t seen a better solution so far.”
Still, Chelsea doesn’t want this to drag on. Their disciplinary decision is really about keeping standards high behind the scenes. Rosenior is focusing on building a team that holds itself together, not just a collection of stars. Chelsea still sees Fernandez as crucial to their plans and hopes this whole episode resets things, not sparks a bigger problem. With the race for Champions League football and an FA Cup semi-final against Leeds on the horizon, they want to settle things and get Enzo back on the pitch where he matters most.
