Your Chelsea morning digest on Sunday, March 5
Chelsea player ratings vs Leeds United as Wesley Fofana shines and Kai Havertz poor again
Chelsea ended their poor run of results in recent weeks with a crucial win against Leeds to ease pressure on manager Graham Potter. A poor first half performance in which Joao Felix hit the crossbar saw the team be booed off by the home fans, sparking a response in the second half.
Wesley Fofana's header made the difference at Stamford Bridge with the Blues finally scoring a goal, sparking a chant of "we've scored a goal" echoing around the ground. football.london Chelsea reporter Bobby Vincent has rated each player's performance following the vital win.
Kepa Arrizabalaga – Didn't have too much to do but whenever he was called upon, he looked calm and assured. 6.
Wesley Fofana – Should've done better with a header on 12 minutes after finding himself free from a corner. Fofana did, however, score in the early moments of the second half. The Frenchman did so well to climb above everyone. Great performance. 8.
Benoit Badiashile – Looked bright early on and was always on the front foot. Started as the left centre-back in a back-three and it looks to be a role that really suits the Frenchman. 6.
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Reece James faces race against time for Dortmund
Pre-match, Graham Potter was dealt a huge injury blow for the Leeds clash as key man Reece James was ruled out with a tight hamstring. This was the right-back’s 16th match he has missed under Potter due to several injury setbacks across the course of this season.
After revealing that James was a doubt in his Friday press conference, Potter confirmed the news on Saturday morning. "Reece is feeling a bit of tightness which is sometimes understandable coming back from injury," Potter explained on the club's website.
"We have been assessing him this week and feel it is too soon for the game today.” The Cobham academy graduate has only recently returned from a knee injury he first sustained against AC Milan back in October, and wasn’t risked ahead of Tuesday’s crunch Champions League second-leg tie against Borussia Dortmund.
However, Potter is confident James will return for the round-of-16 clash, adding: "There is a strong chance he will be available for Tuesday [against Borussia Dortmund] but this game comes too soon."
Read the full story here.
Manchester United renew interest in Chelsea target Frenkie de Jong
Barcelona midfielder Frenkie de Jong could be set for another summer of transfer speculation after Manchester United have been said to revive their interest in the 25-year-old. Chelsea were also keen on the Dutch star last summer when his Camp Nou career appeared to be in doubt following disputes over the club's financial struggles.
Chelsea and United were both very keen in acquiring his services, but the versatile midfielder opted to remain part of Xavi’s side. However, Erik ten Hag’s side have already placed themselves at the front of the queue should De Jong reverse his decision, the Guardian reports.
Since failing to bag De Jong, Chelsea have revamped their midfield options with the capture of Enzo Fernandez for a British-record fee of £106.8million. However, that is unlikely to stop Todd Boehly adding to their already-bloated squad as he aims to continue the extensive restructure of the playing staff at Stamford Bridge.
Read the full story here.
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