Can Chelsea challenge for the title & have Liverpool finally clicked? | Sunday Supplement

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Can Chelsea challenge for the title and have Liverpool finally clicked? Sunday Supplement discussion

The show focuses on Chelsea's 2-0 win over Everton and their first clean sheet in nine months, asking whether that makes them title contenders; it then turns to Liverpool's comeback win at Brentford and whether their expensive forward line is starting to click. The conclusion leans toward Chelsea having a real platform if they fix their defence, while Liverpool still lack a defensive midfielder; both teams remain too close to call.

► Subscribe to Sky Sports News: http://bit.ly/SkySportsNewsSub ► Watch Sky Sports with NOW: https://bit.ly/NOWSkySportsYT The Sunday Supplement panel of Martin Samuel, John Cross & Jacqui Oatley discuss Chelsea & Liverpool's impressive results and what this could mean for the title race. SkySportsNews SkySports PremierLeague ► For the latest developments on this story: https://qrcode.skysports.com/skysports/topstories ► For the latest transfer news: https://qrcode.skysports.com/skysports/TransferCentre More from Sky Sports on YouTube: ► Sky Sports: http://bit.ly/SkySportsSub ► Sky Sports Boxing: http://bit.ly/SSBoxingSub ► Sky Sports Cricket: http://bit.ly/SubscribeSkyCricket ► Sky Sports Darts: https://bit.ly/SubSkySportsDarts ► Sky Sports Football: http://bit.ly/SSFootballSub ► Sky Sports F1: http://bit.ly/SubscribeSkyF1 ► Sky Sports Golf: https://bit.ly/SubscribeSkySportsGolf ► Sky Sports Premier League: https://bit.ly/SubscribeSkySportsPL ► Sky Sports Retro: http://bit.ly/SkySportsRetroSub ► Sky Sports WSL: https://bit.ly/SubscribeSkySportsWSL ► TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@skysportsnews ► X: https://x.com/SkySportsNews ► Website: https://www.skysports.com ► To enquire about licensing Sky Sports content, you can find out more here: https://www.skysports.com/more-sports/news/31754/11434270/license-sky-sports-footage

Transcript

Welcome back to Sunday [music] supplement. Let's turn our attention to Chelsea. Now a two-nil victory for them over Everton yesterday and crucially really I suppose Chelsea's first clean sheet for nine months. The headline on the front of the goal supplement in the sun this morning is pass it into the netto as Pedro Netto scores two against Everton. And it it's interesting as well and you wonder how pointed this perhaps is Jackie. Pedrionets credited his double to his new Portugal boss, Georg Jesus, for helping improve his technique. And after Cristiano Ronaldo left the Portugal training camp recently, having had a bit of a disagreement with the head coach, you wonder if that's Netto playing a a clever game in terms of an international future. >> Yeah, probably. Probably. There's there's bound to be something in that. We always like to read these things into it, but um yeah, credit to Chelsea. Much much needed clean sheet. It's been a while, hasn't it? I think Jordan Henderson starting midfield Kaisedo coming back has been absolutely huge for them. They've missed him so so much but starting I think three games in a row now. Um against an Everton side that hadn't lost yet this season had done really well but obviously with a caveat that they're so short up front. So, um, the fact that Chelsea scored twice with Pedro Netto, you know, fantastic player who's very, very versatile. Uh, it's great for them, but the problem with with Everton continues that they're, you know, they're so reliant on Barry staying fit that just they don't have enough up front. And if you are going to concede a couple, then they don't have enough in response. Is this kind of performance a bit of a turning point for for Chelsea, John? You know, they've been great in attack so far this season, but they needed to shore things up defensively. And Chris Baskam actually in the Telegraph this morning says if they play more like this, the adjectives which were splattered across Chelsea during the golden years of Jose Marino, solid, robust, and dogged will actually be part of the lexicon around them once again. Can can you see that? Is this one of those performances that makes you go they they can do something here? Yeah, I've seen them a few times this season and you you know they're incredibly good fun to watch, I must say. Incredibly entertaining, but it is all about those clean sheets and so I mean that record is unbelievable to keep their first clean sheets since Jan. I mean that says to me that defensively and it can't just be the defense. It's the structure of the team. They've obviously had issues in midfield. You know they they they found themselves short at the end of the window, didn't they, of midfield cover. he couldn't get anything done. I'm sure they'll revisit that in in in January. But then, you know, finding the right system under Alonzo, whether that's kind of, you know, with the right players, you know, Lee James is now out for a while. Um, I mean, you know, Martinez that looked an absolute horror of an injury and then he's gone away, you know, for surgery and then sort of comes in who they think incredibly highly of. He's only 21, but actually he looked very commanding. There was one that he came out for which he had absolutely no reason to almost well no no no argument to come out and get and punch right at the edge of the box and I thought that really made a statement actually and I thought he did really really well but they think highly of sorry >> well you know you know he's a goalkeeper he he he's allowed that any but he's he's 21 so I do think that you know I think it's going to be about kind of keeping that balance because they've definitely got enough in attack I mean the one the player watching the game that really stood out for me was Morgan Rogers. I mean from an attacking sense listen I know Pedro Nate scored twice but Rogers was behind everything good that that basically they did a lovely back heel on the first and kind of orchestrated the play down the left and he's just a just a really really good player and I think he's a good signing for them and I think that Chelsea I think Chelsea will be in the hunt for for for the Champions League places which bearing in mind you you know recent times and I know they'll sort kind of haven't got European football and sort of but I think that'll be a decent Decent start for Alonzo if they do that. >> Was Morgan Rogers lucky to stay on the pitch given his uh the tackle that him and James Garner both went in for? I mean it was a fiery match. The five yellow cards in the first half alone. James Garner and Morgan Rogers both going for the ball. The referee Pauli said that it was very 50/50 and kind of both of them were >> were equal fault or blame or whatever. Was he lucky to stay on the pitch? >> Possibly, but I think the referee had set an earlier tone. I don't know whether you'd seen it with with Harrison, wasn't it? I think in in the first half where I think and listen that for me that's not that's just not a red card but it you know when I was already on a yellow though >> yeah when I looked at the um one yesterday at Newcastle you never know quite was going to get um you know it was yeah I can't quite believe that he he stayed on the pitch but anyway but the um yeah pro probably bearing in mind then that you sort of kind of see two players sent off at at Brenford which I'm sure we'll come on to but I think >> well we Yeah, I think that you know I think actually Tion actually balanced it quite and was was quite lenient at times and tried to let the game go which was yeah a good thing to see I think. >> Um just on Emmy Martinez then it was a a horrible sort of collision to witness uh between him and Jared Branweight. There was a big delay as he received treatment. He was eventually stretched off. We we knew last night he'd been taken to to a hospital for some precautionary checks. We we understand that treatment is sort of ongoing. Um in terms of for Mike Pent and here it is now it's easier to watch this knowing that he is sort of okay and credit as well as to Jared Branford who stood next to him the whole time. It was just one of those comingings together and a lot of respect from most of the uh Everton fans as well as he was stretched off. >> Yeah, you you you get that. I'm just looking at this league table. >> Oh yeah. >> And um Chelsea are two points off Arsenal. >> Yeah. And I mean Arsenal have got to play today and but it's away at Nottingham Forest which is never easy. There's time um everyone's talking about Chelsea and uh and the Champions League places and stuff. There's time for them to have more of a go than that. You know, if they were to get this right, the way they're scoring goals would put them um as title contenders. um the amount of goals they're scoring, but they can't defend. Now, if they start getting the defense right, and with Kaisedo coming back, you've got other defenders to come in. If they start getting the defense right, it's around about the time of the year that Antonio Conte turned Chelsea's season around in 2016, I want to say, the 18 >> 161 17. >> Yeah, 1617. 1617. It's around about the same time that he turned their season around cuz that it's not until October that they change the three at the back and everything like that. [snorts] It'll be very interesting. It'll be very interesting. If you're taking Manchester City out of it, which a lot of people think you can, if you take Manchester City out of it, then you're chasing the second place team. Well, they're two points off the second place team. Maybe at the end of the day there'll be five points off the second place team. It's not that much. If you suddenly get it right and you're scoring goals like Chelsea do, it's not that much at all. And it will be very interesting to see if they can maintain having kept their first clean sheet uh in 9 months. Be very interesting to see if they can maintain that. If they do, they could actually be very much back in it. >> Yeah. Well, on keeping those clean sheets going now as well. So Martinez, he he did have surgery yesterday evening. He's he's posted on social media with a bit of a thumbs up. It's looking like he is okay. It does mean an opportunity, Jackie, for Mike Penders who over the summer until they brought in Martinez, we we kind of thought from everything we'd heard from Chelsea that Jabono was quite happy with with Penders as his as his number one. So, he perhaps took a little bit of a blow when Martinez came in, he's now got an opportunity. He's only 21 years old. What did you see from him in the 10 minutes or so that he was on the on the pitch? And can Chelsea be confident of keeping this new clean sheet habit going? She says after one match where it was. >> Well, it's essential that they do because clean sheets, I mean, you ask anybody, clean sheets are what title races and championships are built on really, but they have such an exciting settled front three. By the way, we haven't talked about Estvau at all. He's supposed to be the next big thing in terms of the best player in the world potentially. He's never played 90 minutes in the Premier League for Chelsea. Never. And he's they've still got that kind of option up their sleeve as well. And so Penders's an opportunity for him for goalkeepers very difficult when they just come in for a cup game every so often. They really need to have that rhythm to have a run of form and to have that confidence. And um yeah, of course we wish Emmy Martinez really well, but Penders has been brought in for a reason and is highly regarded for a reason. And I think just trying to have a settled backline will be really really helpful for him. and uh if they can sort a few clean sheets then Chelsea absolutely have a platform now with Kaisedo back with the leadership they've brought in with Jordan Henderson I think is really key and just coming back to that front three I think they're so so exciting and most teams would absolutely kill to have a Pedro they just don't have that kind of quality in so many teams and the fact that Rogers and that Cole Palmer are just such good mates off the field as well and are translating that onto the field if they can keep all those fit and not get sent off which they just about managed um plus the talent they have coming off the bench then yeah we shouldn't sleep on Chelsea at all. >> Yeah, their discipline record is improved under London. >> They've got no European football either >> which is a huge help. >> Which means if you are contending >> in that second half of the season you can do exactly what Cladio did at Leicester. You can do exactly what Michael Carrick did at Manchester United last season where you can just go right we plan we play Saturday to Saturday. Saturday game finishes we start thinking about next Saturday. We work all week for next Saturday. Got no midweek um >> maybe cup or whatever, but they've got no midweek distractions and it and that's really big. That's really really big because you go right this is my team. This team you know you look at that Leicester team that Ranieri put out. He just played every week just was until unless someone got injured or suspended just played just played same team >> doing the same things. So, it's it's they're in a they're in a surprisingly strong position for a team that can't defend. [laughter] >> Well, they defended yesterday. Way to end it on a negative about their defense when we just [laughter] >> Wait, negative. I've I've said they could be title contenders, but but you know the >> but they need a fair wind and they need to work out how to defend for more than one game. >> Yes, sure. Uh let's talk Liverpool, shall we? front page of the Telegraph this morning says the 400 million pound boys cash in in terms of Alexander Isach vert Barcola and Munz finally click in the words of uh [snorts] uh Sam Dean in the Telegraph this morning he's saying only time will tell if Liverpool's 400 million pound front line can ever justify the extraordinary amount of money spent on them but this was at least a significant step in the right direction did you see enough from those four to to think one Hey, it might be worth £400 million, John. >> Well, I really like Isak. I must say I do like Isac. I've never kind of wavered on that and I just feel as if, you know, obviously it's fitting then that he he gets the winning goal, but then basically I think he's he's just been troubled by injuries throughout. And so I think if he gets a run of form, run of games where he's injuryfree, he will be an absolute sensation for Liverpool. Liverpool fans are sort kind of, you know, when he when he when he scores the goal, Liverpool fans, you could hear it basically saying he's again ole, you know, they're basically they're taken to him. Anyone that scores goals, you know, they're going to they're going to enjoy, aren't they really? I mean, it was a strange game because, you know, Bford actually finished the game with nine men. And then also, you've got that that bizarre incident, you know, where the ball has yet to come into play where yamlook, I think, basically sort kind of puts his head into a jacket. Listen, there's not that much to it. And I know I was almost half, you know, expecting. I think Andrew's fair play to him was quite measured about it, but there's no one there to to blame apart from apart from the player himself. Why would you give the the referee a decision? It's bizarre. It's it's utterly bizarre. Um, but it gives Liverpool one hell of an opportunity because normally if you go behind at Brenford, there's no way that because they're so well structured, well set up, absolutely fantastic under Andrews, they really are hard to beat. there. You know, it was the first defeat of the season. They're going to be a tough nut to crack. So, for Liverpool to come back and do that say says much about them. I think Bararka and Versa have still got a little bit to do for me. I think Bararker is a is is a gamble because of the price tag. But, you know, I I think they're very very exciting. If they can come back, then I think that Liverpool, you know, we're run almost having too too many teams that we're putting into the top four here. But I'd be s, you know, I'd be surprised if they click and if they can find their gear that if they're not in that conversation as well. >> That red card for Yamik was without doubt a huge turning point in the game. It was given after the the referee was sent to the the V monitor and it was it was a headbutting action as opposed to a headbutt, Jackie. But by the letter of the Lord, that is a a red card, isn't it? And and this is the the headline in the Express this morning. Grievous bodily yammo. >> Yeah. Yeah, I mean it's on the player, isn't it? I mean, you can't go looking at the referee in a situation like that. I mean, that that's up to the player. Just don't do that because they've put the their own team in a situation by they've ended up losing the game and all talking about how good Liverpool were and credit to them, but actually that's a ridiculous thing to do. It has to come down to personal responsibility. He's massively let down his own team, his coach, everybody there. It's an amazing setup at Brenford. They get all the credit, I think, these days, rightly so, for what they've done there. But that's an individual moment of madness that has massively cost them because a lot of people would have given them a really good fighting chance of taking at least a point in that game. >> You'd like to fight the five though, wouldn't you? >> You'd like to fight the five if he goes over like that. I mean I mean if he was in the ring with Daniel Dwir last night, it would have they would have touched gloves. He would have fallen over and everyone could go home. >> Part of the game, isn't it? If he comes back, you know what? It's part of the game. But yeah, look, you you can't do it. You can't do it. But you'd you'd like to fight the the number five really if that's how it goes down. >> Um Areola said afterwards that he does want his his team to be more ruthless. I mean Brenford ended the game down to nine men. They played most of it but with 10. So Liver will have to get the win here, but I suppose it doesn't paper over any cracks that they may have at this point in the season. Right. They need to be more clinical. They need to be more with us because Brenford were cutting through them with relative ease. >> Absolutely. Yeah. I mean, listen, the table doesn't look so bad now for Liverpool, does it? But basically, I think I think when he talks about ruthlessness, he has to be meaning Barka because I mean, Bara, I know this sounds pretty mean on a player that got a hat trick in midweek, but then basically he he's bought for a lot of money and he's brought for his, you know, his his speed, his pace, his incision, his is is finishing. And yet I do think there's a player there that probably needs to find a good groove and a good for, you know, run of form to really justify that that price tag. And if I'm thinking about when talks about being ruthlessness, I'm thinking about Barca basically because I think Liverpool have got a really I mean that Muna's goal to to equalize was a really really good goal and really good finish and they've got a lot there to work with Liverpool. I think they can be a strong force. I still think in the in the heart of midfield, I'm not sure that he's got the players to work for an Areola system, which I think is an issue. You I mean, the way that he he set up his teams was something else and really entertaining at Bournemouth. But has he got that sort of set up to work at Liverpool? I'm not quite sure. So, this will take a bit of time, but I think I think if he can get those forwards clicking and scoring goals and being ruthless as he says, then I think there'll be a force to be reckoned with. So, we've discussed Chelsea, we've discussed Liverpool. Um, they'd both need to leap frog Brighton. Credit where credit is due. But who will finish higher in the table this season then? If, like we say, we sort of Man City currently top, Arsenal second, Liverpool or Chelsea, who's going to be the main challenges for the title, however it all shakes out in the bigger context of the the environment we find ourselves in. >> I think they've both got similar problems. Um, I think Liverpool got a fabulous forward line, Chelsea got a fabulous forward line. Um, I think you know Chelsea, you you've got to look at one game and nine months >> higher Martin. >> Well, look, if I could predict the outcome of the league table, I wouldn't need to be here on Sunday morning. I'd be somewhere else. I'd have me feet up, you know, there would be the sun would be shining, there would be blue, you know, sand and blue blue water. That would be fantastic. Yeah, few newspapers talking about but you know if I could genuinely if I had to call it on what I've seen so far this season I think there's more potential to be slightly better in Chelsea than Liverpool but it's far too close to call because they've both got weaknesses. >> Jackie, same question. >> Yeah, similar answer. I know you're all going to skate around it a little bit and try and remain on the fence but it's just about the fact that Chelsea have a very settled front line that is very productive. Liverpool are heading in that direction. They're not there yet. I do worry about Liverpool's midfield. I just think they're one defensive midfielder away from being an exceptional team and I don't think they can challenge for the title until they've got that exceptional central midfielder of a defensive mindset to allow the players the likes of Vitz I think will be so much better once they have that kind of solidity. And I think the likes of So going off in they're so reliant on him and when he goes off injured like yesterday, it's a big concern. It's a midfield, >> they won't