Hello again, Reds and Blues! It’s been a mixed bag of results for both clubs, and it’s hard to know which direction either are truly heading in. And we got a welcome surprise in news surrounding the USWNT. Let’s get into it!

 Chelsea’s season continues to confound. After putting in a rousing performance against Arsenal for about 75 minutes, it seems letting them claw back a point had a knock-on effect. Brentford rocked up to Stamford Bridge and took all 3 points back home. That 2-0 defeat was followed by a fairly straight-forward 2-0 win over Blackburn in the Carabao Cup. So, onto Monday and a trip up the road to Tottenham. From a neutral’s perspective, this was over 100 minutes of attacking intent. It was also littered with VAR interventions, cards, and goals. Spurs looked to be running away with it early, but red cards and injuries conspired to let Chelsea back into the game before taking full control late on. Games like this are hard to take much away from because of the frenetic nature but scoring 4 goals and ending the run of the only unbeaten team left in the Premier League should raise the spirits of fans, players, and coaching staff alike. Can they repeat such scenes against City at the weekend?

 Manchester United remains in much the same boat. It is safe to say that the manager and players got it all wrong in the Manchester Derby. Tributes to Sir Bobby Charlton were not enough to lift them against a very clinical City side. And they followed that up with an even more limp display against Newcastle in the Carabao Cup. 2 3-0 defeats in a row made the away trip to Fulham that much more important, and with VAR yet again chalking off a United goal it looked to perhaps be too much for them. But the captain popped up late on with a nice strike to snatch all 3 points in a game they didn’t look likely to get much from. They visit Copenhagen today in the UCL where they desperately need to get all 3 points to keep their chances of advancing alive. A more cohesive performance will be needed to get such a result.

The USWNT sacked Vlatko Andonovski after they crashed out of the WWC. Weak tactics and an over-reliance on veteran players at the expense of young talent cost him dearly. And it was loudly questioned as to who could and should be the next in line to lead them on. Those questions were rousingly answered this week as the current Chelsea manager, Emma Hayes, was announced as the next leader of the USWNT. She brings a wealth of experience and success, as Chelsea currently sit atop the WSL. Let’s hope she brings a fresh perspective and some needed confidence to our changing squad.  

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