Well, Chelsea managed to do it, in the end. The Blues returned to winning ways with victory over the plucky but presently poorly managed Leicester City. In all fairness to the Foxes, they had four major chances to win the contest – three of which were wasted by legendary goalscorer Jamie Vardy. In actuality, the King Power club should really have defeated ten-man CFC on the day by taking one of those very good, often one-on-one opportunities. However, the west Londoners could easily have gotten back their lead or produced more dramatic moments to recapture the contest themselves in that instance.
Midfielder Conor Gallagher made Thomas Tuchel’s day more stressful than it needed to be, and gave his teammates a much tougher task to complete. The former Crystal Palace loanee was sent off for a second bookable offence after a mere 28 minutes of the first half. That was fairly shocking, to be perfectly frank. Gallagher must learn that whilst the Stamford Bridge faithful wish to see intensity and commitment, they want it measured as the chopper days are long gone. There is much more to the England international’s game than just tackling and breaking up opponents’ play – the Blues require him on the pitch for creativity.
Why Chelsea head coach Thomas Tuchel decided that the Blues shouldn’t sign Cristiano Ronaldo
Another Blues area which is lacking in outright productivity at the moment, is the main striker role. Kai Havertz is holding his own and has the capacity to score many, many goals. Although his time being relied on up top is probably coming to an end. Surely the player is more naturally suited to providing from deeper, as well as adding to the scoring.
Having the burden of the centreforward job, when it is also arguably not the German’s most suitable position, is impractical. The feeling that Pierre-Emerick will join CFC has increased as time passes. If the latest transaction with Barcelona goes through, it will be peculiar to see Arsenal’s former leading Gunner and captain in a Chels’ strip.
Though netting plenty of goals will immediately erase any insecure feelings from the faithful. Yet the North London team’s supporters shall possibly never forgive ‘Auba’ for lining up with a rival. Apparently the 33-year-old would prefer a move to the Bridge as opposed to selecting Premier League adversary Manchester United. The Red Devils have, typically, joined the race late for the ageing goal-getter.
Another veteran footballing hitman is the iconic Cristiano Ronaldo. He is currently in his second stint at Old Trafford; new manager Erik ten Hag is said not to be overly keen to keep the No.7 for this campaign. Judging by Ronaldo’s appearances this season, that speculation is unavoidably true.
Meanwhile the Portugal legend has been angling for a move, anyway. Ronaldo wants to play Champions League football, as usual; at age 37, he hasn’t got that many tournaments left in his glittering career. Nevertheless, Chelsea acquiring United’s attacker never seemed that likely or practical, at least on the field. Off the pitch, the master footballer still attracts enough interest to make any side much profit via merchandise and the like.
According to this report, the Blues board fancied the idea of Ronaldo up front; Tuchel was unconvinced. A talk with former United boss and mentor Ralph Rangnick confirmed the opinion. Rangnick is said to have convinced Tuchel not to pursue the possibility.