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In 2007 Liverpool FC announced they had captured a young, talented, Brazilian footballer. It had many fans dreaming of the next Ronaldinho, Rivaldo or even Pele. So after completing his transfer to Liverpool from Brazilian club Gremio, Lucas Leiva had a lot of pressure on him. Not only because he came from Brazil, home of some of the most talented footballers ever seen in the world, but he had also cost the club over £5 million, who had managed to beat Italian giants AC Milan and Inter Milan to his signature.

So when Lucas finally made his debut for the club, there was a lot of confusion and head scratching amongst fans. Supporters saw less of the samba footwork that can baffle a defence, and instead saw the Brazilian passing backwards to his defence, and shying away from goal to instead look for a pass. Luckily Lucas was forgiven, as he was young and still adapting to the English game. So by the end of the season surely there would be some change in how Lucas Leiva played. Err no. Instead the Kop was adapting their original ideas of him being the next Zico.

So entering the 2008 season, Liverpool had a world class midfield selection of Javier Mascherano, Xabi Alonso and captain Steven Gerrard. The perfect opportunity for Lucas to train with some of the best players in the league and improve. But he was still struggling to impress the fans on the pitch, and complaints were made that Lucas was playing instead of internationals Alonso or Mascherano. By 2010 these two charismatic players had been sold, and Lucas had his chance to impress. Collecting valuable game time, the little Brazilian started to show the fans what his actual job was.

Although “the Liverpool way” doesn’t suggest a defensive, holding midfielder, Lucas demonstrated to the fans that by holding himself back on attacks, he was able to help the defence, and allow the club’s most influential player, Steven Gerrard, a more free role. Lucas was voted the Standard Chartered Fans player of the year for the 2010-11 season, and also made the most tackles in the top 4 European leagues in that season.

The Brazilian has now become one of the most popular and important players at the club, being one of the first players on the team sheet along with Pepe Reina and Steven Gerrard (when fit.) This season has seen the continuation of Lucas’s influence on the pitch, making an average of 5.5 tackles a game, and completing 687 passes at an accuracy of 86%. But what the stats can’t show is how he keeps his opposite number out of the game. In recent games against Chelsea and Man City, Lucas had been the man of the match for the Reds. He has restricted the time on the ball Ramires, Lampard, Barry and Silva have had on the ball, and stopped the likes of Drogba and Aguero from getting the ball frequently.

So why was he playing against Chelsea in the League Cup quarter final just 48 hours after playing Manchester City. A lack of silverware at the club over the last 5 years had meant King Kenny is now interested in winning the Carling Cup. Whereas Sir Alex rested many of his key players, Dalglish played Lucas to ensure a semi-final draw. But this was at an almighty cost. A challenge with Juan Mata left the Brazilian on the floor clutching his knee. After suffering an anterior cruciate ligament injury, Lucas won’t be seen again this season.

With captain Steven Gerrard soon to be back from injury, the Lucas role will be heavily placed on the shoulders of Scotsman Charlie Adam. The midfielder was purchased for his passing ability that helped Blackpool do the double over his new club, but will now need to control the middle of the pitch with the same authority and consistency that Lucas did. It may also mean that Gerrard cannot play as forward as he would want, as understandably Adam will be itching to push up the field, leaving the defence more exposed than usual.

But what will it mean for Liverpool? Will they have less control against their opposition? Will the distribution change without Lucas, and will the defence concede more? And what will Kenny do in the January transfer window? He has month to observe his team without Lucas, but will he find a replacement in the new year, or spend that money on another Striker? Only time will tell, but what we do know is the loss of Lucas is a hugely expensive blow for the Reds. Who would have thought we would be saying that 3 years ago?

Twitter @Dannye7

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Tottenham v QPR Live Streaming

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Arsenal, bloody hell. Who could possibly have seen that coming? The Gunners shot down their critics, and battered Chelsea’s creaking defence, in a stunning 5-3 victory at Stamford Bridge on Saturday; a victory  that puts them right back in contention to secure a coveted top 4 place come the end of the season.

Granted, both Chelsea’s and Arsenal’s back lines were guilty of some glaring errors in shipping eight goals between them. But this was a game that revealed a great deal more about both sides other than their ability to make vital errors, and for Chelsea the outlook is not good.

More than the lack of concentration that allowed Arsenal to hit five past the helpless Petr Cech, what will worry Blues boss Andre Villas-Boas is the way in which the Gunners were able to carve through his side on numerous occasions. In truth, with better decision-making and better finishing, Arsenal could have bagged ten. Chelsea weren’t just beaten, they were outplayed.

At times, the Blues’ midfield and defence were statuesque whilst Arsenal’s attackers danced a merry waltz around them. Simple, incisive passing and moving was enough to confuse and undo the Chelsea side.

The real concern for Villas-Boas is that these same players, with the exception of a few new recruits, have subdued a better Arsenal side than this one. Indeed, prior to last season’s 3-1 defeat at The Emirates, Chelsea had convincingly beaten Arsenal in the preceding four games, with an aggregate score of 11-1. So what’s changed? Regardless of this victory, the Gunners have not become world-beaters over-night; far from it.

The truth lies in the fact that the squad that Villas-Boas has inherited is simply not up to playing the way that he would like – at least not against skilful opponents such as Arsenal. The Portugese is encouraging his side to play a more fluid game; something of a fusion between the direct, forceful approach that has become the Blues’ hallmark during the Abramovich era, and something more akin to that epitomised by their opponents on Saturday.

A team that has, for years, been set in its ways, with an over-reliance on Didier Drogba for goals and Frank Lampard for creativity, lacks the dynamism necessary to play a more open, expansive game. They will leave gaps and lose their shape more often, and, playing this way, they lack the speed, both physically and mentally, necessary to keep a tight ship.

In most of the Mourinho and Ancelotti years, Chelsea, like a boa-constrictor, squeezed the space and the life out of teams such as Arsenal, which prey upon quick counter-attacks. By opening his side up, and playing a higher defensive line, Villas-Boas played right into the hands of Arsenal boss Arsene Wenger, revealing more than a few chinks in the Chelsea armour which the Gunners, even when stripped of two of their most potent weapons in Cesc Fabregas and Samir Nasri, still have the firepower to exploit. 

Villas-Boas is to be commended for encouraging his team to play more attractive football, but if they are to succeed then they will need more skilful players like Juan Mata and fewer direct players such as Frank Lampard. The evolution will take time, and there could be many more growing pains along the way.

In the meantime, the Blues boss must learn to be more pragmatic and tactically sensitive when up against quick, skilful opposition, and revert to the old Chelsea way. A most disconcerting thought might cross Villas-Boaz’s mind tonight. If Arsenal can hit Chelsea for five, then what might Manchester City might do?

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QPR v Chelsea Live Streaming

Walking out of Fulham Broadway underground station, the Chelsea fans marvelled at an extremely vocal set of KRC Genk supporters marching towards Stamford Bridge. It set a precedent for the night in which, despite lacking quality on the pitch, the Genk fans were unperturbed in their passionate support of their club.

It was the first ever meeting between the two sides and the first time Genk had played on English soil. Chelsea made six changes from their 3-1 win over Everton at the weekend. Oriol Romeu and Florent Malouda started whilst John Terry, Didier Drogba, and Daniel Sturridge sat out, with Juan Mata on the bench.

Injury-stricken Genk have struggled in the opening stages of this year’s Jupiler Pro League but earned a solid draw against Valencia in their first group game of this year’s edition of the UEFA Champions League. They are the only team in Group E to have been crowned champions last term.

In the opening minutes Fernando Torres signalled his intent to perform, despite missing out on the last three league games. And it was the Spaniard who had the first chance after seven minutes. Raul Meireles was allowed too much time on the ball and he picked out El Nino in the box and his touch killed the ball. Abel Masuero just managed to do enough to unsettle Torres whose effort hit the post.

However, moments later Meireles was again allowed too much space and this time opted for a shot. His effort bounced past an idle Laszlo Koteles and into the corner, handing the Blues the lead just eight minutes into the game.

The hosts were rampant and it only took three more minutes for them to double their lead. Frank Lampard, captain for the night, slipped in Torres who bent a placed shot past Koteles and into the bottom corner.

Chelsea’s superior passing ability was cutting through the Genk resistance as the Blues dominated the middle of the park. They were schooling the Belgians in pass and move football and it was a delight to watch.

Kevin de Bruyne, the subject of a deadline-day bid from Chelsea, looked threatening down the left for the visitors but they rarely managed to mount a meaningful attack.

There was a lull in the action following the second goal as Genk tried to contain the opposition. Their efforts proved to be in vain come the 27th minute. Jose Bosingwa’s ball in from the right was met by Torres, beating Masuero to the ball and nodding in to the back of the net to grab himself a brace and make it 3-0.

The Spanish International then tried his hand at assisting with a cross from the right using the outside of his boot. It was met by Lampard but he could not turn his header on target.

Chelsea continued to press and were rewarded with a fourth goal three minutes before the break. Malouda’s dead ball delivery was headed in by the ever-threatening aerial target Branislav Ivanovic.

With a four goal lead at half time the game was effectively over and Genk manager Mario Been was forced to reshuffle his formation. Masuero was withdrawn and Fabian Camus entered the arena with Daniel Tozser dropping from midfield into defence. Genk played the second 45 with two midfielders in defence.

The change paid dividends defensively, despite Malouda spurning a chance on the counter attack, as Chelsea were limited to efforts from range.

Nicolas Anelka was a popular outlet for the Blues attack down the right flank as Romeu, Meireles, Bosingwa and substitute Salomon Kalou all had efforts from range saved by Koteles.

Genk were worn down and Chelsea added another in the 73rd minute. Bosingwa supplied the cross once again but Koteles was equal to the original effort from Torres, however Kalou was on hand to stab in the rebound and make it 5-0.

With Romeu patrolling the middle and seemingly breaking up every Genk attack, the visiting fans were prompted into singing the Monty Python classic ‘Always look on the bright side of life’.

As the game wound down they then broke into a chorus of the Liverpool anthem ‘You’ll never walk alone’. The chant was met with hisses and jeers from the home crowd whilst the visitors did the ‘Poznan’. Throughout the night the away fans entertained with a selection of classic Premier League chants as they light-heartedly provoked the Stamford Bridge crowd.

That could not detract from a disappointing display however, as Chelsea matched their biggest ever Champions League victory, equalling the 5-0 win away to Galatasaray in 1999. They are now unbeaten in 25 group stage fixtures at the Bridge.

Read more from Tom at his excellent blog Purple Patch

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Valencia v Chelsea Live Streaming

Chelsea midfielder Juan Mata returns to his former club Valencia tomorrow in the Champions League with the crowd intently focused on him.

The 23-year-old swapped the Mestalla for Stamford Bridge this summer in a £23.5million deal.

Former team-mate Pablo Hernandez is excited about playing his friend but expects the playmaker to be in for a rough ride.

“I talk to him a lot and am very excited to play against him,” said the forward.

“But on the pitch there are no friends, so we will try to beat Juanma and his team, and then after the game wish him well.”

Chelsea striker Fernando Torres will look to keep his scoring touch going but he knows the Spanish club will not be a pushover.

“They are a great team and we know that they are ready for us,” Torres said about Valencia. “It’s going to be very, very tough.”

Chelsea are in a period of transition under manager Andre Villas-Boas and sit three points behind Manchester United and Manchester City in the Premier league.

But goalkeeper Petr Cech said staying top of their Champions League group with a second win would help Chelsea in all competitions.

“Everybody is counting Valencia as one of the main rivals so this will be a difficult one,” Cech said.

“If you are chasing every trophy it is always good to have many points as soon as possible in the Champions League, gain qualification and then concentrate on the Premier League and the Carling Cup.”

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Manchester United v Chelsea Live Streaming

Bayern Munich are planning a £7million raid for Chelsea midfielder Florent Malouda in January.

The 31-year-old has only one-year remaining on his current deal and will be free to talk to other clubs in the new year.

The France international has seen his chances of playing regular first-team football hinderered by the Blues signing Juan Mata from Valencia.

Bayern are interested in the winger and hope Chelsea want to cash in on Malouda rather than let him go for free next summer, according to German magazine Kicker.

He was linked with a move away from Stamford Bridge during the previous transfer window with AC Milan and Juventus also keen on his signature.

Chelsea are believed to want to reduce the average age of the squad as well as the wage bill, and Malouda may be a casualty of the new regime.

Nicolas Anelka, Dider Drogba and Paulo Ferreira are all on the lookout for new clubs, but the Blues may decide to offer new deals or keep them until the summer.

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On Tuesday night, Chelsea began their fifteenth consecutive year in European competition at home to Bayer Leverkusen. Chelsea rested their captain John Terry completely, whilst Frank Lampard began on the bench. The Germans finished as runners-up in last year’s Bundesliga and thus earned a place among Europe’s elite for the first time since the 2004/05 season. They are a team on the up; young and driven, but with valuable experience in Michael Ballack and Simon Rolfes. The former was presented with a commemorative plaque before the game out of respect for his time with the club and he received a rapturous applause.

Chelsea have never lost their opening Champions League game, and they almost got off to a terrible start. After just 4 minutes Rolfes bundled the ball in at the back post from Omer Toprak’s flick on. However, the referee spotted an infringement, signalling for a push and awarded a free kick to the hosts.

Just moments later Chelsea had a goal of their own ruled out, this time for offside. Ashley Cole’s ball in from the byline was flicked goalwards by Fernando Torres and new boy Raul Meireles back heeled the ball in to the net. However, the replays showed that the Portuguese midfielder was in an offside position following Torres’ flick.

Chelsea were looking dangerous down the wings. Cole and Juan Mata were constantly looking to penetrate the Leverkusen defence down the left, whilst Jose Bosingwa and Daniel Sturridge did the same on the opposite flank.

With 10 minutes gone, Torres had his first real chance of the game. After receiving the ball from Mata, he tried to beat the defenders into the box but seemed to reluctant to pull the trigger. His shot was then saved by Bernd Leno, the 19-year-old goalkeeper on loan from Stuttgart.

Leverkusen were struggling to forge any attacking momentum of their own. They were containing Chelsea but Stefan Kiessling looked isolated in attack.

Torres and Malouda both saw headers go behind with close to 20 minutes played and soon after the tempo slowed and the game became somewhat stale. In fact, there was more entertainment from the touchline with Andre Villas-Boas extremely animated in urging his team forward.

The visitors had a good spell of possession at the half hour mark but again failed to produce anything despite Andre Schurrle looking fairly dangerous. They almost paid for their lack of creation when Sturridge forced a good save from Leno with a powerful shot from 20 yards out. The keeper got down low to his left to turn the England Under 21 international’s effort away for a corner.

Sturridge had another attempt from distance just before the break, however his effort drifted narrowly wide of the post. Chelsea had look far more likely to score in the first half but the Germans had got what they hoped for in keeping the tie goalless at half time.

With 7 minutes gone in the second half, Sturridge had another couple of opportunities. The first was a tame header following a ball in from Bosingwa, on the second he was thwarted by Leno who reached the ball moments before the striker after a flick on from Torres.

Torres himself had an effort saved by the young German goalkeeper in the 57th minute. It did not seem as if Leno had spent last season playing in the third tier of German football as he was giving an extremely good account of himself.

Leverkusen then responded immediately with some intricate football that enabled Ballack to find himself one-on-one with Petr Cech in the area. The Czech international was equal to his former teammate’s effort and Chelsea were let off the hook.

Chelsea followed up with another chance for Sturridge, but he could not find the corner off of Cole’s ball in to the back post, with Leno getting a strong hand to it and palming it away. Sturridge was surprisingly substituted moments later along with Raul Meireles. The pair had arguably been two of the best players on the pitch for the Blues but it seemed to pay dividends soon after.

In the 68th minute David Luiz surged forward with the ball giving impetus to mount an attack. The ball found it’s way into the box and Torres laid the ball off for Luiz who bent a tremendous right foot shot into the bottom corner. Moments like that are what has truly endeared him to the Chelsea fans despite only being at the club for 8 months.

Mata had a couple of chances to enhance upon his side’s lead with 20 minutes to play but Leno again kept the scores tight as he produced some strong saves to keep the Spaniard at bay.

Luiz then limped off with 15 minutes remaining and was replaced by his international compatriot Alex.

Chelsea had the ball in the net again in the 81st minute after Nicolas Anelka headed in from Florent Malouda’s cross. After a moment of elation the players noticed the offside flag had been raised in an extremely questionable decision.

Chelsea were unperturbed and in stoppage they finally got their second goal in a Spanish combination. Torres broke through beyond the defensive lines and carried the ball goalwards. As Leno came out, Torres laid the ball to Mata who stabbed the ball into an open goal to secure the victory for Chelsea.

The hosts eventually got their win against a resilient German side. Leverkusen’s defensive organisation and steel will hold them in good stead as they look to qualify with from the group, however Chelsea’s class and experience saw them trough in the end and they showed why they are favourites to win the group. The team has been improving with every game and will hope for further progression when they take on the reigning champions of the English Premier League, Manchester United, at Old Trafford on Sunday.

Read more from Tom at his excellent blog Purple Patch

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Chelsea v Norwich Live Streaming

Chelsea manager Andre Villas-Boas will be a busy boy in the next week until the transfer window closes.

The Blues boss is planning for new arrivals and departures, hopes to sign Luka Modric and has to integrate Juan Mata into his midfield.

Tottenham chairman, Daniel Levy, has contacted his west London rivals to reiterate there was no chance of them signing the Croatian playmaker.

But AVB was particularly coy over whether this will deter him from making a fresh bid for the 25-year-old.

“I just have to speak to the owner (Roman Abramovich) when this kind of thing happens, ” he said.

“When there’s an offer, there’s a counter-offer and then you reach an agreement. Modric’s name is already out too much in the press. Let’s leave it.

“He’s Harry Redknapp’s player. He’s not my player, unfortunately.”

Villas-Boas is also in the market for a left-back to provide competition to Ashley Cole and confirmed he had attempted a raid on former club Porto for Alvaro Pereira.

The Uruguay international did not travel to Monaco with the Europa League-winners for Friday’s European Super Cup clash with Barcelona following a £16.6million bid from Chelsea.

Villas-Boas insists he did not know why Pereira had been left at home but admitted the two clubs were “massively apart” in their valuations.

“He has tremendous influence in the Uruguayan international team,” said the Chelsea boss.

“He beat the record twice for games played in Porto – not last year because he had a shoulder problem.

“He has the versatility as well. He can play on the inside in midfield, on the left of midfield or at left-back.”

Versatility also attracted Villas-Boas to new signing Juan Mata, who yesterday completed the formalities of his reported £24million move from Valencia.

It was Chelsea’s first mega-money deal of a summer that had seen their transfer activity overshadowed by that of Manchester City, Manchester United and even Liverpool.

“Criticism was coming from all fronts at a lack of market activity, so you can lay off us now,” Villas-Boas joked.

“This will be one of the biggest challenges of his (Mata’s) career coming to the Premier League, and this is a step up for him, as he’s admitted.

Further arrivals would almost certainly trigger departures from Stamford Bridge, although Villas-Boas insisted he had no intention of letting Florent Malouda leave.

“As we are speaking about the number of goals and assists that Mata has made at Valencia, let’s speak about the number that Malouda has made for Chelsea,” AVB retorted.

“We can’t let ourselves sell talent of this quality.”

Chelsea v Norwich Live Streaming

Chelsea new boy Juan Mata has revealed Fernando Torres convinced him to leave Valencia and sign for the Premier League giants.

The Blues have paid £26.3million for the 23-year-old who was one of the hottest properties in Europe this summer.

The Spain international had attracted interest from Arsenal and Tottenham after scoring 45 goals in 172 appearances for the La Liga club.

Valencia, despite selling £127million worth of players since 2009, has finished third behind Barcelona and Madrid the past two seasons and remains in the Champions League.

The Spanish side are still heavily in debt and Mata “never imagined himself leaving” but only agreed as the offer was too good for Valencia to pass up.

Chelsea want the playmaker to help Torres, a £50million signing from Liverpool, to start scoring, and it appears the hit-man played a huge role in bringing his compatriot to west London.

“When he knew they were interested in signing me, he spoke with me and told me that playing abroad could be a very nice step for me,” Mata said.

“It’s a new endeavor in my life, to develop personally and professionally. So I think I took the most logical decision.”

“I spoke with (president) Manuel Llorente since I wanted to know if the offer was a good help for the club in economic terms,” added Mata.

“I came in at zero cost and I leave a lot of money behind.

“I can only give thanks to the club for trusting in me as a 19-year-old who came over from a second-division club.

“It was difficult for a club like Valencia and its need to get results to trust a young kid, but they did.”

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Man United v Arsenal Live Streaming

Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger has not been receiving the backing of his board during this summer’s transfer window.

The Gunners boss is desperate to restructure the club’s wage structure allowing him to offer his stars wages of up to £150,000-a-week.

But the hierarchy are reluctant to change their stance of not spending big money on transfers and offering high wages.

It is believed Wenger wants a world class centre-back and knows to sign such a player would require a fee in excess of £20m and wages of over £100,000-a-week.

But the powers-that-be want the manager to look at cheaper options, like Scott Dann or Gary Cahill, according to the Football Network.

Wenger feels neither player is good enough to improve his first team and is reluctant to sign them. He is continuing to persuade his bosses to go all out for the top players he knows the club needs to compete.

The board are happy to pay fees in excess of £20million but will not match the big salaries that rivals Manchester City and Chelsea can pay.

Both sides are in agreement that the club needs new blood but the problem of the strict wage structure is hampering any potential deals.

The failure to complete the signing of Valencia midfielder Juan Mata, who is on the verge of signing for Chelsea, is a case in point.

An agreement between the two clubs were made, understood to be around the £22million mark.

But Arsenal refused to meet his wage demands, while the Blues were able to pay him without a second thought.

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