Chelsea

Neither of these two teams don dey in best of forms in recent weeks and dem desperately need di win.

E tee up Milne looping cross, but Gallagher get in front of Thiago to clear di danger. Dis time, di Englishman dey bring di ball under control before e come lay am off to Hall, but im low shot rolls across di face of goal. But di angle dey too tight and e fire wide of di post. E clip am into di middle for Gakpo wey flick am on. 14mins: Silva overhit one attempted throughball into Havertz, and Liverpool come away wit am. E no fit get a shot away, though, as Ibrahima Konate stand tall to see off di immediate threat. Mount slip wen Havertz first square am to am, but Chelsea quickly win am back. E beat one man, two, three but with just a finish needed, e fire over di bar. Silva flick am away and Alexander-Arnold get space on di right of di box. Badiashile half-clears am to Thiago, wey low shot dy blocked by Silva. Mykhailo Mudryk now dey show say e get some serious wheels on am, beating James Milner to one ball on di left before di Liverpool player hack am to di ground. Liverpool 0-0 Chelsea

Liverpool and Chelsea had to settle for a point each from their dismal goalless Premier League draw at Anfield on Saturday afternoon.

Darwin Nunez's arrival off the bench had a similar impact on the Liverpool attack, but the Uruguayan also failed to find a way through. The change in personnel did little to ignite a drastically improved performance as the Reds were penned back in the first 45 minutes by a similarly out of sorts Chelsea. Liverpool — Liverpool and Chelsea's poor seasons were summed up in a dismal 0-0 draw at Anfield on Saturday that did little to aid their chances of climbing into the Premier League's top four.

Chelsea thought they had gone ahead against Liverpool within three minutes at Anfield, but a VAR check chalked off Kai Havertz's effort for offside.

While both Silva and Havertz were onside from the initial ball through from Benoit Badiashile, the German was standing in an offside position when the Brazilian centre-back struck the ball, with his left foot placed visibly ahead of play. The German reacted quickest and the Chelsea players wheeled off in celebration, but an intervention from VAR ruled the goal out. Chelsea started the brighter of the two sides, and their pressure told when Havertz turned home from close range.

Minute-by-minute report: Chelsea had an early Kai Havertz goal ruled out for offside in an otherwise unremarkable mid-table affair.

Robertson drives down the middle, with a little help from Bajcetic and Keita, and sends the ball wide right for Salah, who looks to return it to the left back. 35 min: Robertson comes dribbling in from the left, to get the home crowd finally excited. Salah probes down the right, then Robertson draws a foul from Ziyech on the left. 49 min: Gallagher nudges Thiago to the floor and is slightly fortunate to escape a booking when he flings the ball away in frustration. [Liverpool](https://www.theguardian.com/football/liverpool) box from the right. [Liverpool](https://www.theguardian.com/football/liverpool) recycle possession, and Nunez makes off down the left channel. 52 min: Robertson bustles – and bustles hard – down the inside-left channel. A stern word from the ref. Mudryk tries to control at the far post, but feathers it out for a goal kick. Nunez shoots upon entering the box, but from such a tight angle that it’s easy for Kepa to claim. 80 min: Chalobah, in the process of being subbed, takes an age to leave the field of play. But he falls over his own feet in his eagerness to receive the return pass and shoot, and Gomez is able to usher the ball out of play.

Has Chelsea's £400m transfer spending spree left the Premier League club in danger of breaking Financial Fair Play (FFP) rules?

There is a long way to go in the season and a lot can happen in football, but I do not doubt that the decision makers at Chelsea will have an eye on Financial Fair Play regulations given their current position and spending. The new Uefa Financial Fair Play regulations also limit how much clubs can spend on wages, transfers and agent fees and this threshold will be phased from 2023 with a cap at 90 per cent of income to 80 per cent in 2024 and in 70 per cent in 2025. For clubs put on the watchlist, the level of scrutiny on their accounts from Uefa will tighten for the next three years and various information requests will be sent to control the level of spending and compliance with Financial Fair Play regulations. This is the new ownership’s first full season and all efforts appear to be pushing the spending amount closer and closer to the limit in terms of Uefa’s Financial Fair Play regulations. The target at this point in the season will be to get a Champions League spot and benefit from the revenues that the competition generates. The new ownership is pushing to strengthen the squad as soon as possible to improve results on the pitch, although that is not to say there could be problems off it when it comes to Uefa’s Financial Fair Play regulations off of it.

Chelsea transfer news: The latest Blues gossip and headlines as it happens with updates on Noni Madueke, Mykhailo Mudryk and Malo Gusto.

The [Chelsea ](https://www.football.london/chelsea-fc/)boss will be confident about going to Anfield and getting a result, especially considering the fact Liverpool have lost their last two league games. [Chelsea](https://www.football.london/chelsea-fc/)'s sixth January arrival Noni Madueke has revealed who his favourite Blues player from the past which it's likely to only fill supporters with excitement. Chelsea have completed the signing of Noni Madueke from PSV Eindhoven on a seven and a half year deal which is thought to cost around £35million. [Chelsea sent their opening bid of £55million to 'test the water'](https://www.football.london/chelsea-fc/transfer-news/chelsea-brighton-moises-caicedo-transfer-26017381), but saw it rejected with Brighton demanding upwards of £75million. [Media Foot](https://mediafoot.net/le-psg-travaille-sur-le-dossier-kai-havertz-info-media-foot/), PSG are now considering a move for the 23-year-old Blues player. football.london understands that Spurs head coach [Antonio Conte has two priorities this month; to sign a new attacking player and a right wing-back](https://www.football.london/tottenham-hotspur-fc/transfer-news/kessie-tete-conte-tottenham-transfer-25856386), and Porro is seen as the ideal option for the latter. [The Blues welcomed Noni Madueke to the club on Friday evening as their sixth January arrival](https://www.football.london/chelsea-fc/transfer-news/breaking-madueke-chelsea-transfer-complete-26024448) taking the total spent in this window to £187million. [Spurs sent an opening bid for the 23-year-old earlier this week ](https://www.football.london/tottenham-hotspur-fc/transfer-news/tottenham-transfer-offer-pedro-porro-26012973)with a player plus cash deal which was, as expected, immediately rejected by Sporting who refuse to allow Porro to leave unless his €45million (£39 million) release clause is met. Both teams have endured a tough first-half of the campaign, but bolstered by big moves in the transfer window, they'll each be looking to get their respective seasons back on track with a statement win. Despite signing six players in the January transfer window, with Noni Madueke the latest to arrive at Stamford Bridge, the Blues are yet to recruit in a position that to many should be the priority. A Chelsea fanpage on Instagram (chelsea.fc.awaysdays) posted a clip of a chant dedicated to Mudryk belted out from the away end in Merseyside. Malo Gusto is on the list, the 19-year-old Lyon full-back is one of the best up and coming youngsters in his position on the planet and could be available.

Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta has responded to the blow of losing primary transfer target Mykhaylo Mydryk to rivals Chelsea by signing winger Leandro ...

"When they explain to you the whole story and you look for the next two, three, four, five years, then you see they have a serious project. "They invited the player and explained to us the whole project,” he said. Due to factors such as age, the 28-year-old cost Arsenal around a third of Mudryk’s transfer fee. Chelsea chair Boehly has been heavily criticised in some circles for splashing out over £450m since his takeover in the summer. Mudryk’s Instagram activity suggested he had hoped to join the Gunners until Chelsea owner Boehly swooped in to hijack the deal. The billionaire American liked a tweet asking: “Which one is a GOOD BUSINESS??

Liverpool and Chelsea played out a goalless draw as the recent struggles of both teams were laid bare on a cold afternoon at Anfield. Kai Havertz had an early goal disallowed for offside but the game failed to ignite thereafter. Mykhailo Mudryk did impress ...

They started the second half well, and we adjusted a couple of things and gained control, had a couple of chances. Their other games in February see them host Southampton and travel to Borussia Dortmund in the Champions League last-16. It was surprising given the quality of the players but perhaps to be expected given the form of the two teams. Overall, a positive day, apart from the fact we wanted three points." We have to be ready for little steps and this is a little step. "First half, we were decent, unlucky not to get the goal. In the end, I'm okay with 0-0 because you have to accept these steps. It was a feature of the game with Benoit Badiashile almost opening the scoring just after the half-hour mark only for Alisson to save from close range. "We defended in the second half with passion and clear organisation, but we were too deep in these moments. Chelsea are a team in transition and how long the 38-year-old Brazilian will be part of it remains to be seen, but they are not ready for life without him yet. Kai Havertz had an early goal disallowed for offside but the game failed to ignite thereafter. But the two teams remain locked level on points in midtable.