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Chelsea delivered yet another top-class performance, smashing Unai Emery’s Aston Villa side 3-0 at Stamford Bridge and going level on points with Arsenal after 13 games played in the Premier League.

Enzo Maresca’s men held 64% possession against the Villans, creating two big chances, taking 17 shots in the game, and generating 1.61 xG. The goals were scored by Nicolas Jackson, Enzo Fernández, and Cole Palmer, as the Blues continued their rich vein of form.

There were some key performances all over the pitch for Chelsea, one of which was the performance of 23-year-old midfielder, Fernandez, who scored a goal in back-to-back weeks, continuing his fine streak of form since returning to the side.

Enzo Fernández's performance in numbers

Fernandez found himself out of the Premier League starting XI under Maresca for a few weeks, as he chose to prioritise physicality in central areas, starting Roméo Lavia alongside Moises Caicedo.

However, since his return to the starting XI, Fernandez has made himself undroppable, scoring goals in successive Premier League games, and providing five assists in his previous four outings.

Alongside his goal against Aston Villa, Fernandez also managed two key passes, two out of two successful dribbles, and won six of his 11 ground duels, making three tackles.

The excellence of Fernandez has made him one of the first names on the team sheet in recent weeks, but he isn’t the only one, as Marc Cucurella is making himself undroppable with his performances, and it was another excellent one against Villa.

Performance in Numbers

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Marc Cucurella's performance in numbers

The 26-year-old Spaniard has made 15 appearances so far this season in all competitions, contributing to three clean sheets in his 1,100 minutes played.

Cucurella brings leadership, tenacity and hunger to the Chelsea team, making it a nightmare for attacking players to face him, getting stuck in, winning his duels, and getting under the opposition’s skin.

Minutes

90

Touches

127

Accurate Passes

105/109

Long Balls

2/4

Ground Duels Won

4/7

Aerial Duels Won

1/1

Clearances

2

Tackles

4

Against Villa, the full-back had an enormous 127 touches – the most of anyone on the pitch – and made 105/109 passes (96% completion). His sturdy nature on the ball, mixed with his aggression off of it, made him pivotal in this game.

The Spanish defender won four out of his seven ground duels, won his only aerial duel in the game, and made four tackles, clamping down his side of the pitch with his 1v1 defending. That said, it was his attacking contribution that was most impressive, steamrolling Jaden Philogene before taking the ball on the overlap to supply Jackson’s goal.

Emery tried to switch things up after 66 minutes, throwing Leon Bailey on the right to run at Cucurella, but the Spain international continued to come out on top, playing a huge part in Chelsea’s clean sheet.

Many questioned the £60m fee Cucurella cost the club back in 2022, especially after his tough start to life in blue. But since the halfway point of last season, the 26-year-old has shown his quality and settled into a real role in this squad. Now, many fans would suggest that the price tag was a bargain for what he brings to the side.

The next Palmer: Chelsea want "incredible" £40m star who can rival Jackson

Chelsea could add some depth up front

ByJoe Nuttall Nov 30, 2024

GOAL selected the 50 best footballing talents from around the world born on or after January 1, 2003 – but are they living up to their potential?

Since NXGN's launch in 2016, GOAL has profiled the 50 best footballing wonderkids on the planet on an annual basis. Some of those recognised for their talent as teenagers are now household names, but others have not yet realised their potential.

So after the NXGN 2025 list was revealed, check out where the stars of 2022 are now:

Every NXGN list

Dembele, Tielemans & 2016's best wonderkids

Mbappe, Donnarumma & 2017's best wonderkids

De Ligt, Kluivert & 2018's best wonderkids

Haaland, Sancho & 2019's best wonderkids

Saka, Rodrygo & 2020's best wonderkids

James, Oberdorf & 2020's best women's wonderkids

Pedri, Ansu Fati & 2021's best wonderkids

Le Tissier, Bennison & 2021's best women's wonderkids

Dumornay, Fowler & 2022's best women's wonderkids

Gavi, Garnacho & 2023's best wonderkids

Shaw, Thompson & 2023's best women's wonderkids

Yamal, Mainoo & 2024's best wonderkids

Caicedo, Moultrie & 2024's best women's wonderkids

50Bruno Iglesias (Real Madrid)

2022: Iglesias was being likened to Kaka within the Real Madrid academy having reached double-figures for both goals and assists for the U19s while Arsenal and Manchester City were tracking his progress.

2023: The playmaker struggled having stepped up to Madrid's Castilla team, and spent the second half of the 2022-23 team representing Madrid's second reserve side, RSC Internacional, in the fifth tier of Spanish football.

2024: Iglesias was loaned to Celta Vigo's reserve side, but started just once in the Spanish third tier amid a number of cameos from the bench.

2025: Back in the capital, Iglesias is now part of the Real Madrid C squad, for whom he appears regularly in the fourth tier.

Advertisement49Endrick (Palmeiras)

2022: Endrick was being dubbed the biggest Brazilian talent since Neymar after shining as a 15-year-old in the prestigious U20s Copinha for Palmeiras, with Europe's biggest clubs already queuing up to sign him.

2023: Having scored three goals in his first seven senior appearances, Endrick agreed to join Real Madrid for €60m in January 2023, though he will not move to Spain until the summer of 2024 when he turns 18.

2024: Endrick's first full season of senior football ended with him scoring 11 league goals, including some crucial strikes in the run-in as Palmeiras defended the Brasilerao title. He also began to make his mark on the Brazil national team by scoring against England and Spain, among others.

2025: The forward arrived in Madrid ahead of the 2024-25 season, and despite scoring on both his La Liga and Champions League debuts, his opportunities have been limited due to the Blancos' star-studded attack monopolising the minutes.

Getty Images48Marcelo Flores (Arsenal)

2022: Already a full Mexico international, Flores was making waves in Arsenal's youth sides by scoring spectacular goals and pulling off even more spectacular celebrations.

2023: Flores joined Real Oviedo on loan ahead of the 2022-23 season, but slowly fell out of contention for the Spanish second-division side. He was then sold to Mexican giants Tigres in September 2023.

2024: The winger played regularly during his first year months in Liga MX, though mostly as a substitute.

2025: Flores is slowly securing himself a place in the Tigres line up as the 2025 Clausura gets up to full speed.

47Roony Bardghji (FC Copenhagen)

2022: Dubbed 'the Swedish Messi', Bardghji was already the youngest goal-scorer in the history of the Danish Superliga, and the wide forward was being linked with a host of Europe's biggest clubs.

2023: After an injury-hit start to the 2022-23 season, Bardghji established himself as a regular contributor in Copenhagen, though he netted just three goals.

2024: Bardghji enjoyed a breakout season as he netted 11 goals in all competitions, including a late winner against Manchester United in the Champions League, and top Premier League clubs were following him closely before he suffered a serious knee injury in May 2024 that ruined any hopes of a summer transfer.

2025: The forward is continuing his recovery as he eyes a return before the season is out.

His penalty has been reduced from a three-match ban to a fine of 75% of his match fee and three demerit points

Mohammad Isam09-Feb-20221:08

Ravi Bopara: My attempt to bowl a knuckle ball was mistaken for ball-tampering

Sylhet Sunrisers captain Ravi Bopara has had his penalty for “changing the condition of the ball” reduced from a three-match ban to a fine of 75% of his match fee and three demerit points.The incident had occurred during Sylhet’s game against Khulna Tigers on February 7, and, initially, match referee Debabrata Paul had imposed the ban. But following Bopara’s appeal on February 8, the BPL technical committee reduced the match referee’s ruling.Later, at a press conference* after the match against Comilla Victorians, Bopara claimed that his grip for the knuckle ball was mistaken for ball-tampering. Bopara brought a ball to the press conference room anticipating the question. Showing how he bowls the knuckle ball, he explained that he grips it in a particular way if the ball is wet.”I bowl a knuckle ball where I run in hiding the ball,” he said. “Sometimes I run in holding it like this and that . It is not easy to get this grip, especially with the wet ball. You have to find the best part of the ball to put it. Otherwise, if the ball is wet, it can fly and you can bowl no-balls [for height].”I think there was a mistake there. It is disappointing but this is life.”Related

Sylhet docked five runs for changing the condition of the ball

Bopara was caught on camera running his finger over the ball during the ninth over of the Khulna innings. The on-field umpires Mahfuzur Rahman and Prageeth Rambukwella duly stopped play and changed the ball during the over, and docked Sylhet five runs. They had brought the charge against Bopara to the match referee, relating to changing the condition of the ball which is a breach of clause 41.3 of the BPL’s match playing conditions.A BCB statement on Friday read: “The technical committee reversed the suspension and executed the fine in accordance with the authority awarded to it in Article 8.2.3.4 of the [tournament’s] code of conduct which states that ‘the Technical Committee shall have the power to increase or decrease, amend or otherwise substitute a new decision on the appropriateness (or otherwise) of the sanction imposed at first instance’. It is further confirmed as per Article 8.2.3.6 that, ‘Any decision made by the Technical Committee under this Article 8.2, shall be the full, final and complete disposition of the matter and will be binding on all parties’.”If Bopara gets another demerit point during this tournament, he will get a one-match suspension. Every four demerit points translate into a one-match suspension as per Article 7.5 of the code of conduct.*1740 GMT The copy was updated after the press conference

Several players in the visiting squad testing positive for Covid-19 forces the development

Umar Farooq16-Dec-2021The three-match ODI series between Pakistan and West Indies due to begin on Saturday has been postponed to June 2022 in the wake of a Covid-19 outbreak among the visiting squad.West Indies were hit by the virus on the very first day they arrived in Karachi with three players and a support staff member testing positive. While the tour was able to survive that, the emergence of five more Covid cases from tests done on Wednesday – the day before the third and final T20I – took the situation out of everyone’s hands.With Devon Thomas sidelined with a finger injury as well, West Indies only had 14 players to choose from and though that proved enough to complete the T20I leg of the tour, both boards agreed that continuing with such a depleted squad would not be right, especially given the ODIs that were to follow were also part of the Super League which determines a team’s progress into the 2023 World Cup.”On Thursday morning and as part of the PCB Covid-19 Protocols, Rapid Antigen tests were conducted on the remaining 15 West Indies players and six player support personnel,” a joint PCB-CWI release said. “All 21 members of the West Indies touring party returned negative test result. As such, Thursday’s T20 International (T20I) proceeded as planned.”However, taking into consideration both the teams’ welfare as well as limited resources in the West Indies side for the ODIs, it has been agreed that the series, which forms part of the ICC Men’s Cricket Word Cup Super League, will be postponed and rescheduled for early June 2022.”This will provide the West Indies with an equal opportunity to field their best available players for the World Cup qualification matches.”The 15 West Indies players and six support staff who were cleared of the virus will leave for home after tonight’s match. The others – Sheldon Cottrell, Roston Chase, Kyle Mayers, Shai Hope, Akeal Hosein, Justin Greaves, assistant coach Roddy Estwick, team physician Dr Akshai Mansingh and one more non-coaching member – will stay back in Karachi. According to the bio-security protocols for this tour, anyone who tests positive for Covid-19 will have to undergo isolation for a period of 10 days and will only be released from it after two negative tests.It is unclear how any of the West Indies players contracted Covid-19. The 21-member squad arrived in Karachi in commercial flights from multiple locations via Dubai. They were placed in quarantine for two days before they came together as a group to train for and play the first two T20Is.Pakistan’s players, all of whom tested negative on Wednesday, will also be leaving the bio-bubble after tonight’s third T20I.This is the second ODI series to be disrupted on Pakistan soil in 2021. New Zealand were supposed to play three matches in Rawalpindi in October but minutes before the first one was to begin, they called it off citing security concerns. Pakistan’s next 50-over assignment is against Australia in March 2022.

On a surface that is expected to dry out and take turn by day three, Sri Lanka’s 267 for 3 represents a substantial advantage

Andrew Fidel Fernando21-Nov-2021Dimuth Karunaratne hunkered down in the difficult first session, scored more confidently in the afternoon, and then pressed home Sri Lanka’s advantage in the evening, to go to stumps at 132 off 265 balls in his first Test since May. Pathum Nissanka and Dhananjaya de Silva also made contrasting fifties, to help their captain bookend the day with big stands. On a surface that is expected to dry out and take turn by day three, Sri Lanka’s 267 for 3 represents a substantial advantage for the hosts.West Indies will rue a number of close and missed chances, none greater than the dropped catch off Karunaratne when he was on 14. Rahkeem Cornwall, who perhaps put Karunaratne through his greatest test of the innings with his first spell, got a ball to take the outside edge as the batter attempted to open the face. It flew just wide of the wicketkeeper’s gloves, and at a catchable height to the right of slip. Jermaine Blackwood could not get two hands to the ball, though, and grassed it.Related

Jeremy Solozano suffers concussion after blow to head, Shai Hope replaces him as concussion substitute

Karunaratne: Arthur was 'like a father' to Sri Lanka's players

Offspin was West Indies’ most effective weapon on day one, with Roston Chase removing Oshada Fernando and Angelo Mathews, both for 3, after tea. Their best bowler, however, was Jason Holder, who delivered eight maiden overs in his total of 14, and troubled Mathews so consistently that it prompted the batter to take a fatal risk against Chase.Shannon Gabriel, who was controversially preferred over Kemar Roach for this Test, was the other bowler to take a wicket, when he had Nissanka chase a wide delivery, and nick off to first slip roughly midway through the middle session. Gabriel was expensive, though, leaking 56 runs from his 12 overs. Both frontline spinners – Cornwall and left-armer Jomel Warrican – also delivered good spells, particularly in the morning, when the pitch had a little bite.Jason Holder was perhaps West Indies’ best bowler on day one in Galle•AFP/Getty ImagesKarunaratne struggled in the early overs, as you might expect from a batter who has barely played any competitive cricket over the past six months. He played and missed against Gabriel and Holder, and was pinned down by Cornwall, who used the crease to vary his angle to the left-hander from around the wicket. With the benefit of that dropped catch, though, Karunaratne survived, and began to build. He went to lunch on 32 off 75 balls, and raised the tempo after the break – the conditions having settled somewhat. He used his feet to drive the spinners through mid-off, and sometimes shuffled across to either lap or glance them through fine leg – his two most productive regions. The seamers he largely hit square of the wicket, often employing his favoured flick.Roston Chase on the Galle pitch so far:

Think the pitch is a good batting pitch. Not much there for the fast bowlers. The ball was spinning a little bit early on with the moisture that the wicket had, but after lunch it settled down. We took the second new ball, but I still think it’s a pitch where we need to be patient. On this track it’ll take a little more time to take the batters’ wickets. We need to be disciplined in our lines and lengths, and back it up in the field. Patience is the key.

Karunaratne got to fifty soon after lunch, and had a second mild slice of fortune soon after, when he hit one low in the air through the legs of bowler Cornwall, who was not quick enough to get down to the possible catch. But the remainder of his innings was largely fuss-free. He used the depth of the crease to punish spinners who pitched too short, and although his first attempt at a reverse sweep had prompted a big lbw appeal, he got better with that shot through the course of the day. Karunaratne did get stuck in the nineties for 29 balls, but that was largely the doing of Holder’s impeccable line and length. The hundred, which came off 212 deliveries, was the 13th of his career, and his fourth this year – his previous four innings having brought 66, 118, 244 and 75. Earlier in 2021, he’d also hit a second-innings hundred at The Wanderers.Karunaratne’s most fruitful stand of the day was with Nissanka, who hit 56 off 140 balls. The pair made 139 together, which is a Sri Lankan record for the first wicket against West Indies. Although Karunaratne was reticent through the first session, Nissanka had been even more so, having been promoted to the top of the innings due to the elected absence of Lahiru Thirimanne.Late in the day, after West Indies’ dry bowling had brought them two wickets, de Silva came in at No. 5 and livened up the place, as he often does. He creamed his fourth ball behind point for four, came down the track against the spinners and hit them aerially down the ground, swept effectively, square drove, and reached his ninth Test fifty off the 62nd ball he faced.West Indies took the second new ball late in the day, but could not make a breakthrough before bad light stopped play two overs short of what would have constituted a full day.

David Warner returned to form with a powerful half-century as Australia started the Super 12s with back-to-back victories. For the second match in a row, Australia chased a target – although there was minimal drama this time, as Sri Lanka were made to pay for dropping Warner early in his innings.Sri Lanka’s attack has played a big part in their success in the tournament so far, but the challenge provided by Australia represented a step up. Their three frontline quicks were largely treated with disdain, allowing Australia to tread carefully against the legerdemain of Maheesh Theekshana. Two wickets in consecutive overs from Wanindu Hasaranga, accounting for Aaron Finch and Glenn Maxwell, did lift Sri Lankan hopes only for a half-century stand between Warner and Steven Smith to steady the chase.

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Having chosen to bowl, Finch was grateful to the combined efforts of Adam Zampa and Mitchell Starc as Australia dragged the innings back during the middle period. With Charith Asalanka providing the spark, Sri Lanka rattled along to 53 for 1 in the powerplay and were well-placed approaching halfway, only for Zampa to induce a slide from 78 for 1 to 94 for 5.Zampa finished with fine figures of 2 for 12, while Starc’s pace accounted for Kusal Perera, Sri Lanka’s joint top-scorer alongside Asalanka, and the dangerous Hasaranga. Some resourceful batting from Bhanuka Rajapaksa helped repair some of the damage, as Sri Lanka managed to set a target above 150 – but it was not enough to stretch Australia, who became the 13th side out of 17 to win batting second in Dubai this year.The Zampa and Starc Show
Legspin and pace – always an exciting combo, and two of the weapons of choice in T20. Sri Lanka had recovered well from the early loss of Pathum Nissanka, with Asalanka and Perera racing during a second-wicket partnership worth 63 before Zampa made the breakthrough in the 10th over. Sri Lanka have the worst record against legspin since the last World Cup, among all teams in the Super 12 stage, and Asalanka’s dismissal slogging against the turn of a googly precipitated a middle-order collapse.In the next over, Starc responded to being slammed for six over long-on by sending a searing yorker through Perera’s defences and into the base of leg stump. Avishka Fernando top-edged an attempted slog-sweep off Zampa and Wanindu Hasaranga was then caught behind aiming an expansive drive at Starc, as Sri Lanka lost 4 for 16 in the space of 17 deliveries to put Australia on top.Openers find form
Australia have kept faith with Finch and Warner at the top of the order, despite their slim recent returns – and that faith was repaid handsomely, as the experienced opening pair took advantage of a sloppy Sri Lanka start with the ball to reach 63 without loss after six, the highest powerplay score in all T20 World Cups.Defending what was roughly a par score batting first on this ground, Sri Lanka needed early wickets. But Chamika Karunaratne’s first over was loose, twice going short and wide to allow Finch to cut fours – with those two boundaries, Australia’s captain had already raised his highest score in seven T20I innings in the UAE. And with the ball coming on nicely under lights, he took on the extra pace of Lahiru Kumara and Dushmantha Chameera, ramping the former over third and then lofting a straight six, before another four off Chameera brought up Australia’s 50 in the fifth over.Warner has been in even worse nick, but he reverse-scooped a boundary in Theekshana’s exploratory over and rode his luck on the way to his highest T20 score since making 85 not out for Sunrisers Hyderabad almost a year ago. He should have been dismissed on 18, after gloving Chameera behind, but Perera dropped a simple chance and Warner drew on all his experience to produce the goods when needed.Balancing act
The switch from playing five specialist bowlers to trying to fiddle their allocation from a clutch of allrounders has been a recent one for Australia, and this match demonstrated both sides of the coin. Maxwell got through four cheap overs in the win over South Africa but was taken down by Asalanka in the powerplay here, meaning Finch turned to Marcus Stoinis – only for Rajapaksa to collar him at the death as Sri Lanka kicked on.In all, four overs from Australia’s “fifth bowler” cost them 51 runs, almost exactly a third of Sri Lanka’s total. But the benefit of adding depth to their batting was also clear to see. A confident start from the openers, hitherto lacking out in the UAE, meant Maxwell could be sent in at No. 3 to attack the spinners; and although he failed, Smith kept things ticking over before Stoinis came out and whacked 16 off seven balls to demonstrate his appetite for the finisher’s role. Mitchell Marsh, who wasn’t required to bat or bowl and was rarely called on in the field, couldn’t have had much easier night’s work.