Straight Outta Cobham: The Athletic FC's Chelsea show

It feels like more than just a point... Matt Davies-Adams has got an OG SOC crew of The Athletic's Simon Johnson and Liam Twomey alongside him to look back on Sunday's 1-1 draw with league leaders Arsenal at Stamford Bridge.The gang reflect on the pretty remarkable point picked up against the Gunners given the first half red card dished out to Moises Caicedo, the maturity showed by Reece James and the rest of the team to contain Mikel Arteta's side - and the overall growth of this young squad over just a matter of months to show they really can be competitive against the very best the Premier League and Europe has to offer. Next up - the Blues kick off a run of three straight away games when they travel to Elland Road to face Leeds on Wednesday night. How will Enzo Maresca tinker ahead of that one? And will Cole Palmer be thrown back in from the start? Plus! Dom Fifield pops by to tell us more about The Athletic’s brand new book ‘The Soccer 100’ - billed as ‘a celebration of the beautiful game and its 100 greatest players’. Who of a Chelsea persuasion gets a mention?!We'll be back on Monday to look back on Saturday's trip to Bournemouth AND look ahead to UCL MD6 as the Blues head out to Bergamo to face Atalanta on Tuesday night.Join our Straight Outta Cobham fantasy league!Get The Athletic's 'Soccer 100' book! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Yamal who???????Producer Lucy's joined by Simon Johnson to look back on a great European night under the lights at Stamford Bridge as Chelsea dispatched Spanish champions Barcelona in emphatic fashion, winning 3-0 and in some style on Tuesday evening.What more can we say about Estêvão?! How big was it for Liam Delap to open his account? How good is Marc Cucurella!? And how does this set the team up for the top of the table clash with the Gunner's this weekend?Matt will be back on Monday for a comprehensive look back at Sunday's visit of Arsenal - and to look ahead to the midweek trip to Leeds in the Premier League! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Some week ahead...Matt Davies-Adams has got Cerys Jones and Sam Parkin alongside him for all the fallout from Saturday's ultimately comfortable 2-0 win over Burnley at Turf Moor.It might not have been the most memorable of encounters - but we lavish praise on Andrey Santos and his MOTM performance, ponder Liam Delap's importance despite his struggles in front of goal - and lament Cole Palmer's door frame after his freak injury extends his lay-off from action. It tees us up for an absolutely pivotal week - with Barcelona visiting Stamford Bridge on Tuesday night, before Arsenal make the trip over from North London in the Premier League on Sunday afternoon.We look ahead to the Champions League MD5 meeting against the Spanish giants - with The Athletic's Barca reporter Pol Ballús on hand to give us some insight into what to expect from Hansi Flick's side. Simon Johnson was in SW6 for the pre-match press conferences of Enzo Maresca and Marc Cucurella - so we've got a bit of a flavour of that for you too! We'll be back on Wednesday morning with Simon's official verdict from the Bridge - before Matt and the gang return on Monday morning with our full post-Arsenal pod.HOST: Matt Davies-AdamsWITH: Cerys Jones and Sam ParkinPRODUCER: Lucy Oliva Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

No more international breaks until March!? Hallelujah!Matt Davies-Adams has got Cerys Jones and Luke Bosher along for the ride as we relish the return of the Premier League - and Saturday's long trip to Turf Moor to take on Burnley.We've got a round up of the international Blues in action - before pondering how that will impact upon Enzo Maresca's ever-unpredictable team selection, why this could be a big opportunity for Liam Delap to kickstart his season - and whether Cole Palmer should be risked with Barca and Arsenal on the horizon?!CFCW suffered disappointment at the weekend, held to a 1-1 draw by bottom of the table Liverpool to see them fall three points behind Man City at the top of the WSL table. Can they use that as fuel when they face old foes Barcelona in the Champions League on Thursday night?We'll be back on Monday to round up events in Lancashire - and look ahead to the visit of Spanish champions Barcelona in the Champions League on Tuesday!Listen to the Totally Football Show - The Art of Enjoying Hazard Join the Straight Outta Cobham fantasy league! HOST: Matt Davies-AdamsWITH: Luke Bosher and Cerys JonesPRODUCER: Lucy Oliva Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

165 games later...Matt Davies-Adams has got Cerys Jones and Liam Twomey alongside him for the seismic fallout from Malo Gusto scoring his first ever senior goal - which got the ball rolling on Chelsea's ultimately incredibly comfortable 3-0 win over Wolves at Stamford Bridge on Saturday night.We talk the ongoing great rotation debate, whether starboy Estêvão should be in from the start - and whether this enforced break will give some of the team a chance to get back to something like full fitness after a punishing schedule. Cerys did the double-header on Saturday, also in place at The Emirates for the eventful 1-1 draw between Arsenal and Chelsea in the WSL. We've got reaction to that one and a simply sensational first league goal from Alyssa Thompson. We'll take a pause for the last international break until March (hallelujah!) - but return the back end of next week to look ahead to the trip to Turf Moor AND the visit of Barcelona in the Champions League in midweek.Join the Straight Outta Cobham Fantasy League! HOST: Matt Davies-AdamsWITH: Cerys Jones and Liam TwomeyPRODUCER: Lucy Oliva Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Qarabag had lost all seven of their previous matches against English opposition, but that's fine... Producer Lucy's got reaction from the 2-2 draw with the Azerbaijani champions out in Baku - with Cerys Jones across the game for The Athletic on a night where the Blues avoided the embarrassment of a shock defeat, but still suffered a major blow to their hopes of finishing in the top eight of the league phase table. Are Chelsea suffering due to the ongoing lack of stability in the starting XI? Why was there such little urgency from the heavily-rotated side? And what does this mean going into the visit of Wolves on Saturday?! Matt Davies-Adams will be back with a full show on Monday looking back on that game under the lights at Stamford Bridge, as well as the huge WSL clash between Arsenal and Chelsea. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

0.05 xG?!?Matt Davies-Adams is accompanied by two of The Athletic's finest - Simon Johnson and Luke Bosher - to look back on the 1-0 victory over Tottenham.It was a rather bizarre evening without major incident compared to the recent mayhem between these two sides - but we discuss the complete nullification of Spurs, Robert Sanchez's impressive command of his box (while hearing from the man himself) - and run out of ways to describe just how magnificent Moises Caicedo is.The Blues have got a long midweek trip to Qarabağ to navigate on Wednesday night. We preview that game and ponder just how many changes we'll see from the utterly unpredictable Enzo Maresca.Elsewhere - CFCW were back in domestic action and back to winning ways after their hard-fought 2-0 win over London City Lionesses to maintain their 1-point lead at the top of the WSL table. Plus - we're all Team Hannah Hampton!We'll be back later in the week with some quick-fire reaction to Wednesday's trip to Azerbaijan - before Matt and the gang return on Monday to bring you the fallout from Saturday evening's visit of Wolves in the Premier League.Join the Straight Outta Cobham fantasy league! HOST: Matt Davies-AdamsWITH: Luke Bosher and Simon JohnsonPRODUCER: Lucy Oliva Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Five wins in a row is a myth...Matt Davies-Adams is joined by Sam Parkin and full debutant Cerys Jones to look back on the late 2-1 defeat by Sunderland at Stamford Bridge.We begin with the verdict of Simon Johnson direct from the press box in SW6 - before dissecting some of the finer points of the disappointing performance and result including the struggles of Joao Pedro and Marc Guiu, Enzo Maresca's somewhat perplexing selections - and the lack of defensive stability which is causing concern. We've got a midweek trip to genuine crisis club Wolverhampton Wanderers in the League Cup last 16 to look forward to - offering our predicted starting XI's ahead of a game that now feels like it's grown in importance with the visit to Tottenham just around the corner.We'll be back on Monday with all the fallout from Saturday evening's trip across to our old friends Spurs - and to look ahead to the long trip to Qarabag in the Champions League! Join the Straight Outta Cobham fantasy league! League Code: 7lntvqHOST: Matt Davies-AdamsWITH: Cerys Jones and Sam ParkinPRODUCER: Lucy Oliva Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Don't they know Chelsea are the ones who get the red cards?!Producer Lucy's got reaction to the 5-1 rout of Ajax at a rainy Stamford Bridge with analysis from the press box provided by Blues reporter Simon Johnson and The Athletic's Senior Data Analyst Mark Carey. 10 changes but no problems for Enzo Maresca's side - who made a little bit of history by becoming the first team to have three teenagers score in a Champions League match.Who stood out in the circumstances? How impressive were the youngsters? And how does this set them up for the visit of Sunderland on Saturday?Matt Davies-Adams will be back on Monday to review that meeting with the Black Cats - and look ahead to the trip to Molineux to face Wolves in the League Cup! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Oh, mate...Matt Davies-Adams, Simon Johnson and Sam Parkin assemble on a gloomy Monday morning to look back on the game of two halves at the City Ground as Chelsea eventually came out 3-0 winners and spelt the end for Ange Postecoglou at Nottingham Forest.We discuss how Enzo's side tried their best to hand Forest the three points in a difficult first half, the impact of the half-time changes (not for the first time this season) - and praise for Marc Guiu for his immediate impact in the game.Then - we look ahead to the visit of Ajax in Matchday 3 of the Champions League on Wednesday night. John Heitinga's side have lost their last two Eredivisie games - and were also beaten to nil in their opening two European fixtures. So - the Blues should be clear favourites coming into this one... should they!? There's also plenty of reminiscing about *that* crazy 4-4 back in November 2019.We'll be back with a brief round up of the Ajax game on Thursday morning - before Matt and the gang return next Monday to look back on Saturday's visit of high-flying Sunderland in the Premier League!HOST: Matt Davies-AdamsWITH: Simon Johnson and Sam ParkinPRODUCER: Lucy OlivaJoin the Straight Outta Cobham fantasy league! League Code: 7lntvq Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

MDA Derby pending...Matt's got a vintage combo of Sam Parkin and Dom Fifield alongside him as we gear up for the return of the Premier League and a trip to Nottingham Forest at Saturday lunchtime.Two weeks on from that dramatic triumph against Liverpool - will the feel-good factor still be in full effect? Or will the international break travel and toil mean this is a tougher assignment than it looks on paper against a Forest side who are winless in seven under Ange Postecoglou? We ponder the usual selection dilemmas, desires to see Estêvão unleashed from the start - and let Matt wallow in the mess it seems the opponents have got themselves into this season. The men may have been away - but there's plenty to catch up on when it comes to CFCW after their surprise draw with Twente in the Champions League and narrow WSL victory over Tottenham over the weekend. Cerys Jones has followed Sonia Bompastor's team closely this season and stops by ahead of the visit of Paris FC on Wednesday night.Plus! A chance to hear from Champions League, Premier League and FA Cup winner Florent Malouda - sharing his learnings and advice for Jamie Gittens after his own slow start to life at Stamford Bridge back in 2007... We'll be back on Monday for all the fallout from the trip to the City Ground and a look ahead to the visit of Ajax in Matchday 3 of the Champions League in midweek!HOST: Matt Davies-AdamsWITH: Dom Fifield, Sam Parkin & Cerys JonesPRODUCER: Lucy Oliva Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

EsteWOW hasn't been used yet, has it?!Matt Davies-Adams is joined by The Athletic's Simon Johnson and Luke Bosher to revel in the glorious 2-1 victory over Liverpool at Stamford Bridge on Saturday evening.Despite initial trepidation when the team sheet dropped before kick-off, we reflect on the hugely impressive defensive performance, yet another Caicedo banger, the importance of this result (and his celebration) for Enzo Maresca and his relationship with the fans - and of course, the lift-off moment for 18-year-old Estevao after his superb 95th minute winner.Elsewhere, CFCW dropped their first points of the season as they were held to a 1-1 draw at Manchester United on Friday night. Plus - which former Blue made a total of 125 appearances across four seasons for the club in the noughties - but just 65 of those appearances came as a starter? We'll take a short hiatus for the international break but be back with you next week for a look ahead to the MDA derby as the Blues prepare for the trip to the City Ground to take on Nottingham Forest!HOST: Matt Davies-AdamsWITH: Luke Bosher and Simon JohnsonPRODUCER: Lucy Oliva Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The Jose show was back in town for one night only...Matt Davies-Adams has got Luke Bosher and a sleep-deprived Liam Twomey back alongside him to reflect on Tuesday night's narrow 1-0 win over Benfica at Stamford Bridge!We touch on the concerns which were mounting after the performance at Lincoln and Saturday's Brighton defeat - before diving into some of the key themes from the victory over Mourinho's men with the help of a Simon Johnson voicenote amidst the thick of the action.Then - Liverpool are in town - fresh off the back of two defeats for Arne Slot's slightly wavering Premier League champions. We rate the Blues' chances and feel strangely optimistic about them coming away with a result?!We touch base with the fortunes of CFCW who've continued their perfect start to the season in the WSL - and shoutout Shim Mheuka for his second hat-trick of the campaign already!We'll be back on Monday when Chelsea have hopefully entered the international break in positive fashion...!Join the Straight Outta Cobham PL Fantasy League! HOST: Matt Davies-AdamsWITH: Luke Bosher and Liam TwomeyPRODUCER: Lucy Oliva Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

13 games without a league win at Old Trafford... THIRTEEN!!!Matt Davies-Adams has got Luke Bosher and Simon Johnson along for our post-Man United pity party after the shambolic showing in the torrential Manchester rain on Saturday night.We discuss Enzo's baffling substitutions, the Robert Sanchez experience, whether we need to start worrying about Cole Palmer's groin - and the strange case of Tyrique George...The Blues are off to Sincil Bank on Tuesday night to face League One side Lincoln City in the third round of the League Cup. We look ahead to that game - and the Brighton test which is just around the corner on Saturday afternoon.Elsewhere, CFCW picked up another three points in albeit unconvincing fashion as they made it three wins from three with a 1-0 victory over Leicester City.We'll be back on Monday to look back on Saturday's meeting with Brighton - and preview the return of a certain Jose Mourinho in the Champions League with Benfica coming to town on Tuesday night!HOST: Matt Davies-AdamsWITH: Luke Bosher and Simon JohnsonPRODUCER: Lucy Oliva Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Not *quite* the return to Europe's top table we were looking for...Producer Lucy's got The Athletic's Chelsea reporter Simon Johnson on hand to bring his post-match reaction to the 3-1 defeat by Bayern Munich in Matchday 1 of the 2025-26 Champions League campaign. We hear from Enzo Maresca on how the Blues can 'build something special from this defeat', discuss the huge gulf in experience on this stage but how well the young team acquitted themselves in the circumstances - and look ahead to Saturday's trip to Old Trafford. Very pleased to say that normal service will resume on Monday and Matt and the gang will be back to round up the Blues' fortunes from across the weekend - and look ahead to Lincoln City! Join the Straight Outta Cobham PL Fantasy League! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

A draw?! At Brentford?! Never...Matt Davies-Adams has got The Athletic's Simon Johnson and Thom Harris alongside him to look back on the frenetic 2-2 draw with the Bees at the Gtech on Saturday night.We discuss the controversial late equaliser, the eyebrow-raising first half team selection - and whether this shows that Enzo Maresca still has a lot to learn about juggling the Premier League and Europe...Then it's all eyes on Wednesday's trip to Munich, as Chelsea make their Champions League return against old friends Bayern at the Allianz.And there was a hard-fought WSL victory for CFCW at Aston Villa on Sunday - including a goal on her return for Sam Kerr after a whole 20 months out!We'll be back with the first of our UCL round up pods on Thursday morning - and then back on Monday to reflect on the trip to Old Trafford to take on PL banter club Manchester United on Saturday evening.Join the Straight Outta Cobham PL Fantasy League!HOST: Matt Davies-AdamsWITH: Simon Johnson and Thom HarrisPRODUCER: Lucy Oliva Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Let's not get stung by any Bees...Matt Davies-Adams has got Thom Harris and Sam Parkin alongside him as we prepare for the return of the Premier League after it was rudely interrupted by the international break!We begin with some early reflections on the season so far - and some of key tactical moves and talking points which have stood out from Enzo Maresca's side in the opening three games of this campaign.There's a look ahead to Saturday evening's trip down the road to Brentford - where there could be some important squad management to do with a trip to Munich just around the corner...Plus, Chelsea Women's season got off to the perfect start with a 2-1 win over Man City at Stamford Bridge on Friday night!We'll be back on Monday to reflect on the short trip to Brentford, tell you how CFCW got on at Aston Villa - and look ahead to Chelsea’s return to Europe’s top table with the small matter of a trip to Bayern Munich in the Champions League on Wednesday night!Join the Straight Outta Cobham PL Fantasy League!HOST: Matt Davies-AdamsWITH: Thom Harris and Sam ParkinPRODUCER: Lucy Oliva Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

It's not physically possible for deadline day to be dull, this is Chelsea lads... Matt Davies-Adams has got a slightly delirious and sleep deprived Simon Johnson and Luke Bosher alongside him to try and sum up all the chaos from another highly eventful transfer window for Chelsea Football Club.We dissect the dramatic Nicolas Jackson to Bayern Munich deal that almost didn't happen, the ongoing Raheem Sterling predicament as he failed to find a suitable move away, the bizarre situation which saw Tyrique George's proposed move to Fulham fall through - the unexpected return of Ishé Samuels-Smith (!) - AND the goodbye to Champions League winner Ben Chilwell. Plus, our wider reflections on the window as a whole and where this leaves the club going into the season.We've got brief thoughts on the VAR-riddled Fulham victory, an exciting (and very 2012 coded) set of Champions League fixtures - and a look ahead to the start of the brand new WSL which gets underway on Friday night! The Athletic's women's football expert Charlotte Harpur is with us to look ahead to that one - and we hear from England's Euro 2025 hero and broken-legged warrior Lucy Bronze... We’re off now for the international break (boo) but we’ll be back at the back end of next week to round up all that’s gone on since we’ve been off and preview the short trip down the road to take on Brentford at the Gtech on Saturday night. HOST: Matt Davies-Adams WITH: Luke Bosher, Simon Johnson & Charlotte Harpur PRODUCER: Lucy Oliva Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

No Palmer? No problem (on this specific occasion at least...)Matt Davies-Adams have got Simon Johnson and Luke Bosher alongside him to look back on the impressive 5-1 win over a pitiful West Ham at London Stadium on Friday night. We give props to the team for adapting to the late line up change, revel in Estêvão's youthful exuberance and heap some love on comeback kid Trevoh Chalobah.Next up in the never ending run of London derbies - Fulham make the short trip down the road to Stamford Bridge on Saturday lunchtime. We look ahead to that game and ponder the key team selections that Enzo Maresca will have to juggle.There's brief transfer chatter with the devastating news (for Luke at least) that Renato Veiga has officially left. Plus - could Raheem Sterling be on his way to Saturday's opponents? And, it's Simon's first attempt at Blues Clues - how will he get on?!We'll be back at the slightly later time of Tuesday next week to capture all the transfer deadline day chaos, review Saturday’s meeting with Fulham - and settle into the first international break of the season! HOST: Matt Davies-AdamsWITH: Luke Bosher and Simon JohnsonPRODUCER: Lucy Oliva Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Failing to score at home for the first time since the opening day of last season!?Matt Davies-Adams has got Liam Twomey and Luke Bosher along for the ride as we look back on the pretty underwhelming goalless draw with Crystal Palace at Stamford Bridge on Sunday afternoon. We take the positives from Josh Acheampong's excellent performance in the heart of the defence - but are left lamenting the lack of any real attacking potency from Enzo Maresca's side against the stubborn Eagles, who could well have gone home with all three points if it wasn't for that pesky Law 13... Then - we look ahead to the second London derby of the season as the Blues makes the short trip east to face West Ham on Friday night - otherwise known as the Graham Potter derby! Hammers reporter Roshane Thomas gives an insight into the doom and gloom hanging around the club after an underwhelming summer and horror opening day defeat at Sunderland.We've also got the latest transfer news... what's happening with the long list of players that the club need to try and shift before the window closes? And are we any closer to a deal for Garnacho? Plus, we've got a second edition of the still evolving Blues Clues to try and test the immense brainpower of the panel... We'll be back on Monday with all the fallout from Friday night at London Stadium and a look ahead to Saturday's West London derby with Fulham.HOST: Matt Davies-AdamsWITH: Luke Bosher, Liam Twomey and Roshane ThomasPRODUCER: Lucy Oliva Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.