Tests start for Chelsea, Spurs
Blues begin Sarri era after frantic deadline deals; Tottenham bullish despite transfer woes
HUDDERSFIELD: A frantic 48 hours in the transfer market provided Chelsea with a timely lift after last weekend’s Community Shield defeat to Manchester City.
The 2-0 loss left new Chelsea manager Maurizio Sarri to rue the difference between the two teams, with Pep Guardiola’s champions looking sharper and fitter than the Italian’s side.
Sarri has been in post for less than four weeks and the last thing he needed was to go into the first game of the new season at Huddersfield on Saturday against the backdrop of a protracted standoff between the club and keeper Thibaut Courtois.
COURTOIS GOES
Courtois’s decision to stay away from the club this week in a bid to force a move to Real Madrid could have had a negative impact at Stamford Bridge, reviving memories of the dispute with Diego Costa 12 months earlier.
But Chelsea moved quickly to sign Kepa Arrizabalaga from Athletic Bilbao for £71.6 million — a world record for a keeper — on a seven-year contract, triggering Courtois’s exit to Real.
As part of the deal for the Belgian, Croatia midfielder Mateo Kovacic moved in the opposite direction on a season-long loan.
For a club desperate to progress after a fractious campaign that was marred by a rift between coach Antonio Conte and the club and ended with a disappointing fifth placed finish, it was good business all round.
Now, Sarri must do all he can to prevent Eden Hazard following his international team-mate to Madrid, although the current signs are the Belgium star has been convinced to stay.
The Wembley clash against Manchester City confirmed there is plenty of work to do and it may be some time before ,manager Sarri finally settles on his two central defenders.
David Luiz and Antonio Rudiger appear to be his first choice right now, but Luiz in particular looked shaky against City.
And in midfield, Kovacic is likely to join Jorginho and N’golo Kante to strengthen an area that was overrun by the champions.
POCHETTINO BULLISH
NEWCASTLE: Mauricio Pochettino insists he is not unhappy at Tottenham’s inaction during the transfer window, but the true test of his club’s decision not to make a single signing will come as the new season unfolds. The north London club has often done things differently when it comes to buying and selling players, with chairman Daniel Levy earning a reputation as a hard negotiator who is unafraid to leave things until late in the day.
This time, however, Thursday’s transfer deadline passed without any additions being made by Tottenham — the first time a EPL club has failed to sign at least one new player during the summer window.
Now Pochettino will be expected to build on last season’s performances with the same group of players that took the club to a third placed finish.
Saturday’s visit to Newcastle for their opening game will therefore offer few surprises, although Pochettino must decide which of the nine players who appeared in the World Cup semi-finals are ready to return to action.
But anything less than a convincing victory will stir debate about Tottenham chairman Daniel Levy’s failure to deliver new players for his manager at the start of a campaign.
Speaking ahead of the trip to St James’ Park, Pochettino maintained he was not overly concerned at the inaction.
“Of course, it’s difficult to understand for people that Tottenham didn’t sign or sell players, but sometimes in football you need to behave differently,” the Tottenham boss said.
NADAL OVERCOMES WAWRINKA
TORONTO: A 45-minute rain interruption did little to stop the progress of Rafael Nadal at the Toronto Masters as he defeated Stan Wawrinka 7-5, 7-6(4) to reach the quarter-finals.
The halt in proceedings came 63 minutes into the opening set, after Wawrinka saved a Nadal set point for 5-all, with the Spaniard then holding serve for 6-5. When the weather passed, the pair returned, with the Spaniard wrapping up the set on his second chance.
The second set was a battle as the Swiss, a three-time Grand Slam champion, fought back from an early break down, took a 2-1 lead, with the pair again trading breaks in the fifth and tenth games.
Nadal came from a mini-break down in the tiebreaker and secured victory on his second match point.
HALEP DOMINATES VENUS AT ROGERS CUP
MONTREAL: Top seed Simona Halep made quick work of Venus Williams 6-2, 6-2 on Thursday to end a long day at the Rogers Cup that saw her advancing to the quarter-finals.
Halep had to grind out a 7-6(9), 4-6, 7-5 win over Russian Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova earlier in the day, completing a match that began Wednesday but was halted due to rain.