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The acclaimed pride of London, Chelsea FC that was recently trashed 3-0 from the halftime by their rival Arsenal at Emirates stadium on Sunday have taken a look into the team’s level of conceding goals.

Antonio Conte’s men were on Sunday humiliated. The defense put up a disappointing performance. Conte is aware that he is leading a rebuilding job at Stamford Bridge but he wants to see more positive games from his players after accepting that they did not perform up to par against Arsenal on Sunday.

“We didn’t start the game in the way we wanted,” Ivanovic told the club’s website.

Dinamo Zagreb secured their 9th consecutive Croatian First League title. The head coach of the club Zoran Mamic stated that he is proud as well as happy about the performances of his players and that the feeling of winning the league on 9 successive occasions is amazing.

“It’s a great feeling to be a champion, and when you do it nine times in a row it’s the greatest feeling for every person in the club. This is the ninth title in a row since I returned to the club as a player. Now, as a coach, I am proud of all my players. I am lucky to have guys who are willing to listen and learn. We will not have a big celebration now; we still have a league match on Saturday and a cup game next Wednesday. We need to be on top form in every match.” Zoran Mamic said.

The 24 years old Brazilian midfielder of Manchester City, Fernandinho has experience playing in the Ukraine Premier League as he played with the Shakhtar Donetsk jersey back in 2005 until he moved to the English club Manchester City in 2013 and he has revealed that one of the biggest differences of those clubs is the ambition that City has compared to the Ukrainian side.

“The big difference has been the ambitions of the two clubs. City wants to win every competition they enter. It’s the same with my team mates. They’re all internationals, with a wealth of experience in English or European football. My responsibility, at the end of the day, is much the same as it was, control the midfield and organize the team’’.

Eduardo spent 3 seasons playing in Arsenal but he time in the Premier League saw him taking a huge hit as he had to undergo a surgery after picking up a leg injury that forced him on staying out for the remainder of the season of that year. The Brazilian forward made over 40 appearances for Arsenal and managed to score 7 goals.

He has admitted that he would take the chance of playing for Arsenal once more, if the chance opens up for him.

Ever since completing his recovery from the leg injury, Eduardo has never really managed to get back to his full form which was one of the main reasons on why the Brazilian attacker was eventually offloaded to Shakhtar Donetsk.

Eduardo Alves da Silva’s injury he picked up when playing in Arsenal back in February of 2008 left him out of the pitch for 1 year. Arsenal faced off against Birmingham and a late tackle from Martin Taylor ended his season.

The Brazilian made his return to the main team of Arsenal during a match against Cardiff City in the FA Cup and managing to score a penalty kick in the 2nd half but moments later he suffered from yet another injury, this time with a hamstring injury. He was eventually offloaded to the Ukranian side Shakhtar Donetsk.

Now at his 30 years of age, it would be difficult for him to play at a top tier club and league but the Brazilian forward stated that he would love to make a return to the Premier League and play once more in England.

Former Arsenal striker Eduardo has been linked with a move to Inter Milan in the last few weeks, but the Shakhtar Donetsk striker has revealed that he does not know anything about the rumours.

However, he would be happy to join a club like Inter Milan. The 30-year-old is currently playing with the Ukrainian outfit since 2010 after moving to the club on a permanent basis.

He was regarded as one of the brightest prospects for Arsenal only to suffer a leg break that he immediately failed to recover from during his Arsenal days.

Bayer Leverkusen did almost the unthinkable when they thrashed Ukrainian powerhouses Shakhtar Donetsk in the third match day of their UEFA Champions League Group A encounter, running out 4-0 winners at home against a side that has troubled the likes of Barcelona and Chelsea in previous season’s competitions.

And now, they have a bigger task on their hands – getting a result from Ukraine when they travel to the cauldron that is the Donbass Arena for their match day four encounter against the Ukrainian champions. The likes of Barcelona, Chelsea and even Manchester United have struggled in front of the home support with United barely managing to escape with a 1-1 draw on match day two.

Leverkusen currently lie at second on the table, one point behind leaders Manchester United with Shakhtar Donetsk in third place with four points from their three matches. While the Ukrainians have not won a match after beating Spanish side Real Sociedad in their first match day, Leverkusen could complete a hat trick of victories in this season’s competition if they manage to come away with a win from Ukraine.

But it’s easier said than done and Shakhtar will be looking to get a result to stay alive in the competition, knowing well that anything other than a victory puts their future in the competition at the hands of the other teams, leaving their qualification into the knockout stages to fate.

And that is something they will not be comfortable with. And Leverkusen has a lot to worry about as well. In Eduardo, Alex Teixeira and Taison, Shakhtar Donetsk have a fearsome frontline, something the paper thin defense of the Germans will struggle to cope with in the bitter cold and that is the one thing that is giving the Ukrainian side hope against their German opponents.

The Brazilian football team will face Switzerland in a friendly game at St. Jakob-Park on Wednesday. It will be Brazil’s first match after their Confederations Cup glory.

The Brazilian team has performed fantastically well this year under the guidance of Luiz Felipe Scolari. They have been consistent and are currently on a winning streak of 11 games. They have certainly emerged out as strong contenders for the 2014 World Cup title.

Talking to the reporters ahead of the match against Switzerland, the Fluminense striker Fred said that the atmosphere in the Brazilian camp is great at the moment.
Fred said, “The boys are very confident. We have had a great year so far and we want to keep winning.”

“After winning the Confederations Cup, we are getting more respect from the opposition. The teams desperately want to defeat us now.”

When asked about Scolari’s contribution in team’s success in recent times, Fred said, “He is a great coach. He came and changed our mindset. The team is extremely comfortable under him.”

“It’s a wonderful phase for Brazilian football. The team is on the right track. However, there is still a long way to go and we need to maintain the consistency.”

Switzerland’s record against Brazil is terrible. They have managed to win only one out of the 10 games that they have played against Brazil so far. That win had come 24 years back in 1989.

However, the manager of the Switzerland team, Ottmar Hitzfeld, has said that his players should back themselves and should try to give Brazil a tough fight.”
Hitzfeld said, “They are a very strong side and competing against them will not be easy.”
“We will have to play aggressively. We can’t let them gain the momentum.”

Tottenham Hotspur had made a bid to bring Brazil’s new rising star Bernard to White Hart Lane this summer, it has been revealed.

According to Alexandre Kalil, the president of the Brazilian club Atletico Mineiro, Spurs were in the mix to sign a player who has already been tipped to be one of the stars to watch out for in next summer’s FIFA World Cup at home while fellow North London rivals Arsenal were weighing up a move for the player.

It has now, however, been revealed that the player, who led the Brazilian club to their first ever triumph in the Copa Libertadores could be on his way to Ukrainian giants Shakhtar Donetsk after the Ukrainian club had a bid accepted for the player, believed to be worth over € 20 million.

The Gunners, however, failed to follow up their interest on one of the finds of the FIFA Confederations Cup and the North London club remains the only English side to have made a formal bid for the player. Speaking on an interview at a radio show, Kalil stated that Spurs had indeed made a bid worth around € 18 million or £ 15.7 million, but they also withdrew that bid.

The club president also stated that they wouldn’t push Bernard to move if he didn’t want to move, amidst speculation that the club is forcing the player to move to Shakhtar Donetsk after his father reportedly claimed that he doesn’t want the move so soon for his son and the club is pushing them to accept the offer.

And although Spurs’ bid fell well short of the player’s valuation by his club, it is being believed he will have to move with Shakhtar Donetsk and Portuguese giants Porto now seen as the front runners for his signature.

Former Arsenal vice-chairman David Dein enjoyed a great relationship with Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger. Arsenal enjoyed a lot of success when the pair worked together. It has been often said that one of the reasons for Arsenal’s failure to win a trophy in the last eight seasons has been the absence of Dein at the club.

Dein still enjoys a close relationship with Wenger outside Arsenal, and he has said that the Frenchman is finally prepared to spend big in the summer in the hope of ending the trophy drought.

Arsenal are in danger of falling out of the lofty top four positions, which would have serious implications for the future of the club.

Due to the lack of regular trophies, Champions League football remains as the only positive factor for Arsenal when they enter into the transfer market. Wenger realises that the club will certainly struggle to attract players if they fall out of the top four. The club has so far struggled in the campaign, and they currently sit in the fifth position. Tottenham and Liverpool are expected to improve even more in the summer, thus providing more competition for Arsenal next season.

After resisting to spend money so far in his reign at Arsenal, Wenger is finally ready to splash the cash for the right player.

“The fact is he has to strengthen the team and I know he will do that. He is one of the best managers in the world, he’s been coaching for 30 years and knows what he is doing. He knows what he wants and it’s just a question of identifying the right talent. It’s a long, hard season and I am a great supporter of Arsene. He has done a phenomenal job and continues to do so year-on-year,” said David Dein.