LONDON: Xabi Alonso has warned Chelsea will do “whatever it takes” to win and insists his team will be different when they face defending champions Arsenal in the Premier League next Sunday.

The Blues continued their perfect start under the Spaniard after recording a 4-3 victory over Brighton at Stamford Bridge.

The hosts scored three goals in 32 minutes through Romeo Lavia, Pedro Neto and Joao Pedro, but like last week’s win over Fulham, they allowed their opponents to fight back.

Malick Yalcouye’s strike and Joao Pedro’s own goal either side of half-time helped Brighton close the gap before Cole Palmer’s superb strike secured Chelsea a narrow victory.

Three wins from three matches is a great start for Alonso, but his team is still far from perfect as they only had 26 percent possession and were often conceded by Brighton’s attacking moves led by Fabian Hurzeler.

Chelsea face a big test when they travel to the Emirates against Arsenal next week, but Alonso is confident his team can improve and rise to the challenge.

“I want to win and I will do whatever it takes to win.

“Every match can be different, so we need to prepare as best we can.

“We need to train to face the best situations and be prepared for whatever scenario may happen. So, it doesn’t mean that this performance will be repeated against Arsenal.

“Today was a big challenge and a big test, as was next Sunday, but we can continue to improve the things we did well and fix the other things we could still do better,” Alonso said at a post-match news conference.

Alonso also rejected the notion that his team was complacent after taking the lead, instead considering it normal for a team that is still in the process of building consistency.

“No, I would say it’s pretty normal.

“It happens to a lot of teams, including other teams that have worked together for a long time and have played more games together.

“Usually, the understanding of how to manage such moments is better. We are still in the process.

“So I’m confident in the future we can manage it better because in the Premier League, even though at half-time we were leading 3-1, I’ve said to the players, ‘2-0 lead, even though two goals in the Premier League, the game is not over’.

“We need to stay focused on playing, scoring goals and defending well. After that we could actually score the fifth goal and a lot of things happened in the match,” he said.

Regarding Chelsea’s low ball possession against Brighton, Alonso said the statistics need to be seen in the context of the match.

“No, you need to look at the context of each data.

“After 30 minutes we had scored a goal to make it 3-0 and maybe at that time we played too much to maintain the result instead of continuing to play as usual.

“So the data is not important. What’s important is how you play and what we can do better.”

“But the approach never changes. I’m not saying today we need to have 60 percent or 20 percent of the ball.

“I never talked about that. It’s about preparation, how to be more competitive,” he added.

Chelsea are currently third in the league, but could be overtaken by Arsenal if Mikel Arteta’s squad beats Aston Villa tonight.

BARCELONA: Raphinha and Fermin Lopez scored as Barcelona beat Athletic Bilbao 2-0 at Camp Nou in their first home match for their La Liga rivals this season.

Raphinha opened the scoring in the 37th minute when he managed to beat goalkeeper Unai Simon after receiving a pass from Pedri that split the Athletic defense.

Fermin then confirmed the victory in the 82nd minute after taking advantage of a defensive error by Aymeric Laporte when trying to clear Karim Adeyemi’s low pass, before finishing the opportunity from inside the penalty box.

Hansi Flick’s side dominated most of the match and created the better chances, but Simon ensured Athletic kept up the pressure with a number of crucial saves.

Flick made three changes from the team that started the campaign with a 5-0 win at Elche, with Anthony Gordon making his first start, while Pau Cubarsi and Pedri also came on.

New player, Rodri, started the match on the bench.

Barcelona started brightly when Simon made a one-handed save in the 18th minute to deny Lamine Yamal’s curling shot from outside the penalty area.

Raphinha almost scored six minutes later, but his header from academy product Xavi Espart’s cross hit the post.

Pedri, on the other hand, saw his goal in the 29th minute disallowed due to an offside position in the move that led to the goal.

Barcelona finally broke the deadlock when Pedri put Raphinha in the best position to pass Simon before pushing the ball into an empty net.

Raphinha, once again deployed as a centre-forward, has already scored three goals in the first two LaLiga games of the season as Barcelona continue their search for a prolific striker before the transfer window closes.

Simon then prevented Barcelona from adding to their tally before the break with a quick save from close range against Lamine’s attempt.

Athletic players also demanded a red card after Lamine’s foul on Laporte, but the referee and VAR took no further action.

Barcelona continued to dominate the game after the break and Lamine again hit the crossbar with a swift effort from outside the penalty area in the 53rd minute.

Rodri, who joined Barcelona from Manchester City after winning the World Cup with Spain in North America, came on as a 62nd-minute substitute to make his debut for the club.

Athletic almost equalized in the 75th minute when Oihan Sancet’s shot from outside the penalty area hit the post.

Barcelona finally completed the victory in the 82nd minute after Laporte failed to clear Adeyemi’s low pass, allowing Fermin to control the loose ball before finishing it past Simon.

Barcelona now have six points from two games, level with Real Madrid, Real Betis and Sevilla at the top of LaLiga.

Athletic and Real Sociedad have yet to collect any points.

LONDON: Liam Delap is nearing the end of his ‘disappointing’ spell with Chelsea as the striker is expected to join Nottingham Forest for a transfer fee of 40 million pounds.

Delap, 23, failed to live up to expectations after joining Chelsea from Ipswich Town for 30 million pounds, scoring just one goal in the English Premier League (EPL) last season.

However, a move to Forest would allow Chelsea to make a profit of around 10 million pounds after only one season of his services.

Forest manager Oliver Glasner, who is currently one of the highest-paid EPL managers, is reportedly looking to strengthen his attacking line-up after his team opened the campaign with a 0-1 defeat to Leeds United at home.

Forest failed to produce a goal in the match, with key striker Igor Jesus and veteran Chris Wood failing to capitalise on opportunities.

The situation became more urgent after Taiwo Awoniyi completed a 9 million pound transfer to newly promoted EPL club, Coventry City.

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Therefore, Delap is identified as a player who can provide additional sharpness to Forest’s attacking line.

Delap previously stood out while with Ipswich when he scored 12 goals in the 2023/24 season while helping the club compete in the EPL.

However, his form declined after moving to Stamford Bridge and he only scored one goal all season.

Delap’s only goal came in Chelsea’s 1-2 defeat to neighbours Fulham in January.

His disappointing performance also caused Chelsea fans to start missing Nicolas Jackson, a striker who had been inconsistent but was capable of producing moments of brilliance.

Jackson has now returned to Chelsea after spending time on loan with Bayern Munich, but is said to be a target for Aston Villa.

According to international media reports, Delap has the opportunity to complete a move to Forest as early as this weekend.

Chelsea, however, have strengthened their options in the center forward position by bringing in Danny Welbeck to compete with Joao Pedro.

Strasbourg striker Emmanuel Emegha also completed a previously scheduled transfer.

Now, the question is how new Chelsea manager Xabi Alonso will use Emegha in his plans for this season.

With Delap close to leaving Stamford Bridge, Forest will also be hoping the striker can recapture the scoring touch he once displayed at Ipswich.

MANCHESTER: Erling Haaland sported a new hairstyle as he helped Manchester City bounce back to beat Bournemouth 2-1, but the change was not well-received by fans.

The Sky Blues secured victory through late goals from Marc Guehi and Josko Gvardiol after falling behind early in the game.

Haaland, 26, led City’s attack in the English Premier League (EPL) after causing a frenzy on social media when he cut off the long hair that had become his identity.

However, the Norwegian striker wasted a golden opportunity in the first half and failed to score.

It was a disappointing moment in Haaland’s lackluster performance, which is usually so sharp in front of goal.

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The situation prompted fans to flood social media with calls for Haaland to immediately grow his hair back after failing to impress against Bournemouth.

One fan said: “Just like Rapunzel, Haaland lost his powers after cutting his hair.”

Another wrote: “Haaland needs to glue that hair back on. This move is really not working.”

A third fan sarcastically said: “Haaland lost his power after cutting his hair.”

Before the match, Haaland also shared a video of his famous friends reacting to his new hairstyle.

Oasis star Noel Gallagher, former City manager Pep Guardiola, and teammate Jack Grealish were among those who got a chance to see Haaland’s new style via FaceTime.

Legendary striker Zlatan Ibrahimovic jokingly mocked the City star after being contacted via video call.

The former Manchester United player said: “What are you doing? What is this? Did you lose a bet or something? Block me and delete my number.”

Previously, Haaland revealed that Ibrahimovic had warned him not to cut his hair because he claimed his strength lay in his hair.

Haaland said: “Zlatan, you know what he told me? ‘Never cut your hair because the strength is in the hair.'”

Haaland’s lackluster performance comes after the former Borussia Dortmund striker also failed to score when City were beaten 3-0 by Arsenal in the Community Shield last week.

Haaland will now hope to find his finishing touch again when Enzo Maresca’s side travel to Crystal Palace on Friday.

LIVERPOOL: Virgil van Dijk insists Liverpool need to show reaction after a disappointing season that led to Arne Slot losing his job as manager, but has asked fans to be patient with new coach Andoni Iraola.

The Reds had to rely on Dominik Szoboszlai’s 99th-minute penalty to salvage a 2-2 draw against Newcastle United in their opening Premier League match.

Slot previously led Liverpool to the club’s 20th league title in its inaugural season in 2024/25, but was sacked in May after the team finished last season in fifth place.

Some of the same weaknesses were still visible in Iraola’s first game at St James’ Park when Liverpool’s defense was frequently exploited by Newcastle’s quick counterattacks.

However, the Reds twice came from behind to avoid defeat in the first match of the new season.

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“It’s normal in any job when someone comes up with new plans and ideas, it takes some time with the new players.

“But it’s up to us to do it as quickly as possible because we want to improve, we want to win and get better. That’s what we’re going to try to do.

“We need to show the reaction from last season that we are much better than last year because the situation is completely unacceptable,” said Van Dijk.

Iraola also faces challenges after Liverpool have yet to bring in many new players in the transfer window, especially after losing Mohamed Salah and Hugo Ekitike’s long-term injury.

Liverpool have so far only added Spanish winger Victor Munoz and two defenders, Jeremy Jacquet and Ronald Araujo, to strengthen the team.

Van Dijk, however, believes that the management will make the right decision, while admitting that everyone is hoping for the presence of quality players to join the squad.