Wednesdays briefing Chelsea back to winning ways and Mikel Arteta fights on

Chelsea eased the pressure on boss Enzo Maresca as they beat Premier League strugglers Southampton 4-0 to climb back into the top four.

Bournemouth and Aston Villa lost ground in their bid for European football while Celtic extended their lead in the William Hill Premiership.

Wales secured their first Women’s Nations League point of the season with an impressive 1-1 draw against Sweden in Wrexham and Northern Ireland struck two late goals in their 3-2 win over Bosnia-Herzegovina in Larne.

Arsenal head coach Mikel Arteta declared he would concede the Premier League title race to Liverpool “over my dead body” before Wednesday night’s trip to Nottingham Forest.

Blues bounce back into top four

Chelsea climbed back into the Premier League’s top four with a straightforward 4-0 win against Southampton at Stamford Bridge that edged the visitors a step nearer to relegation.

Around 200 home supporters gathered outside the ground with banners and smoke flares ahead of kick-off to voice opposition to the club’s ownership but Enzo Maresca’s team scored three in the first half to win for only the third time in 11 in the league.

Christopher Nkunku netted his 14th of the season in all competitions, Pedro Neto and Levi Colwill made the game safe and Marc Cucurella’s late finish completed the rout.

In response to the protest, Maresca said: “The fans have to trust. We’re in the right process and the right direction. Since we started we’ve been top four most games of the season.”

Aston Villa and Bournemouth suffered respective 4-1 and 2-1 defeats at Crystal Palace and Brighton, while Fulham won 2-1 at Wolves.

Celtic thrashed Aberdeen 5-1 at home to extend their lead over Rangers to 16 points.

Barton spot on for Wales Women

Wales’ Nations League campaign is up and running after Kayleigh Barton’s second-half penalty secured an impressive 1-1 draw against Sweden in Wrexham.

Real Madrid striker Filippa Angeldahl gave Sweden a half-time lead but Wales, 25 places below their opponents in the FIFA rankings, hit back through Charlton forward Barton to take a hard-earned point.

Scotland let slip a half-time lead as they lost 2-1 to Netherlands at Hampden Park after Celtic defender Emma Lawton’s first goal for her country had put them ahead.

Simone Magill scored two late goals as Northern Ireland snatched a 3-2 win against Bosnia-Herzegovina, while the Republic of Ireland lost 4-0 in Slovenia.

Over my dead body – Arteta not giving up

Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta said he would concede the Premier League title to Liverpool “over my dead body”.

The Gunners head to Nottingham Forest on Wednesday 11 points adrift of Liverpool following the Reds’ weekend victory at Manchester City, a day after Arteta’s side slumped to a 1-0 loss against West Ham.

But speaking on the eve of Arsenal’s trip to third-placed Forest, the Spaniard said: “I’m not going to stop, over my dead body.

“If I think that way, I’ll go home. Mathematically, it’s possible. You have to play every game. Three days ago, we could close the gap to five points. We have to continue to go.”

Haaland in fitness race

Erling Haaland returned to training on Tuesday but remains a fitness doubt for Manchester City’s trip to Tottenham on Wednesday.

City’s top scorer sat out defeats against Real Madrid and Liverpool after jarring his knee in the 4-0 win over Newcastle and his absence has been telling, with City struggling to turn their dominance of possession into chances in Sunday’s 2-0 loss to Liverpool.

A well-wrapped Haaland appeared on City’s training pitch on Tuesday, shortly after Pep Guardiola had indicated he was optimistic the 24-year-old will be available in north London on Wednesday night.

“Tonight (Tuesday), we will know it after training,” Guardiola said. “I hope so but I don’t know yet. He feels better but the last two games he could not play.”

What’s on today?

Liverpool aim to further extend their lead at the top of the Premier League when they play Newcastle at Anfield, while second-placed Arsenal face a tough task at Forest, who sit third.

Manchester City and Manchester United are also in action, with five top-flight fixtures scheduled, while in the Scottish Premiership, Rangers play at Kilmarnock in interim boss Barry Ferguson’s first game in charge.

England Women take on Spain at Wembley in their bid for a first Nations League win of the season, in a repeat of the 2023 World Cup final.

Published: 26/02/2025 by Radio NewsHub