Seven-star Blues

LONDON, October 23

A hat-trick from Mason Mount propelled Chelsea to a 7-0 win over bottom side Norwich City in the Premier League today, extending their lead at the top of the table and demonstrating they still had firepower despite injuries to their strikers.

Chelsea manager Thomas Tuchel had called on his attacking players to step up after injuries to striker Romelu Lukaku and Timo Werner during Wednesday’s Champions League win over Malmo. The players obeyed.

Chelsea have 22 points, ahead of Liverpool, who play Manchester United on Sunday and have 18 points.

On Friday, Arsenal delivered their best performance of the season to beat Aston Villa 3-1.

Real boss Ancelotti says fear can be positive

Madrid: Real Madrid coach Carlo Ancelotti said “being afraid is not a bad feeling” ahead of Sunday’s La Liga clash at rivals Barcelona.

Ancelotti is preparing his side to play Barcelona in the first ‘El Clasico’ with supporters since the start of the Covid-19 pandemic, with a 99,000 fans expected to pack out Barca’s Camp Nou stadium. “If you are not afraid you will face a lion thinking that it is a cat. That’s not the way to do it. We need aware of who we are facing. Being afraid is not a bad thing. Fear can cause a positive effect in a team,” Ancelotti said.

This will be the first LaLiga meeting between Barca and Real since Lionel Messi left the Catalan club. — Agencies