⚽ Read Jacob Steinberg on Maresca’s Chelsea departure ⚽ Fixtures | Tables | Follow us on Bluesky | Email Taha So Enzo Maresca has left the building. It was a very decent stint on paper, one with two trophies, including a Club World Cup victory which may grow in significance if the tournament becomes a properly serious thing in the future. But it was pretty turbulent, too; Jacob Steinberg has the inside story on what went wrong. Hello, hello, hello and welcome to the first Friday blog of 2026. We’ve already had some drama at Stamford Bridge with the departure of Enzo Maresca, and there’s plenty of Premier League action to review/preview. But let’s just ease up before going full throttle and take in this excellent interview with Jess Carter, the Guardian Footballer of the Year. A lot of people don’t like the way I play football and that’s absolutely fine, but then attacking someone because of what they look like? I can’t do anything about that one, and I wouldn’t want to. I could never imagine going on to my social media to tell you how I think you’re doing at your job. Continue reading...