Almost five years into his reign, at a cost of €10m in wages, Martin O’Neill and Roy Keane are, apparently, laying building blocks for the Ireland squad.

There's no Christian Eriksen in the Denmark squad for the upcoming Nations League meeting with the Republic of Ireland later this month.

Former Arsenal midfielder John Jensen will take charge of Denmark’s Uefa Nations League opener against Wales after the row which has rocked Danish football took an extraordinary twist.

Alex Iwobi scored the winning penalty for Arsenal as they defeated Chelsea 6-5 on penalties after a 1-1 draw in front of a crowd of 46,000 people at the Aviva Stadium.

There will be 100 Premier League players in action at the World Cup, spread across 25 international teams.

Huddersfield 1 Chelsea 1

Three goals from across that spectrum between ‘sublime’ and ‘ridiculous’ gave Tottenham their first away victory over Chelsea in almost 30 years, and allayed any fears that the Premier League champions might catch their London rivals in the race for continental qualification.

"We have two big problems."

Manchester City 1 Chelsea 0: And then there were four. Four games and 12 points which Pep Guardiola and Manchester City require to make mathematically certain of the Premier League title after Bernardo Silva’s goal allowed his team to open up an 18-point lead at the top of the table. 

Man United 2 - Chelsea 1: Antonio Conte may have seen his long-running feud with Jose Mourinho come to an end at Old Trafford but it may also have been the afternoon when the Chelsea manager saw his team’s hopes of a Champions League place similarly disappear into thin air.

Lionel Messi broke his goal duck against Chelsea to deny Antonio Conte's side a crucial lead over Barcelona in their Champions League showdown.

Olivier Giroud’s presence on the sidelines provided confirmation Antonio Conte had got the new striker he wanted during the January transfer window.

Gameweek 24 had an air of nostalgia for Fantasy Premier League managers, as we watched former legends of the game come to the fore again.

Antonio Conte insists Chelsea's season will be considered a success - even if it finishes without a trophy.

Antonio Conte insists Chelsea’s season will be considered a success — even if it finishes without a trophy.

Brighton 0 - Chelsea 4: Chelsea’s 4-0 victory at Brighton at the weekend has quietened the critics who suggested there was a crisis building at Stamford Bridge but it hasn’t ended speculation about their search for a striker after manager Antonio Conte challenged Michy Batshuayi to fill the void – but also left the door open for him to leave.

Eden Hazard inspired Chelsea to victory at Brighton to give the champions their first Premier League win of 2018.

Chelsea 0 Arsenal 0: The frustration felt by Arsene Wenger as his Arsenal side struggled in the face of intense Chelsea pressure was intensified by the manager being forced to watch from the unfamiliar surroundings of the press box.

Antonio Conte has insisted his feud with Jose Mourinho is personal and that no one should intervene.

Chelsea head coach Antonio Conte does not want unhappy players bringing down the morale of the squad.

Antonio Conte hopes Andreas Christensen can have as successful a career with Chelsea as John Terry.

Chelsea head coach Antonio Conte is frustrated by those questioning his honesty over the fitness of David Luiz.

Even the most pessimistic of Fantasy Premier League pundits never thought it would get this bad.

Willian scored one and made two others as Chelsea finally turned in a display worthy of Premier League champions to win 3-1 at Huddersfield.

Marko Arnautovic's first West Ham goal secured a 1-0 victory over Chelsea and a first win for manager David Moyes.

Chelsea finished second in Champions League Group C after rallying to draw 1-1 with Atletico Madrid at Stamford Bridge.

Willian and David Luiz have been out of Conte's first XI of late and Conte is preparing to rotate his options throughout a busy December and January.

Antonio Conte says Chelsea risk losing the best goalkeeper in the world if they do not extend Thibaut Courtois’ contract.

Antonio Conte believes Chelsea must win every remaining Premier League game to beat Manchester City to the title.

Darren Randolph has admitted his shock at the manner of the Republic of Ireland's World Cup play-off nightmare.

If I come away from the studios tonight having enjoyed the game in Copenhagen, I will be surprised if our last match in Cardiff has proved to be the template — although a repeat of the same result would certainly be very welcome.

Peter Schmeichel all but scoffs when asked how the current Ireland and Denmark squads compare to his day when the teams drew twice in the qualifying rounds for the 1994 World Cup.

Jose Mourinho’s return to Stamford Bridge will be one to forget as Chelsea downed Man United thanks to Alvaro Morata’s header. Here’s what the game taught us

The race to succeed sacked Everton boss Ronald Koeman may see a winner before the weekend is out.

Chelsea 3 - Roma 3: Eden Hazard scored twice as Chelsea battled to a 3-3 draw with Roma to stay top of Champions League Group C. Chelsea had surrendered a two-goal lead to trail 3-2 with 20 minutes remaining after former Manchester City striker Edin Dzeko’s quick-fire double.

Eden Hazard scored twice as Chelsea battled to a 3-3 draw with Roma to stay top of Champions League Group C.

MONDAY MORNING QUARTERBACK: Daniel Storey looks at what this weekend’s Premier League action thought us.

Cesc Fabregas and Alvaro Morata were on target as Chelsea showed their Premier League pedigree by swatting aside Everton.

The opening weekend of the season may be too early to talk of a crisis, but the mood music around Stamford Bridge is not good and Saturday’s humiliation by Burnley was not out of character from a club that has appeared dysfunctional since before becoming champions last May.

WHAT THE PAPERS SAY

Chelsea’s £200m men were sunk by a supermarket shelf stacker who was plucked from non-league obscurity for the princely sum of £7,500.

Shrewsbury 1 Chelsea 2