Tag Futebol

Manchester City's Ilkay Gundogan made history in the FA Cup final against Manchester United on Sunday at Wembley.

Ilkay Gundogan fired Manchester City to an early lead with the fastest goal ever scored in an FA Cup final on Saturday.

The midfielder blasted past Manchester United goalkeeper David de Gea from outside the box after just 12 seconds.

That striker broke a record that had lasted for 14 years, so what are the other quickest goals to have been scored in the final of world football's oldest national competition?

GOAL takes a look…

• Getty
  

  1Ilkay Gundogan | 12 seconds | Man City vs Man United | 2023

  Just 12 seconds after City kicked off the final at Wembley, Gundogan fired into the net with a lightning quick goal.

  The ball found its way back to goalkeeper Stefan Ortega and his long ball was nodded on by Erling Haaland.

  A tussle between City playmaker Kevin De Bruyne and United defender Victor Lindelof saw it teed up for Gundogan and he smashed it towards goal, leaving De Gea no choice but to stand back and admire as it went into the net.

Advertisement

• Getty
  

  2Louis Saha | 25 seconds | Chelsea vs Everton | 2009

  Everton were the obvious underdogs heading into their tournament decider against Guus Hiddink's Chelsea.

  The Toffees proved they were well up for the fight, however, when they charged forward immediately.

  Chelsea failed to properly clear Steven Pienaar's cross into the box and Marouane Fellaini beat centre-back Alex to the header, knocking into the path of Louis Saha.

  The French forward unleashed a beauty of a shot to beat Petr Cech and send the Merseyside club into the lead.

  Chelsea managed to fight back, however, and won it 2-1 thanks to goals from Didier Drogba and Frank Lampard.

• 3Bob Chatt | 30 seconds | Aston Villa vs West Brom | 1895

  Unsurprisingly for a game from 1895, there is a lot of uncertainty about the goal that went down as the fastest ever to be scored in an FA Cup final.

  The FA states Bob Chatt fired Aston Villa to cup success with a strike just 30 seconds into the clash at Crystal Palace, but some reports list it as late as 39 seconds in.

  That is not the only point of contention, though, as it was claimed that Chatt's half-volley was stopped by a fingertip touch from the goalkeeper, sparking a scramble before it was knocked in via John Devey's knee.

ENJOYED THIS STORY?

Add GOAL.com as a preferred source on Google to see more of our reporting

• Getty
  

  4Roberto Di Matteo | 43 seconds | Chelsea vs Middlesbrough | 1997

  Italian midfielder Roberto Di Matteo sent Chelsea on their way to victory in the 1997 final with a goal just 43 seconds in.

  His shot from distance went in off the crossbar, leaving goalkeeper Ben Roberts no chance of stopping it.

  The club legend's effort went down as the fastest in an FA Cup final at Wembley until Saha popped up 12 years later to break that record.

  Chelsea went on to win 2-0, with Eddie Newton doubling the lead after 83 minutes.

TalkSport pundit Jamie O'Hara has claimed that "a lot of billionaires" will want to buy Tottenham Hotspur if they are put up for sale.

What's the latest Spurs takeover news?

It was a terrible final home game of the season for Spurs on Saturday as they were comfortably beaten 3-1 by Brentford in the Premier League.

This means, the campaign will see Tottenham end without any trophies yet again, while the club don't even have a permanent manager or a sporting director in charge.

It certainly is a mess in North London right now and fans have been furious with ENIC and chairman Daniel Levy for some time, protesting against the ​​​​​​ownership set-up with growing regularity.

However, there is no guarantee that they would be bought by someone who would do a better job of running the club if Tottenham was put up for sale.

Even so, while talking about it all on TalkSport, former player O'Hara insisted there would be no shortage of offers for the Premier League asset if ENIC did opt to sell.

He explained: “I can assure you now if Tottenham went up for sale properly – and Joe Lewis did come out and say we're going to sell the football club – there'd be a lot of billionaires who would want to buy it.

"Are you joking? You've got concerts? You've got Formula One there. You've got NFL matches there. It's one of the most sought-after stadiums in the world."

Who wants to buy Spurs?

It's notable that O'Hara doesn't call upon any footballing achievements when listing while the football club would be a good asset for any prospective buyers.

To be fair to him, though the new stadium is a great venue, with deals struck to host music concerts, boxing and rugby in London N17. And the club have even, somewhat spuriously, estimated that 5.9bn people globally will be interested in events held at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium

However, even if it is a potentially attractive asset, as we've learnt with the saga that has developed after the Glazer family put Manchester United on the market this season, it wouldn't be simple to get ENIC out and someone else (someone better) in charge.

Still, there may already be a leading candidate to takeover Spurs with Iranian-American billionaire Jahm Najafi – chair of MSP Sports Capital – reportedly working with a consortium ahead of a possible £3b takeover in the near future.

It will certainly be interesting to see how it all plays out.

Aston Villa manager Unai Emery is looking ahead to next season already as he eyes a move for a current Premier League midfielder that can take his team to the next level.

What’s the latest on Kalvin Phillips to Aston Villa?

According to Football Insider, Villa have a ‘strong interest’ in Manchester City midfielder Phillips ahead of the summer transfer window and City could demand a fee of around £45m in order to sell him.

The Citizens would be recouping the fee that they splashed out on him last summer while if Emery manages to sign him, he will break the Villa transfer record.

The Spaniard is aiming to take the club to European football and in order to be successful, he will need to bulk up his midfield options.

Could Aston Villa sign Kalvin Phillips?

The Englishman has endured a tough season at City, getting just 353 minutes of action across 14 matches due to injury problems, yet he could still make a difference to the Villa midfield if fully fit.

Emery will no doubt have a clear out in the summer and one player who could leave is Leander Dendoncker, with Football Insider claiming the 51-year-old is preparing to listen to any offers for him at the end of the season.

If the "outstanding" Phillips – as dubbed by Gareth Southgate – brings the form that he displayed whilst at Leeds United in 2021/22, then he would be a major upgrade on the Belgian ahead of next term.

Indeed, last season, the 27-year-old registered more shot-creating actions per game (1.69 to 1.25), won more tackles (25 to 17), interceptions (24 to nine) and succeeded with more take ons (seven to five) proving that he is a much better option from both a defensive and ball-playing point of view than the Belgian.

Across Europe’s top five leagues, Phillips ranks in the top 21% for defensive metrics including tackles, blocks, and interceptions, suggesting that the Villa boss could be signing one of the finest defensive midfielders on the continent when fully fit.

A fee of £45m, providing Phillips stays fit, could represent an excellent investment by Villa and will give Emery the licence to get rid of a few players in the process, Dendoncker included.

Rain restricted play to only 13.2 overs on the third day of Yorkshire’s Specsavers County Championship match against Surrey at Headingley yesterday

ECB Reporters Network10-May-2016
ScorecardJoe Root reached his double century•Getty ImagesRain restricted play to only 13.2 overs on the third day of Yorkshire’s Specsavers County Championship match against Surrey at Headingley yesterday, so lessening the time available for the title-holders to complete their first win of the season.Given fair weather tomorrow, however, they are still in a good position to force a victory for they lead by 227 on the first innings with four wickets still in hand if they decide to bat on a little longer.And Yorkshire coach, Jason Gillespie, said after the call-off that he was confident Yorkshire could go on and win the match.”We are already over 220 in front and will probably have to bowl pretty soon but it will be up to the captain whether to declare straight away or bat for a bit longer but there is a fair chance to get a few runs as soon as we can.”Gillespie added that he was very pleased with Yorkshire’s form in general and was encouraged with what he had seen so far this season. Although they had yet to win a match they had worked very hard against quality team and he was pleased with the progress. “We have to make sure we keep standards up and stay focussed,” he said.Gillespie also revealed that young fast bowler, Matthew Fisher, had suffered a second hamstring injury following the one he sustained in Dubai and that he would miss the start of the T20 campaign.Surrey wicketkeeper, Ben Foakes, said he thought his side had bowled quite well and had picked up three early wickets but Root and Bairstow were a couple of England players and one just had to accept that they both played a very good innings.”It became a bit easier once the effects of the new ball had worn off but they still made batting look pretty easy.”Foakes felt there was still every chance of Surrey managing to draw the game. “The rain has helped us so far and if we can get over the new ball we have a good chance of getting a draw,” he said.Play began on time in the morning and in just under an hour before the rain came they added 71 to their overnight score of 486 for 5 to leave them on 557 for 6 off 111.2 overs.Joe Root started out on 190 and immediately 500 had been posted he completed his double-century off 232 balls with 20 fours and a six and he moved on comfortably to 213 before the industrious Ravi Rampaul had him aiming to leg only to get a leading edge which sailed straight to Gareth Batty at mid-off.Root finished up with 22 fours and a six off the 242 deliveries he received and he departed to a generous ovation, well satisfied with his dress rehearsal ahead of the Headingley Test match next week.Yet it was Adil Rashid who played most of the stunning shots in the brief passage of play, three consecutive boundaries of vintage quality at Tom Curran’s expense hurrying him on to 55, two of the shots whistling through mid-off and the other being turned backward of square leg.Root’s dismissal made it 547 for 6 in the 108th over to bring the visitors a second bowling bonus point which they hardly merited although both Rampaul and Curran had carried the attack with discipline and control for most of the time.When Matthew Dunn replaced Curran, Rashid drove back his first ball but Dunn was unable to hold on and the rain quickly followed, leaving Rashid unbeaten on 60 from 85 balls with 11 boundaries.

Aston Villa have endured a tumultuous campaign thus far, but new boss Unai Emery's instant impact has led them to finally attaining some degree of comfort as they enter the run-in.

Swanning into a club in crisis, the Spaniard kept a cool head and comfortably guided the Midlands outfit to safety, with an 11-point gap separating them from the rest of the league battling it out for survival.

They too were once firmly entrenched in that relegation scrap, with Steven Gerrard's struggling side seemingly destined for a season of peril.

Whilst the short tenure of the Liverpool legend was largely disappointing, there were admittedly particular facets of his reign that could be deemed a success, particularly in the transfer window where he did add some talent to the squad.

However, last summer it was actually his work in retaining one of his prized assets that was most important, as he fought off numerous advances to retain Douglas Luiz.

Did Douglas Luiz nearly leave Aston Villa?

The Brazilian boasted many suitors throughout a summer of vast change at Villa Park, as Gerrard was backed wholeheartedly to lead the club into a brighter future.

It was clear that Luiz was to play a huge role in any future success though, yet Liverpool, Chelsea and Atletico Madrid all showed interest.

However, it was on deadline day that they endured the toughest battle, rejecting no less than three bids from Arsenal who sought to take the former Manchester City man to the Emirates. With just 12 months left on his contract at the time, this refusal to sell marked a huge show of faith, which the 24-year-old would repay by signing a new long-term deal, estimated at £75k-per-week, in October.

It arguably marked Gerrard's most impressive feat, and whilst he ultimately failed in his task to return Villa to the top he did lay the foundation for future success by retaining one of their most impressive performers.

He has since gone on to feature in all but one of their Premier League games this season, most recently opening the scoring in their 3-0 rout of AFC Bournemouth, and maintaining an average Sofascore rating of 7.05.

This campaign has already marked a creative best for Luiz too, as his three goals and five assists have surpassed any of his previous tallies in the league.

It seems that the midfielder is building upon his good form from around this time last year, where Gabby Agbonlahor praised his attacking impetus: "He’s flying forward and getting into the box. He’s been outstanding and transformed."

Emery has been quick to praise him too, as he recently hailed the silky enforcer: "I am very happy with Douglas Luiz. His skill, characteristic in the squad is very important. He’s important in terms of taking our time with our centre-backs and midfielders and his characteristic is necessary in this team.

“Saturday was the match, I think, overall, his performance was the best with us since I arrived here.”

It is clear that he is now a favourite of the new regime too, with his role playing a huge part in their new way of playing. Should their new boss seek to continue their blistering form and thrive in the future, he will hope to have this midfield magician at the core of it.

Chelsea could finally rekindle some of their former verve as the west London outfit prepares to take on relegation-threatened Leeds United at Stamford Bridge in the Premier League this afternoon, and both sides will be eyeing all three points.

The mid-table Blues have fallen by the wayside this season, with manager Graham Potter boasting just two victories from the past 15 outings across all competitions, and the previous home encounter resulted in a chastening defeat to bottom club Southampton.

The Whites, in retrospect, defeated Saints in their previous divisional outing before falling to high-flying Fulham in the FA Cup, and new boss Javi Gracia will be quietly confident that the Yorkshire outfit can pull off a major upset to calm the roiling waters of their turbulent campaign.

With further woes eradicating all chance of a late surge for Champions League qualification, the Blues must now rally together, though they will have to complete the feat without Thiago Silva, who has been ruled out for six weeks with a knee injury.

Cobham graduates Reece James and Mason Mount are both nursing respective problems and might not feature, but Potter can take solace in welcoming back assiduous midfielder Mateo Kovacic to the fray.

What could Chelsea look like against Leeds?

Considering this, here is the line-up that Football FanCast predicts Chelsea will field against United, with three changes expected from the starting eleven that fell to defeat against London rivals Tottenham Hotspur last weekend.

4-3-3 – (GK) Kepa; (RB) James, (CB) Fofana, (CB) Koulibaly, (LB) Chilwell; (CM) Loftus-Cheek, (CM) Fernandez; (RW) Madueke, (AM) Felix, (LW) Mudryk; (ST) Havertz. 

The injury to Silva could warrant the inclusion of £75m titan, Wesley Fofana, while the Stamford Bridge faithful will be hopeful that James can overcome his issue with stalwart Cesar Azpilicueta still out due to concussion protocols.

As for the midfield, Ruben Loftus-Cheek and British record £107m signing Enzo Fernandez will continue to nurture their central partnership, with the respective skillsets already looking promising.

The “dream” Hakim Ziyech – as dubbed by Frank Khalid – will return to the bench, having featured prominently over the past few weeks. Replacing the Moroccan, Noni Madueke’s pace and directness could pay dividends against a robust Leeds defence; winter arrival Mykhaylo Mudryk could be offered a starting berth having yet to score or assist from six outings for the Blues.

Up front, Kai Havertz will continue to offer his dynamic abilities, although he will be hoping to score after netting just six times from 32 appearances across all competitions this season.

We’ve observed him from afar, sat through cliché-riddled press conferences and become infuriated at his brooding demeanour. Will the real Duncan Fletcher please stand up?

Will Luke18-Nov-2007

We’ve observed him from afar, sat through cliché-riddled press conferences and become infuriated at his brooding demeanour. Would the real Duncan Fletcher please stand up?At last, in his autobiography, , he has – and how. The week preceding the book’s publication caused an understandable media furore, with revelations of Andrew Flintoff’s drinking and of the back-room decisions Fletcher was forced to make. Equally predictably, though less understandably, Fletcher was made a scapegoat for revealing these brilliantly juicy insights.Anyone who has read the anodyne (and often premature) autobiographies of sporting figures which litter the shelves won’t mind one little bit. may be slightly ill timed – no cautious forward press, here – but dull it is not.Fletcher is a man who places great emphasis on trust and loyalty, and it comes as no surprise that Steve James, his former comrade at Glamorgan and friend of many years, helped write it. Broken up into 13 chapters, the book spans his life from childhood right up to the World Cup, when he resigned.He begins with a fascinating background to his happy childhood in Zimbabwe, growing up on a farm with a protective (and revealingly, loyal) family. His five siblings – four boys and Ann – were, we are told, far more talented at sport than the young Duncan. This rivalry instilled his determination and sharpened his mental focus on his one sport, cricket.It’s the later chapters, involving his time with Glamorgan, and then as England coach, that contain the most salacious insights. His difficulties with David Graveney; his surprise when offered the England coaching job; his spat with Henry Blofeld (surprising), and the “mutual dislike” of Geoffrey Boycott (less surprising). And, of course, the Flintoff saga in Chapter 13 which is rather dramatically entitled “The Winter from Hell”.But something jars. The book lives up to its title – we are certainly given an insight into a previously mysterious man – but it has an underlying seam of bitterness and resentment which, for someone who has achieved so much, is a disappointment and a little sad. Chapters are sprinkled with insistences that the reader “must understand”; that the media twisted his words and cheated the truth; that he is right and everyone else is wrong. If he never cared about the media during his tenure, why bother now?But this is Fletcher, after all. Dogged, determined and stubborn as a mule. Forthright views are no less than we expect. He and James should be lauded for producing a book that remains interesting from cover to cover while never dodging sensitive issues from the past.

Manchester United are arguably on the verge of crisis mode in the Premier League, having lost three of their opening five games, including their most recent defeat against Brighton & Hove Albion at Old Trafford.

Off-field issues, which resulted in Jadon Sancho's exile, combined with injuries to key players such as Luke Shaw, have only added to Erik ten Hag's issues, too, culminating in an opening period to forget for the Red Devils.

There's no doubt that those in Manchester will already be keeping a keen eye on January reinforcements, but they must also be aware of the fact that their form could easily drive current players away.

With that said, reports suggest that Bayern Munich are still interested in one particular academy graduate at Manchester United, with a January move possible.

What's the latest Manchester United transfer news?

On paper, United spent well in the summer transfer window, welcoming the likes of Andre Onana, Mason Mount, and Rasmus Hojlund. On the pitch, however, that business is yet to make a positive impact, and United have looked worse than they have for a long time under Ten Hag.

Even in the two victories that they have picked up, the Red Devils looked a shadow of the side that finished third and won the Carabao Cup last season, with narrow results over Nottingham Forest and Wolverhampton Wanderers their only positive points in the current campaign.

Their form could result in exits, including from academy graduate Scott McTominay. According to The Mirror, Bayern Munich are interested in signing the midfielder, should they fail to sign Joao Palhinha at the second time of asking in January. McTominay is reportedly high up on Thomas Tuchel's wanted list.

The Scotland international has fallen down the pecking order at Old Trafford, of course, following the arrival of Sofyan Amrabat, and may get the chance at a big move to the Bundesliga when the winter transfer window comes around.

Should Manchester United sell Scott McTominay?

With McTominay sitting lower than ever in Ten Hag's list of preferred options, an exit suits all parties, particularly if it is out of the Premier League and to Bayern Munich.

The Bundesliga champions may well get a close-up look at the midfielder if he plays in Manchester United's opening game in Group A of the Champions League at the Allianz Arena in mid-week. If McTominay does feature, and impresses, then January will become even more interesting.

When at his best, the 26-year-old has earned plenty of praise, including from Liverpool and Scotland left-back Andy Robertson, who told the official Liverpool website, via Manchester United's official website: "There was a wee bit of banter with Scott McTominay during the Scotland duty, just a wee bit, not much, honest!

“I thought Scotty was fantastic for us against San Marino, to be honest. And he’s been excellent all season in a United team that has had its critics. I think he’s carried himself very well. I’ll be looking forward to facing him on Sunday. Obviously, I hope to come out on top.”

Chelsea and Luton Town have been playing one another on and off for almost 100 years, with the first match taking place back in January 1927. Football FanCast has everything you need to know about this fixture before the Blues host the Hatters tonight in what will be the first time the two sides clash in the Premier League.

While it's still far too early to make any wild assumptions about form going into this weekend's round of fixtures, things are looking much less rosy in West London compared to this time last week. Chelsea followed up their brilliant opening day performance against Liverpool with a tepid 3-1 defeat to West Ham United, a game that saw record-breaking Moises Caicedo concede a penalty on debut.

Things don't look much better for Luton, either. In their first-ever Premier League game, the Hatters fell to a 4-1 away defeat to Brighton & Hove Albion. That said, there were glimpses of quality from the league's new boys, but not enough to salvage anything from the match. Their second game – a home tie against Burnley – had to be postponed as Kenilworth Road still requires work to reach League standards.

Chelsea vs Luton Town: After previous matches, what's their head-to-head record?

Chelsea and Luton have met 44 times in all competitions since that first meeting almost a century ago, and unsurprisingly, the Blues have come out on top more often than not. Although, it's closer than most might assume, due in part to many of their clashes coming well before Chelsea's takeover in 2004.

In all, the West Londoners have won almost half of their encounters with the Hatters, while Luton have only just edged out the number of draws.

Chelsea wins: 19 Draws: 12 Luton Town wins: 13 Chelsea vs Luton Town: What's their record at Stamford Bridge?

When it comes to games in the West End, it's clearly advantage Chelsea. The Blues have hosted Luton 22 times at the Bridge and come out as victors over half the time, with 12 wins under their belt.

On the other hand, Luton have quite the miserable record away from home, having won just four times when making the trip to Chelsea, coming away with a single point six times.

Chelsea wins: 12 Draws: 6 Luton Town wins: 4 Chelsea vs Luton Town: What's their record at Kenilworth Road?

Home advantage evidently means something to Luton. In their 21 home matches against Chelsea, the Hatters have come out as victors in almost half of them, while the West Londoners have only managed to win as many games as they have drawn when journeying to Bedfordshire.

With the Premier League full of modern, spacious and state-of-the-art stadia, can Luton utilise Kenilworth Road's old-school and claustrophobic nature to get something out of the reverse fixture later in the season?

Chelsea wins: 6 Draws: 6 Luton Town wins: 9 Chelsea vs Luton Town: What's their record at neutral grounds?

Chelsea and Luton have only met once at a neutral ground, with the majority of their clashes coming in either the league or early rounds of the FA Cup, but this wasn't the case in April 1994 when the pair met at the Old Wembley for an FA Cup Semi-Final.

The Blues were hoping to reach a first FA Cup final since they had last won the competition in 1970. For Luton, it was the opportunity to make a second cup final appearance since their defeat in the 1959 final at the hands of Nottingham Forest.

Ultimately, the West Londoners won out in the end thanks to a brace from Gavin Peacock that saw him score in both halves to deny Luton Town.

Chelsea wins: 1 Draws: 0 Luton Town wins: 0 Chelsea vs Luton Town: What's their First Division record?

With the Premier League coming into being at the start of the 1992/93 season, Luton Town have actually never played in the competition, having been relegated from the old First Division in the 1991/92 season.

That said, the two clubs have faced off against one another plenty of times in England's top flight over the years, and whilst Chelsea have been the more dominant side overall, the Hatters have given a good account of themselves.

Chelsea have won just under half of the side's clashes in the First Division, with Luton picking up a win in less than a third of their games.

Chelsea wins: 12 Draws: 7 Luton Town wins: 7 Chelsea vs Luton Town: What's their Second Division record?

While the sides have played one another 26 times in England's top flight since 1927, they have also clashed 12 times in the country's second tier, with the most recent example of this coming in May 1982, with Luton winning 2-1.

In fact, the Hatters were the more dominant side when it came to playing in the second tier. In their 12 matches, the Bedfordshire side won five times, while Chelsea only won on three occasions, with the other four games ending in a tie.

Chelsea wins: 3 Draws: 4 Luton Town wins: 5 Chelsea vs Luton Town: Which team has the most goals?

With the fixture generally going the way of Chelsea more often than not, it shouldn't come as too much of a surprise to hear that they have also outscored their new Premier League rivals over their shared history.

In all competitions, the Pensioners have found the back of the net 73 times when playing against the Hatters. On the other hand, Luton have only been able to respond with 57 goals of their own. That said, there isn't a huge disparity there, and again shows that whilst Chelsea have had the edge in this fixture, it hasn't been totally one-sided throughout.

Chelsea goals: 73 Luton Town goals: 57 Chelsea vs Luton Town: What is Luton Town's biggest win?

Despite losing more games against Chelsea than they have won, Luton have enjoyed some significant wins over their West London opponents over the years, with the biggest coming in December 1976, when the Hatters put four past them to no reply in the old Second Division.

It was a bitterly cold winter's day with snow completely covering the pitch, but with 17,000 fans in the stands, the game kicked off. Lil Fuccillo – now chief scout of Crawley Town – opened the scoring for Luton, with Brian Chambers adding another before 12 minutes had even been played.

Another one from Jimmy Husband and a penalty from Steve Buckley gave the home side the victory.

Chelsea vs Luton Town: What is Chelsea's biggest win?

When it comes to Chelsea's biggest victory over their Bedfordshire opponents, two games share that accolade, and both are again 4-0 scorelines. The first instance came in the very first meeting between the two teams in the 1927 edition of the FA Cup.

The match was held at Stamford Bridge, and as the scoreline suggests, it was a totally one-sided affair. It was 27 year old forward Albert Thain who opened the scoring for the hosts before grabbing another not long after that. It was then the turn of 32 year old Robert Hamilton Turnbull to grab a brace of his own to take the game away from Luton entirely.

The same scoreline would once again emerge from the team's clash at Kenilworth Road exactly 30 years later, in what was the old First Division at the time. Once again, two braces won Chelsea the game, this time with Jim Lewis grabbing two before Ron Tindall did the same.

Chelsea vs Luton Town: What are the recent results?

Across the last five fixtures, it has been pretty much all Chelsea. The most recent match – an FA Cup tie in March 2022 – ended 3-2 to the visiting Blues, thanks to goals from Saul Niguez, Timo Werner, and Romelu Lukaku, all players that have either left the Bridge or have been frozen out.

The game before that – in January 2021 – was another FA Cup match in which the Pensioners emerged as the victors thanks to a hattrick from Cobham graduate Tammy Abraham. However, the three games prior to that one all took place in the early 1990s, and so there isn't a lot we can go off to predict how the two teams will fair this weekend.

Chelsea vs Luton Town: When is it?

Chelsea host the Premier League debutantes tonight, Friday 25th August at 8pm British Summer Time, and while it isn't one of the league's most illustrious fixtures, it could well be a cracker.

Both sides have an enormous amount to play for this year, and with Chelsea's miserable showing against West Ham last week, the Hatters might be able to spring an upset and put more pressure on Mauricio Pochettino before his tenure truly gets underway.

There is also the chance that the Argentine could give new £115m man Caicedo his full debut on Friday night, and after his personal contribution to the defeat against the Irons, he'll want to lay down a marker as well.

Rob Edwards will also have a new signing of his own, as Ross Barkley could be given his debut against his former club, having joined the side on a one-year deal just a couple of weeks ago.

Mitchell Marsh scored his maiden Test hundred and Steven Smith batted through the day for a double as England were ground into the dirt at the WACA

The Report by Brydon Coverdale16-Dec-20172:23

Vaughan: Smith has the special skill and hunger of greatness

Scorecard and ball-by-ball detailsIt would be hard to imagine a day of greater Australian dominance than this one. It was a day on which Steven Smith made his second Test double-century, Mitchell Marsh scored his maiden Test hundred, England claimed just a single wicket and Australia piled on 346 runs. A day that began with Australia trailing by 200 finished with them 146 runs in front, and with a realistic chance of pushing for victory – and the urn – over the next two days. Remind us why Australia would want to move Ashes Tests away from the WACA?But a caveat is necessary, for it was not a day that necessarily ended England’s campaign. The pitch remains good for batting – that is stating the obvious – and there is rain forecast over the next two days in Perth. It remains very possible that England will escape from this match with a draw, and as the holders of the Ashes, that would keep them alive in the series. Alive, but demoralised. They might have known that Smith could score a mountain of runs, but Mitchell Marsh eyeing off a Test double-century by stumps? They’d have been more likely to expect the Spanish Inquisition.This was a day that can best be illustrated by the numbers, and at the close of play, the numbers were these: Smith was on 229, Marsh was on 181, and Australia had 4 for 549. Hundreds were also piling up in England’s bowling analysis: Craig Overton, Chris Woakes, Stuart Broad and Moeen Ali had all conceded centuries by the close of play, and if James Anderson – currently at 0 for 85 – joins them on the fourth day, it will be just the eighth time in Test history that a team has had five or more bowlers concede 100 in the same innings.Some more numbers: by stumps, the Smith-Marsh partnership was worth 301 runs, the most prolific partnership Smith has ever been involved in at Test level. And Marsh’s score was already the sixth-highest of all time by an Australian No.6. Along the way, Smith passed 1000 runs in a calendar year for the fourth consecutive year, joining Matthew Hayden as the only men to achieve this feat, and Smith has done so averaging 60-plus in every year.The day had started in vaguely reasonable style for England, when they claimed the wicket of Shaun Marsh, who edged Moeen to slip for 28. It was the only reason England had to celebrate all day. Reasons for optimism were rare: occasionally Smith edged, but his soft hands always ensured the ball dropped short of the slips, and an lbw review from England against Smith found that Anderson had over-stepped, although in any case the umpire’s on-field call of not-out would have been upheld by the ball tracking.Mitchell Marsh roars after hitting his maiden Test hundred•Getty Images

No matter what Joe Root tried, it failed. In the morning, Smith brought up the fastest century of his Test career, a 138-ball effort that showed just as much ability to read the circumstances as had his slowest Test hundred, scored at the Gabba earlier in this series. He continued to be strong when cover-driving, when walking across the stumps and whipping to leg, and frankly playing wherever he wanted to.Marsh was especially powerful driving straight down the ground and through the off side, and also found the gaps when cutting. He let out a roar after bringing up his home-town hundred in the final over before tea, with a pair of boundaries through point off Broad, the milestone coming from his 130th delivery. His efforts had continued a fine summer of selections from the Australian panel, who have found excellent contributions from Shaun Marsh, Tim Paine and now Mitchell Marsh, three selections that sparked much debate.And still the runs kept piling up. Late in the day, Smith moved past his previous highest Test score of 215, and had been at the crease for nearly 10 hours. He was just the fifth Australia captain to score an Ashes double-century, after Billy Murdoch, Don Bradman, Bob Simpson and Allan Border.Marsh by the close was eyeing off a double-century, a sentence which on its own tells all that need be told about this day. The result was that England were sunk, if not in the series, then at least in their hopes of winning this Test.