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Romelu Lukaku breaks his duck as Chelsea give Arsenal the blues

Romelu Lukaku scored on his second Chelsea debut to set them on their way to a comfortable Premier League win over London rivals Arsenal.

Having failed to net in his 15 appearances during his first Chelsea spell, Lukaku needed just a quarter of an hour to make his mark as the Blues ran out 2-0 winners at the Emirates Stadium.

Reece James laid on Lukaku’s goal before scoring the second himself, with Arsenal unable to mount a serious challenge to get back into the contest.

Lukaku moved back to west London from Inter Milan last week and revealed he spoke to former Chelsea striker Didier Drogba in the build-up to this game – and he clearly took something from the conversation.

Drogba himself hit 13 goals in 15 games against Arsenal and Lukaku followed suit, sweeping home a low James cross from close range – netting his first Chelsea goal 3,648 days after his first appearance.

Arsenal had started well enough but the goal took the wind out of their sails, Pablo Mari and Rob Holding struggling to contain Lukaku with £50million summer signing Ben White absent due to a positive Covid test

Gunners boss Mikel Arteta had already lost Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, Alexandre Lacazette, Willian and Alex Runarsson to Covid ahead of an opening day defeat at newly-promoted Brentford.

He had called on the returning Arsenal fans to help bridge the gap between the club and the current Premier League elite – but rousing support was in short supply when Mason Mount picked out James inside the box and he fired home Chelsea’s second 10 minutes before half-time.

In fact, large swathes of the home fans jeered as the players trudged off in the swirling rain at the interval

The hosts should have arguably been given a chance to pull one back from the spot before then as the returning Bukayo Saka – given a warm welcome before kick-off – went down under pressure from James with neither referee Paul Tierney nor the VAR seeing enough to award a penalty.

Arsenal made a lively start to the second half, Saka forcing Edouard Mendy into his first meaningful save with a driven shot.

Holding then had a fine chance to halve the deficit with a header but could only steer his effort wide of goal.

Arteta then brought on Aubameyang for the tiring Saka. The last thing Arsenal needed at this stage was further fitness setbacks but that is exactly what happened as Kieran Tierney limped off, to be replaced by Nuno Tavares.

Chelsea once again took control of proceedings and Lukaku was denied a second goal of the afternoon when his diving header was brilliantly saved by Bernd Leno.

Gabriel Martinelli was the next Arsenal player to be forced off with injury as Folarin Balogun took his place for the closing stages.

The visitors saw out the game with ease, Leno saving well from Kai Havertz with plenty of home fans heading for home before the full-time whistle

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Result: Harry Kane makes first appearance of season as Tottenham edge Wolves win

Harry Kane made his first appearance of the season for Tottenham as they claimed a 1-0 Premier League win on Nuno Espirito Santo’s return to Wolves.

The England captain was not involved in the opening two games of the season following his late return from holiday amid his desire to join Manchester City.

But with Spurs holding firm, he came on in the 72nd minute of a match that was decided by Dele Alli’s 10th-minute penalty.

Alli struck home from 12 yards after he was fouled by Wolves goalkeeper Jose Sa as Nuno’s side made it two 1-0 wins from two Premier League matches.

It is two 1-0 defeats for Wolves as Bruno Lage waits for his first points since becoming Nuno’s replacement, but there were positive signs as they dominated large parts of the game.

Adama Traore was their biggest threat, but he missed the biggest chance as he was denied by Hugo Lloris when through on goal.

Even though he is keen to leave, Kane would have loved to have been on the pitch as Spurs were awarded an early penalty.

Sergio Reguilon’s incisive throughball found Alli and as he tried rounding Sa, the Wolves goalkeeper wiped him out with Stuart Attwell pointing straight to the spot.

With Kane on the bench, Alli assumed responsibility from the spot and confidently sent Sa the wrong way to give his side the lead, with his first Premier League goal since March 2020.

That was Tottenham’s only shot on goal in the first half as Wolves completely dominated, with Traore causing mayhem down the left.

The winger has been linked with a move to Spurs and he showcased his strengths in style with a marauding display.

He had the pace and power to beat Japhet Tanganga and as he surged into the area, he picked out Joao Moutinho, whose first-time flick teed up Jimenez but the Mexico striker curled the ball just over from the edge of the area.

Lage’s side continued to pin Spurs back and they had plenty of dangerous moments but lacked any clear-cut chances that tested Lloris.

The France goalkeeper was forced into a low save from a Ruben Neves drive from distance as Tottenham survived until half-time.

The second half followed a similar pattern as Wolves pinned the visitors back and the chances began to rack up.

Lloris had to make a smart low save to keep out Francisco Trincao’s effort from Nelson Semedo’s cut-back before the keeper proved why he has managed 300 Premier League appearances for Spurs.

Eric Dier got caught in possession on the halfway line, Neves sent Traore clean through but Lloris stayed big and saved the one-on-one chance.

The away side were on the rack but had the chance to kill the game with a rare foray forward.

Lloris’ goal-kick sent Steven Bergwijn through on goal and the Dutchman forced Sa into a fine low save with a low curling shot and then got up quickly to block Son’s rebound before another Son shot was blocked.

With Spurs up against it, Kane was introduced in the 72nd minute for his first appearance of the campaign.

Visiting supporters greeted his arrival with a chant of ‘Harry Kane, he’s one of our own’ and he immediately improved his side

He could have had a fairytale return to the side eight minutes after his arrival as he was played in after a brilliant piece of skill by Bergwijn, but his shot was saved by Sa from a narrow angle.

As Wolves pressed for an equaliser, chances opened at the other end for Tottenham as Dier had a header from a corner well saved and then Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg had a shot blocked.

Kane went over to the Spurs fans at full-time to celebrate the win and was well received as his future remains up in the air

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Sergio Ramos asked Carlo Ancelotti to keep him at Real Madrid

Sergio Ramos unsuccessfully enlisted the help of Carlo Ancelotti during contract negotiations with Real Madrid, according to a report.

The 35-year-old ran down his Bernabeu deal last season and was unable to agree to fresh terms with the club, eventually leading him to complete a free transfer to Paris Saint-Germain.

Ramos insisted at his farewell speech that he intended to stay in the Spanish capital, but Florentino Perez was only prepared to offer him a one-year extension rather than the two years he was holding out for.

According to Marca, Ramos spoke with Ancelotti upon the Italian’s return to the Bernabeu dugout in the hope that he would be able to ‘twist the arm’ of the 74-year-old.

However, Ancelotti reportedly told Ramos that he was unable to affect a situation which was beyond his control, and as a result Ramos gave a tearful farewell to the club he had represented for 16 years.

The centre-back left Real Madrid after scoring 101 goals in 671 games for the capital club, but a calf injury has prevented him from making his PSG debut this month.

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Result: Mason Greenwood earns Manchester United a draw at Southampton

Mason Greenwood sealed Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s side a hard-fought point at Southampton as Manchester United equalled the top-flight’s longest unbeaten away record.

The first match in front of a full St Mary’s crowd in almost 18 months also saw these sides do battle for the first time since Ralph Hasenhuttl’s men conceded nine without reply at Old Trafford in February.

There was no further humiliation on Sunday as Saints put in a promising performance, taking the lead when Che Adams’ strike deflected in off Fred before Greenwood secured a 1-1 draw and United’s place in the history books

Solskjaer’s side went the whole of last season without losing a league game on the road and this result on the south coast took their unbeaten league away run to 27 matches, putting them level with Arsenal in 2003/04.

Saints threatened to stop that run on Sunday and went into half-time ahead, having stood firm during a strong start by the visitors before Adams ended a fine team move with a strike from the edge of the box that went in off Fred.

Bruno Fernandes was furious that Jack Stephens was not punished for a foul in the build-up, but his mood improved 10 minutes into the second half when Greenwood struck through a crowd.

United tapered off after a strong start to the second period, with summer signing Adam Armstrong having a couple of chances to fire Saints to a first home win against United since 2003.

James Ward-Prowse had the first effort of the game when forcing David De Gea into action with a long-range free-kick, but United settled and somehow failed to score seven minutes in.

Harry Maguire and Paul Pogba strained to reach a Fernandes set piece, with the ball looping onto the bar before Mohammed Salisu blocked Anthony Martial’s headed follow-up and impressive teenager Tino Livramento cleared.

Greenwood dragged wide from distance and Salisu blocked a Pogba strike as the visitors continued strongly, with the France midfielder then heading over a Luke Shaw free-kick.

Southampton were angered by a break in play after Moussa Djenepo accidentally caught Greenwood in the face, but it worked in their favour as it allowed them to regather their thoughts.

Armstrong bent over from the edge of the box following some Djenepo stepovers, with St Mary’s erupting in the 30th minute.

Fernandes was furious having felt he was fouled on the right by Stephens, who left the Portuguese in a heap and continued to fizz across to Djenepo. The winger’s first-time ball was smartly flicked on by Armstrong to Adams, who took a couple of touches and struck home from 20 yards via a deflection off Fred

Fernandes was booked for his remonstrations with the officials after the goal and Saints threatened a second, with Livramento superbly bursting down the right only to just overhit a cross.

Alex McCarthy denied a close-range Nemanja Matic header shortly before half-time, which started with Southampton apologising to supporters and promising refunds after thousands of fans’ entry was delayed.

Jan Bednarek came on for Theo Walcott at the break as Saints went to a three-man backline, which was holding its breath when United appealed for handball after a Pogba effort struck Salisu.

Armstrong sent over a smart cross and Livramento lashed over at the other end, before United levelled in the 55th minute

Pogba poked a Fernandes ball on to Greenwood, whose shot beat McCarthy and found the back of the net in front of the raucous travelling support.

Jadon Sancho replaced Anthony Martial and Pogba was soon leading the Southampton defence a merry dance before hitting a left-footed shot just across the face of goal.

Greenwood headed onto the roof of the net and McCarthy produced an unorthodox save to deny a Fernandes header.

Until that point De Gea had precious little to do but came to the rescue in the 73rd minute. Pressing Ward-Prowse took the ball off Maguire and Adams threaded through Armstrong to get a shot on goal.

The Saints new boy wasted a great chance shortly after when Adams glanced on a corner to him at the far post, but he failed to get a telling touch on it.

De Gea punched a Ward-Prowse free-kick clear as Saints ended the match on top to earn a deserved point.

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Tottenham Hotspur dealt major blow in Lautaro Martinez pursuit

Tottenham Hotspur’s pursuit of Inter Milan striker Lautaro Martinez appears to be dead in the water following the latest update from the Nerazzurri’s CEO Giuseppe Marotta.

With uncertainty continuing to surround the future of Harry Kane, Nuno Espirito Santo’s side were thought to be making progress in their efforts to sign Martinez from cash-strapped Inter.

However, the Scudetto winners’ coffers have been boosted from the £97.5m sale of Romelu Lukaku to Chelsea, and Inter CEO Marotta has now confirmed that Martinez has made a decision on his Inter future.

Speaking to DAZN, Marotta said: “Lautaro Martinez has decided to stay at Inter, he strongly wants to stay also with many clubs approaching us with official bids to sign Lautaro. We’re so proud.”

The Argentine is therefore expected to pen an extension on his existing deal with expires in 2023, and he registered 17 goals and 10 assists from 38 Serie A games last season.

While Kane’s future at Tottenham is still not secure, Daniel Levy is supposedly refusing to accept Manchester City’s calls, and the 28-year-old has travelled with the team to face Wolverhampton Wanderers on Sunday

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AC Milan target £45m swoop for Manchester City’s Bernardo Silva

AC Milan have reportedly made Manchester City midfielder Bernardo Silva a key transfer target and hope to sign him in a deal worth £45m.

The Portuguese international is not guaranteed gametime at the Etihad Stadium following the arrival of Jack Grealish from Aston Villa, and had hoped to join Atletico Madrid but the Spanish side could not meet Man City’s asking price.

The Premier League champions have offered Silva to both Arsenal and Tottenham Hotspur, to the latter as part of a deal for Harry Kane, but he does not wish to stay in England.

Now, the Daily Star claim that AC Milan are ready to offer a £45m package for the 27-year-old – £15m to take him on loan for two years, and then £30m to make the move permanent.

The report states that City would be interested in the deal as it would allow them to recoup the £43m they paid for Silva in 2017.

Since his arrival in Manchester, Silva has made 203 appearances and scored 35 goals, winning three Premier League titles

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Bayern Munich rule out summer exit for Robert Lewandowski

Bayern Munich are allegedly not prepared to sell Robert Lewandowski during this summer’s transfer window.

The 32-year-old still has two years left to run on his contract at Allianz Arena, but it has been claimed that he is keen to leave Bayern in search of a new challenge.

A recent report claimed that Lewandowski wants to join ‘another top European club’ before the end of his career, which led to suggestions that the Poland international could be on the move in the near future

However, according to Goal, Bayern will not consider selling the experienced forward, who was linked with Chelsea earlier this summer, under any circumstances.

The report claims that Lewandowski is aware of the German club’s position and will not actively attempt to force a move away despite being keen on the idea of a new challenge.

The 122-time Poland international has scored 297 goals and registered 65 assists in 331 appearances for Bayern since making the move from Borussia Dortmund in July 2014.

The Bundesliga giants are expected to be in the race for Erling Braut Haaland next summer, when a release clause in the Dortmund forward’s contract will become active

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Tottenham beaten by Pacos de Ferreira in first leg of Conference League play-off

Tottenham will have work to do in the second leg of their Europa Conference League play-off tie with Pacos de Ferreira after losing the first leg 1-0 in Portugal.

A much-changed team went down to Lucas Silva’s goal on the stroke of half-time and they did not have the firepower or quality to fight back, failing to muster a single shot on target.

It is not what Nuno Espirito Santo will have been wanting to see from players who are on the fringes of the side that beat Manchester City in the Premier League on Sunday and he may now have to consider playing the likes of Son Heung-min, Lucas Moura, Steven Bergwijn and potentially even Harry Kane in next week’s second leg.

Spurs handed debuts to Pierluigi Gollini, Cristian Romero and Bryan Gil while teenagers Dane Scarlett and Nile John received their first starts as Nuno made 11 changes to the side that outplayed City.

There is a lot of excitement around Gil’s arrival from Sevilla and it was immediately easy to see why as inside the first five minutes he skinned the right-back and sent in a cross to Ryan Sessegnon, who could not get the ball under control and missed the chance to get a shot away.

That was as good as it got for Spurs, who struggled to keep possession and barely got into Pacos’ penalty area.

Pacos, who finished fifth in the Primeira Liga last season, began to take control and looked dangerous on the counter-attack, without ever really threatening

That changed on the brink of half-time as they took the lead with an incisive breakaway.

Harry Winks was beaten in a tackle, the ball ended up with Nuno Santos and Silva ran in between Romero and Cameron Carter-Vickers and finished coolly into the bottom corner.

Spurs defended better in the second half but could not get anywhere near an equaliser as they failed to have a shot on target.

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Mauricio Pochettino confident of keeping Kylian Mbappe at Paris Saint-Germain

Paris Saint-Germain boss Mauricio Pochettino has said that he is planning for Kylian Mbappe to stay at the club for the 2021-22 campaign.

The France international’s future remains the subject of much speculation, with his contract in Paris due to expire next June.

Real Madrid continue to be credited with an interest in the World Cup winner, although the Spanish outfit’s financial issues will make it difficult for them to sign him before the end of the transfer window.

Pochettino has insisted that the 22-year-old “is motivated” at the club, and the head coach is not expecting to lose the attacker over the next couple of weeks.

“I see that he [Mbappe] is motivated, working hard to making this a great season,” Pochettino told reporters. “He is our player and I don’t see him not being here this season.

“He has a year left on his contract, even if he doesn’t renew it, and he has demonstrated to me that he is happy with us here. He is calm and the club knows what they’re going to do. We know he is our player and that he is preparing for our match tomorrow.”

Mbappe has scored 132 goals and registered 63 assists in 173 appearances for PSG since arriving from Monaco, initially on loan, in July 2017.

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Aubameyang and Lacazette missed Gunners’ opener after positive coronavirus tests

Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang and Alexandre Lacazette missed Arsenal‘s defeat at Brentford last Friday after testing positive for coronavirus, the Gunners have announced.

The north London outfit said Aubameyang could make a return to action in Sunday’s home clash with Chelsea, but fellow forward Lacazette will sit things out once again.

A statement on Arsenal’s official website on Thursday read: “Auba is now negative on Covid-19 testing, is well and following all protocols for return to play.

“He will return to training and be assessed prior to Sunday’s match. Alex is still recovering and will not be available.”

Winger Willian and goalkeeper Alex Runarsson have also tested positive.

The statement said Willian was adhering to protocols and that his health and fitness would be monitored and assessed ahead of the Chelsea game, while Runarsson was still recovering and would remain unavailable.

Arsenal have Thomas Partey (ankle), Gabriel Magalhaes (knee) and Eddie Nketiah (ankle) out of action as well.

Partey and Gabriel are aiming to be back in training later this month, and the target for Nketiah is early September.

Mikel Arteta’s men were beaten 2-0 by the Bees in their Premier League opener.