Unhappy Ivanovic facing Chelsea axe

A similar situation two years prior had seen Manchester City fail to win any silverware and sack then manager Roberto Mancini before the conclusion of the Premier League season and less than a year after the club had won their first top division title since 1968.

Branislav Ivanovic says Chelsea need to learn to cope with the pressure of being champions after an abysmal start to the new Premier League season. I think over a period of time we proved that we weren’t. And now they’ve started this season in fine form, the kind of form we expect from those players I mentioned before. They scored the goals and won the game, but for us we know what we have to do.

Amidst the row about the demotion and future roles of club doctor Eva Carneiro and physio Jon Fearn, Chelsea now look a shadow of the side that stormed to the title last season in supreme style, losing just three times and finishing eight points clear of second-placed City. That resolve could yet be tested by an offer which would establish Stones as the most expensive defender in English football, though raising the bid to £40m would effectively see Chelsea doubling their original valuation of the centre-back. Can Ranieri’s men keep their win streak active, or will Harry Kane rediscover his scoring boots to drop them back to Earth?

One of the main problems when signing a foreign player is the length of time it can take them to settle in the Premier League, especially playing in defence.

“We know what we haven’t done well in the first two games, but there are another 36 [to go] and we have to improve ourselves”, he added. I think what we have this year is more games to carry, which takes a slight intensity out of the legs. Liverpool might not have the funds to compete with the likes of Manchester City for the signing of Nicolas Otamendi, but there are still a number of options that could provide the solution to their defensive inadequacy (Athletic Bilbao’s Aymeric Laporte, for one).

Belgian Vincent Kompany scored a goal off a pass from Spaniard David Silva in 79th minute.

Chelsea drew 2-2 against Swansea in their opening match and are already five points behind City, but Ivanovic is adamant they can overhaul Manuel Pellegrini’s early-season leaders. Though rival Manchester United also sits with six points in two matches, the Red Devils have not been almost as impressive as the Citizens.

Elsewhere, Augsburg’s Raul Bobadilla became the ninth player in Bundesliga history to be sent off in two successive league appearances, as his side were condemned to a 1-0 home defeat by Hertha Berlin on Saturday.