Tuesday’s briefing: Chelsea back to winning ways and Champions League returns

Chelsea returned to the Premier League’s top four after they ended a five-match winless run with a 3-1 victory over Wolves on Monday night.

It rounded off a weekend of goals and drama aplenty in England’s top flight ahead of the return of European football in midweek.

Aston Villa and Liverpool resume their Champions League campaigns on Tuesday, while Manchester City brought the first player from Uzbekistan to the Premier League in signing defender Abdukodir Khusanov.

Defenders lead the way for Blues

Enzo Maresca had experienced his first Chelsea wobble over the festive period but watched as his young team returned to winning ways at Stamford Bridge.

It was a night for scoring defenders, with Tosin Adarabioyo able to break the deadlock for the Blues before Matt Doherty levelled for the visitors in first-half stoppage time.

Marc Cucurella restored Chelsea’s advantage on the hour mark and Noni Madueke made the points safe five minutes later when he nodded home on another difficult evening for Wolves, who remain in trouble and outside of the bottom three only on goal difference.

Man City strengthen

Next up for Chelsea is a trip to Manchester City on Saturday and Pep Guardiola’s team are recovering after a shockingly inconsistent first half of the season.

City lost eight matches across November and December, but a late collapse at Brentford earlier this month was followed by a 6-0 thrashing of Ipswich and Monday saw the arrival of Khusanov from Lens.

The highly-rated centre-back, 20, will bolster an ageing City side, with the club also in talks with Eintracht Frankfurt over the signing of attacker Omar Marmoush.

Konate talks

City’s slump has allowed Liverpool to seize control of the title race and the Reds have been hugely impressive in their first season under Arne Slot, especially in the Champions League.

Liverpool switch their focus back to Europe on Tuesday, but the familiar topic of expiring contracts for key players was back on the agenda on the eve of the game.

However, it was not Virgil van Dijk, Trent Alexander-Arnold or Mohamed Salah in the headlines but rather Ibrahima Konate after he revealed he had been offered a new deal by Liverpool but had not yet signed it. Nevertheless, he stressed his commitment to the cause and, having rushed himself back from a knee injury, will again play through the pain barrier for the visit of Lille.

Jhon Duran attracting interest

Aston Villa forward Jhon Duran was the subject of a bid from West Ham on Monday, which was rejected, the PA news agency understands.

Duran posted a clip of himself on social media last summer doing the West Ham ‘Irons’ sign after talk of a move to London ramped up and yet it failed to materialise.

Colombia international Duran has knuckled down since and scored 12 goals in 27 appearances, but starts remain rare. Unai Emery acknowledged it was a challenge for him to fit Duran and Ollie Watkins into the same team. Could Tuesday’s trip to Monaco be an opportunity to experiment with the in-form strikers again?

What’s on today?

The Champions League resumes with Villa in action at Monaco and current leaders Liverpool at home to Lille.

Both clubs are well-placed to secure a top-eight finish, with Liverpool in need of only one point from their final two matches of the league phase to avoid next month’s extra knock-out tie, while Villa are in fifth spot on 13 points.

Galatasaray are also in Europa League action on Tuesday at home to Dynamo Kyiv and there are 13 games across the Sky Bet Championship, League One and League Two.