The 10 years Pep Guardiola spent at Manchester City represent one of the greatest acts of dynasty-building in the sporting universe.

Not only did the Catalan coach City to six Premier League titles, five League Cups, three FA Cups, one UEFA Champions League crown and one at the FIFA Club World Cup, he did so by assembling multiple great sides, revolutionising tactics, and constantly reinventing himself.

Dominant reign

Guardiola’s six Premier League trophies are second only to Alex Ferguson’s 13 at Manchester United, and even in the four years when City did not win the top prize, it stayed in the top three. No other coach won more than one Premier League title during Guardiola’s time in England.

When such a king abdicates the throne and leaves his kingdom, as Guardiola did at the end of the 2025-26 campaign, there is bound to be an almighty jostle among those below to be the immediate heir. The 2026-27 Premier League season, which got underway late on Friday (August 21), will be the battleground to decide whom the power is transferred to.

The setting is conducive for an intriguing competition. City without Guardiola will be one of nine clubs to have new coaches, and two others in Manchester United and Tottenham Hotspur did not have Michael Carrick and Roberto De Zerbi in place at the start of the year.

Mikel Arteta, who secured Arsenal its first English top-flight crown in 22 years, is the most experienced, having been in the job for a little over six years and seven months. Unai Emery, who masterminded Aston Villa’s 2025-26 Europa League triumph, is next, with a stint now at roughly three years and 10 months.

Though Guardiola has exited the scene, his giant shadow still looms. Enzo Maresca, who has replaced the 55-year-old at the Etihad, and Arteta have served as his assistants. Xabi Alonso, installed as Chelsea’s new manager, was once Guardiola’s midfield marshal at Bayern Munich.

The post-Pep Premier League era will not have a clean break in terms of tactics too, for Guardiola has left a deep imprint, both in terms of the first principles he introduced, and how he evolved and shed his orthodoxies to cater to the League’s fast-changing demands.

When he first arrived, Guardiola was a cleric of the possession-heavy school and was canonical in his belief that retaining the ball was the best route to success. So much so that even goalkeepers weren’t spared; one of his first decisions at City was to replace Joe Hart, a top-class shot-stopper, with Claudio Bravo, a ball-playing goalie.

And it felt like the league as a whole — with the glorious exception of Jose Mourinho’s Manchester United — was trying to inculcate parts of it.

Guardiola then changed tack to embrace high-energy players and those with great individual skills in order to adjust to the breathless, end-to-end football that the likes of Jurgen Klopp (Liverpool) and Mauricio Pochettino (Tottenham) introduced. The controlled aggression of the earlier years made way for a more expressive and expansive style.

Philosophical blasphemy

And in his last four seasons in charge, he played with one of world football’s purest strikers in Erling Haaland. For a man who once made Lionel Messi turn out as a False 9, and then won two Premier League trophies in 2020-21 and 2021-22 with midfielders as top-scorers (Ilkay Gundogan with 13 goals and Kevin de Bruyne 15), to have Haaland score 112 times over four campaigns would have been akin to philosophical blasphemy.

However, football is now more direct and physical than in recent times and it is to Guardiola’s credit that he tweaked his methods and put in place a blueprint for success. “You need to adapt, evolve,” City’s Maresca said recently. “Set-pieces, man to man — it’s a little bit the direction where football is going. We managers… it’s our duty to find solutions.”

Who among Arteta, Carrick, Alonso, Andoni Iraola and Maresca will answer the call? For one, the sight of Arteta, Carrick and Alonso walking briskly up and down the touchline is sure to remind fans of their glory days as players for Arsenal, Manchester United and Liverpool not so long ago. For a certain generation, it will appear like they are reliving a childhood dream.

Arteta has the first-mover advantage, having already won the League and possessing a winning combination. The addition of Bruno Guimaraes from Newcastle for GBP 75 million will reduce the inordinate burden on midfielder Declan Rice. But Arsenal’s unsuccessful pursuit of Vinicius Junior suggests that the outfit is mindful of the need of a world-class threat upfront.

Carrick, who took over at Old Trafford after the sacking of Ruben Amorim, had an impressive stint as caretaker manager, winning 12 and drawing three of his 17 matches in 2025-26, and helping United qualify for the Champions League after a two-season hiatus. The question before the astute 45-year-old is whether his United has the quality to sustain simultaneous domestic and continental challenges.

For Alonso, Chelsea is the opportunity to light up an aura that has seemingly dimmed after a failed seven-month stint as Real Madrid’s boss. The 44-year-old is known to possess a shrewd tactical brain, and his role in ending Bayern Munich’s hegemony in Germany — 11 straight Bundesliga titles from 2012-13 to 2022-23 — by leading a young Bayer Leverkusen side to its maiden crown is noteworthy. The addition of 24-year-old English attacking midfielder Morgan Rogers for a whopping GBP 117 million shows that he has Chelsea’s wholehearted trust.

Andoni Iraola’s ascent to the top job at Liverpool after making a mark at Bournemouth is eerily similar to Graham Potter’s entry into Chelsea in 2022 after a stellar show at Brighton & Hove Albion. But Potter was dismissed in less than seven months, a fate Iraola will want to avoid.

The 44-year-old is agnostic to any style of play that is not front-footed, a factor that endeared him to the Liverpool hierarchy after a dreary end to Arne Slot’s time. Can he manage to keep the club faithful happy without the services of Mohamed Salah, who left after nine glorious years?

Tough act to follow

Maresca’s situation at City is comparable to what David Moyes faced at United after the latter succeeded Ferguson in 2013. The Italian’s first test will be to not get crushed under the burden of expectations after Guardiola’s supremely successful tenure. It helps that City is not known to be trigger-happy, for both Roberto Mancini and Manuel Pellegrini enjoyed tenures lasting three years or more before Guardiola arrived.

Maresca also comes with a certain pedigree, having led Chelsea to FIFA Club World Cup glory in 2025, and has added England midfielder Elliot Anderson for a hefty GBP 116 million fee. But he will have to compete without the talismanic World Cup winner Rodri, who has shifted to Barcelona, and fellow playmaker Bernardo Silva, who has moved to Real Madrid.

Will he be guided by the spirit of Guardiola or will the ghost of Guardiola haunt him?

Rayo’s Pep Chavarria and Crystal Palace’s Ismaila Sarr during the Europa Conference League final soccer match between Crystal Palace and Rayo Vallecano in Leipzig, Germany, on May 27, 2026.
| Photo Credit: AP

England’s Jordan Henderson.
| Photo Credit: Reuters

Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) have reportedly been beaten to the acquisition of a team in England’s The Hundred franchise league by Chelsea Football Club co-owner Todd Boehly. Real estate firm Cain International – which was co-founded by Boehly and Chelsea director Jonathan Goldstein – have acquired a 49 per cent stake of The Hundred side Trent Rockets. As per a report, Trent Rockets was acquired by Boehly and co. for a fee of around 39 million Great British Pounds (approx. Rs 420 crore). A Cricbuzz report added that the franchise’s valuation was GBP 79 million. The report also states that Indian investor Amit Jain was in the running in conjunction with Indian Premier League (IPL) franchise Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB).

As per a report by ESPNcricinfo, KKR and Amit Jain were beaten to the stake by Cain International, who were earlier in the race for the acquisition of fellow Hundred side London Spirit.

KKR are owned by Red Chillies Entertainment, a conglomerate established by actor Shah Rukh Khan, as well as by businessman Jay Mehta and actor Juhi Chawla.

Had KKR won the bid for Trent Rockets, it would’ve added to the likes of KKR, Trinbago Knight Riders, LA Knight Riders and Abu Dhabi Knight Riders under the same ownership.

The Hundred has already seen IPL ownership take over two of the franchises. Mumbai Indians’ owners, Reliance Industries, bought a 49 per cent stake in Oval Invincibles with a valuation reported at around 60 million GBP. Lucknow Super Giants owners RPSG Group bought a similar stake in Manchester Originals, whose valuation is reported at around 116 million GBP.

Delhi Capitals co-owners GMR Group are also likely to acquire a stake in Southern Brave, the report states.

However, KKR will not be joining them, as it stands.

Cain International will become one of four non-IPL owners with stakes in a Hundred team.

Based in Nottingham, Trent Rockets represent the counties of Nottinghamshire, Derbyshire and Leicestershire. The men’s team of Trent Rockets won The Hundred tournament in 2022, while also finishing third the year before. The women’s team have a best finish of third, also in 2022.

The Rockets featured some well known cricket stars such as Joe Root, Alex Hales and Rovman Powell in the 2024 season. The likes of Ashleigh Gardner and Nat Sciver-Brunt star for the women’s team.

The investment further extends Boehly’s empire in the world of sports. The 51-year-old American billionaire led a consortium named BlueCo that took over Chelsea in 2022 from Ukrainian businessman Roman Abramovich. BlueCo have since also taken over French Ligue 1 side RC Strasbourg.

Chelsea sit fourth in the ongoing 2024-25 Premier League season, while Strasbourg are ninth in Ligue 1.

Boehly also co-owns Major League Baseball (MLB) team Los Angeles Dodgers.

File image of Cole Palmer.© AFP

Chelsea overcame a howler from goalkeeper Robert Sanchez to beat relegation-threatened Wolves 3-1 on Monday, ending a five-game winless run to climb back into the Premier League’s top four. Enzo Maresca‘s team were just two points behind leaders Liverpool in mid-December, raising hopes of an unlikely title challenge before losing their way. Now they are back on track to qualify for next season’s Champions League after second-half goals from Marc Cucurella and Noni Madueke spared Sanchez’s blushes. The Spanish goalkeeper had dropped the ball moments before half-time, allowing Matt Doherty to cancel out Tosin Adarabioyo’s opener.

Maresca said Chelsea had dominated the first 40 minutes before problems that have haunted them in recent weeks returned.

“We lost a little bit of confidence, we conceded a goal and we started to struggle a little bit and then the second half I think we started quite well and then after the second and third goals the game was in control,” he told Sky Sports.

He added: “In the past five games we didn’t win but I said many times that the performance was there. We created many chances, we didn’t score and tonight finally we scored three goals.”

Chelsea’s top-scorer Cole Palmer, a doubt before the game, was fit to start as Maresca made five changes from last week’s draw against Bournemouth including bringing in centre-back Trevoh Chalobah, recalled from his loan spell at Crystal Palace.

The home side dominated possession in the early stages and Palmer had a couple of early efforts, curling one wide and forcing Jose Sa into a diving save.

The home side were rewarded for their dominance midway through the first half when Adarabioyo fired home for his first Premier League goal for the club.

The defender controlled the ball well after it was deflected into his path from Reece James‘s shot from the edge of the box.

A number of Chelsea players were in offside positions in a crowded penalty area and the flag was raised but the on-field decision was overturned after a VAR check.

Sanchez blunder

Wolves, anaemic in attack for most of the first half, came back into the game as half-time approached, scoring with their first shot on target thanks to Sanchez’s error.

The visitors won a corner and the goalkeeper dropped the inswinging delivery from Matheus Cunha under intense pressure when he could have punched clear, with Doherty poking home.

The home side started the second half brightly and were back in front on the hour mark when Cucurella hooked home on the stretch after Madueke’s cross was flicked on by Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall.

Five minutes later Chelsea had a two-goal cushion when Madueke scored his fourth goal of the season against Wolves, heading home Chalobah’s goal-bound effort.

Sanchez palmed a Cunha shot behind with 10 minutes to go but Chelsea were largely comfortable despite the occasional minor scare and leapfrogged Newcastle and Manchester City, whom they face next.

Former Leicester boss Maresca, in his first season in charge at Stamford Bridge, stubbornly insisted his team were not in the title race even when they were flying high after five straight wins from late November.

Starting with a 0-0 draw at Everton just before Christmas, they took just three points from five games before returning to winning ways on Monday.

Wolves, who have conceded a league-high 51 goals, are outside the relegation zone on goal difference alone after three straight defeats following a bright start for new manager Vitor Pereira.

Trent Alexander-Arnold‘s stunning strike lit up Liverpool’s 4-0 win over Accrington Stanley to cruise into the FA Cup fourth round on Saturday as Chelsea thrashed Morecambe 5-0. Brentford were the only Premier League side to fall to lower league opposition as Plymouth, who sit bottom of the Championship, stunned the Bees 1-0 thanks to Morgan Whittaker’s late winner. There was never any hint of an upset at Anfield despite Arne Slot making eight changes for Liverpool. Alexander-Arnold was named captain in the absence of Virgil van Dijk and led by example after a being criticised for his display in a 2-2 draw against Manchester United last weekend.

Slot had warned the Premier League leaders that a trip to Anfield would be Accrington’s “Champions League final.”

A mammoth 86 league positions behind Liverpool in the 92-team English league system, Stanley held out for nearly half an hour.

Diogo Jota was left with a simple task to tap in from Darwin Nunez‘s low cross to open the floodgates.

Alexander-Arnold then stepped forward to double the lead with a sumptuous hit into the top corner from outside the box.

Jayden Danns made the most of just his second appearance of the season to fire in the third 14 minutes from time.

Federico Chiesa‘s Liverpool career has so far failed to get going due to injury problems.

But the Italian took advantage of some rare game time to net his first goal for the club with a long range strike in off the far post.

“It is definitely a good first step, but as much as I liked the way Accrington Stanley played we have to take into consideration that we’re talking about League Two level,” said Slot on Chiesa’s second half cameo off the bench.

“It is good to have him back on the pitch. He was a threat, but let’s not get carried away.”

Joao Felix was the star of the show for Chelsea as he got a rare chance to deputise for Cole Palmer.

The Portuguese international and Tosin Adarabioyo both scored twice, while Christopher Nkunku made up for missing an early penalty by netting his 13th goal of the season.

Only Liverpool have taken more points at home than Brentford in the Premier League this season, while Plymouth had not won away from home all campaign.

Yet against the odds Argyle, who sacked former England captain Wayne Rooney 12 days ago, held out and hit Thomas Frank’s men with a sucker punch when Whittaker blasted in from outside the area nine minutes from time.

High-flying Nottingham Forest continued their excellent season with a comfortable 2-0 win over Luton.

Brighton were 4-0 winners at Norwich as Georginio Rutter struck twice.

Bournemouth shrugged off the loss of strikers Evanilson and Enes Unal to long-term injuries this week to roar back from 1-0 down to hammer West Brom 5-1.

Leicester went one better by hitting QPR for six in a 6-2 thriller at the King Power.

Man City face former Utd greats

Manchester City face fourth-tier opposition later against Salford City, who are owned by a group of former Manchester United greats.

Investment from David Beckham, Gary and Phil Neville, Paul Scholes, Ryan Giggs and Nicky Butt have helped Salford rise through the non-league ranks since their involvement began in 2014.

Another celebrity co-owner in the lower leagues of English football is already into round four as NFL legend Tom Brady’s Birmingham beat Lincoln 2-1.

Wolves’ bright start under new boss Vitor Pereira continued as early goals from Rayan Ait-Nouri and Rodrigo Gomes secured a 2-1 win at Bristol City.

Chelsea boss Enzo Maresca has revealed Ben Chilwell is set to end his troubled spell at Stamford Bridge as the England defender looks for a move in the January transfer window. Maresca confirmed on Friday that injury-plagued Chilwell will be allowed to move on if the right deal is found in January. Chilwell will not feature in Chelsea’s FA Cup third round tie against Morecambe on Saturday because Maresca does not want to jeopardise the left-back’s chances of finding a new club. The 28-year-old, who has played just 45 minutes this campaign, is being linked with a switch across London to West Ham, who hired former Chelsea manager Graham Potter this week.

Chilwell has made over 100 Chelsea appearances since joining from Leicester in 2020, winning the Champions League in his first season with the Blues.

But he has been in exile since Maresca took charge in the close-season, with Marc Cucurella preferred at left-back.

Cesare Casadei and Carney Chukwuemeka are also in line to leave and will not play against League Two side Morecambe.

“Chilwell is thinking he’s going to leave, it’s better to avoid using him to avoid injury,” Maresca told reporters.

“Cesare will not be in the squad, same situation as Chilwell. It’s best in this moment not to allow him to play in case there’s opportunity for him to leave.”

Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall has made just five substitute appearances in the league since following Maresca from Leicester last year.

But Maresca insisted the midfielder still has a future at Stamford Bridge.

The Italian would not be drawn on reports that Chelsea could raid Crystal Palace’s defence to patch up his injury-hit rearguard.

Chelsea academy graduate Marc Guehi, who starred for England at Euro 2024, is reportedly target, while there is also the option to recall Trevoh Chalobah from his season-long loan at Selhurst Park.

Maresca is currently without Wesley Fofana, whose hamstring injury could cost him the rest of the season, with Benoit Badiashile out until February.

“Guehi is a Palace player. I like him, for sure, but he’s not our player,” Maresca said.

“I like the central defenders we have, I like different defenders in Italy and France but it does not mean we’re going to buy them. When you have an injury the speculation is there.

“Trev is a good player but a Palace player.”

Premier League chief executive Richard Masters fears this year’s Club World Cup could create “great difficulty” for Manchester City and Chelsea ahead of next season’s English top-flight campaign. The two clubs will be England’s representatives in FIFA’s expanded 32-team event in the United States, with players’ unions threatening legal action on welfare grounds and national leagues unhappy about the potential knock-on effects on their own competitions. The Club World Cup final is due to be played on July 13, with the 2025/26 Premier League season starting on August 16.

“The leagues and the players’ unions are not happy with the decisions that are being taken at a global level,” Masters told Sky Sports. “We’ve seen the Club World Cup come in, and obviously that is going to have an impact on the Premier League. 

“If either Manchester City or Chelsea get to the final of that competition, the Premier League starts four weeks later, and all players are supposed to have three weeks off as part of the contractual commitment.

“So how does that work? With great difficulty I would say.”

Masters, meanwhile, insisted English football is “not on a financial precipice” as he reiterated the Premier League’s concerns about the potential impact of an independent regulator on the game.

The Premier League spent more than £45 million ($56 million) in legal costs during the 2023/24 season as it attempted to uphold its rules amid challenges from clubs.

And there will have been additional and significant legal fees this season for the Premier League given their major disciplinary case against Manchester City is still ongoing. 

The reigning champions were charged in 2023 with more than 100 alleged breaches of the Premier League’s financial rules.

An independent commission heard the case between September and December, with an outcome now pending.

City have also challenged the legality of the league’s associated party transaction (APT) regulations, which seek to ensure deals done with organisations linked to a club’s ownership are at a fair market value.

Both the current and former British government’s aim in supporting an independent regulator is to safeguard the financial sustainability of clubs in the top five tiers of English football.

Masters, however, insisted too many regulations could damage the excitement on which the Premier League thrives. 

“We have that jeopardy, we have that constant fizz of compelling entertainment,” he said.

“There are many different reasons (for the Premier League’s global popularity) but that, I think, is what separates us from others.”

He added: “We have always been pro investment within measured risks. The Premier League is not a pension fund, it is a place where capital is put at risk. There is no certainty of outcome — that is one of the things that makes it interesting.

“We do worry that a new regulatory function might be risk-averse and might inhibit clubs’ ability to invest. And the ability to invest is key to competitive balance, and that jeopardy that I’m talking about.”

Enzo Maresca admitted Chelsea should not think about challenging for the Premier League title after lowly Ipswich beat the Blues 2-0 at Portman Road on Monday. Maresca’s side were rocked by Liam Delap’s early penalty and a second-half goal from former Chelsea winger Omari Hutchinson. Chelsea’s second successive defeat after their Boxing Day loss against Fulham left them without a win in their last three matches. The west Londoners had emerged as surprise title contenders after an eight-match winning run in all competitions.

But Maresca had insisted throughout that spell that Chelsea’s inexperienced squad do not have what it takes to win the title in his first season after arriving from Leicester.

And the Italian’s prediction looks spot on after a shock result in Suffolk that leaves Chelsea in fourth place, 10 points behind leaders Liverpool, who have a game in hand.

“We focus game by game. We are not focused on title race or those things,” Maresca said.

“It was a strange game. We had many chances but we could do many things better, defend better in some moments.

“Now we’ve finished the first part of the season, no one expected us to be where we are. It’s a long race.”

Third-bottom Ipswich climb within one point of safety after winning for the second time in their last four matches.

Kieran McKenna’s side have renewed belief they can avoid relegation back to the Championship thanks to their first top-flight home win in 22 years.

“Special night for the club. First home win in the Premier League at Portman Road for 22 years and to do it against Chelsea was fantastic,” McKenna said.

“Everyone involved with Ipswich can enjoy a glass of sparkly stuff tomorrow night and think about some of the moments we’ve had over the last couple of years.”

– Delap domination –

Ipswich took the fight to Chelsea right from the start as Delap bullied the visitors’ defence in pugnacious fashion.

Delap raced onto Leif Davis’ inch-perfect pass in the 12th minute and went to ground after the faintest of kicks by Chelsea goalkeeper Filip Jorgensen.

Referee John Brooks awarded the spot-kick and Delap drilled into the bottom corner for his seventh goal of the season.

Cole Palmer almost levelled immediately when his free-kick from 22 yards smacked against the post.

Palmer’s superb left-footed cross was converted by Joao Felix midway through the first half but the Portugal striker’s powerful finish was disallowed for offside after a lengthy VAR check.

Just before half-time, Palmer’s superb 20-yard curler looked destined for the top corner after Felix’s lay-off, only for Christian Walton to brilliantly parry onto the crossbar.

Felix’s header was cleared off the line by Wes Burns early in the second half before Walton thwarted Noni Madueke’s low effort.

Chelsea’s profligacy came back to haunt them as Ipswich doubled their lead in the 53rd minute.

Axel Disasi carelessly passed straight to Delap on the halfway line and he ran at Levi Colwill before passing back to Hutchinson.

Intelligently working a yard of space, Hutchinson drilled into the bottom corner.

It was a special goal for Hutchinson against a club that released him twice from their youth team.

Chelsea were unable to muster a response as Ipswich inflicted a painful defeat with repercussions at both ends of the table.