Welcome to Edin Dzeko Day...

Today we are dedicating mcfc.co.uk to our popular Bosnian striker in the first of a series of dedicated player days we’ll occasionally have this season.

Edin has made a great start to the 2012/13 season and remains one of the most popular at the Club, so we thought we’d bring you the best of his time at City so far.

There will be a gallery of his best moments with the Blues since his arrival in January 2011, a video of his ten best goals to date, a graphic showing when his goals for City went in and a chance to see the entertaining #askedin video he shot with close pal Aleks Kolarov this summer.

There’s also a special Dzeko announcement this morning plus a downloadable wallpaper to save for your PC.

So, keep checking back throughout the day for everything Edin and let us know what you’re thinking via our official Twitter, Google+ and Facebook pages.

Now how does that Edin song go again…?

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race for Falcao?

The international ‘break,’ may be upon us, but Roberto Mancini has shown that he has no intention of taking his eye off the ball as he sat in the stands at Vicente Calderon on Sunday.

According to Mark Ogden of the Telegraph, the City boss was on a personal scouting mission as he watched alleged transfer target Radamel Falcao help his Atletico Madrid side overcome Malaga in the Spanish capital.

“Mancini’s presence at Atletico’s 2-1 weekend victory over Malaga, in which Falcao scored his eighth goal in six La Liga games so far this season, highlighted growing interest in the former Porto striker among Europe’s leading clubs,” writes Ogden.

Despite the Italians presence at the weekend, it seems he will have a fight on his hands if he is to peruse the in-form striker.

“Mancini’s visit to Estadio Vicente Calderon has done little to unsettle Atletico, however, with president Enrique Cerezo insisting that the club’s position on the player is unchanged,” continues Ogden.

“Chelsea’s interest in Falcao is long-standing, dating back to Andre Villas-Boas’s reign as manager, and the European champions are believed to be Falcao’s favoured destination next summer, when Atletico are expected to sell for a figure in the region of £45m.

“However, Atletico are determined to hold onto Falcao, who scored 36 goals last season until the summer, in order boost the Europa League holders’ prospects of qualifying for the Champions League for the first time since the 2009-10 campaign.”

Of course, if there are any developments on this in the coming weeks, we will be first to let you know.

Elsewhere this morning, West Brom’s James Morrison has called on his team to be “smart,” when the Blues travel to The Hawthorns a week on Saturday.

The Baggies were one of the few sides to take any points from City last season, drawing 0-0 at The Hawthorns on Boxing Day and Morrison told the Birmingham Mail there’s no reason why they can’t do the same this time around.

“It’s a tough game for us next Saturday,” the Scotland midfielder admitted.

“I remember last season we defended like lions and after that game it killed us for a bit. We couldn’t win after that because it took a lot out of us.

“We’re going to have to do the same again and be smart against them.

“At the start of the season we wanted to make this a tough place to come and improve on our home form.

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CAULKER'S DELIGHT

Steven Caulker was happy to claim a slice of luck for his first Spurs goal - he was simply delighted to make the key breakthrough against Villa.

The defender was in the right place at the right time to open the scoring in the 57th minute in the Premier League encounter at the Lane on Sunday.

Gareth Bale’s deep cross fell to Jermain Defoe, the striker took aim and his shot clipped off Steven’s heel and flew into the net.

Aaron Lennon soon added the second and it was one-way traffic at 2-0 as we made it four wins on the trot in the Premier League.

“I’ve got to be honest, Jermain went for goal and it hit me and went in,” he said. “I was just delighted to get the team 1-0 up.

“It was very fortunate but it’s my first goal for Spurs and hopefully the first of many.”

Fortunate or not, the importance of the goal cannot be underestimated.

“I thought Villa were a good side and they set up well,” added Steven. “That’s why it was important to get that first goal.

“From there, we pushed on and controlled the game. Villa were a threat, they’ve some good strikers, so we’re delighted with a clean sheet.

“We’re on a fantastic run of form and hopefully we’ll continue that after the international break.”

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THE DATA DAY: CHELSEA V NORWICH CITY

The story of our dominance over the Canaries is told by a season-high number of passes for the Blues, with impact from our three attacking midfielders easy to spot...

Chelsea attempted 732 passes, 81 more than in any other league game this season, and completed 665. That's a 91 per cent success rate, and we had 69 per cent possession across the 90 minutes. Of those, only 34 were deemed to be long passes

Juan Mata and Eden Hazard were both influential, and had identical passing stats, completing 80 from 87 attempts each. Of those, 53 of Hazard's were in the final third, with 49 finding their man. John Mikel Obi was also frequently on the ball, with 79 of 87 passes completed while Ashley Cole impressed by losing possession just three times from 74 passes.

Mata found Hazard 21 times in the game, a number matched by John Terry picking out Cole to his left.
Of Chelsea's 10 starting outfielders, only Fernando Torres (21) was outpassed by any Norwich individual, the other nine all attempted and completed more than the visitors' top passer and playmaker, Wes Hoolahan.
Much has been made of Chelsea's narrow play, with Hazard, Mata and Oscar all interchanging positions and exchanging possession frequently. This allowed Cole and Branislav Ivanovic to spend more time in the opposition half providing width than they did defending. In spite of this, Mata attempted more crosses (six) than any of his team-mates. In total Chelsea attempted 30 to Norwich's 15.

Chelsea tried 24 shots, just under one every three minutes, and is comparable to the 27 attempted against Reading in our first home game of the campaign. Only nine were on target, however.

Much of Norwich's success last season came from Saturday's goalscorer Grant Holt, but after his early strike the forward struggled to influence the game and was well shackled by John Terry and David Luiz. Of seven aerial challenges he attempted, Holt won just two. Terry won four from six and David Luiz one from one.

Only 10 fouls were committed during the game, seven by Chelsea, and referee Anthony Taylor was able to enjoy a quiet afternoon without producing a card.

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ARSENAL 2 - O READING

Arsenal Under-21s delivered a slick display full of poise and promise to return to winning ways against Reading at Underhill on Monday night.

Terry Burton’s side may have been stocked with first-team players including the impressive Jack Wilshere and Emmanuel Frimpong, but it was one of the Club’s rising stars who really caught the eye.

Serge Gnabry has been hailed as a “star of the future” by Arsène Wenger and, in front of his manager, the German youth international turned in another thrilling display.

The 17-year-old opened the scoring with a well-taken strike in the 42nd minute after a flowing move involving Frimpong, Wilshere and Thomas Eisfeld - and tormented the Royals throughout.

Arsenal doubled their lead in the 59th minute when Wilshere’s corner was flicked on by Ignasi Miquel and Chuba Akpom headed home from close range.

On a hugely-positive night for the Club, Bacary Sagna completed an hour unscathed on his return from a broken leg, while there were bright performances all over the pitch from the effervescent hosts.

Burton named his most-experienced side of the season for the visit of the Royals, with Wilshere and Frimpong continuing their rehabilitation at Underhill. Having played 63 and 70 minutes respectively at West Brom last week, this would be another important stepping stone towards the first team for the midfield pair.

Elsewhere, Sagna and Andre Santos took the full-back positions, while Francis Coquelin bolstered the midfield. Having come off the bench at The Hawthorns, last week, Gnabry was also handed a starting spot, while England Under-19 international Akpom was named up front.

Reading, meanwhile, included former Arsenal goalkeeper Stuart Taylor in their starting XI, along with Niall Keown - the son of Club legend Martin. There were also places for the experienced trio of Danny Guthrie, Adam Le Fondre and Jason Roberts.

The match started brightly, with both sides moving the ball about nicely in midfield. The focus may have been on Arsenal’s more senior stars, but Gnabry looked determined to make his mark in front of the watching Wenger and came close with a curling effort in the seventh minute.

Moments later Reading came close themselves, as Roberts fed Guthrie on the edge of the area. He moved into space and curled the ball past James Shea but beyond the far post.

It was end-to-end stuff and soon afterwards the influential Frimpong fed Akpom to the left of the area. The striker did well to escape his marker by cutting back inside, but bent his shot over the bar. Soon afterwards, Wilshere found Eisfeld on the overlap on the right flank but the German midfielder’s drilled effort flew harmlessly past the far post.

With Wilshere and Frimpong much improved on their showing at The Hawthorns, Arsenal were dominant in midfield, although it was Gnabry who caught the eye most throughout the first half. Wilshere was clearly enjoying himself, and one delightful backheel to send Eisfeld clear demonstrated his increasing confidence.

For all their possession, Burton’s side struggled to fashion clear-cut chances as the half wore on, but just before the interval they made the breakthrough.

It was a goal that owed much to the tenacity and drive of Frimpong, who chased down a seemingly lost cause on the right flank. The midfielder duly claimed possession, before feeding Wilshere. The 20-year-old then found Eisfeld with a good ball, and the German moved it on to Gnabry.

There was still much work to be done, but the 17-year-old kept his composure to cut in from the right of the box and curl the ball into the far corner. It was a strike that said everything about his rich potential.

The second half almost started with a bang as Sead Hajrovic’s error allowed Le Fondre to run through on goal. He eased his way past Miquel and tried to chip the onrushing Shea but only found the goalkeeper’s hands.

Arsenal started to warm up, and had a golden chance to extend their advantage in the 55th minute as Matthew Partridge’s clearance went straight to Coquelin. The France Under-21 international fed Frimpong in the area, but with the goal gaping he could only scuff his shot wide.

It mattered not. Just four minutes later Wilshere whipped in a corner from the right, Miquel flicked it on at the near post and Akpom powered a header home from close range. It was no more than they deserved.

The goal provoked an almost instant response by Reading, and they had two big chances to halve their deficit through Roberts and Jack Taylor - but missed them both. The second opportunity in particular was as gilt-edged as they come as Taylor somehow scooped the ball over from five yards.

Roberts had another big chance in the 68th minute when he pushed aside Hajrovic to run through into the area, but curled his effort high and wide.

Sagna lasted an hour, while Wilshere eventually made way after 74 minutes, but both will have every reason to be delighted with their performances.

Slowly but surely, Arsenal’s injured stars and biggest hopes for the future are marching towards the first team. And on this evidence, we will not have long to wait until we see them there.

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MATCH REPORT: CHELSEA 4 NORWICH CITY 1

SummaryChelsea's impressive start to the season continues after we came from behind to earn a convincing win against Norwich at Stamford Bridge on Saturday.

The visitors went in front early through forward Grant Holt, but Fernando Torres quickly levelled with a fine header, and 10 minutes later we were ahead when Frank Lampard rattled home a superb half-volley.

A swift counter-attack from Juan Mata allowed him to create a third for Eden Hazard, and Branislav Ivanovic smashed a fourth in the second half to maintain our unbeaten start to the campaign and move us four points clear at the top of the Barclays Premier League.

Team news

Roberto Di Matteo made three changes to the side that beat FC Nordsjaelland on Tuesday night, with Hazard and John Terry both back in the team, and John Mikel Obi recalled to play his 250^th Chelsea game.
Those three replaced Victor Moses, Gary Cahill and Ramires, all of whom were on the bench. Hazard started on the left, with in-form Mata on the right with the licence to cut inside. Ashley Cole also started despite making the headlines in the newspapers.

Norwich, beaten 5-2 by Liverpool last weekend, were much-changed, with former Spurs centre-back Sebastien Bassong returning in defence, and last season's top scorer and captain Grant Holt leading the attack.

Chelsea's bench included Cesar Azpilicueta, who would make a late appearance for a league debut.

First half

Chelsea should have been in front inside three minutes, when Fernando Torres beat the offside trap and was set free by Mikel's lofted pass. The striker ran on, but then inexplicably opted to try and turn into a crowded penalty area rather than shoot with his stronger right foot. The hesitation allowed Bassong in to block.

It was not long before we were made to pay, as Holt fired Norwich in front on 10 minutes, striking hard and low past a helpless Petr Cech after Leon Barnett had nodded Wes Hoolahan's cross down. The visitors had been afforded far too much space both in delivering and meeting the cross, and Holt was typically uncompromising with his blasted finish.

Torres had some making up to do, and was quickly demonstrating his instinctive best as he headed Chelsea level three minutes later. Branislav Ivanovic combined with Mata to whip a cross into the box from the right, and the former Liverpool hitman was on hand to meet the ball and direct it hard into John Ruddy's bottom right-hand corner. Honours even and Torres forgiven for his earlier indecision.


Most would have expected the equaliser to settle the nerves around Stamford Bridge, but defensively the
Blues still looked incredibly unorganised. Hoolahan's cross was met by Alexander Tettey who couldn't direct the header, and then with another bite of the cherry Bradley Johnson could only side-foot straight at Cech.
This time it was Norwich who would regret their profligacy, as Frank Lampard converted a superbly-struck half-volley from the edge of the box, after Torres had seen an overhead kick blocked by a defender.

It was Lampard's 189th Chelsea goal, and his 129thin the Premier League, to take him ahead of Roy Bentley and level with Bobby Tambling for club league strikes.

It was turning into a good afternoon for the Stamford Bridge faithful, and it would get even better on the 30-minute mark when Mata robbed the ball in his own half following a Norwich corner, and broke fast into opposition territory.

With options right and left, he went left, and found Hazard with a perfectly weighted pass, allowing the Belgian the simple task of side-footing beyond Ruddy to double our advantage.

Norwich are yet to win this season, and Hughton had demanded a reaction after the Liverpool defeat last week. They provided one with the ingenuity of Hoolahan, the diminutive midfielder, at the heart of all they did good. It was his low cross, aimed for Holt, that forced Terry to almost divert into his own goal.

Back on the front foot, Oscar, until this point quiet, danced around two challenges inside the box before passing the ball low towards goal, bringing a lively save from Ruddy.

Shortly before the break there were signs once again that defensively, Chelsea were not as tight as we have been. Johnson's deep cross found Holt with space, though Terry did just enough in closing him down to force the striker off-target with his header.

Second half

The second period began in the same fashion as the first ended, Holt glancing a header just wide under pressure from Terry as Norwich sought a way back into the game.

Had referee Anthony Taylor seen things a little differently they might have been well out of it by the 53rd minute, with Hazard tripped by Barnett inside the box when chasing a pass. There was a clear obstruction of the Chelsea man, who felt he should have had a penalty.

Ruddy then made two decent stops, one from Oscar, the next from Hazard, who was denied by the keeper's legs after tidy Chelsea passing.

Ramires was brought on for Lampard to add a little more protection, but further up the pitch there was still fun to be had as Ivanovic crashed home a fourth to put us in complete control.

Oscar crossed from the left, eventually finding Mata, whose flick into the air fell perfectly for the Serbian to hammer home into the bottom corner.

With the game won it was time for Chelsea's great entertainers to enjoy themselves, with the fantastic three of Mata, Hazard and Oscar running Norwich's midfield ragged, while sub Oriol Romeu twice went narrowly wide as he sought a first league goal to add to his Capital One Cup penalty against Wolves last week.




Chelsea (4-2-3-1): Cech; Ivanovic (Azpilicueta 78), David Luiz, Terry (c), Cole; Mikel (Romeu 82), Lampard (Ramires 67); Mata, Oscar, Hazard; Torres.

Unused subs Turnbull, Cahill, Bertrand, Moses.
Goals Torres 14, Lampard 21, Hazard 30, Ivanovic 76

Norwich City (4-4-1-1): Ruddy; R Martin, Barnett, Bassong (R Bennett 78), Garrido; E Bennett, Howson, Tettey, Johnson (Pilkington 68); Hoolahan; Holt (c) (Morison 77).

Unused subs Bunn, Snodgrass, Turner, Jackson.
Goals Holt 10

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WEST HAM UNITED 1-3 ARSENAL

Arsenal came from behind to secure a barnstorming 3-1 win at West Ham on Saturday evening.
Olivier Giroud was crucial in the revival. After Mohamed Diame had fired the hosts in front, it was the Frenchman who touched home Lukas Podolski's cross just before half-time.

Then having soaked up their fair share of pressure in a see-saw game, Giroud's touch sent Theo Walcott through to fire Arsenal in front with 13 minutes left.

Santi Cazorla's 25-yard strike was all his own work and secured the points seven minutes from time.
This was a superb win for Arsenal, one in which their character shone through. They utterly controlled the first half-hour only to fall behind. West Ham always made matters uncomfortable for the visitors but Arsène Wenger's side stayed true to their passing principles in a performance which repairs much of the damage done in last weekend's defeat to Chelsea.

This result lifted Arsenal up to fifth in the Premier League but, more importantly, it allows the Club's supporters to feel genuinely optimistic about their title chances this season.

Wenger's team selection suggested he had this game labelled as the toughest of tests. The big men - Giroud and Per Mertesacker - returned at either of the pitch. The Frenchman's inclusion meant Gervinho reverted to a role on the right-hand side. Laurent Koscielny and Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain made way.

The other change was straightforward - Aaron Ramsey for Francis Coquelin.

West Ham was a familiar cauldron at kick-off. The east London side had started the weekend above Arsenal in the table and welcomed back Andy Carroll for his first start since that spectacular debut against Fulham.

However, perhaps surprisingly, Arsenal dominated from the off. Cazorla, Mikel Arteta and Aaron Ramsey ran the midfield, pushing back West Ham in the process.

There were chances too. Giroud's snapshot forced Jussi Jaaskelainen into a low save at his near post. Then Cazorla met Kieran Gibbs' low cross with a first time shot that was deflected wide.

Arsenal were having all the pressure at this stage. Carl Jenkinson's dangerous low cross was blocked and from the resulting corner Giroud's curler hit Carroll with Jaaskelainen stranded.

In the first 15 minutes, the stats said Arsenal had enjoyed over 80 per cent of possession - an incredible figure. However at times they had not delivered the final ball well enough and, midway through the half, West Ham would make them pay.

The move began when Guy Demel cleverly won the ball on the right and eventually it was swept wide to Diame on the left of the area. The Senegalese midfielder fooled his way past Ramsey and, from an acute angle, curled a wonderful shot into the far corner.

Naturally West Ham kicked on as a result with, as ever, Carroll their focus. Noble's corner was met powerfully by the England striker but Mannone plucked the ball out of the air.

However, having digested the goal, Arsenal recovered as half-time approached. Mertesacker's header was diverted the ball away from the onrushing Giroud.

Four minutes the break, the Frenchman would get the goal his tireless running deserved. Podolski reached the byline on the left-hand side and sent a low cross into the area. Giroud timed his run perfectly to prod home with power at the near post. It seemed a crucial turn around but, at the death, Noble's free-kick was won by Carroll at the far post and Nolan nudged the ball past the upright with Mannone stranded.

The game was much more even at the start of the second half. Just after Gibbs made way from Andre Santos, Matt Jarvis fired over after Ramsey's miscue.

Then midway through the half Carroll beat Mannone in the air but the ball flew wide of the unguarded net.
But Arsenal had chances too. Giroud just failed to slide home Walcott's backheel and Cazorla jinked through before slashing a shot wide when he should have hit the target.

The game was becoming an end-to-end affair. Mertesacker made a crucial tackle on Nolan after he went through then Arsenal had strong claims for a penalty when Ramsey was clipped. Podolski nearly beat Jaaskelainen with the rebound.

Arsenal were now turning the screw. Podolski's shot deflected just wide and with 13 minutes left, they finally found a second. Giroud's excellent touch put Walcott through in the right-hand channel. He steadied himself and fired home.

The chances still flowed. Nolan swept a effort over the bar when he might have scored then a swivelling Mertesacker saw his shot deflect just past the far post.

It was too open for Arsenal as they now had the lead. They needed to shore up the game or find a third. They went for the later.

Walcott, under pressure, found Cazorla on the left 25 yards out. The Spaniard sent a dipping drive beyond Jaaskelainen. A wonderful effort.

There were chances at either end in the dying minutes - it was that sort of game. But Arsenal had switched to cruise control now and saw out the game.

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