Chelsea failed to make up real ground on the teams above them in the Premier League on Wednesday night after failing to find a way past Brentford.
The goalless draw in the derby brought an end to the Blues' winning run under Graham Potter, but it was still a fifth successive clean sheet and a third in a row in the league. More worrying for the manager will be the injury update from the Gtech Community Stadium, having already lost some key men.
Elsewhere, there has been more news from the European Super League and a familiar introduction from a former Chelsea manager. Here are the latest news lines coming out of west London.
Fresh injury blow
Chelsea were dealt another injury blow on Wednesday night as Conor Gallagher was forced off injured against Brentford. The England international returned to the starting line-up against Brentford but lasted just 16 minutes in west London.
Gallagher's injury happened when the ball cannoned off his knee with his foot planted. The England midfielder was unable to continue, and could now be a doubt for Gareth Southgate's World Cup squad.
It is the latest addition to a worrying injury list for Chelsea. Reece James is unavailable thanks to an injury suffered in the Blues' last Champions League game, while Gallagher's fellow midfielder N'Golo Kante is out of the World Cup after a recent setback, having been out of action since August.
Super League talks expected
The company backing the European Super League has announced the hiring of a new CEO. Plans for a super league were met with a fan backlash, especially from supporters of Premier League clubs, with protests taking place in 2021.
Bernd Reichart is the new CEO of A22 Sports Management. Reichart is an experienced executive, and his first task is "To initiate an active and extended dialogue with a comprehensive group of football stakeholders including clubs, players, coaches, fans, media and policy makers," according to an A22 statement seen by ESPN.
"The Presidents of Real Madrid and FC Barcelona and the Chairman of Juventus FC have recently outlined their views on the issues facing the sport. I believe they are asking the right questions and am personally keen to listen to many diverse voices so that the European Football community can jointly find the right answers," Reichart himself said.
Lampard's list returns
Frank Lampard's list of fines hit the headlines during his time as Chelsea manager, and it has made a return. The former England midfielder is now in charge at Everton, and has spoken about the approach he has taken at Goodison Park.
"We have a fine system now," Lampard said. "I said at the time [I arrived] it didn’t feel a priority at the time to say, ‘you are fined if you are late.’ The priority was, ‘can we get three points this weekend?’"
"Now we have a little bit more time this season, the group is set up, the players have come and I think a lot of the players like some sort of policing of the standards. It can help if it is done right."
