Chelsea technical and performance advisor Petr Cech has become the next departure as the Blues boardroom reshuffle continued following the takeover headed by Todd Boehly.
Boehly and Clearlake Capital completed a £4.25billion takeover of Chelsea at the end of May, making numerous changes to start their tenure.
Blues chairman Bruce Buck was the first to depart, with director and chief decision-maker Marina Granovskaia also set to leave after 12 years at Stamford Bridge.
Granovskaia will remain available to Boehly, who is acting as interim sporting director and chairman, for the duration of the current transfer window to help with the transitional period.
Cech, who took the boardroom role at Chelsea in 2019 after retiring as a player, reportedly held talks with Boehly this week in the wake of the Buck and Granovskaia exits.
The former goalkeeper has subsequently opted to leave his role, effective on Thursday.
"It has been a huge privilege to perform this role at Chelsea for the past three years. With the club under new ownership, I feel now is the right time for me to step aside," Cech said.
"I am pleased that the club is now in an excellent position with the new owners, and I am confident of its future success both on and off the pitch."
Boehly added: "Petr is an important member of the Chelsea family.
"We understand his decision to step away and thank him for his contributions as an advisor and his commitment to the club and to our community. We wish him the best."
Udinese 1-1 Napoli: Struggling Bianconeri grab last-gasp home draw
Napoli were held to a 1-1 draw at relegation-battling Udinese in Serie A on Monday after a stoppage-time goal by forward Isaac Success cancelled out a Victor Osimhen header.
Osimhen nodded home to give Napoli the lead in the 51st minute after Matteo Politano sent a lofted cross from the right into the middle of the box, and the Nigerian striker headed the ball in off the left post.
The Nigerian thought he doubled their advantage in the 80th minute, but his effort was ruled out for offside, before Success bundled in the leveller in stoppage time, netting from a Thomas Kristensen header.
Napoli moved up to eighth on 51 points from 35 games and are nine points behind both fifth-placed Atalanta and Roma, in sixth.
Data Debrief:
Osimhen is the third Napoli player to score in six matches in a row against a single team in Serie A in the three-points-for-a-win era, after Gonzalo Higuain against Lazio between 2013 and 2016 and Dries Mertens against Bologna between 2016 and 2019.
Despite fighting back to earn a point, Udinese have now failed to win three games under a new manager for the first time since August-September 2010 under Francesco Guidolin.
Crystal Palace 4-0 Manchester United: Olise stars as Eagles soar to thumping victory
Manchester United suffered a humiliating 4-0 defeat to a rampant Crystal Palace as the pressure piled on Erik ten Hag.
United were swatted aside with ease at Selhurst Park on Monday, with Michael Olise scoring twice in a superb performance from the Eagles, whose fantastic form under Oliver Glasner continued.
Olise opened the scoring early on before Jean-Philippe Mateta doubled Palace's lead before half-time – Tyrick Mitchell getting in on the act just prior to the hour.
Casemiro's calamitous error resulted in Olise hammering in a sublime long-range strike to compound United’s misery, and the eighth-placed Red Devils, who face Premier League leaders Arsenal on Sunday, are in real danger of missing out on the European places.
United's ramshackle defence was left exposed just 12 minutes in – Olise able to skip easily beyond Casemiro's shocking attempt at a challenge, drive into the box and, under little pressure, send a finish into the bottom-right corner.
Olise, who has been linked with a move to United, might have doubled his tally soon after, but Mateta could not get out of the way of his team-mate's goal-bound strike.
United seemed to have made their luck count when a goalmouth scramble resulted in the ball nestling into the back of Dean Henderson's net, but it was disallowed for Rasmus Hojlund's challenge on the Palace goalkeeper.
Olise squandered a brilliant chance to make it 2-0 when he elected to try and round Andre Onana at the other end, but the Eagles soon had their second when Mateta brilliantly slammed home from a tight angle after comfortably evading Jonny Evans.
Casemiro saw a goal ruled out for offside in the 53rd minute, but United's resolve was soon broken again as Palace swiftly reasserted their dominance.
Following two fine Onana saves, Mitchell tucked in from close range after United failed to clear their lines from a set-piece.
It was 4-0 in the 66th minute – Casemiro again at fault as he capitulated under pressure from Daniel Munoz. He teed up Olise, who curled a powerful effort down the centre of Onana’s goal to cap a famous win for Palace, who hit the woodwork late on through Odsonne Edouard.
Palace's perfect night
While the attention will rightly be on just how bad United were, plaudits have to go to Palace. They have now won four of their last five league matches, scoring 13 goals in that run, and it has included victories over Liverpool, Newcastle United and now Man United.
Palace may be destined for a mid-table finish this term, but there is a real sense of excitement around Selhurst Park ahead of next season, with Glasner's feet now firmly under the table.
The Eagles are now unbeaten in four straight home league matches against United, who they have completed the double over for the first time.
While Olise starred, Mateta's thumping second was a real highlight, too. He has scored in each of Glasner's first six home Premier League games, becoming the first player to do so in the competition since Alan Shearer for Kevin Keegan in 1996-97 (first nine).
Problems pile up for Ten Hag as United's season reaches a new low
Harry Maguire and Bruno Fernandes joined United’s lengthy injury list in the build-up to this match, but even with those absences, United's fragility exposed deeper-rooted issues than just injuries.
Their defending was truly terrible in the first half, with Olise offered the freedom of Selhurst Park for his opener, as Casemiro and Evans struggled to cope – Kobbie Mainoo and Christian Eriksen offering little protection ahead of them.
United have now shipped 81 goals in 48 games in all competitions this season, their most in a single campaign since 1976-77 (also 81).
With Arsenal, fellow European hopefuls Newcastle and then Brighton still to play, those defensive frailties are a scary proposition for Ten Hag, who cut a glum figure on the touchline, and his team’s hopes of qualifying European football through their league placing is now out of their hands, given Chelsea are now above them.
The players were applauded by the travelling support after the whistle, but there will need to be a huge reaction against Arsenal.
Al Ahli 1-2 Al Hilal: Malcom saves league leaders' winning streak
Malcom’s stunning solo goal finished Al Hilal’s second-half comeback to earn a 2-1 win over Al Ahli in the Saudi Pro League on Monday.
The forward started his run from inside his own half before slotting in the winner, after teeing up Aleksandr Mitrovic for the equaliser just after the interval.
Feras Al Brikan had given Al Ahli the lead in the 30th minute, but the hosts could not hold onto it against the league leaders.
Al Hilal continue their unbeaten league campaign to a 30th match, moving 12 points clear at the top of the table, while Al Ahli remain in third, now 22 points off the AFC Champions League spot.
Data Debrief
Malcom was one of Al Hilal's most influential players; as well as playing a hand in both goals, he had the joint-most shots (five), and the joint-most shots on target (two), and created two chances for his team.
Al Ahli also struggled to cope with Mitrovic's threat, as the Serbian created an xG of 0.61 from his five shots, having 11 touches in the opposition box.
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