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Difficult spell for Liam Rosenior’s side has not been helped by interventions from two of their senior players

Trust the process. Ignore the haters. Promise that the trophies will come. Stay on brand. Disappear on international duty and issue a brazen come-and-get-me plea to Real Madrid. Suggest a move to Barcelona would be difficult to reject. Don’t silence the noise. Increase the noise. Question the club’s transfer policy. Say you miss the previous manager. Say Madrid is your favourite European city. Say it more than once. Hang on. Have we gone off-message here?

These have been a turbulent few weeks for Chelsea. Humbled in Europe by Paris Saint-Germain, and in danger of allowing their Premier League campaign to spiral out of control, they could have done without two of their biggest players creating a PR storm during the international break. Marc Cucurella and Enzo Fernández did not get the memo, though. Fernández is clearly after a summer move – “I really like Madrid, it’s similar to Buenos Aires,” the Argentina midfielder said this week. Meanwhile Cucurella did not hold back during a recent interview with the Athletic, saying Chelsea have “paid the price” for their inexperience, questioning Enzo Maresca’s mid-season departure and saying the heavy defeat by PSG in the last 16 of the Champions League has left players “discouraged”.

• ‘I didn’t meant to take a stance,’ says Spurs head coach

• Fan groups had opposed De Zerbi’s appointment

The new Tottenham head coach, Roberto De Zerbi, has issued an apology for his past comments on Mason Greenwood and said he would never intentionally downplay violence against women.

The Tottenham Hotspur Supporters’ Trust (THST) strongly criticised the Italian’s appointment on Tuesday, releasing a statement that expressed “serious and far-reaching concerns” soon after he was confirmed to have signed a five-year deal in replacing the interim manager Igor Tudor.

• Striker expected to return to NWSL and join ambitious new club

• Australian pours doubt on transfer with cryptic social media post

Matildas captain Sam Kerr will reportedly leave Chelsea at the end of the Women’s Super League season to return to the United States and join expansion club Denver Summit.

Kerr’s future at Chelsea has come into doubt in recent weeks with the striker’s contract set to expire at the end of the season and with little talk of a new deal.

• Exit could spell end of Gennaro Gattuso’s tenure

• Ceferin: ‘Infrastructure is among the worst in Europe’

The crisis engulfing Italian football has deepened with the country’s football federation president, Gabriele Gravina, resigning and the Uefa president, Aleksander Ceferin, warning that it risks losing its co-hosting rights for Euro 2032.

Gravina announced his resignation at an emergency meeting of the Italian Football Federation (FIGC) general council two days after Italy failed to reach a World Cup finals for the third successive time, losing on penalties to the outsiders Bosnia and Herzegovina. He had come under heavy scrutiny since their exit in Zenica, the country’s minister for sport, Andrea Abodi, intensifying the pressure by calling for “a renewal of the FIGC leadership”.

• OL Lyonnes 4-0 Wolfsburg (aet; 4-1 on agg)

• Barcelona 6-0 Real Madrid (12-2 on agg)

The French giants OL Lyonnes booked another Women’s Champions League semi-final meeting with Arsenal after they fought back with a convincing second-leg victory to eliminate Wolfsburg, winning 4-1 on aggregate after extra time.

The result ensured a repeat of last season’s semi-final, which the English side won 5-3 on aggregate. The French league leaders can go into this year’s rematch full of confidence after producing a formidable display to eventually beat Wolfsburg 4-0 on the night, but the tie was locked level at 1-1 on aggregate for a lengthy period.

Chelsea dare not lose, West Ham and Leeds play out a survival dress rehearsal, while Phil Foden urgently needs to make an impact

Phil Foden made two starts for England over the international break as Thomas Tuchel experimented with how the Manchester City attacking midfielder could be used at the World Cup. He played in a couple of positions but was ineffective in two collectively subpar performances from the Three Lions. It means he has one assist and no goals in his past 22 appearances for club and country in what has been an underwhelming campaign for the 25-year-old. He has dropped below Rayan Cherki in Pep Guardiola’s pecking order and has not completed a full 90 minutes since January. In the Carabao Cup final, Foden was permitted a late cameo, and it feels like this is the time when he should be making a difference in the final stages of the season. There are still trophies to be played for, even if winning the Premier League title would involve a huge turnaround against Arsenal. This means the FA Cup is the most promising prospect and Foden should be desperate to start and remind everyone of the world-class player he could be, especially against a Liverpool side who often struggle against smart No 10s. The next six weeks could be make or break for Foden’s City and international career, so he must seize every opportunity. WU

Manchester City v Liverpool, Saturday 12.45pm (all times BST)

Chelsea v Port Vale, Saturday 5.15pm

Southampton v Arsenal, Saturday 8pm

West Ham v Leeds, Sunday 4.30pm