Chelsea sacked manager Graham Potter on Sunday after less than seven months in charge, following their 2-0 home defeat by Aston Villa at the weekend which left the London club 11th in the Premier League.

Ghana gave state funeral honours to former Black Stars and Chelsea player, Christian Atsu, who died in last month's earthquake in Turkey, with a ceremony led by President Nana Akufo-Addo.

 Chelsea will be boosted by the return of Frenchman N'Golo Kante who injured his hamstring in August but fellow midfielder Mason Mount is sidelined, manager Graham Potter said on Friday.

English Premier League giants Chelsea are set to host an Open Iftar at the side of the pitch at Stamford Bridge on March 26, in what will be a first for the club and a Premier League stadium. 

Ben Chilwell, Kai Havertz and Mateo Kovacic got on the scoresheet as Chelsea continued their upturn in form with a 3-1 win at Leicester City in the Premier League on Saturday.

Chelsea manager Graham Potter breathed a sigh of relief after his side finally delivered some return on a world record one-season spend in the transfer market on Tuesday by reaching the quarter-finals of the Champions League.

A leaping header from France defender Wesley Forfana earned Chelsea a rare goal and Premier League win against struggling Leeds United on Saturday, easing pressure on coach Graham Potter.

Graham Potter insists he still has the backing of Chelsea's owners but admits responsibility for the club's awful run of results rests squarely on his shoulders.

Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta has told Graham Potter not to let pressure "destroy his life" as the under-fire Chelsea boss battles to avoid the sack.

Chelsea revealed on Tuesday that Brazilian centre-back Thiago Silva suffered knee ligament damage during the 2-0 Premier League defeat at Tottenham at the weekend.

Chelsea failed to score for fourth time in five league games despite spending around 300 million pounds ($358 million) on players in January alone.

"As much as I've had support, I've had some not very nice emails that have come through that want me to die and want my kids to die, so obviously that's not pleasant to receive," said the 47-year-old former Brighton & Hove Albion boss.

Ajax playmaker Mohammed Kudus was met with an unusual response from the referee after the Ghana International took his shirt off displaying a tribute to the late Christian Atsu following a brilliant freekick in Ajax's 4-0 win over Sparta Rotterdam in the Eredivisie on Sunday.

Patience can make or break a project.

"We need at least one win against Chelsea. Obviously it is easier here with 80,000 to create euphoria. But we need two good performances and we will try to deliver," Terzic said.

The draw meant Chelsea have now won only one of their last seven league games - and they have not won away since October. They stayed ninth in the table, nine points behind fourth-placed Newcastle who have played a game less.

Portugal forward Joao Felix said he left Atletico Madrid to join Chelsea on loan because he was struggling to get used to the Spanish side's style of play, adding that coach Diego Simeone's philosophy is not beneficial to every player.

Chelsea are looking to win their first away game in the league since October, a run of six matches which included three losses at Potter's former club Brighton & Hove Albion, Newcastle United and Fulham.

The former AC Milan centre-back, who has played 106 times for Chelsea, joined the Blues in 2020 from Paris St-Germain

After retiring from playing in 1991 he went on to manage Rayo Vallecano, Racing Santander, Sevilla, Atletico Madrid, Real Zaragoza, Real Valladolid, Malaga and Granada 74.