Chelsea players reacted furiously with referee Anthony Taylor after Reece James was sent off for a controversial handball.

And then the Blues got themselves into a huge bust-up with Liverpool’s stars in a dramatic end to the first half at Anfield.

Leading 1-0 in injury time, Chelsea failed to defend a corner properly as Joel Matip hit the bar and then James appeared to make a stunning goalline clearance to deny Sadio Mane.

But Taylor consulted the VAR monitor and saw the ball ricocheted off James’ thigh and up on to his arm before he thumped the ball clear.

And with that, the ref brandished the red card for the denying of a goalscoring opportunity.

Perplexed James could do nothing as his team-mates surrounded the man in black to make their feelings clear.

Antonio Rudiger earned himself a yellow card for dissent.

As the ball came back out of the net, he attempted to swing a foot at it and almost caught Reds skipper Jordan Henderson who reacted angrily and sparked a shoving match between the two sets of players.

Things calmed down, allowing the final seconds of the first half to be played out.

But as soon as the whistle went, Jorginho, Mason Mount, Marcos Alonso and captain Cesar Azpilicueta surrounded Taylor once again to remonstrate and reason – still to no avail.

And then after Mo Salah kept his cool to dispatch the spot-kick, Edouard Mendy found himself in the book, too.

At first, it seemed as if Reece James’ corner was undercooked because it didn’t have enough fire power on it to beat Harvey Elliot at the near post.

However, Kai Havertz had other ideas.

The German was quickest to react by beating Elliot to the ball and his header looped over Alisson in between the Liverpool sticks.

https://t.co/Nnk25Qp608 pic.twitter.com/gJHIVe4K1L

Chelsea boss Thomas Tuchel admits he would rather see Cristiano Ronaldo stay in Italy than return to the Premier League at Manchester United.

Tuchel was reacting to confirmation by Juventus boss Max Allegri that Ronaldo is on his way out after three seasons in Turin.

“I don’t know if it’s good if he plays for any of our rivals,” said Tuchel.

“I could handle the loss very well when he was playing in Italy and not playing for us.

“If he ends up in the Premier League, it’s good for the Premier League and shows how competitive and how difficult this league is. At the same time, it will make life harder for us.”

Chelsea paid £97.5million to sign their top target Romelu Lukaku from Inter Milan and are still in the market, with an interest in versatile France defender Jules Kounde from Sevilla and Spain midfielder Saul Niguez from Atletico Madrid.

“We have some ideas and we are trying,” said Tuchel. “Not all decisions are taken. I am happy with the squad like it is and I have a lot of confidence that we are absolutely competitive on a high level but all eyes are open and we are aware of all situations.

“You never know in football but at the moment we are focused on the game at Liverpool and then there are not many days left.”

Cristiano Ronaldo’s girlfriend Georgina Rodriguez seems happy with his Manchester United return.

United have confirmed they reached an agreement with Juventus to re-sign Ronaldo after the star forward informed Bianconeri manager Massimiliano Allegri that he is leaving.

The Red Devils appear to have paid a fee in the region of £21million for the five-time Ballon d’Or winner, which caps a stunning summer transfer window that has seen the Manchester giants landing Jadon Sancho, Raphael Varane and Tom Heaton.

And Rodriguez appears to be ecstatic by this development as she took to social media to express her joy.

The Spanish-Argentine model posted a story on Instagram in which she shared United’s announcement and filled it with heart emojis.

The 27-year-old then shared Ronaldo’s farewell to Juventus where he spent three years following his arrival from Real Madrid.

She captioned it with the following statement: “Thanks for all, family.”

Romelu Lukaku has slotted in quickly at Chelsea because he shares his new team-mates’ insatiable hunger for success.

Mason Mount is already forging an understanding with the £97.5million Belgian centre-forward.

Chelsea head up to Liverpool for a pop at one of their main Premier League title rivals this evening.

And midfielder Mount says the club’s record buy is like one of the family after just two league games — both victories.

Mount said: “We are all on the same path. He never stops working hard in training, or in the gym.

“With his vision, his goals, it doesn’t take long to understand each other’s game. It doesn’t feel like a new guy’s come in.

“We know he has been here before but that was a long time ago. Even so, like us, he wants to win big things with Chelsea.

“It doesn’t just happen. We have been working on drills around the box, trying to understand each other’s movement. It hasn’t taken long.”

Fresh reports have emerged as to how former Manchester United manager Sir Alex Ferguson, former teammates Rio Ferdinand and Patrice Evra influenced Cristiano Ronaldo’s sensational return to the Old Trafford.

According to The Sun, 36-year-old had been in secret talks for months to rejoin the Red Devils — despite rumours he would sign for rivals Man City.

Ronaldo, whose glittering first spell included a European Champions League and three Premier League titles wins, will put pen to paper on a two-year deal worth £480,000 a week, or £25million a year.

He is expected to earn millions more in a cut of replica shirt sales, having apparently made sure he will again wear the famous No7 after making a fortune from his CR7 brand.

Currently back in Portugal, he is expected to fly into Manchester this weekend with Argentinian model girlfriend Georgina Rodríguez, 27, and his four kids to look for a mega-mansion near the city.

Yesterday, it emerged his mentor and former United manager Sir Alex Ferguson — who signed him as an 18-year-old and has a special “father and son” relationship with him — phoned to urge him to return.

Sir Alex, 79, hopes it will get one over City and help restore the glory years.
Red Devils chief Ed Woodward also spent two months wooing the club legend before the huge coup.

According to ESPN, the Portuguese “was only convinced to consider a return to Old Trafford following contact from a number of former teammates.”

Former United defender Rio Ferdinand revealed he phoned and urged Ronaldo not to sign for City.

And, another Former United defender Patrice Evra appeared to verify the claim by sharing a screengrab of his recent WhatsApp conversation with the Portugal international.

After receiving a voice note from the Frenchman, Ronaldo replied: “You the man. I’m gonna play in our club.”

Ronaldo broke his silence on his imminent departure from Turin on Friday afternoon, penning an emotional message to Juventus fans on Instagram.

The announcement saw United’s share price leap eight per cent, increasing its value by around £181million.

The club website crashed as millions of fans tried to learn more about the comeback.

United are understood to be paying a £21.4million transfer fee for Ronaldo once he has completed a medical and agreed personal terms.

Juventus are targeting Real Madrid star Eden Hazard to replace Cristiano Ronaldo, who returned to Manchester United, according to reports.

United have confirmed they have reached an agreement with Juve to re-sign Ronaldo, who is heading back to Old Trafford 12 years after he left for Real.

According to Marca, Hazard is the Bianconeri’s top target to fill in the major void left behind by the five-time Ballon d’Or winner ahead of transfer deadline day.

The former Chelsea star has started in both of Los Blancos’ first two games in LaLiga following an injury-laden three-year stint in the Spanish capital.

But the winger is worried that his game time could be affected by the imminent arrival of Kylian Mbappe at the Santiago Bernabeu.

Reports suggest Real are on the verge of agreeing a staggering £154million deal with Paris Saint-Germain for Mbappe.

Hazard wants to stay in Madrid but if the PSG superstar does move to Spain then that could see the Belgium international falling down the pecking order.

But Juventus would only be interested in a deal that wouldn’t financially hamstring them.

Cristiano Ronaldo has penned an emotional goodbye message to Juventus fans ahead of his return to Manchester United.

On Friday, it was announced that United have agreed a deal to re-sign the five-time Ballon d’Or winner from the Italian champions.

Ronaldo’s impending return to Old Trafford brings about the end of a three-year stay in Turin, which he reflected on in a heartfelt Instagram post.

Alongside a highlight video of his time at the Allianz Stadium, he wrote: “Today I depart from an amazing club, the biggest in Italy and surely one of the biggest in all of Europe.

“I gave my heart and soul for Juventus and I’ll always love the city of Turin until my final days.

“The ‘tiffosi bianconeri’ always respected me and I tried to thank that respect by fighting for them in every game, every season, every competition.

“In the end, we can all look back and realize that we achieved great things, not all that we wanted, but still, we wrote a pretty beautiful story together.

“I will always be one of you. You are now part of my history, as I feel that I’m part of yours. Italy, Juve, Turin, tiffosi bianconeri, you’ll always be in my heart.”

Ronaldo, 36, revealed to Juventus earlier this week that he wished to move on to pastures new.

That prompted defending Premier League champions Manchester City to weigh up a move for his services.

City, however, pulled out of the race for the forward’s signature after it emerged United had made overtures to re-sign their former talisman.

David Moyes has confirmed that West Ham are closing in on a move for Chelsea defender Kurt Zouma.

Moyes made it clear that Zouma was a priority signing with the manager keen to add a fourth centre-back to his squad following the summer departure of Fabian Balbuena.

“We lost Fabian Balbuena last season and three centre-backs is not enough,” said Moyes.

“We have had an offer accepted from Chelsea for Kurt but I could not tell you if the medical has been completed yet.”

However, Zouma’s transfer from Chelsea to West Ham is reportedly hanging in the balance.

The £25.7million deal for the centre-back was understood to be close to completion with the respective managers of Chelsea and West Ham both confirming a bid had been accepted and a medical was taking place.

Speaking ahead of the weekend’s action Blues boss Thomas Tuchel said Zouma was in France and in talks with West Ham over his transfer:

“There are negotiations between West Ham and Chelsea about Kurt,” Tuchel said.

“Kurt right now is not with us, not because of these negotiations but because he has some personal issues to solve and we allowed him to travel to France. This isn’t the reason he’s not with us in the squad.

“There are negotiations right now but, to be honest, I don’t know where it leads to right now. We have to wait. Both things can happen that he stays or not.”

David Moyes went further than his Chelsea counterpart, admitting that a medical was taking place but added he was unaware of the outcome.

According to football.london, Zouma has managed an issue with his knee for a number of seasons through an individual training programme and it is this long-term complaint that is holding the deal up.

Manchester United have confirmed Cristiano Ronaldo’s sensational return from Juventus – “subject to agreement of personal terms, visa and medical”.

City had been front-runners to complete a deal for Ronaldo after missing out on Harry Kane, but in an incredible twist, they claim to have decided against it.

The 36-year-old has flown out of Turin and United drafted contracts to send to Jorge Mendes and an official bid, which has been accepted, to Juventus.

The club Ronaldo’s mega-money wages for his Manchester United return have already been revealed.

The Juventus superstar will pick up £25million a year – which works out at £480k a week plus add-ons, according to transfer guru Fabrizio Romano.

The club stated: “Manchester United is delighted to confirm that the club has reached agreement with Juventus for the transfer of Cristiano Ronaldo, subject to agreement of personal terms, visa and medical.

“Cristiano, a five-time Ballon d’Or winner, has so far won over 30 major trophies during his career, including five UEFA Champions League titles, four FIFA Club World Cups, seven league titles in England, Spain and Italy, and the European Championship for his native Portugal.”