Chelsea not ready to challenge as James Milner makes history in Brighton win - Premier League hits and misses
The Sky Sports football writers analyse Saturday's Premier League action as Chelsea were held by Burnley in stoppage time; Brighton beat Brentford as James Milner made history; Aston Villa drew with Leeds, while it was goalless between West Ham and Bournemouth
Saturday 21 February 2026 21:21, UK
Chelsea missing too much right now to win the major titles
This Chelsea team isn't ready to challenge.
It's the only possible view after they blew another lead at home to draw with Burnley on Saturday. All three of the promoted sides have now come from behind to take points off Chelsea at Stamford Bridge.
Both Liam Rosenior and Scott Parker talked up the talent in the Chelsea squad after the game. That isn't in doubt. It's why, under Enzo Maresca, they were able to go on threatening runs of results. But as Rosenior is finding out, that form doesn't last long with this side.
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It carried them to a Club World Cup win in the summer after they outclassed their Conference League opponents last year, and a deep FA Cup run this season beckons.
But the home fans chanting 'Chelsea, champions' before this game turned into another setback know there is still a long way to go before their side can put together the consistency (both through a 90 minutes and from game-to-game) to be serious contenders for the Premier League.
In both boxes they fail to deliver in key moments, they don't turn their dominance against weaker sides into maximum points and their red card count suggests this is a side which either lacks discipline or, at least, composure.
Rosenior was forthright in his post-match assessment, underlining the need to win at Chelsea. But while in the previous era that was the expectation, right now it's just a hopeful ambition.
Peter Smith
Milner's historic record testament to quality as well as longevity
James Milner made his Premier League debut on the November 10, 2002. Real Madrid's Eduardo Camavinga was born the same day. Jude Bellingham didn't exist. Milner's manager, Fabian Hurzeler, was nine years old.
653 games later, he holds the record for all-time Premier League appearances.
Milner's record - spanning 23 seasons and six different clubs - isn't just a sign of his incredible fitness and longevity at the age of 40, it's a testament to his undeniable quality as a footballer.
He is a three-time Premier League champion, a Champions League winner, a world champion, and has captained one of the most successful sides in Premier League history in Jurgen Klopp's Liverpool.
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His performance on his record-breaking day summed up how he has got to this point.
Milner played with poise and maturity, marshalling the midfield and instructing his teammates all the way through a first win in six for Brighton in his first start in eight games. Coincidence? His manager doesn't think so.
"It's difficult to sum him up with one sentence," Brighton boss Hurzeler said.
"I think he's a great leader on the pitch, a great communicator, he understands the game quite well and, on top of that, he's still super fit.
"I don't know what he's doing to get this fitness. Every week and every training session he runs the most, he sprints the most and therefore it's not a surprise for me that he's capable of doing these kind of performances.
"But I think the main thing is really being a great leader, being there to manage the key moments and being there as a communicator - and that's what he did today."
Milner is synonymous with everything you would expect from someone who has just broken a record which looked unbreakable. The hard work, leadership, and level-headedness that made him are continuing to shine and show that he can be just as useful a player at 40 as he was when he burst onto the scene at 16, 654 appearances ago.
Noah Langford
Burnley aren't done yet
"As long as I sit in this chair, it will never be in question." Scott Parker passionately defended the resilience of his team after their comeback draw at Chelsea.
Added to the turnaround win at Crystal Palace last time out in the Premier League, this feels like a galvanising moment for the club.
Parker and his team have had a lot of criticism come their way - and given last weekend's embarrassing FA Cup exit to Mansfield, plenty of it has been merited. But Parker and his players showed at Stamford Bridge they are still fighting.
With this resolve, they can secure more positive results. Will that be enough for a miraculous recovery? The gap to safety has been cut to eight points with 11 to play but if Nottingham Forest, who have a game in hand, build on their first game under Vitor Pereira - a 3-0 win at Fenerbahce in the Europa League - it is more than likely still too big.
But, regardless, it's important for what comes next that Burnley continue to battle like they did on Saturday.
Peter Smith
Bailey's struggle sums up Villa edginess
Leon Bailey and Unai Emery had made all the right noises about the winger's return to the fold after his unsuccessful loan move to Roma came to an end last month. But on his first Premier League start since coming back to Aston Villa, he struggled badly.
There were jeers when Bailey was substituted with Villa a goal down at home to Leeds, and though they managed to claim a 1-1 draw that extends their advantage over the team in fourth to six points, the situation with Bailey highlights the challenge for Emery.
With Emi Buendia another who had previously been out on loan but now counted on as a starter for Villa, the manager is making a habit of reintegrating players. Tammy Abraham and Douglas Luiz have both returned to the club on loan in the winter transfer window.
It has given Villa some depth, Abraham coming off the bench to equalise. No team in the Premier League has picked up more points from losing positions. But on this evidence, Villa must now focus on holding off those below them rather than chasing a title.
The home form has dipped alarmingly, winning just two of their last six games at Villa Park, and there was an edginess in the crowd, never more evident than when Bailey was losing the ball. It is going to be a scramble to hold onto this Champions League place.
Adam Bate
Hard-to-beat Leeds are a formidable force
Leeds are not the great entertainers of the Premier League. They won't seduce you with 30-pass sequences or produce artistic patterns of play. What they will do, however, is give you 90 minutes of clarity. Of structure and purpose.
And right now, that is proving incredibly difficult to stop. Just two defeats in 14 Premier League matches tells its own story.
In a division that chews up momentum and spits it out without warning, that kind of consistency is not an accident. As Villa found out, when Leeds drop into a mid-block, it's compact and stubborn. When they go after you, it's coordinated and sharp.
And they possess players with game-changing quality like Anton Stach, whose free-kick from 35 yards was a special moment.
Daniel Farke has played a blinder to construct a team of such robustness. One which could end up surviving quite comfortably based on their consistency.
Lewis Jones
West Ham drop points but not performance level
West Ham will feel they dropped two points in their draw with Bournemouth although they shouldn't underestimate the result and, more importantly, their performance.
Bournemouth arrived at the London Stadium unbeaten in six league games, with their European hopes renewed and players like Marcus Tavernier returning to fitness for the run-in.
West Ham, though, made them look distinctly average in the first half and went on to record 20 shots and an xG of 2.87, the most of any side that has failed to score in a Premier League match this season.
Crysencio Summerville shone again with his electric pace and tricky while the defence, so often lacking in steel this season, stood up to Bournemouth's counter-attacks.
West Ham have brought themselves back from the brink and are showing the form and performances of a side that is capable of staying up.
David Richardson
