IMAGES from the Premier League matches played on Saturday
Chelsea replaced Liverpool at the top of the English Premier League with a 1-0 victory at Middlesbrough.
Chelsea forward Eden Hazard expects ManchesterCity and Liverpool to be the London side's main rivals in the Premier League title race after the top three sides all enjoyed victories on the weekend.
Arsenal denied Chelsea the double with a 2-1 victory in an enthralling FA Cup final.
Chelsea chief executive Ron Gourlay said on Wednesday he was leaving Stamford Bridge after a decade in which Chelsea were crowned kings of Europe but also suffered plenty of off-field dramas too.
Departing captain John Terry led his Chelsea champions to a rip-roaring 4-3 victory over Watford on Monday, scoring the first goal on an evening of celebration, fireworks and streamers rather than vintage football at Stamford Bridge.
IMAGES from the English Premier League matches played on Sunday
Frank Lampard controlled his inner turmoil and scored with a brilliantly taken penalty to put Chelsea within sight of their first Champions League final on Wednesday. The 29-year-old England midfielder, whose mother Pat died at 58 from pneumonia last Thursday, then let his guard down and wept with emotion while his celebrating team mates swamped him. The goal, after 98 minutes of a pulsating semi-final second leg against Liverpool, turned the match Chelsea's way.
Chelsea kept up their pursuit of the Premier League's top three clubs with a 1-0 win away to London rivals Crystal Palace on Sunday, thanks to a strike by N'Golo Kante early in the second half.
Chelsea's hopes of catching leaders Arsenal suffered a setback after a 3-2 defeat at Aston Villa in the premier league.
Chelsea will face Dynamo Kiev at home in the first leg of their Europa League last-16 tie, while London rivals Arsenal will travel to Rennes following Friday's draw in Nyon, Switzerland.
At 80 million euros, 23-year-old Kepa Arrizabalaga will become the most expensive goalkeeper in football history, ahead of Liverpool's Alisson Becker.
Chelsea's 2-1 defeat at surprise league leaders Leicester City on Monday, their ninth loss in 16 league games since the start of a season that has gone spectacularly wrong, proved to be the final straw.
News of all that's transpired on and off the football field
Chelsea have bolstered their attacking options by signing France forward Loic Remy from Premier League rivals Queens Park Rangers on a four-year deal, the 2012 European champions announced on Sunday.
Chelsea beat Eintracht Frankfurt on penalties on Thursday to set up an all-English Europa League final with local rivals Arsenal in Baku on May 29.
A stunning strike from Jordan Henderson helped Liverpool secure a comfortable 2-1 win at Chelsea on Friday that ended the London club's unbeaten start to the season and underlined the growing potential of Juergen Klopp's side.
Stamford Bridge erupted in celebration on Sunday as departing Chelsea captain John Terry lifted the Premier League trophy in Antonio Conte's record-breaking first season in charge, but the carnival atmosphere had a bitter-sweet edge.
Chelsea moved within three points of clinching the Premier League title with a 3-0 victory that condemned Middlesbrough to relegation on Monday after goals from Spaniards Diego Costa and Marcos Alonso plus a tap-in by Nemanja Matic.
Champions Chelsea are involved in the relegation battle this season, manager Guus Hiddink said on Friday ahead of his side's Premier League clash with Everton.
IMAGES from Saturday's English Premier League matches.
The central defender has been without a club since leaving Championship (second-tier) side Aston Villa following their playoff defeat by Fulham at Wembley Stadium last season.
Chelsea manager Antonio Conte hates not being in the Champions League and has made it his mission to ensure the Premier League leaders consistently qualify for Europe's elite competition.
Chelsea overpowered West Ham United and Manchester City outclassed West Bromwich Albion as the Premier League title rivals signalled their intent at the start of a hectic holiday programme on Friday.
News of all that's transpired on and off the football field
A flash of attacking brilliance from Olivier Giroud and an emphatic header from substitute Alvaro Morata earned Chelsea a 2-0 win over struggling Southampton
Arsenal closed the gap on leaders Liverpool with a 2-1 Premier League victory at Nottingham Forest
Chelsea moved 12 points clear of Arsenal, who suffered their fourth defeat in nine league matches, while fourth-placed Liverpool fell 13 point adrift after their wretched 2017 continued with a shock 2-0 defeat at resurgent Hull City.
Real Madrid's Brazilian forward Robinho is a transfer target for Chelsea, according to the player's agent, Wagner Ribeiro. The impending arrival of Luiz Felipe Scolari as the new Chelsea manager -- he takes the helm officially on Tuesday -- has increased the likelihood of the move happening.
Later on Monday, West Bromwich Albion and Watford were also charged for failing to control their players in Saturday's league game at the Hawthorns, which the hosts won 3-1
It was a day of role reversal as Jose Mourinho's often cautious Chelsea thumped Everton 6-3 in a thriller on Saturday while champions Manchester City's attacking talents were blunted in a shock 1-0 home defeat by Stoke City.
Manchester United against Chelsea has often been a seminal fixture in deciding the destiny of the Premier League title in recent years but Monday's clash at Old Trafford has a very different backdrop.
Liverpool's livewire Sadio Mane scored one goal and played a crucial part in the other as they reclaimed the Premier League's top spot with a scrappy 2-1 win at second bottom Fulham on Sunday.
New Chelsea signings David Luiz and Marcos Alonso are not ready for a first-team place in Sunday's Premier League clash with SwanseaCity, manager Antonio Conte said on Friday.
It might not save manager Antonio Conte's job but Chelsea can still salvage a disappointing season by winning Saturday's FA Cup final
Chelsea striker Diego Costa will become the latest Chelsea player to wear a protective mask after breaking his nose, leading interim manager Guus Hiddink to liken his side to a 'team of Zorros'.
Antonio Conte's return to Italian football on Tuesday proved such a chastening experience as he watched his Chelsea side dismantled by AS Roma in the Champions League that he worries they could be set for a "very difficult" season.
A late equaliser from substitute Gylfi Sigurdsson earned Tottenham Hotspur a 2-2 draw at Chelsea in a pulsating London derby on Wednesday that prolonged a three-way battle for two Champions League places.
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