Chelsea's stuttering form continued on Saturday when the Premier League leaders kicked off a hectic holiday programme with a 0-0 draw at Birmingham City.
News of all that's transpired on and off the football field
Chelsea have signed Germany's highly-rated attacking midfielder Kai Havertz from Bundesliga side Bayer Leverkusen on a five-year contract, the Premier League club announced on Friday.
Liverpool boss Rafa Benitez's troubles will increase further after he admitted that ace striker Fernando Torres may need an operation.
Liverpool had two players sent off and suffered a sixth loss in seven games with a 3-1 defeat at Fulham on a Saturday of red cards in the Premier League.
Javier Saviola and Oscar Cardozo scored two goals apiece and defender Luisao was also on target as Benfica thumped Everton 5-0 in the Europa League on Thursday.
Liverpool's defence of a Premier League crown won at a canter last season has become a nightmare
Tottenham Hotspur maintained their perfect start to the season when they came from behind to win 2-1 at West Ham United and stay top of the Premier League on Sunday. Spurs lead the table with nine points from three games, followed by five clubs on six points, including Chelsea who play at Fulham later.
Manchester United, who could have been 10 points clear of Liverpool if they had beaten them last weekend, could find themselves in second place in the table when the Premier League resumes in two weeks' time.
Councillor Lucy Ivimy, 53, a Conservative Party lawmaker has sparked a racism row in Britain after she accused immigrants, particularly Indians, of showing a total disregard for cleanliness of a public area.
Manchester United and Chelsea cruised into the FA Cup semi-finals with comfortable away wins at Fulham and Coventry City respectively on Saturday. Carlos Tevez scored twice and Wayne Rooney and Park Ji-sung also struck as United turned on the style at Craven Cottage, while goals from Didier Drogba and Alex made it six wins out of six since new manager Guus Hiddink arrived at Chelsea.
Holders Chelsea advanced to the semi-finals of the FA Cup with a 2-0 home win over Stoke City while Aston Villa joined them after coming from 2-0 down to win 4-2 at Reading with a John Carew hat-trick on Sunday.
Manchester United manager Alex Ferguson dismissed Chelsea's Premier League title hopes on Wednesday.
News of all that's transpired on and off the football field
Hull City broke their transfer record to sign shaggy-haired central midfielder Jimmy Bullard from Premier League rivals Fulham on Friday.
Newcastle United's euphoria after their win over Middlesbrough on Monday turned to despair on Saturday when a 1-0 loss at home to Fulham left their Premier League status hanging by a thread.
Twelve months ago Liverpool were ripping up the record books on the way to their first English top-flight title for 30 years but defeat by Everton on Saturday left them mulling a host of far less flattering statistics.
Hull City, who visit Anfield on Saturday, have displayed superb away form in their first season in the top flight, and offer no guarantee of three points to Rafael Benitez's side.
We want to fight for that title and we are very excited to see the draw, says Ander Herrera
India football captain Baichung Bhutia believes the Englishman is the best coach the team has had for a long time and he should be given a second tenure. Houghton's three-year contract expires in May 2009 but Baichung wants the widely respected former Fulham midfielder to be given another tenure as his continuation will only "help Indian football."
The English Premier League title race was thrown wide open with leaders Manchester United losing a second successive match and Liverpool thumping Aston Villa 5-0 to close the gap at the top to one point. Barcelona maintained their six-point lead in Spain, while a double from Zlatan Ibrahimovic ensured Inter Milan stayed seven points clear in Serie A.
News of all that's transpired on and off the football field
List of major transfers in the top Premier League ahead of the 2019-20 season (all transfer fees as reported by British media):
Wayne Rooney scored on his return from injury as champions Manchester United crushed Fulham 3-0 at Old Trafford on Wednesday to surge five points clear of Liverpool at the top of the Premier League.
Manchester United crushed Derby County 4-1 away while Everton beat Aston Villa 3-1 at Goodison Park on Sunday to reach the quarter-finals of the FA Cup. United were pushed all the way by the Championship (second division) strugglers in the League Cup semi-finals last month but cruised home this time with goals by Nani, Darron Gibson, Cristiano Ronaldo and Danny Welbeck.
Liverpool stayed top of the Premier League on Sunday after an emphatic 5-1 win at Newcastle United gave them maximum points from their two Christmas fixtures.
Bolton Wanderers illuminated a dull day in the Premier League on Saturday with a 4-1 victory at Sunderland that lifted them to seventh in the standings.
The top four failed to muster a goal on Saturday as Chelsea, Liverpool and Manchester United drew 0-0 while Arsenal went down 3-0 at Manchester City. Premier League leaders Chelsea could find no way through Newcastle United at Stamford Bridge. Liverpool had the same problem at home to Fulham and third-placed Manchester United were held 0-0 in a lively game at Aston Villa.
Wales manager Chris Coleman has poured cold water on the possibility of him filling the England manager's post recently vacated by Roy Hodgson.
The 52-year-old, who had already admitted a misconduct charge prior to Tuesday's personal FA hearing, will be banned from stadiums for the first three matches and he will be barred from the touchline for the remaining four.
A gunman was jailed for at least 28 years on Thursday for the murder of a former boxing champion who had asked a group of men to stop smoking in a bar.
De Bruyne out for up to six weeks due to injury, says Guardiola.
Five talking points from the Premier League weekend:
Newcastle United eased their relegation fears with a 2-0 home win over Fulham on Saturday as attention focused on the battle to stay in the Premier League.
Manchester City defender Michael Ball has admitted an FA charge of violent conduct after stamping on Manchester United's Cristiano Ronaldo in Saturday's derby.
Manchester United manager Alex Ferguson will call on a rested Cristiano Ronaldo and Wayne Rooney to fire his side into the Champions League quarter-finals at the expense of Olympique Lyon on Tuesday. The tie with French champions Lyon is evenly poised, albeit with United having an away goal in the bank after a late Carlos Tevez strike secured United a 1-1 draw in Lyon last week.
Schwarzer, 42, played 12 times for Chelsea last season as backup to Petr Cech, but has only been an unused substitute four times this season.
Bristol Rovers got the FA Cup fifth round underway with an upset on Saturday when Rickie Lambert's late free kick gave the League One (third division) side a 1-0 win over Championship (second division) Southampton.
'The only good thing that has come out of our current situation is that it has brought communities closer.' NRIs describe the impact coronavirus is having on their lives.
Arsenal will host Newcastle United in the outstanding League Cup third-round tie after the draw was made on Saturday.
