On a day of frenetic spending that took the Premier League total to a record far above one billion pounds ($1.29 billion), Antonio Conte's side also missed out on two of their other targets - Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain and Fernando Llorente.
Holders Arsenal's long unbeaten run in the FA Cup continued but they were frustrated by stubborn Championship leaders Hull City on Saturday, drawing 0-0 in a dreary fifth-round tie at the Emirates Stadium.
Chelsea ripped apart Premier League title rivals Arsenal in a 6-0 mauling at Stamford Bridge on Saturday to ensure Arsene Wenger's 1,000th game turned sour and Liverpool and Manchester City kept up the pressure with big wins.
Arsenal sent Liverpool crashing out of the FA Cup, avenging last weekend's rout at Anfield, when they beat Brendan Rodgers's high-flyers 2-1 in a full-bloodied fifth round tie at the Emirates Stadium on Sunday.
Roy Hodgson has given himself the option to give England a youthful, fresh edge at the World Cup after including Ross Barkley, Raheem Sterling, Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain, Luke Shaw and Adam Lallana in his provisional squad on Monday. There were no real surprises as the irresistible late-season form of Everton's attacking midfielder Barkley and Liverpool wide man Sterling made their inclusion an easy choice for Hodgson despite having only five caps between them.
From selfies to fist fights, Rediff.com has the best pictures from the last week snapped right here...
Lukas Podolski's transfer to Inter Milan moved closer on Saturday when the Germany forward met coach Roberto Mancini.
The loss was the joint-heaviest defeat by a side already crowned Premier League champions. Arsenal were beaten 4-0 at Liverpool in 1997-98 in the game after they clinched the title.
Wenger's future at Arsenal will be decided after FA Cup final
Danny Welbeck's hat-trick in a 4-1 thrashing of a feeble Galatasaray side helped ignite Arsenal's Champions League campaign in a lop-sided Group D clash in north London on Wednesday.
Arsene Wenger is confident Arsenal can rekindle the art of winning after a series of frustrating Premier League draws but their quest may be hindered by a "worrying" injury crisis.
Arsenal re-established themselves as serious contenders for their first Premier League title since 2004 with a comfortable victory at lowly Bournemouth on Sunday.
Defending champions Bayern Munich survived a shaky second half and missed a late penalty against Arsenal on Tuesday to reach the Champions League quarter-finals.
FA Cup winners Arsenal beat champions Chelsea 1-0 in England's Community Shield season curtain-raiser at Wembley on Sunday to end a long wait for victory over their London rivals.
Their work in the transfer market has also added to the positivity around the club after German manager Juergen Klopp made some major moves that have clearly strengthened his squad.
Liverpool overcame another obstacle on the path to what looks an almost certain Premier League title triumph as they chalked up a record-breaking 20th win
News of all that's transpired on and off the football field
A clinical second-half display earned Arsenal a 3-0 win at Swansea City on Saturday and proved they are ready to mount a sustained Premier League title challenge.
Juergen Klopp's side returned to English Premier League action on Friday with a hunger and desire that suggested they have spent the close-season break chomping at the bit to get back on the field.
A night of wholesale team changes for the 11 Premier League sides in action produced one notable upset with top flight Stoke City losing 2-0 at second-tier Bristol City.
Olivier Giroud scored the decisive spot kick as Arsenal beat Chelsea 4-1 in a penalty shootout to win the Community Shield at Wembley on Sunday.
Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain became the second England international to leave Arsenal in two days when he joined Premier League rivals Liverpool for a reported 40 million pounds on Thursday.
Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger will take into consideration the views of the club's divided fan base before deciding whether to extend his 20-year reign at the north London side.
'Yes, I was sure this was the right decision. We brought Roberto Firmino on for Mo Salah. We could have scored before, we could have scored afterwards, we could have scored all the time. We lived more or less in their box'
"I've had a bit more luck than in recent weeks, so I'm making the most of it. For a striker, it always works in cycles and I know that. You can't start doubting yourself," Giroud told reporters after the game.
Tottenham rejected Reece Oxford before he joined West Ham.
'This team is really good and we have invested a lot in it. Now we have to work with that'
Arsenal scored twice in three minutes through a deflected Granit Xhaka strike and Danny Welbeck's header to claim a deserved 2-0 win over Manchester United on Sunday and inflict a first Premier League defeat on the visitors in 26 games.
If Arsenal are to have any chance of overturning a 2-0 deficit against Barcelona in the Champions League next month they must be sharper in front of goal, says manager Arsene Wenger. They worked hard to keep the world's most fearsome attacking trio of Lionel Messi, Luis Suarez and Neymar relatively quiet until the 71st minute of Tuesday's last 16, first-leg tie but by then they had spurned two excellent chances to take the lead. Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain was the culprit in the first half, anxiously shooting straight at Barcelona goalkeeper Marc-Andre ter Stegen, then Frenchman Olivier Giroud failed to convert the kind of close-range header he regularly dispatches. They are the sort of opportunitites that must be taken in the return at the Nou Camp on March 16 when Arsenal face what many pundits think is 'mission impossible' after Messi showed how it should be done with two late goals at The Emirates. The Argentine's first strike followed a clinical counter-attack and his second from the penalty spot in the 83rd came after he was brought down by substitute Mathieu Flamini. "We had an unbelievable chance in the first half and the way we finished our chances is a problem," Wenger told reporters after his side's demoralising defeat.
Juergen Klopp's side, chasing their maiden title in the Premier League era and first in the top flight in 30 years, took a 14th-minute lead from a Virgil van Dijk header but had to wait until stoppage time to put the game to bed through Mohamed Salah.
Although it was far from unexpected, Frank Lampard's international retirement increased the challenge facing England manager Roy Hodgson as he looks to move the team forward for the 2016 European Championship and beyond.
Winter returned to Anfield on Friday but while the temperature dropped, the standards of Juergen Klopp's side certainly did not as Sadio Mane and Mohamed Salah both struck twice in a 5-0 thrashing of relegated Huddersfield Town.
Spoils were shared in two huge Premier League derbies, Chelsea's cracking start continued with a 3-0 win over Aston Villa and Wayne Rooney produced a Jekyll and Hyde display in a nervy Manchester United victory on Saturday.
Spoils were shared in two huge Premier League derbies, Chelsea's cracking start continued with a 3-0 win over Aston Villa and Wayne Rooney produced a Jekyll and Hyde display in a nervy Manchester United victory on Saturday.
Liverpool survived a late spell of Everton pressure to stretch their record unbeaten run in Merseyside derbies to 17 games
A downbeat Arsene Wenger said he has decided on his Arsenal future and would reveal all soon after his side slumped to a dismal 3-1 defeat at West Bromwich Albion on Saturday.
Chelsea kept alive their remote Premier League title chances with a 2-0 win over London rivals Tottenham Hotspur on Sunday, set on their way by an exquisite strike from Hakim Ziyech which was quickly followed up by a Thiago Silva header.
Fans are openly speculating that owner Roman Abramovich, a man who places notoriously high demands on his managers, could call time on Jose Mourinho's second spell at Stamford Bridge if Liverpool can inflict another defeat on the champions.
An extra-time goal from Roberto Firmino gave Liverpool a 1-0 victory over Brazil's Flamengo to win the Club World Cup at the Khalifa International stadium on Saturday. It is the first time Liverpool have won the competition, which features each continent's champions, and they became only the second English team to lift the trophy after Manchester United in 2008.
On a seismic day in the history of Chelsea, Romelu Lukaku scored the winning goal in a 3-2 FA Cup fifth-round victory