At the last two World Cups, Brazil have veered away from the great, attacking traditions that used to make them the team that everyone wanted to watch.
IMAGES from the Europa League matches played on Thursday
Diego Costa scored twice but could not prevent Chelsea losing their 100 percent Premier League record in a controversial 2-2 draw at Swansea on Sunday.
Hazard's dribbling and movement, on and off the ball, constantly posed questions for the Liverpool defence and the winger, who was so central to Chelsea's title triumph last year, certainly looks back up to full speed.
King's Cup holders Barcelona beat Real Sociedad 1-0 in their quarter-final first leg to end a nine-and-a-half year barren spell at home of the Basque side while Atletico Madrid crushed Eibar on Thursday.
"I think he plays on Wednesday because on Saturday it was a decision to protect him," manager Jose Mourinho told the club website (www.chelseafc.com).
Rattled by embarrassing domestic defeats, Chelsea looked jittery before Olivier Giroud settled their nerves with a close range tap-in shortly after halftime at StamfordBridge following good work by N'Golo Kante and Willian in the build-up.
West Ham United manager Sam Allardyce believes it is acceptable for players to "make a meal out of" contact if it helps them win penalties and free kicks.
Allowing independent panels to punish players retrospectively for diving and other infringements would be a "disaster", according to Chelsea manager Jose Mourinho.
Chelsea finally produced a performance befitting of champions to demolish Newcastle United 5-1.
Real Madrid's quest to land Tottenham Hotspur winger Gareth Bale for a world record fee looks to be nearing its conclusion with Spanish media reporting on Thursday a deal is all but secured.
An Aaron Ramsey strike and a Kalidou Koulibaly own goal gave Arsenal a 2-0 victory over Napoli in the first leg of their Europa League quarter-final, while Chelsea beat a stubborn Slavia Prague 1-0.
Chelsea's Jose Mourinho and his old friend Louis van Gaal of Manchester United had different reasons to be satisfied with a point after their teams drew 1-1 in the Premier League at Old Trafford on Sunday.
Tottenham Hotspur's hopes of a first victory over Chelsea at Stamford Bridge in 26 years disappeared as a 2-2 draw left Leicester City celebrating the Premier League title on Monday.
Arsenal fought back from a goal down against old foes Chelsea to reach the League Cup final as Granit Xhaka poked home to complete a 2-1 second-leg win on Wednesday that set up a Wembley showdown with Manchester City.
Chelsea manager Antonio Conte was fuming at the final whistle after Pedro and Alvaro Morata were dismissed in extra time and two penalty appeals had been waved away, but the Premier League champions regained their composure to win the shootout 5-3.
The encounters between security forces and the militants erupted at around 7.30 am and continued through the day.
Second-half goals from Willian and Diego Costa helped Chelsea ease past Hull City 2-0 on Saturday and grab their first win in four Premier League games.
Jose Mourinho lamented Chelsea's defending from set-pieces but was otherwise satisfied with his team's display after they suffered a fifth defeat of the season on Tuesday, 2-1 at Porto in the Champions League.
Chelsea were given a stiff examination by Stoke City at Stamford Bridge on Saturday before extending their lead at the top of the Premier League.
Manchester United have shown they are capable of playing an attractive and attacking brand of football in their recent games, midfielder Juan Mata said after Sunday's 1-1 Premier League draw at his former club Chelsea.
A summary of Sunday's Premier League matches
Images from the English Premier League matches played on Saturday.
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
The Paris St Germain forward was both architect and executioner for Brazil, who inflicted a seventh straight last-16 exit on the central Americans, sliding home in the second half and then teeing up Roberto Firmino late on.
A summary of Thursday's matches in Europe's second tier club football tournament
The 25-year-old Mata struggled for game time this season under Jose Mourinho, with Chelsea's manager preferring an attacking midfield trio comprising Brazilian internationals Oscar and Willian and Belgium winger Eden Hazard.
John Terry believes Chelsea's fortunes could be changing at a timely moment as the struggling English champions travel to Israel with the prospect of securing qualification for the knock-out stages of the Champions League.
Manchester City forward Raheem Sterling struck twice as the Premier League champions beat Crystal Palace 3-1 at Selhurst Park on Sunday to go top of the table and heap pressure on title rivals Liverpool.
Antonio Valencia's early thunderbolt put Manchester United en route to a 4-0 Premier League victory over Everton on Sunday, but they needed a flurry of late goals to finally subdue their unfortunate visitors.
France striker Kylian Mbappe went off nursing a shoulder injury as they beat Uruguay 1-0 with an Olivier Giroud penalty in a rematch of their World Cup quarter-final on Tuesday.
Luis Suarez ended his nine-match biting ban in fine style on Friday, grabbing the second-half equaliser that gave Uruguay a 2-2 draw in an enthralling battle with Brazil in the 2018 World Cup qualifiers.
Barcelona moved ever closer towards a successful defence of their La Liga title after nearest challengers Atletico Madrid suffered a shock late collapse at struggling Sporting Gijon to lose 2-1 on Saturday.
The Wolfsburg winger reckons he didn't enjoy Jose Mourinho's trust during his stay at Stamford Bridge
A fixture billed as a pre-Christmas cracker was more 'In the Bleak Midwinter' than 'Jingle Bell Rock' as Arsenal's hopes of regaining top spot in the Premier League fizzled out in a turgid 0-0 draw with Chelsea.
The visitors got off to the perfect start when a mix up at the back saw Riyad Mahrez square for Jamie Vardy to tap into an open goal in front of the Kop in the third minute. Liverpool looked for an immediate riposte, but Salah missed two gilt-edged opportunities before Sadio Mane saw an effort disallowed for offside as Juergen Klopp's men grew frustrated.
Under-fire manager Louis van Gaal said he would not quit after Manchester United extended their run without a victory to eight games in all competitions with a 0-0 draw with champions Chelsea in the Premier League on Monday.
IMAGES from Saturday's English Premier League matches.
Barcelona's poor run away to Real Sociedad continued when the champions were held to a 1-1 draw at Anoeta on Sunday and slipped six points behind La Liga leaders Real Madrid before next week's 'Clasico' against their arch rivals.
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