Chelsea boss Carlo Ancelotti believes that the club is benefiting from England's ouster from the 2010 World Cup as John Terry, Frank Lampard and Ashley Cole have all looked in good shape.
The wife of a linesman, who wrongly disallowed Frank Lampard''s goal against Germany, revealed on Thursday that she instantly knew he had blundered.
England were denied an equalising goal in their World Cup second round match with Germany on Sunday when a Frank Lampard shot from 20 metres out hit the crossbar and dropped well over the line.
England insist their dire World Cup start is behind them and they can go on to win the tournament having salvaged their campaign with a sprightly 1-0 win over Slovenia on Wednesday. After two dour draws in their opening matches, England progressed in second place in Group C behind the United States, who came top by virtue of goals scored, after a much-improved, at times panicky, performance in Port Elizabeth.
England's John Terry made "a very big mistake" talking to the media about player unrest in the squad, hardline coach Fabio Capello said.
Inter Milan boss Jose Mourinho's move to Real Madrid has caused panic at top Premier League clubs, as he has set his sights on certain players.
Liverpool's lingering Premier League title hopes virtually disappeared on Saturday when they lost 2-0 at Middlesbrough as the home side secured their first league win in 15 matches.
Chelsea secured the Premier League crown in magnificent fashion on Sunday with an 8-0 thrashing of 10-man Wigan Athletic in a party atmosphere at Stamford Bridge.
Salomon Kalou came off the bench to score in the 89th minute and give Chelsea a 2-1 home win over Tottenham Hotspur on Saturday that keeps the champions' Premier League title hopes alive for at least another week.
Didier Drogba was on target again as Chelsea, the only top-six team in Premier League action on Saturday, chalked up their 11th successive league win over West Bromwich Albion with a 3-1 triumph at the Hawthorns.
Everton knocked holders Chelsea out of the FA Cup when they won their fourth-round replay 4-3 on penalties after a 1-1 draw at Stamford Bridge on Saturday.
Captain John Terry headed Chelsea five points clear at the top of the Premier League on Sunday as his 76th-minute goal secured a 1-0 home victory over champions Manchester United.
Chelsea beat Manchester United on penalties to win the Community Shield on Sunday after a feisty 2-2 draw that offered few clues as to the destination of the far bigger prizes to be fought over during the next nine months.
Liverpool were knocked out of the FA Cup in stunning fashion on Saturday when Championship (second division) Barnsley beat them 2-1 at Anfield with a last-minute goal by Brian Howard.
Chelsea's goal-rush was staunched by Stoke City but the Premier League champions maintained their perfect start to the season with a 2-0 home victory.
Wayne Rooney of England and the Netherlands' Ruud van Nistelrooy continue to lead the goal scorers' list with four goals each.
England moved to within three points of next year's World Cup finals by crushing Andorra 6-0 on Wednesday to win their seventh successive Group Six qualifier.
England secured an emphatic 4-0 victory in Kazakhstan on Saturday to move closer to qualifying for next year's World Cup finals.
Arsenal's French international striker swept almost 90 per cent of the votes cast in England's Footballer of the Year poll.
England can argue for as long as they like about the goal that never was, but ultimately it was the team that never turned up that brought their poor World Cup campaign to an end against old rivals Germany.
Didier Drogba struck late to clinch a 2-1 victory for Chelsea over Arsenal in the FA Cup semi-final at Wembley on Saturday. The Ivory Coast striker pounced on Frank Lampard's lofted pass with six minutes remaining to give Chelsea their first FA Cup success over Arsenal since 1947.
Germany, fuelled by a second half double from Thomas Mueller, crushed long-standing rivals England 4-1 in a controversy-filled World Cup encounter on Sunday to book a spot in the last eight.
Any combination of midfielders should be strong enough for England to reach the knockout phase of the World Cup but if they are to make a real challenge for glory then someone is going to have to provide the X-factor.
Chelsea overcame a resilient Portsmouth to win a dramatic FA Cup final 1-0 at Wembley Stadium on Saturday and achieve their first League and Cup Double.
England coach Steve McClaren refused to point the finger at blundering Paul Robinson after the goalkeeper's error gifted Germany an equaliser in Wednesday's 2-1 friendly defeat at Wembley Stadium.
Premier League referee Rob Styles has been dropped from this weekend's matches after awarding Chelsea a controversial penalty in Sunday's match at Liverpool.
Holders Chelsea beat Aston Villa 3-0 to sweep into the FA Cup final for the third time in four seasons on Saturday and keep alive their dream of a first FA Cup and League double. All three goals came late in the game with Didier Drogba breaking Villa's resistance after 67 minutes before Florent Malouda (89th) and Frank Lampard, deep in stoppage time, gave Chelsea an ultimately comfortable victory.
Chelsea went some way to relieving the pressure on coach Luiz Felipe Scolari by coming from behind to beat Southend United 4-1 in an entertaining FA Cup third-round replay on Wednesday.
Another English football legend, Frank Lampard bid goodbye with a goal for Manchester City on final day of the season
Frank Lampard hit four goals for Chelsea in a 7-1 demolition of Aston Villa to put the Londoners briefly on top of the English Premier League with 71 points before United responded with a 4-0 win in an evening game at Bolton Wanderers -- Dimitar Berbatov scoring twice for the champions.
First-half goals from Didier Drogba earned Chelsea a 2-0 win over Arsenal at Stamford Bridge on Sunday, securing them a return to the top of the Premier League, two points ahead of Manchester United.
Leaders Chelsea hit seven goals in the top-flight for the first time in 50 years when they hammered Sunderland 7-2 on Saturday to lay down an ominous marker for the second half of the Premier League title race.
Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger fanned the flames of his dispute with the English FA on Friday by accusing them of running an "unfair and dishonest" disciplinary system.
Chelsea captain John Terry missed the game against Manchester United due to a toe injury and will sit out the next game as well
Manchester City ended their run of seven league draws in spectacular fashion by beating Premier League leaders Chelsea 2-1 in an action-packed game in front of a record Eastlands crowd on Saturday.
The Chelsea captain's last ditch tackles and positional sense have been complemented by a decent eye for goal.
A round-up of weekend action in the main European leagues.
Chelsea reclaimed top spot in the Premier League with a crushing 5-0 win over Blackburn Rovers on Saturday but Tottenham Hotspur were brought down to earth when Stoke City snatched a late 1-0 victory at White Hart Lane.
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