Chelsea's interim manager Rafael Benitez said the challenge of trying to win five trophies this season was too great an opportunity to turn down as he returned to the Premier League on Thursday.
Former Barcelona coach Pep Guardiola, linked in the media with the Chelsea job after the sacking of Roberto Di Matteo, will not make any decision on his future until early next year, his agent said.
Chelsea must win the Champions League to play in Europe's elite club competition next season after a 4-1 defeat at Liverpool on Tuesday ended their hopes of qualifying via the Premier League.
Tito Vilanova is quietly stamping his authority on the Barcelona team and they head into their Champions League Group G opener at home to Spartak Moscow on Wednesday with La Liga's only perfect record.
Petr Cech celebrated a perfect 30th birthday on Sunday after producing another exceptional goalkeeping performance to help Chelsea land their first Champions League trophy.
Fernando Torres scored his first goal since October to help Chelsea crush Leicester City 5-2 and Liverpool beat Stoke City 2-1 to reach the FA Cup semi-finals on Sunday.
Champions Chelsea demolished West Bromwich Albion 6-0 on Saturday, shrugging off poor pre-season form to launch their Premier League campaign in style.
Roy Hodgson made a swifter than planned return to Premier League management on Friday when he was named West Bromwich Albion boss, one month after his departure from Liverpool.
Aston Villa have terminated the contract of manager Steve Bruce following a dismal start to the season, the English Championship club said on Wednesday.
Carlos Vela scored an injury-time equalizer to give West Bromwich Albion a 1-1 draw with Premier League rivals Wolverhampton Wanderers in a typically passionate Black Country derby on Sunday.
Champions Chelsea will kick off their title defence at home to promoted West Bromwich Albion on August 14, the English Premier League announced on Thursday. In another headline clash on the opening weekend, Newcastle United will mark their return to the top flight with a mouth-watering trip to Old Trafford against runners-up Manchester United.
There will be plenty of tension in the air in North London on Wednesday when out-of-sorts Arsenal face Borussia Dortmund seeking to qualify from the Champions League group stage for the 15th successive season.
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Bayern Munich scraped past Hertha Berlin 1-0 courtesy of an Arjen Robben goal to stretch their lead at the top of the table to 10 points and extend their unbeaten Bundesliga run to 16 games over two seasons.
Long-serving defender John Terry will remain Chelsea's captain in the coming season, new manager Antonio Conte said on Thursday at his first news conference since joining the Premier League club. Terry, 35, signed a new one-year contract at Stamford Bridge in May to end speculation that he was going to leave the London club after more than 700 appearances. He remains a firm favourite with the club's fans. "John Terry is captain of this team. He is a great player with a great personality and charisma. He knows the club. We take all decisions together with the club and I am very happy John signed," Conte said.
Chelsea rounded off the UEFA Champions League group stage with a 3-1 victory over Sporting.
Italian Antonio Conte was named as Chelsea's new head coach with a three-year contract, the outgoing Premier League champions announced on Monday.
Following this stunning turn-around of fortunes for Barcelona, here is a flashback of some of the best come-from-behind wins recorded in Europe's premier club competition.
Here is a quick fact-box on new Real Madrid coach Rafael Benitez, who was appointed to replace Italian Carlo Ancelotti on Wednesday.
Jose Mourinho believes his Chelsea team could challenge for the Champions League this season despite their woeful form in the Premier League.
Following Bayern Munich's brilliant 7-4 (on aggregate) win over FC Porto in the quarter-finals of the Champions League, here's a look at a few memorable come-from-behind victories in Europe's premier football competition.
Lionel Messi set a new Champions League scoring record with a hat-trick and Luis Suarez netted his first in Barcelona colours as the Spaniards comprehensively beat APOEL Nicosia 4-0 in the Champions League on Tuesday.
Cristiano Ronaldo ended a three-game goal drought as Real Madrid won 2-0 at Schalke.
Photos from the Champions League matches played across Europe on Tuesday.
Ruthless Bayern Munich scored five goals in the first 35 minutes on the way to a 7-1 demolition of AS Roma on Tuesday which bore an uncanny resemblance to Germany's win over Brazil by the same score in the World Cup semi-final.
Images from the Champions League matches played across Europe on Wednesday.
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