Chelsea's perfect start to the season under new manager Carlo Ancelotti came to a surprise end on Saturday when the Premier League leaders lost 3-1 at Wigan Athletic and had goalkeeper Petr Cech sent off.
Ivory Coast became the first team to reach the African Nations Cup quarter-finals after beating Ghana 3-1 with 10 men in Group B on Friday.
Striker Didier Drogba has apologised for his behaviour following Chelsea's dramatic Champions League exit against Barcelona on Wednesday.
Chelsea, and particularly striker Didier Drogba, are likely to be in big trouble with UEFA after chaotic scenes marred the end of Wednesday's Champions League semi-final second leg at Stamford Bridge. Andres Iniesta's stoppage-time equaliser for a 1-1 draw sent Barcelona through on the away goals rule and sent Drogba round the bend.
Arsenal lit up the opening day of the Premier League season with a 6-1 demolition of Everton and Didier Drogba struck in stoppage time to give Chelsea manager Carlo Ancelotti a winning start on Saturday.
Didier Drogba, who has so far scored 18 goals for Chelsea, could miss the club's game against Portsmouth because of an injured back.
Didier Drogba struck in stoppage time as Chelsea marked Carlo Ancelotti's first Premier League match in charge with a 2-1 victory over Hull City on Saturday.
With the Premier League season kicking off on Saturday we look at the prospects of the 20 top-flight clubs.
Manchester United wasted a glorious chance to catch Chelsea at the top of the Premier League when they lost 1-0 at home to Aston Villa on Saturday. Earlier leaders Chelsea were held 3-3 at home by Everton despite two goals from Didier Drogba.
Poland forward Robert Lewandowski will be faced with a defender ominously known as K2 when, at the age of 29, he finally makes his debut at the World Cup finals in Tuesday's Group H match against Senegal.
Although he did not put up a scintillating display in midfield, Pogba powered into the box after a couple of one-twos and scored with a slightly deflected lob to earn Les Bleus all three points.
IMAGES from the FIFA World Cup Group C match played between France and Australia at Kazan Stadium on Saturday
Chelsea regained their dominant place in the Premier League title race with a 3-0 win over Arsenal at the Emirates on Sunday that restored their five-point lead over Manchester United.
Chelsea became the first team into the FA Cup semi-finals when they comfortably beat Championship (second division) Coventry City 2-0 away on Saturday.
But it was man-of-the-match Dimitri Payet who scored his second goal in as many matches to put the Frenchmen through to the knockouts.
Following criticism for his diving antics, Chelsea striker Didier Drogba has said that it is his fans at Stanford Bridge whom he cares about, rather than the fans who boo him elsewhere.
Talisman Didier Drogba came off the bench to secure Ivory Coast a place in the World Cup finals with a 1-1 draw against Malawi on Saturday.
John Terry embellished his status to Chelsea fans as "captain, leader, legend" by scoring the goal that set his side on the way to a 2-0 win over Tottenham Hotspur in the Capital One Cup final at a rain-sodden Wembley on Sunday.
Inter Milan do not want to sign Chelsea striker Didier Drogba, the Serie A club's sporting director said on Monday.
France earned a rollercoaster 4-2 home win over Croatia in an entertaining top-tier Nations League Group 3 match, while England were held to a 0-0 draw by Denmark in an uninspiring game.
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.
Defender Branislav Ivanovic headed two goals from corners and Didier Droga added the third to give Chelsea a 3-1 away win over Liverpool in the first leg of their Champions League quarter-final on Wednesday.
Chelsea striker Didier Drogba has been banned for three matches for throwing a coin towards Burnley supporters during his club's shock League Cup defeat at Stamford Bridge last week. The 30-year-old Ivory Coast international will serve the ban with immediate effect, ruling him out of the Premier League matches against Newcastle United, Arsenal and Bolton Wanderers.
Chelsea's Ivory Coast striker Didier Drogba has signed a new three-year contract, the Premier League club said on Wednesday.
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.
AC Milan coach Carlo Ancelotti has targeted Didier Drogba, Barcelona's Samuel Eto'o or Arsenal's Emmanuel Adebayor as potential signings.
Goal-line technology was used for the first time in a World Cup match to decide if the ball had crossed the line during France's Group E clash with Honduras on Sunday.
Images from football friendlies played on Wednesday.
Veteran Drogba showed that he still has a lot of steam in him as he scored in Chelsea's win over Spurs, while Aguero continued to top the goal-scorers' list this season, finding the net for City. Images from the EPL matches played across England on Wednesday.
With a population of just over four million, Croatia punched considerably above their weight to reach the final, going down gallantly to France at Moscow's Luzhniki Stadium.
Manchester City is ready to make a 15 million pound swoop for Chelsea striker Didier Drogba. City boss Mark Hughes made a firm inquiry about the Ivory Coast striker in January and, although he was knocked back, the Londoners admitted a summer move is a possibility.
Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola hopes his players return injury-free from the international break this month for a hectic run of fixtures that could define the Premier League champions' season.
Hull City were relegated and Newcastle United survived the drop on a dramatic final day of the Premier League season on Sunday when West Ham United announced that manager Sam Allardyce's contract was not being renewed at Upton Park.
For the first time in 10 years, four English clubs have reached the quarter-finals of the Champions League
Chelsea completed a clean sweep for English teams in the Champions League group stage after beating Cluj 2-1 on Tuesday to join holders Manchester United, Arsenal and Liverpool in the last 16 of the competition.
Goalkeeping howlers have been scarce at the World Cup but Fernando Muslera's mistake proved fatal for Uruguay in their 2-0 quarter-final defeat by France on Friday just as much as a brilliant stop from Hugo Lloris kept his side ahead.
Former Manchester City boss Roberto Mancini has been appointed as the new manager of Turkish side Galatasaray on a three-year deal.
Abdeslam, Europe's most wanted man, was arrested on Friday during a police raid as he returned to his family home in Molenbeek after being undetected since the November 13 attacks that killed 130 people and left several injured.
Former Manchester City manager Roberto Mancini is in talks with Galatasaray to take over from Fatih Terim who was sacked as coach this week, the Turkish club said on Sunday.
Didier Drogba has Bobby Tambling's record tally of 202 goals for Chelsea in his sights, the Ivory Coast striker said on Tuesday.
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