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.
French striker Florent Malouda has said that the training-ground revolt following the axing of teammate Nicolas Anelka was a disaster, and added that France has been a disgrace as they were out of the World Cup.
Chelsea moved two points clear at the top of the Premier League with a 2-0 defeat of Liverpool at Stamford Bridge on Sunday.
France's captain and most prolific scorer Thierry Henry faces the once inconceivable prospect of being a substitute at the World Cup for the country he has graced for over a decade.
A week in the scenic French Alps seems to have done wonders for France who now have a healthy Williams Gallas and a vastly improved mood in the camp.
Unlucky Barcelona defender Eric Abidal will miss both the UEFA Champions League and the King's Cup finals after picking up two red cards in five days. The French full back was sent off in the second half of Barca's Champions League semi-final second leg against Chelsea last Wednesday, after the referee harshly ruled that he had tripped Nicolas Anelka.
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.
France, Portugal and Russia all moved closer to next year's World Cup finals with first leg playoff wins on Saturday, although none of them did enough to take victory for granted in the second legs next week.
Chelsea marked the start of Dutch coach Guus Hiddink's spell in charge with a 1-0 victory against Aston Villa in Birmingham on Saturday to keep their Premier League hopes alive. Hiddink, who has taken the job until the end of the season following the sacking of Luiz Felipe Scolari, watched the top flight's leading scorer Nicolas Anelka bag a vital three points with a well-worked goal before halftime.
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.
Three goals in seven minutes gave Chelsea a 3-0 Premier League home win over Burnley on Saturday while champions Manchester United were thankful for an Abou Diaby own goal as they came from 1-0 down to beat Arsenal 2-1 at Old Trafford.
Chelsea and Liverpool continued setting a hot pace at the top of the English Premier League with emphatic away victories on Saturday. Liverpool briefly went top courtesy of a 2-0 victory at Bolton Wanderers with goals from Dirk Kuyt and Steven Gerrard before Chelsea responded by thrashing bottom club West Bromwich Albion 3-0 at the Hawthorns.
Chelsea returned to the top of the Premier League on Sunday with a 2-0 victory over Blackburn Rovers at a rain-drenched Ewood Park. Aston Villa could have gone above Manchester United into the top four but lost 2-1 at Middlesbrough for whom Tuncay Sanli scored an 88th-minute winner.
Chelsea and Liverpool maintained their unbeaten starts to the season and kept the pressure on early pace-setters Arsenal when they both chalked up 2-0 away wins in the Premier League on Saturday.
Last season's beaten Champions League finalists, began their new campaign with a convincing 4-0 victory over Girondins Bordeaux in their Group A match at Stamford Bridge on Tuesday.
The FA is to investigate an alleged anti-Semitic gesture made by West Bromwich Albion striker Nicolas Anelka during Saturday's 3-3 Premier League draw at West Ham United.
Manchester United beat Chelsea 6-5 in the final via the penalty shoot-out after full-time and extra-time ended 1-1.
Chelsea's Didier Drogba said he lost his passion for football last summer after the death of his grandmother.
Chelsea missed the chance to reclaim top spot in the Premier League when they were held to a 1-1 home draw by West Ham United on Sunday, a day after Liverpool, Manchester United and Arsenal also drew.
Arsenal also suffered a shock defeat when they went down 2-1 at Stoke City and Hull City came from 1-4 down to push Manchester United all the way before losing 4-3 at Old Trafford, in the English Premier League.
Chelsea have agreed to buy French international striker Nicolas Anelka from Bolton Wanderers for 15.0 million pounds ($29.35 million), the two Premier League clubs announced on Friday.
"I really hope it happens - and especially that I am eligible to play in the Champions League," said the 28-year-old striker.
Chelsea stayed top of the Premier League with a 2-0 victory over Aston Villa at Stamford Bridge on Sunday while Liverpool kept pace after an astonishing comeback earned them a 3-2 win at Manchester City.
Chelsea rounded off their pre-season tour of Asia with a 2-0 win over a Malaysia select X1 thanks to goals by Nicolas Anelka and Ashley Cole on Tuesday. The Champions League finalists secured the third win of their three-leg tour in hot and humid conditions in front of a crowd of 80,000 at the Shah Alam stadium in Kuala Lumpur.
Manchester City completed the signing of Brazilian striker Jo from CSKA Moscow on Wednesday in what new manager Mark Hughes said he hopes would be the first of several major signings. City said the 21-year-old had signed a four-year deal and that his fee is a club record, though the amount was not disclosed.
Everton went second with a 2-1 victory at Bolton Wanderers thanks to a last-minute winner from Joleon Lescott.
Franck Ribery scored from a penalty as France beat England 1-0 in David Beckham's 100th appearance for his country at the Stade de France on Wednesday. The 32-year-old Beckham started the match to become only the fifth English player in 136 years of international soccer to achieve a century of appearances for his country.
Nicolas Anelka scored twice against his old club to help Bolton Wanderers beat Arsenal 3-1 to climb to third in the Premier League on Saturday.
The victory kept Arsenal in the race for the fourth Champions League place from the EPL.
The enfant terrible of French football earned a surprise recall by France for their friendly internationals against Costa Rica on November 9 in Martinique and Germany three days later.
Maharashtra government has decided to provide subsidy in the range of Rs 3,000 to Rs 1.5 lakh for school games to promote sports activities in the state, according to state Health Minister Digvijay Khanvilkar.
Northeast United FC brightened their semi-final prospects with a 2-0 win over strugglers Mumbai City FC in the Indian Super League (ISL) match at Guwahati, helping the Highlanders move to fourth position in the pecking order.
Nicolas Anelka's last-gasp strike gave Manchester City a 3-2 victory in a thrilling game at Blackburn Rovers.
I won't play for France again, says Anelka
Kerala Blasters have staged a coup of sorts and signed 22-year-old Spaniard Lluis Ribera Josu Currais for the second season of the Indian Super League.
A stunning goal from Nicolas Anelka helped Mumbai City FC to pip Kerala Blasters 1-0, in their Hero Indian Super League (ISL) match at the D.Y. Patil stadium in Mumbai on Sunday.
After being declared bankrupt in May, former England and Kerala Blasters marquee player David James is now forced into auctioning signed shirts, shorts and match balls.
Mumbai City FC edged out defending champions Atletico de Kolkata 3-2 in their concluding round match of the Indian Super League on Friday.
San Antonio Spurs guard Tony Parker apologized on Monday after a three-year-old photo surfaced of him making the same anti-Semitic gesture that has landed former France striker Nicolas Anelka in trouble.
© 2026 Rediff.com - Investor Information - Advertise with us - Disclaimer - Privacy Policy - Sitemap - Feedback - About us - Terms of use - Grievances