Amsterdam: Midfielder Ramires said he felt much calmer helping Chelsea to a 2-1 win over Benfica in a tense Europa League final than he had watching last year's Champions League victory from the stands. The Brazilian international, a tireless runner, told Reuters in an interview that Wednesday night's victory at the Amsterdam Arena provided a blessed relief after he was forced out of the 2012 penalty shootout triumph over Bayern Munich through suspension.
"I have been compensated," Ramires said. "It's much better to be on the pitch where you know you can help your team mates and have an impact. "When you watch from the sidelines you are just terribly nervous and anxious." Ramires, who joined Chelsea from Benfica in 2010, said Wednesday's victory was tinged with sympathy for his former colleagues.
"I feel badly for them. We've played and beaten them twice since I've been at Chelsea and it's always tough," he said, referring to last year's Champions League quarter-final win over the Lisbon team. "They played so well on Wednesday especially in the first half. They closed me down and it was difficult to find space."
Benfica now have the unenviable record of losing seven European finals in a row since their glory days of the 1960s. Ramires's fellow Brazilian Oscar featured in his maiden European final on Wednesday but said he intended it to be the first of many....
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05:45 PM, May 16, 2013
Liverpool: Liverpool took advantage of Chelsea's erratic defending to earn an emphatic 4-1 win on Tuesday, gaining a small measure of revenge for Saturday's FA Cup final loss and putting the Blues out of contention for fourth place in the English Premier League. Three days after Chelsea beat Liverpool 2-1 at Wembley, the Reds dominated from the start in their last home game of the season and were up 3-0...
07:14 AM, May 09, 2012
Chelsea produced their most ruthless attacking display in more than two years to crush Aston Villa with a record-equaling 8-0. ... 
London: Referee Mark Clattenburg was cleared on Thursday by the English Football Association of using racist language toward a Chelsea player during a Premier League match. Chelsea midfielder Ramires said he heard Clattenburg tell teammate John Obi Mikel "shut up you monkey" during the Oct. 28 match against Manchester United at Stamford Bridge, but the FA decided there was no evidence to back up the accusation. "The FA has concluded... 
Copenhagen: Chelsea scored three late goals for a 4-0 win over FC Nordsjaelland in the Champions League on Tuesday that wasn't quite as comfortable as the scoreline suggested. Juan Mata scored two goals while David Luiz and Ramires added one each to give the defending champion its first win of the group campaign after surrendering a two-goal lead for a 2-2 draw against Juventus in the first game. The Danish... 
