London: A late equaliser from substitute Gylfi Sigurdsson earned Tottenham Hotspur a 2-2 draw at Chelsea in a pulsating London derby on Wednesday that prolonged a three-way battle for two Champions League places. The Iceland international shot low past Petr Cech on 80 minutes to deny Chelsea, who were twice ahead, a victory that would have effectively guaranteed the hosts a top four finish and Champions League football next season....
03:47 AM, May 09, 2013
Cobham: Interim Chelsea manager Rafa Benitez has dropped a massive hint that Jose Mourinho will be returning to Stamford Bridge this summer. Benitez confirmed on Tuesday he would be leaving his temporary role with Chelsea at the end of the season by saying "the next year there will be another manager here. The Spaniard then added "I think everybody knows who will be here." The momentum behind Mourinho's probable return...
11:14 PM, May 07, 2013
London: Sacked last year after less than nine months in charge at Stamford Bridge before rebuilding his reputation at Tottenham Hotspur, Andre Villas-Boas said his return to Chelsea for a key Premier League clash on Wednesday was "not very special". "It's a club that I have gone past," Villas-Boas told a news conference on Tuesday. "I have good and bad memories like everybody else, but it's a pity it didn't...
10:25 PM, May 07, 2013
London: Rafa Benitez, one win away from sealing a top-four finish for Chelsea in the Premier League and one more from a European trophy, ruled out extending his stay at Stamford Bridge on Tuesday, saying the identity of his successor was an open secret. The Spaniard, still unpopular with a section of Chelsea's support from his days with Liverpool, has impressed as the club's interim manager and victory at home...
08:44 PM, May 07, 2013
England: Rafa Benitez can virtually wrap up part one of his mission at Chelsea by guiding the team to the cusp of the Champions League with a win over top-four rival Tottenham in the Premier League on Wednesday. The Spaniard is still unloved at Stamford Bridge but even the most ardent critic of Benitez must be impressed with the job he's done in his six months at the club. By...
11:37 AM, May 07, 2013
London: Chelsea are hopeful Belgium winger Eden Hazard can shrug off a calf problem in time for Wednesday's crucial Premier League showdown with Tottenham Hotspur at Stamford Bridge. The quicksilver Hazard was forced to miss Sunday's 1-0 victory at champions Manchester United after sustaining the injury in the Europa League semi-final win over Swiss club Basel on Thursday. "He has a problem with his calf," interim manager Rafael Benitez told...
03:46 PM, May 06, 2013
Rio de Janerio: Former Chelsea and Portugal playmaker Deco is facing a 30-day automatic suspension after his "B'' sample confirmed a positive test for a diuretic. Deco tested positive for furosemide, a diuretic which can help hide performance-enhancing substances. The test came after Fluminense's 2-0 win over Boavista on March 30. If found guilty by Brazil's sports tribunal, the 35-year Deco faces a suspension of up to two years. Fluminense...
12:21 PM, May 04, 2013
Madrid: Real Madrid coach Jose Mourinho lashed out at his critics and suggested he was not being given enough credit on Friday amid widespread expectation he is poised to abandon the La Liga club at the end of this season. The outspoken Portuguese, who has hinted he may be on his way back to Chelsea despite having a contract with Real until June 2016, reiterated that he will decide his...
07:42 PM, May 03, 2013
London: Chelsea's roller coaster of a season could yet end with another night of European glory after they knocked FC Basel out of the semi-finals on Thursday to set up a Europa League final against Benfica. Goals from Fernando Torres, Victor Moses and David Luiz in a nine-minute spell early in the second half gave Chelsea a 3-1 second-leg win over the Swiss champions at Stamford Bridge for a 5-2...
08:38 AM, May 03, 2013
Enfield: Tottenham Hotspur manager Andre Villas-Boas would welcome his mentor Jose Mourinho back to the Premier League next season, saying his return would be spectacular. Villas-Boas worked under Mourinho at Porto, Chelsea and Inter Milan before deciding to forge a name for himself by taking on the coaching job at Portuguese club Academica. Mourinho, who parted company with Chelsea in 2007 having won two league titles, dropped heavy hints this...
08:41 PM, May 02, 2013
Barcelona: Bayern Munich began to lay the foundations for this season's impressive run to the Champions League final immediately after their defeat to Chelsea in last year's showpiece, coach Jupp Heynckes said on Wednesday. After Bayern inflicted the biggest aggregate defeat on Barcelona in European competition, a jubilant Heynckes said the painful reverse on penalties to Chelsea at their own Allianz Arena in Munich had given him the motivation to...
08:41 AM, May 02, 2013
Barcelona: Bayern Munich's stunning 7-0 aggregate victory over Barcelona in the semi-finals of the Champions League will count for nothing if they do not go on to win the competition at Wembley later this month, Arjen Robben said on Wednesday. "We said immediately after the game 'now we need to win it'," Robben, who curled home Bayern's first in the 3-0 win at the Nou Camp on Wednesday, said in...
08:30 AM, May 02, 2013
London: Closing in on the Europa League final, Chelsea midfielder Juan Mata seems ill at ease in the continent's second-tier knockout competition. Chelsea dropped out of the Champions League when their title defense ended in the group stage, and is yet to be assured of a place among Europe's elite next season by finishing in the Premier League's top four. "Chelsea are a club which deserves to be in the...
12:49 AM, May 02, 2013
London: Continued speculation that Jose Mourinho is set to return to Chelsea "where people love me" cut little ice with interim manager Rafa Benitez who remains focused on guiding the London side to the Europa League final. Chelsea host FC Basel on Thursday holding a 2-1 lead from their semi-final first leg and Benitez is two matches away from claiming a European crown for a club he will leave at...
11:10 PM, May 01, 2013
London: Chelsea's relentless march towards either more European glory or an heroic, battle-weary failure, continues on Thursday when they face FC Basel with the final of the Europa League beckoning. The Londoners, like Benfica who face Fenerbahce in the other semi-final, were eliminated from the Champions League after the group stage, but both dropouts could yet meet in the final at the Amsterdam Arena on May 15. Chelsea are well-placed...
10:00 AM, May 01, 2013
New Delhi: The 2012 EPL champions may be relegated to the third tier of the Champions League after their dismal campaign in 2013, 'The Telegraph' reported. Manchester City are likely to be relegated to the third tier of Champions League seeds next season following their failure to qualify from the group stages of this year's competition, The Telegraph reported on Tuesday. City's woeful run this season has forced them to...
09:59 AM, Apr 30, 2013
London: Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger believes that if his team win their last three Premier League games they will qualify for the Champions League, but both Chelsea and Tottenham Hotspur could yet scupper his hopes. If Chelsea take at least nine points from their last four games, they will finish on 74 points. If Tottenham win their four remaining games, they would also finish on 74 points. However, even if...
04:38 PM, Apr 29, 2013
London: Chelsea kept up their push for a Champions League spot by beating Swansea 2-0 on Sunday with both goals coming shortly before the halftime break. Oscar put Chelsea ahead at Stamford Bridge in the 44th minute and Frank Lampard then doubled the lead from the penalty spot a minute later for his 201st goal for the club, moving him within one of Bobby Tambling's record. Lampard began the game...
12:01 AM, Apr 29, 2013
