Geneva: David Luiz beat goalkeeper Yann Sommer with a 22-yard free kick on the final shot of the match in the fourth minute of stoppage time, giving Chelsea a 2-1 win at Basel on Wednesday night in the first leg of the Europa League semi-finals. Victor Moses put Chelsea in front with a header in the 12th minute, and Fabian Schaer tied the score with an 87th-minute penalty kick after...
07:52 AM, Apr 26, 2013
Madrid: Liverpool goalkeeper Pepe Reina said the 10-match ban given to his team mate Luis Suarez for biting an opponent was 'absurd' and 'excessive'. Uruguay international Suarez was punished on Wednesday by the English Football Association (FA) after he bit the arm of Chelsea defender Branislav Ivanovic at the weekend. "He knows he is in the wrong, and that it was a mistake, but the 10-game punishment seems absurd to...
06:36 PM, Apr 25, 2013
London: Liverpool striker Luis Suarez has been banned for 10 matches by the English Football Association for biting an opponent during a Premier League match. The suspension rules the Uruguay international out for the final four league matches of this campaign and the first six of next season. The FA said in a statement released Wednesday that an independent panel said the regular suspension for violent conduct of three games...
07:51 PM, Apr 24, 2013
London: Chelsea are in the last chance saloon as far as a trophy goes and Fernando Torres, complete with his 'Mask of Zorro', must continue his recent improvement in swashbuckling style in Thursday's Europa League semi-finals. Fenerbahce welcome Benfica in their first leg while European champions Chelsea face a tricky trip to Basel without the cup-tied Demba Ba, meaning fellow striker Torres will take up the fight as the Londoners...
11:36 AM, Apr 24, 2013
London: Liverpool forward Luis Suarez has disputed the English FA's view that his punishment for biting Chelsea's Branislav Ivanovic at the weekend merits a longer punishment than the usual three-game ban. The FA said in a statement on Tuesday that the Uruguayan international has accepted a charge of violent conduct but "has denied the FA's claim that the standard punishment of three matches is clearly insufficient for this offence". The...
03:37 AM, Apr 24, 2013
London: Luis Suarez found himself in the familiar position of being an outcast on Monday, charged by the Football Association, fined by Liverpool, and rebuked by the government for biting an opponent a day earlier. In a Premier League match broadcast globally on Sunday, Suarez bit Chelsea defender Branislav Ivanovic's arm. Although he escaped punishment during the game, Suarez now faces a lengthy ban. "The incident was not seen by...
10:57 PM, Apr 22, 2013
London: Luis Suarez has been fined by Liverpool for biting an opponent, and has been offered anger management counseling by England's footballers' union. The Uruguay striker dug his teeth into Chelsea defender Branislav Ivanovic's arm during Sunday's Premier League match before netting a last-gasp equalizer to clinch a 2-2 draw. Suarez announced Monday on Twitter that "for my unacceptable behavior yesterday the club has fined me today." He wants the...
03:42 PM, Apr 22, 2013
Liverpool: In the latest chapter of Luis Suarez's controversial career, the Uruguayan bit the arm of Chelsea defender Branislav Ivanovic during Sunday's 2-2 draw in the Premier League and apologised a few hours later. Suarez, who served a seven-game suspension for a bite during a Dutch league match in 2010, was foiled by Ivanovic as he attempted to kick the ball between the center back's legs in the penalty area....
08:18 AM, Apr 22, 2013
London: The two sides of Luis Suarez were on full display Sunday as the Liverpool striker first bit an opponent's arm and then scored a last-minute equalizer for Liverpool in a 2-2 draw against Chelsea in the Premier League. In the latest chapter in his controversial career, the Uruguay international tussled with Branislav Ivanovic in Chelsea's penalty box and television pictures showed Suarez biting the top of the defender's right...
10:37 PM, Apr 21, 2013
London: The bitter fallout from English football's high-profile racism case resurfaced on Friday in front of UEFA President Michel Platini as John Terry refused to shake hands with the man who stripped him of the England captaincy. The snub came at an event in London where European champion Chelsea were handing back the Champions League trophy ahead of next month's final at Wembley Stadium. Terry was sacked as England captain...
11:38 PM, Apr 19, 2013
Berlin: Bayer Leverkusen have had talks with Chelsea over the possible transfer of 22-year-old attacking midfielder Andre Schuerrle, the Bundesliga soccer club said on Friday, though they denied the deal was close to being finalised. "I can confirm the talks in London," Leverkusen spokesman Meinolf Sprink told reporters, confirming German media reports of sports director Rudi Voeller's trip to the English capital on Thursday. Sprink said no decision had yet...
06:17 PM, Apr 19, 2013
Madrid: Real Madrid coach Jose Mourinho refrained from committing to remaining at the club beyond the end of this season on Friday and said a decision on his future would be taken at the end of the current campaign. Speculation about the Portuguese's possible exit has been a near-constant feature of his stint at Real, whom he joined from Inter Milan in 2010, and he has been linked with a...
06:08 PM, Apr 19, 2013
London: Chelsea's interim manager Rafael Benitez is looking forward to making a sentimental visit to his old stomping ground on Sunday when the European champions take on his former club Liverpool in the Premier League. Benitez was in charge at Anfield from 2004-10. He twice reached the final of the Champions League and won Europe's elite club competition in unforgettable style in 2005 when his team came back from 3-0...
10:10 PM, Apr 18, 2013
London: David Luiz scored one of the goals of the season Wednesday and John Terry added a double as Chelsea won 3-0 at Fulham to reclaim third place in the Premier League. Luiz received a square pass from Eden Hazard, took a touch and unleashed a swerving 35-meter shot that flew into the far top corner in the 30th minute at Craven Cottage. Thirteen minutes later, it was 2-0. Juan...
07:54 AM, Apr 18, 2013
London: With Manchester United and Manchester City set to finish first and second, Arsenal, Chelsea and Tottenham Hotspur have been jostling for the remaining two Champions League spots for the last three months. Three of these teams - United, City and Chelsea - will be involved in mid-week encounters in the Premier League on Wednesday. United - who need just seven points from their last six matches to win the...
09:22 AM, Apr 17, 2013
London: Arsenal missed a chance to tighten their grip on third place in the English Premier League on Tuesday after being held to a 0-0 draw at home by Everton. Both sides have hopes of playing in the Champions League next season, but Arsenal will be left to rue the missed chances after carving out opportunities in both halves for French international striker Olivier Giroud. "We should have won the...
08:22 AM, Apr 17, 2013
London: Rafa Benitez will continue to rotate his Chelsea players as they bid to deal with a fixture pile-up and rebound from two consecutive defeats, the club's interim manager said on Tuesday. The Spaniard left out senior players John Terry and Frank Lampard for Sunday's FA Cup semi-final defeat by Manchester City but says he will stick to his guns amid growing pressure to retain a settled side for their...
12:17 AM, Apr 17, 2013
London: Everton can take a huge step towards an unlikely top-four finish and Champions League soccer next season if they can maintain their recent run of great form by winning at Arsenal for the first time in 17 years on Tuesday. To do that, Everton will have to overcome opponents who have risen to third in the table on the back of a superb run of results just as the...
09:27 AM, Apr 16, 2013
London: Manchester City reached the FA Cup final by beating defending champions Chelsea 2-1 in a free-flowing game at Wembley on Sunday to maintain their only remaining hope for a trophy this season. City dominated much of the first hour and went 2-0 up through goals by Samir Nasri and Sergio Aguero, before Demba Ba pulled Chelsea back into the game with an acrobatic finish in the 66th. That led...
10:41 PM, Apr 14, 2013
London: Millwall fans fought among themselves at Wembley Stadium on Saturday, overshadowing Wigan's 2-0 victory that advanced the club to the first FA Cup final in their 81-year history. Police and security officers appeared slow to react as disorder built throughout the second half. Groups of Millwall supporters brawled with each other and security personnel. Ten people were arrested following "sporadic disorder" among Millwall fans, police said. The investigation was...
09:57 AM, Apr 14, 2013
