Manchester United manager Alex Ferguson dismissed Chelsea's Premier League title hopes on Wednesday.
Wayne Rooney scored on his return from injury as champions Manchester United crushed Fulham 3-0 at Old Trafford on Wednesday to surge five points clear of Liverpool at the top of the Premier League.
Manchester United crushed Derby County 4-1 away while Everton beat Aston Villa 3-1 at Goodison Park on Sunday to reach the quarter-finals of the FA Cup. United were pushed all the way by the Championship (second division) strugglers in the League Cup semi-finals last month but cruised home this time with goals by Nani, Darron Gibson, Cristiano Ronaldo and Danny Welbeck.
Russia and Chelsea coach Guus Hiddink has said he plans to retire from football after the 2010 World Cup.
New Chelsea coach Guus Hiddink said Thursday he was excited at the prospect of managing a club challenging for three major trophies.
David Ngog saved Liverpool the blushes as they beat Unirea Urziceni of Romania 1-0 to register their first win at the Europa League campaign on Thursday.
Aston Villa beat Blackburn Rovers 2-0 on Saturday for a club record seventh consecutive away league victory to stay firmly in the Premier League title race.
Cristiano Ronaldo scored twice as Manchester United beat Fulham 2-0 at Old Trafford on Monday to climb to second in the Premier League.
Minnows India gave a spirited fight but found the Australian too hot to handle as they lost 0-4 to their formidable opponents in their opening match of the Asian Cup football tournament in Doha on Monday.
Manchester United thrashed bottom club West Bromwich Albion 5-0 at the Hawthorns to move three points clear at the top of the English Premier League on Tuesday. Cristiano Ronaldo struck two late goals for the rampant Reds after Dimitar Berbatov, Carlos Tevez and Nemanja Vidic had put the champions in control against 10-man West Brom.
Manchester United striker Wayne Rooney was on target again to help the hosts crush bottom club Portsmouth 5-0 and return to the top of the Premier League on Saturday. Liverpool overcame the dismissal of Sotiros Kyrgiakos to beat Everton 1-0 in a fierce Merseyside derby at Anfield to move into the top four for the first time since October.
Swansea City scored the day's biggest upset when they knocked holders Portsmouth out of the FA Cup with a deserved 2-0 fourth-round win at Fratton Park on Saturday.
Hull City broke their transfer record to sign shaggy-haired central midfielder Jimmy Bullard from Premier League rivals Fulham on Friday.
Premier League pacesetters Manchester United and Manchester City ground out wins to stay clear at the top while Arsenal remained in dogged pursuit with a 3-0 victory at Birmingham City on Saturday.
Wales forward Craig Bellamy completed his transfer from West Ham United to Manchester City on Monday after the London club turned down an offer from Tottenham Hotspur.
Chelsea skipper John Terry, whose personal troubles made newspaper headlines on Saturday, ensured he would also dominate the back pages when he headed Chelsea's late winner in a 2-1 Premier League success at Burnley.
Jermain Defoe scored his first goal since returning to Tottenham Hotspur on Sunday, firing an equaliser in a 1-1 draw against former club Portsmouth to lift his side off the bottom of the Premier League.
Premier League leaders Liverpool could only grind out a 0-0 draw at struggling Stoke City on Saturday, missing the chance to open a six-point gap at the top.
Tottenham Hotspur celebrated the return of England striker Jermaine Defoe on Tuesday by romping to a 4-1 semi-final first leg League Cup win over Burnley.
Manchester City went top of the Premier League when they beat Aston Villa 4-1 at the Etihad Stadium on Saturday after Manchester United dropped two points in a 1-1 draw at Liverpool. City won with goals from Mario Balotelli, Adam Johnson, Vincent Kompany and James Milner against his former club and moved on to 22 points from their eight matches, two points clear of United who are on 20.
Cesc Fabregas provided the inspiration as Arsenal stayed in hot pursuit of Premier League leaders Chelsea and champions Manchester United with a 2-0 victory at Bolton Wanderers on Sunday.
Aston Villa took full advantage of the absence of the other Premier League high-fliers on Saturday, winning 1-0 at West Ham United to climb to third. A deflected James Milner shot 12 minutes from time gave Villa 34 points from 18 games and pushed them above Manchester United (32).
Sam Allardyce got off to a flying start as manager of Blackburn Rovers when the Premier League strugglers beat Stoke City 3-0 on Saturday to claim only their second home victory of the season.
Manchester United and Arsenal closed the gap on Premier League leaders Chelsea with classy, one-sided wins over struggling Wigan Athletic and Portsmouth on Wednesday.
Chelsea scrambled a 2-1 home win over west London rivals Fulham on Monday as two goals in two minutes saved them from what was looking like a first home defeat for more than a year. Tottenham Hotspur moved back into the top four with a 2-0 victory over struggling London rivals West Ham United, while in the day's late match Manchester City gave new boss Roberto Mancini a second straight win with a 3-0 victory at Wolverhampton Wanderers.
Hull City, who visit Anfield on Saturday, have displayed superb away form in their first season in the top flight, and offer no guarantee of three points to Rafael Benitez's side.
Burnley's winning run against teams from London continued on Tuesday with a 2-0 defeat of Arsenal to reach the semi-finals of the League Cup. Kevin McDonald scored twice for the Championship (second division) side to see off an Arsenal team made up almost entirely of young reserves and end a 25-year wait to reach the semi-finals of a major competition.
Liverpool went top of the Premier League on Monday after a goalless home draw with West Ham United.
Gianfranco Zola was the darling of Stamford Bridge in his Chelsea days but the Italian has yet to win the hearts of West Ham United's faithful. Zola's transformation from midfield magician to coach has been a tough one, and on Sunday his relegation-threatened West Ham host Premier League leaders Chelsea in front of an Upton Park crowd rapidly losing confidence in his managerial ability.
Bolton Wanderers illuminated a dull day in the Premier League on Saturday with a 4-1 victory at Sunderland that lifted them to seventh in the standings.
Attendances at Premier League games are down by an average of 920 fans per game this season, according to an investigation by the Daily Telegraph.
Tottenham Hotspur continued their slow climb away from the Premier League danger zone when Roman Pavlychenko's early goal gave them a scrappy 1-0 home win over 10-man Blackburn Rovers on Sunday.
A preview of Saturday's matches in the English Premier League.
England coach Fabio Capello will be without at least six of his first-choice side for Wednesday's friendly against Germany in Berlin after midfielders Frank Lampard and Steven Gerrard withdrew from the squad on Monday.
Liverpool took full advantage of an early kickoff at Bolton Wanderers on Saturday, winning 2-0 to go three points clear at the top of the Premier League.
Liverpool took full advantage of an early kickoff at Bolton Wanderers on Saturday, winning 2-0 to go three points clear at the top of the Premier League.
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.
When Hull City take to the field at Old Trafford to face Manchester United on Saturday, the enormity of what they have achieved in the past 10 years is likely to hit them. A decade ago Hull were on the brink of non-league obscurity, rooted to the bottom of the fourth division, while United were on their way to a Premier League, Champions League and FA Cup treble.
Chelsea's long unbeaten home record in the Premier League ended on Sunday when Liverpool earned a 1-0 victory to take over at the top of the standings. Xabi Alonso's deflected first-half shot sealed the points for the visitors, who move three points clear of Chelsea with 23 points from nine games. It was Chelsea's first home reverse in the league since February 2004, a run of 86 unbeaten matches.
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.
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