Chelsea Soccer News

PARIS (AP) _ Avram Grant has only just settled into the Chelsea hot seat vacated by Jose Mourinho. He must wonder how long he'll be there. The former Israel coach watched the Blues lose his first game in charge _ 2-0 to rival Manchester United _ to slide to sixth in the Premier League. During Sunday's game at Old Trafford, Grant heard the Chelsea fans chant the names of Mourinho and his assistant, Steve Clarke, who was sitting ...

FRANKFURT, Germany (AP) _ Chelsea has upset Michael Ballack and German national team officials again for delaying permission for the midfielder to take part in a publicity spot for Germany's main sponsor. Ballack and rest of the team were scheduled to take part at the filming of an advertising spot for Adidas on Monday. But Chelsea, Ballack's team, withheld its permission until late Sunday and Ballack by then had returned to London. ``That's not how you treat a ...

LONDON (AP) _ Chelsea has left Germany captain Michael Ballack off its squad for the group stage of the Champions League. Ballack was linked with a transfer, most notably to Real Madrid, during the off-season but Chelsea said it omitted the midfielder because the ankle injury that has prevented him from playing this season may rule him out of the majority of the club's six group matches. However, Germany manager Joachim Loew has said he hopes Ballack will ...

MADRID, Spain (AP) _ Real Madrid is lining up Chelsea winger Arjen Robben as its next transfer target. The Spanish champions said Wednesday that any deal to bring Robben to the Santiago Bernabeu stadium is unlikely to go ahead before next week at the earliest. ``It is a negotiation which will take place in the coming days or weeks and if the situation is favourable, by which I mean financially, I think that he is a player ...

LONDON (AP) _ Midfielder Steve Sidwell will join Chelsea on July 1 when his contract with Reading expires. Sidwell turned down a new contract with Reading despite helping the club finish eighth in its first ever Premier League season. Chelsea said he passed a medical exam Tuesday. The Blues need backup in midfield this season as several players will be taking part in the Jan. 20-Feb. 10 African Cup of Nations _ notably Ghana's Michael Essien and ...

LONDON (AP) _ The last time Manchester United went more than three seasons without an English championship title, the Premier League hadn't even started. United manager Alex Ferguson can avoid that happening again on Sunday. If United beats Manchester City on Saturday (Rogers Sportsnet, 7:30 a.m. ET), and defending champion Chelsea fails to win at Arsenal on Sunday (Fox Sports World Canada, 11 a.m. ET), the title will be on ...

MADRID, Spain (AP) _ Jose Mourinho intends to remain as Chelsea manager, despite reports he has been targeted by Spanish club Real Madrid. Mourinho, who is under contract until 2010, said he had ``done nothing'' to encourage speculation that he could replace Fabio Capello at Madrid at the end of the season. ``I don't want my name linked with Madrid or with any other club because I want to stay ...

Andriy Shevchenko will not be returning to AC Milan, according to club president Silvio Berlusconi. ``It's a closed argument,'' Berlusconi said in comments published on Milan's Web site Tuesday. Berlusconi had said Saturday that he wanted to reacquire the forward, who moved to English champion Chelsea in May for 30 million pounds (C$68 million) after seven seasons with Milan. The Ukraine striker, who had 173 goals in 296 games for ...

Chelsea dropped two points at home Sunday, needing an 84th-minute tying goal from Michael Essien to earn a 1-1 draw with Arsenal in the Premier League. Mathieu Flamini put Arsenal ahead in the 78th, scoring after receiving a pass from Alexander Hleb. Essien then tied it with an incredible long-range shot that went in off the inside of the post at Stamford Bridge. Both Essien and Frank Lampard nearly gave Chelsea the win in injury time. Essien hit ...

Silvio Berlusconi wants Andriy Shevchenko back at AC Milan. ``If it were up to me, I would take him back straight away,'' the Milan owner told Saturday's edition of Gazzetta dello Sport. ``Don't forget that he was the one that wanted to leave and not even I could stop him.'' Shevchenko moved to English Premier League champions Chelsea in May in a four-year deal worth 30 million pounds (US$59 million) after playing for seven seasons with Milan. But the ...

Manchester United beat Manchester City 3-1 on Saturday to move nine points ahead of defending champion Chelsea in the Premier League. Goals by Wayne Rooney and Louis Saha gave the Red Devils a 2-0 halftime lead in the neighbours' 146th meeting. Although Hatem Trabelsi scored for City in the 72nd, Cristiano Ronaldo completed the scoring with six minutes to go. United's 14th victory this season leaves it with 44 points from 17 games while Chelsea, which hosts Arsenal ...

Chelsea manager Jose Mourinho wants English clubs to be able to field reserve teams in a lower league to help develop top young players. Mourinho, who has led Chelsea to the Premier League title the past two seasons, says England should follow Spain, which allows clubs including Real Madrid to have a team in the second-tier league. ``The reserve-team competition should finish,'' Mourinho said in an interview with British newspapers ...

Chelsea, Arsenal and Manchester United have little time to celebrate reaching the final 16 of the Champions League. They're preparing for two derbies this weekend that could have a big impact on the English Premier League race. Manchester United, which has a six-point lead over Chelsea at the top of the standings, plays Manchester City at Old Trafford on Saturday (Rogers Sportsnet, 7:30 a.m. ET). Chelsea hosts Arsenal on Sunday ...

AC Milan issued a statement Thursday saying it was not negotiating a return of striker Andriy Shevchenko, dismissing reports in Britain and Italy. ``At the moment no negotiations exist with Chelsea for the return of Andriy Shevchenko to our club,'' Milan chairman Adriano Galliani said. Shevchenko left for Chelsea in the English Premier League in May after seven seasons with Milan. He had scored 173 goals in 296 games with ...

Manchester United maintained its three-point lead over Chelsea at the top of the English Premier League on Wednesday with a 3-0 win over Everton. The Blues also won, beating Bolton 1-0 at the Reebok Stadium. But Arsenal suffered its fourth loss away from home, finishing with 10 men and falling 2-1 to Fulham on a goal by Canadian international Tomasz Radzinski. Manchester City beat Aston Villa 3-1 for its first ...

Manchester United winger Cristiano Ronaldo is a master at taunting defenders with his feints and stepovers. Off the field, he's taken a bold swipe at Chelsea that is sure to irritate the Blues going into Sunday's showdown before 76,000 at Old Trafford in Manchester, England _ the biggest match so far this season in the Premier League. Ronaldo's point: Chelsea is no better this season than they were last despite ...

Twenty-two people were taken into custody to stop a planned brawl between German and English hooligans. Some 150 police officers from both countries moved in on 150 Chelsea supporters at the red light district of St. Pauli ahead of Wednesday's Champions League match against Werder Bremen. Police seized an ax and truncheons among other weapons from the Chelsea hooligans, who had arranged to fight about 100 Germans.

Chelsea advanced to the second round of the Champions League despite losing to Werder Bremen 1-0 Wednesday in Group A. Both Chelsea and Bremen have 10 points, but the English champions lead the Germans on head-to-head. Bremen can still clinch if it gets at least a draw at FC Barcelona in its last group match. Barcelona beat Levski Sofia 2-0 in the other group match to move to eight points. ...

Inter Milan and Chelsea claimed spots in the second round of the Champions League on Wednesday, leaving six berths to be filled. Inter advanced from Group B after beating Sporting Lisbon 1-0 on Hernan Crespo's 36th-minute goal. Bayern Munich had already clinched the other group place. Chelsea, despite losing 1-0 at Werder Bremen on Per Mertesacker's 27th-minute goal, guaranteed itself a place in the knockout round from Group A. Ten ...

Chelsea and West Ham are far apart in the standings, though the ties between the two London clubs are very close. They meet in the Premier League on Saturday at Stamford Bridge. Two-time defending champion Chelsea is just three points off the lead behind Manchester United, while the Hammers are teetering two points above the relegation zone in 16th place. ``I've had a few abusive texts from the lads,'' said ...

Chelsea signed Sweden goalkeeper Magnus Hedman on Tuesday to cover for the injured Petr Cech. The 33-year-old Hedman joins Carlo Cudicini and Hilario as the team's goalkeepers. Cech could be out of action for months after fracturing his skull in an Oct. 14 collision with Reading midfielder Stephen Hunt. Hedman has played in Britain with English club Coventry and Scottish power Celtic.

Premier League clubs Chelsea, Liverpool, Arsenal and Tottenham all won Wednesday to reach the quarter-finals of England's League Cup. Chelsea defeated Aston Villa 4-0, advancing behind Frank Lampard's first-half goal and second-half tallies by Andriy Shevchenko, Michael Essien and Didier Drogba. Liverpool edged Birmingham City 1-0 with Daniel Agger scoring from close range late in the first half. Emmanuel Adebayor's 85th-minute goal gave Arsenal a 1-0 victory at Everton. The ...

Andriy Shevchenko and Michael Ballack both scored for Chelsea on Saturday, helping the defending champions beat Portsmouth 2-1 in the English Premier League. Shevchenko scored in the 55th minute and Ballack added another two minutes later at Stamford Bridge with his first Premier League goal. Both were subsequently shown yellow cards for celebrating. Chelsea now has 22 points but Manchester United, which plays Liverpool on Sunday, can hold onto the lead on goal difference with a win. Also Saturday, ...

Chelsea goalkeeper Petr Cech was moved to a hospital closer to his home Thursday to continue his recovery from a skull fracture. Cech is ``improving everyday and he is now walking again unaided'', Chelsea said in a statement. The club said the 24-year-old Czech international moved from the Radcliffe Infirmary near Reading to a hospital closer to London. It did not identify the hospital. ``Everyone at Chelsea FC, his wife ...

Didier Drogba believes Chelsea is being deliberately targeted by opposition players. ``I'm not being paranoid, but people are against us,'' Drogba was quoted as saying in Tuesday's edition of French sports daily L'Equipe. ``For certain people, anything goes in order to beat us,'' the Chelsea and Ivory Coast striker said in an interview. Chelsea goalkeeper Petr Cech had a depressed skull fracture after Reading's Stephen Hunt hit him in the head with his knee in Saturday's Premier League match. Drogba ...

Chelsea goalkeeper Petr Cech should be out of action for at least six months _ if he fully recovers from a depressed skull fracture. Cech was injured Saturday in the opening minute of Chelsea's 1-0 victory at Reading after Stephen Hunt hit the goalkeeper in the head with his knee. The Blues also lost backup goalkeeper Carlo Cudicini with concussion late in the game and manager Jose Mourinho is set ...

Aston Villa held Chelsea to a 1-1 draw Saturday to maintain its unbeaten start to the Premier League season. Gabriel Agbonlahor scored for Villa at Stamford Bridge after Didier Drogba had put Chelsea ahead, denting Chelsea's perfect home record and keeping Villa unbeaten after seven games. Chelsea leads the standings with 16 points _ one more than Bolton, which beat Liverpool 2-0. Manchester United, Portsmouth, Everton and Villa all have ...