John Terry, Chelsea captain believes the support he received from English teammates and fans since losing the armband shows unity.
The 29-year-old, stripped of the armband following allegations involving Wayne Bridge’s ex-girlfriend that led to his former Chelsea team-mate turning his back on England, was subjected to jeers from a pocket of fans at Wembley when his name was read out before kick-off.
The boos from a minority of supporters continued in the first half but were forgotten by half-time, with England then coming back from a goal behind at the interval to record a victory in the friendly against Africa’s champions.
Terry is hoping a line is now drawn under the saga and Fabio Capello’s men can put the finishing touches to their preparations for the World Cup this summer with the backing of the fans.
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Manchester City defender Wayne Bridge will face John Terry for the first time time this Saturday at Stamford Bridge since the fall-out from Terry’s alleged affair with his ex-girlfriend. He has also stated that he does not wish to be chosen for the England World Cup squad.
Bridge released a statement through his lawyers on Thursday, confirming that he does not wish to be selected for Fabio Capello’s squad for this year’s World Cup in South Africa because his presence would be potentially “divisive”.
The former Chelsea left-back has been considering his international future since reports of Terry’s affair with his former partner Vanessa Perroncel, a French underwear model with whom he has a four-year-old child, first came to light.
Terry was stripped of the England captaincy by Capello as a result of the scandal and the Italian had thought Bridge would continue to play for his country.
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Chelsea’s lead at the top of the Premier League was cut to one point on Wednesday when they lost 2-1 at Everton with Louis Saha continuing his scoring jinx over them.
Second-placed Manchester United drew 1-1 at Aston Villa while Arsenal stayed in the hunt after beating Liverpool 1-0.
Saha, who scored against Chelsea in the FA Cup final last season and in the 3-3 draw against them in December, cancelled out Florent Malouda’s 17th minute opener for Chelsea with a header in the 33rd.
He then had a penalty saved by Chelsea goalkeeper Petr Cech on the stroke of halftime before scoring the winner after 75 minutes when he chested the ball down, turned and fired home.
That sent Chelsea to their first defeat in 11 matches and gave Everton manager David Moyes his first victory over the London side on the night he celebrated his 300th Premier League game.
Chelsea remain top with 58 points, but are just one point ahead of Manchester United, who drew at Villa despite playing for more than an hour with 10 men after Nani was sent off for a ragged two-footed challenge on Stilian Petrov.
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Chelsea are back at the top of the table and Arsenal are now nine points adrift from the top, thanks to Didier Drogba’s two goals last night in Chelsea’s 2 - 0 win over the Gunners.
The Ivory Coast forward scored both goals inside 23 minutes, and Chelsea then successfully contained Arsenal at Stamford Bridge despite the Gunners enjoying the majority of possession in the second half.
“Didier is in a good moment, he’s come back from the African Cup with fantastic motivation,” Chelsea manager Carlo Ancelotti said.
“The game was not easy because Arsenal played fantastic attacking football. We deserved to win because you can’t speak about a match only about the possession. Maybe they did have more possession than us, but football is about attack—and defense.”
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Didier Drogba celebrated his return from the African Cup of Nations by scoring his 20th goal for Chelsea against Hull City last night, saving at least a point from the match.
Hull centre-back Steven Mouyokolo headed the Barclays Premier League strugglers in front, but Drogba, in his first Blues match for a month, snared a point for the table-toppers when he drilled home a contested free-kick just before the interval.
Hull started confidently, winning corners on the left and right inside two minutes.
Chelsea repelled them safely but Stephen Hunt’s delivery looked dangerous and the home side were assured in the opening minutes.
In the ninth minute Frank Lampard had the first chance of the match, capping a nice passing move with a swerving shot at goal. Boaz Myhill could only parry it to Nicolas Anelka 10 yards out but the Frenchman fluffed his finish.
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Arsene Wenger does not seem to have taken the 3 - 0 loss to Chelsea on Sunday well. He has embarked on a strange appraisal of the game, his team, opponents and the current season as a whole.
Arsenal were outclassed and outfought in a match that many see as evidence that they will not launch a convincing title challenge, but Wenger’s post-match interview suggests that he has not given up hope.
However, the quotes that appear on the Arsenal website also include:
* An assertion that the scoreline did not fairly reflect the game.
* Complaints about various refereeing decisions, claiming that Eduardo’s disallowed goal in the first half changed the game.
* The assertion that Didier Drogba “doesn’t do much”.
* A bizarre and apparently unprompted criticism of TV analysts.
* The damage done by Arsenal’s defeat at Sunderland.
* Bemoaning his side’s lack of mental strength.
* He is “convinced” that Chelsea can still drop points and lose out on the title.
* His belief that Arsenal can still win the league.
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Chelsea beat Arsenal 3 - 0 at the Emirates on Sunday, whilst Liverpool won their derby match 2 - 0 against Everton at Goodison Park in the English Premier League.
Two goals from Didier Drogba and a Thomas Vermaelen own goal made the difference as Arsenal, who had won their previous 11 home games in all competitions, struggled to make an impression on a Chelsea defence that has conceded just eight goals in 14 league games.
The match encapsulated the key differences between the two London sides as Chelsea’s powerful lineup outmuscled Arsenal’s lightweights and, when in sight of goal, went for the jugular.
In contrast, Arsenal were content to play endless passes around the box in attacks that all too often petered out thanks to over-elaboration.
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Chelsea captain John Terry steered his team 5 points clear on the Premier League table ahead of champions Manchester United by beating them 1 - 0 at Stamford Bridge on Sunday.
The eagerly-awaited showdown had been meandering towards a disappointing goalless draw until Terry was left unmarked to glance in a Frank Lampard free kick — with striker Nicolas Anelka claiming he got the final touch.
The victory took Chelsea to 30 points, five clear of Arsenal, who won 4-1 at Wolverhampton Wanderers on Saturday, and United, who also lost to Liverpool last month.
Tottenham Hotspur are fourth on 22 after they beat Sunderland 2-0 on Saturday. Liverpool host Birmingham City on Monday.
Earlier on Sunday, Hull City beat visitors Stoke City 2-1 with a stoppage-time goal, Everton won 2-1 at West Ham United while Wigan Athletic drew 1-1 at home to Fulham.
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Didier Drogba made a scoring return to European action to help Chelsea through to the last 16 of the Champions League, even though his brace could not help the Blues continue their 100% record against Atletico Madrid.
Drogba had missed Chelsea’s opening three Group D games through suspension, but he was brought straight back into the starting line-up and looked to have earned Carlo Ancelotti’s side the win with two goals in the last eight minutes.
Those strikes cancelled out a stunning volley by Atletico striker Sergio Aguero in the 66th minute, but the young Argentinian had the last say as he curled home a brilliant injury-time free-kick to salvage a 2-2 draw for the hosts.
Drogba was handed the ban following his foul-mouthed confrontation with Norwegian referee Tom Henning Ovrebo at the end of May’s Champions League semi-final exit at the hands of Barcelona.
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Liverpool lost their third game in eight on Sunday by going down 2 - 0 to Chelsea at Stamford Bridge.
Liverpool lost only two matches last term but second-half goals from Chelsea’s Nicolas Anelka and substitute Florent Malouda condemned them to their third defeat inside the opening eight matches of the current campaign.
It is more than 40 years since any team have gone on to win the top-flight crown after losing three of their first eight games.
But Benitez is unconcerned by the statistics and pointed out there is still a long way to go before their own title hopes can be dismissed.
“I feel the performance wasn’t bad against a good team,” said Benitez. “We worked hard, had some good play.
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