Chelsea beat Birmingham City 3 - 0 at Stamford Bridge to go to the top of the English Premier League again.
Carlo Ancelotti’s side brought an end to Birmingham’s 15-match unbeaten run thanks to an opening goal by Florent Malouda and a brace from Frank Lampard. The win put Chelsea one point clear of Manchester United at the top of the table with a match in hand on their rivals.
The home side went ahead in the fifth minute when Chelsea opened their account through Malouda. The goal was engineered by England midfielder Joe Cole, who burst into the City penalty area from the right flank before crossing for the unmarked Malouda to head past Joe Hart from six yards.
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Arsenal beat Liverpool 2 - 1 in their League Cup match at the Emirates Stadium on Wednesday to take the Gunners to the quarter finals.
Manchester City thumped Championship (second division) Scunthorpe United 5-1 to take their place in the last eight and Chelsea saw off Bolton Wanderers 4-0 at Stamford Bridge.
That trio joined holders Manchester United, last year’s runners-up Tottenham Hotspur, Blackburn Rovers, Portsmouth and Aston Villa in an all-Premier League draw for the quarter-finals which takes place on Saturday.
Manager Arsene Wenger, in charge of Arsenal for the 750th time and seeking his club’s first silverware since 2005, put his faith in younger players as he usually does in this competition and they rose to the occasion with a well-deserved win.
Fran Merida, their 19-year-old Spanish midfielder, put them ahead with a superbly struck curling left-foot shot after 19 minutes, before Liverpool equalised with an equally stunning shot from Argentine Emiliano Insua, his first for Liverpool, six minutes later.
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Didier Drogba have declared Chelsea’s 3 - 1 defeat to Wigan the worst game his played in 5 years.
Drogba scored the Blues’ only goal in a 3-1 loss at the DW Stadium in which they were outplayed and outfought.
Captain John Terry said: “The least we expect from every player is that we work hard and fight - and we did not do that.”
And to underline the point, Drogba told the Evening Standard: “We didn’t play very well. We lost all the battles, all the duels. We didn’t win anything. We were poor.
“This is the worst game I have played in since I have been at Chelsea. We need to think about it, correct what was wrong and try to go again.
“We equalised just after half-time and we were trying to improve our game, but then there was the penalty and a red card, which I think was a bit harsh.
“Still with 10 players we had the chance to make it 2-2, but we didn’t do it. There was a lot of space and they used the pitch very well, they deserved to win.”
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Guus Hiddinck received the best farewell present on Saturday when Chelsea beat Everton 2 - 1 in the FA Cup final played at Wembley.
Blues interim boss Hiddink resumes his role as Russia coach on a full-time basis in June but he will always be fondly remembered at Stamford Bridge after leading Chelsea to their first trophy for two years.
Everton had made the perfect start when Louis Saha struck after just 25 seconds to claim the fastest goal in FA Cup final history.
But Ivory Coast striker Didier Drogba headed Chelsea level midway through the first half before Lampard’s long-range effort sealed his club’s fifth FA Cup success and ensured Hiddink would leave on a high.
It was also a memorable day for Chelsea defender Ashley Cole, who became the first player for more than 100 years to earn five FA Cup winners’ medals.
For Drogba it meant a welcome high after having been lambasted following his outburst when Chelsea were knocked out of the Champions League by Barcelona.
“I am really delighted,” gasped Drogba.
“It took a lot of effort. We needed to win a trophy this season. We just had to believe in our expectations. Guus Hiddink has transformed us.”
Lampard said that his trbute when he scored was for his mother, who died last year.
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