His team could go 14 points clear atop the English Premier League today, but Chelsea manager Jose Mourinho isn't entirely happy. He has told midfielder Joe Cole to take a four-day break for showing off on the field.
"I told him after the game that one more match like that and he is out," Mourinho said after Chelsea beat Birmingham City 2-0 Saturday to keep its 11-point advantage over second-place Manchester United.
"It is not a joke. I am serious. One more match for himself and not for the team, and he is out. He was playing for himself and not for us. I have given him four days off."
Cole, who scored in Wednesday's 1-0 victory at Manchester City, would have missed Monday's visit to West Ham anyway because he is suspended. But he won't even be involved in training.
With the England midfielder out of the game against his former club, Ireland winger Damien Duff will come into the team. Mourinho, who likes to rotate his strikers, likely will reshuffle his lineup by starting Didier Drogba instead of Hernan Crespo, even though the Argentina star scored against Birmingham and hit the crossbar.
West Ham, which comes off two 2-0 losses, isn't in the sort of form to worry Chelsea. However, the Hammers will have defenders Danny Gabbidon and Tomas Repka back from injury to face the Blues at Upton Park.
Another victory for Chelsea would be a psychological blow for Mourinho's rivals. United isn't in action until Tuesday, when it has a tough game at Arsenal.
That means a victory for the Gunners, who are 22 points behind Chelsea in sixth place and virtually out of contention, would strengthen Chelsea's hold on the title.
Although United looked impressive in a 4-1 victory over Bolton on Saturday, it will need a repeat of last season's 4-2 victory at Arsenal to give Mourinho any fears that his team could get caught.
Third-place Liverpool has two games in hand on Chelsea but is 15 points behind despite winning 10 games in a row. After Saturday's 1-0 victory over West Bromwich Albion, Liverpool visits Bolton.
Tottenham stayed fourth with a 2-0 victory over Newcastle and is not in action until Wednesday when manager Martin Jol's team visits eighth-place Manchester City.
Stephen McManus scored twice in the last three minutes on Sunday to complete Celtic's recovery from two goals down to win 3-2 at Scottish title rival Hearts.
Celtic's 16th win from 21 games moved it seven points clear of second-place Hearts at the top of the league.
Celtic trailed for most of the game at Tynecastle as Hearts looked set to cut the Hoops' lead to just one point. However, free kicks by Japan midfielder Shunsuke Nakamura set up two late goals for defender McManus.
The Hoops have 51 points to Hearts' 44. Defending champion Rangers is back in fourth place, 17 points behind traditional rival Celtic.
Hearts had taken a two-goal lead in the first eight minutes.
Teenage forward Calum Elliott supplied a pass to Paul Hartley in the sixth minute and his cross was forced over the line by Lithuanian striker Edgaras Jankauskas. Steven Pressley then headed in a corner from Rudi Skacel.
Celtic's Poland goalkeeper, Artur Boruc, prevented Hearts from going into halftime three goals ahead when he blocked a powerful 16m volley from Skacel.
Celtic began the comeback 10 minutes into the second half when substitute Stephen Pearson turned home a leftwing cross from Shaun Maloney.
In Saturday's games, Rangers beat Dundee United for the first time in seven league games. Second half-goals by Thomas Buffel, Steven Thompson and Peter Lovenkrands gave Alex McLeish's team a 3-0 victory at Ibrox Park.
Dunfermline climbed away from last place by winning 2-1 at Falkirk. Livingston dropped to last after a 2-1 loss at home to Motherwell. Aberdeen and Inverness tied 0-0.
If the Wild finally break through and win their first playoff series in a decade, Minnesota’s top line likely will be the reason. They were all over the Golden Knights through the first two games of their NHL Western Conference quarter-finals series, which was 1-1 going back to Minnesota for Game 3 today. The Wild tied the series with a 5-2 win on Tuesday. Matt Boldy had three goals and an assist in the first two games, while Kirill Kaprizov produced two goals and three assists. Joel Eriksson Ek, who centers the line, has yet to get on the scoresheet. “I think the biggest
Noelvi Marte on Sunday had seven RBIs and hit his first career grand slam with a drive off infielder Jorge Mateo, while Austin Wynn had a career-high six RBIs as the Cincinnati Reds scored their most runs in 26 years in a 24-2 rout of the Baltimore Orioles. Marte finished with five hits, including his eighth-inning homer off Mateo. Wynn hit a three-run homer in the ninth off catcher Gary Sanchez. Cincinnati scored its most runs since a 24-12 win against the Colorado Rockies on May 19, 1999, and finished with 25 hits. Baltimore allowed its most runs since a 30-3 loss to
From a commemorative jersey to a stadium in his name, Argentine soccer organizers are planning a slew of tributes to their late “Captain” Pope Francis, eulogized as the ultimate team player. Tributes to the Argentine pontiff, a lifelong lover of the game, who died on Monday at the age of 88, have been peppered with soccer metaphors in his homeland. “Francisco. What a player,” the Argentine Football Federation (AFA) said, describing the first pope from Latin America and the southern hemisphere as a generational talent who “never hogged the ball” and who showed the world “the importance of having an Argentine captain,
Arne Slot has denied that Darwin Nunez was dropped from Liverpool’s win against West Ham because of a training-ground row with a member of his coaching staff. The Liverpool head coach on Sunday last week said that Nunez was absent from the 2-1 victory at Anfield, having felt unwell during training the day before, although the striker sat behind the substitutes throughout the game. Speculation has been rife that the Uruguay international, whom Slot criticized for his work rate against Wolves and Aston Villa in February, was left out for disciplinary reasons. Asked on Friday to clarify the situation, Slot said: “He
RSS