It was a dream start for the defending champions Chelsea in the EPL. They defeated West Brom in a one sided affair to kick off their campaign to defend their title. Chelsea displayed some scintillating football during their 6-0 drubbing of the minnows. In another match of the opening day, Manchester City and Tottenham Hotspur ended their match in a goal less draw. But the biggest shocker of the day come from newly promoted side Blackpool which defeated Wigan Athletic in their own backyard. Blackpool was playing in the division one for the first time in 39 years and what a result to have.

Moving back to the defending champions, it was a perfect start for the Blues as they destroyed West Brom at Stamford Bridge. It was a clinical display from Chelsea and last season’s top scorer Didier Drogba scored a hat-trick and Malouda netted twice. Chelsea will look to capitalize on this fantastic start and claim the coveted title for the second time in a row. Although it is little early to talk about it, but a good start always helps.

In other matches, even the addition of defender Winston Reid couldn’t ensure a good result for West Ham United as they went down 3-0 to Aston Villa. Reid couldn’t make much of an impact on the game and he was fortunate not to have conceded a penalty when he fouled James Milner. Blackburn Rovers defeated Everton 1-0 and Wolverhampton Wanderers beat Stoke 2-0. So, a pretty interesting opening day and it remains to be seen who has the final laugh this season.

It was a cakewalk for the Chelsea team as they defeated Cardiff by 4-1 in the FA Cup quarter-finals that was played on Saturday. The team was at its brilliant best in the second half of the match. The fifth round match of the Premier League leaders ended with a score of 1-1 at the first half when the Michael Chopra scored the equalizer to the second minute goal of Didier Drogba. However, Chelsea took full control of the match with Ballack, Sturridge and Kalou all coming to the party and scoring a goal each to extend the club’s undefeated homerun to a total of 37 matches.

The assistant manager of the Club, Ray Wilkins admitted that the team had to face a lot of trouble in the first half of the match, but they succeeded to take control of the proceedings in the second half. Meanwhile the clash between the Manchester United and Stoke ended in a draw while Portsmouth earned a 4-1 victory over their rival Southampton. Jimmy Kebe of Reading scored one of the fastest goals of the tournament but could not prevent the draw with West Bromwich Albion.

Birmingham managed to get the better of Derby thanks to the last minute winner by Liam Ridgewell. The elimination of Manchester United, Liverpool and Arsenal from the FA Cup meant that Chelsea was the only top club in action on the weekend. Chelsea was without the services of their captain John Terry and Ashley Cole in the match.

Sergio Aguero is apparently very happy at Atletico Madrid, though he has also insisted that he is very pleased at the fact that he is being linked to Chelsea. The speculations ran high over the summer that Aguero was moving to Stamford Bridge and that Atletico had refused a bid of £35 million. Sergio Aguero made the most of the opportunity to impress Carlo Ancelotti, the Chelsea boss, the other night when he played beautifully to score two stunning goals against the Premier League club in a match that ended in a draw with the score of 2-2.

The Gael Kakuta affair means that Chelsea are presently unable to sign anyone until 2011, but Blues will be able to sign players once the Court of Arbitration for Sport confirms that the punishment has been lifted. Lifting the punishment pending an appeal hearing would mean Chelsea would be able to sign players in January. Chelsea having lost players like Didier Drogba and Michael Essien would look to strengthen their squad once the transfer ban is lifted in January. The club is most likely to rope in Aguero but the Argentinean is not likely to take any part in Champions League until 2010-11.

Aguero admitted that he had heard about Chelsea tracking him over the summer in addition to the other teams, though nothing came to him. However, he expressed his happiness at Atletico. Aguero is not thinking much about playing in any other team and is looking for a long tie with the club.

It will be very interesting to see how the top four credentials of Aston Villa measure up when they go under the scanner against Chelsea at Villa Park. Aston Villa is going to host Chelsea, the Premier League leaders in the next game. The Chelsea team has played remarkably well this season in spite of their poor start and presently stands at the seventh place in the table. Aston Villa, on the other hand, has been very inconsistent and need to pull up their socks before this crucial encounter.

There are speculations galore on weather or not Emile Heskey would make it to the final list of O’Neill on Saturday. The England striker has publicly expressed his disappointment for not getting starts this season and even hinted at seeking a transfer to safeguard his place in the World Cup team. Although Ashley Young, Curtis Davies and Stewart Downing would be unavailable for the encounter on account of injuries, there are chances that Luke Young would make a comeback following his family bereavement.

Chelsea seems in very good form as they defeated Liverpool 2-0 in their earlier match. The scores were made by Nicolas Anelka and Florent Malouda which proved the power and the efficiency of the Chelsea team. Chelsea did get a hiccup when they were thrashed by Wigan 3-1 last week. The behavior of Didier Drogba during the match did annoy the crowd a great deal but he seemed to have got back in to his groove and is ready to give a taste of his genius to the opposition.

Player Diddier Drogba argued with the referee in tunnel and on the pitch. He is likely to face the sternest action. When fourth penalty appeal was turned down by the referee, Michael Ballack ran 40 yards to confront with him. He was given a yellow card for the same. Skipper John Terry criticized Overbo and will be charged for this. The fourth player is Chelsea full-back José Bosingwa. He is convicted of calling the referee a thief who was bought. Jose has no doubt apologized for commenting like this.

The controlling body might ban Drogba to play some matches. However, they will be taking video evidences for their decision. Referee Overbo is out of England after the match is not commenting anything on the incident as asked by UEFA. Chelsea manager Guus Hiddink tried to question referee’s decision but was of no use. The UEFA spokesman said “We never comment on the performance of the referee.” We all are waiting for a fair decision from UEFA’s general secretary David Taylor as we all believe that the chaotic scenes have disgraced Champions League.

The transfer costed Chelsea a pretty penny, 16.3 million pounds, which is a pretty large amount, however, Jose is worth every penny.  This gives Petr Cech more assurance that he will see less shots on goal and better protection coming from the right side of the pitch.

The signing of Bosingwa signaled the closing of the checkbook for Chelsea as they had already opened it to acquire midfielder Deco.

• Roma has an apparent interest in Chelsea’s Malouda. I have previously stated that the Blue’s midfield is rather stocked to say the least, especially with the addition of Deco.
• Cesc Fabregas is interested in a Real Madrid move but not at the moment. So, it is safe to say that one day he will be donned in a Madrid jersey. But right now, he is staying with the Gunners.
• Michael Ballack has announced his retirement plan that details his intentions to stay at Stamford Bridge for the rest of his career. This is good news for the Blues as there have been many rumors flying around. Some saying that he would be moving, others saying that he might stay, and finally some saying that he prefers a return to Germany.
• Ballack’s teammate, Didier Drogba will make a decision on whether he will stay with Chelsea or move on.
• Tottenham striker Berbatov is in the same boat as Drogba. Is he going to stay or is he going to go? Time will tell.
• Everton has interest in Sporting Lisbon’s Joao Mountinho, and it is reported to be mutual. However, Sporting recently rejected Everton’s bid. Perhaps Joao is in their future plans or the bid was too low. I personally think a move to the premiership would be good for Joao.

Other Updates:

• Roma has made an opening bid for Fiorentina’s Adrian Mutu.
• The Mafia have reportedly tried to buy Lazio.
• French national and former Chelsea player Makalele has joined Paris-Saint German.
• Diego has defied his club Werder Bremer and has joined Brazil to play in the 2008 Olympic Games.

A look at the 2008 Beijing Games is coming up next!

• Ronaldo is staying at United after all. Maybe it was the words of Gordon Banks and Pele that made him re-think his decision or maybe it was Man U’s decision to keep him. Who knows? The only bit of news is, as of right now, Cristiano Ronaldo is still a red.
• Carlos Villanueva has joined the Premiership side Blackburn. The Chilean international looks to improve the Blackburn midfield this season.
• Frank Lampard has finally come to his decision: He wants a move to Inter. The only thing blocking him is Chelsea. Lampard has only a year left on his contract and since Chelsea has made no publicly known moves to extend him, he has looked elsewhere. Also, he is highly coveted by his old boss, Jose Mourinho.
• There are many reports out that are stating that Kaka would like to leave AC and join Chelsea. Whether these reports are true or not, Milan has said that Kaka is not for sale. Period.

• Brad Guzan and Aston Villa have agreed to the fee that it will take to send him from the States to England. Guzan is a good keeper and I think he will thrive in a more competitive environment. English Soccer could possibly shape the 23 year old into America’s next number 1.
• Although Barca failed at landing Arshavin, he apparently has his eyes set on Arsenal.
• Frank Lampard’s potential move to play for the Inter side is all up to him now and it is completely his decision.
• With the completion of the Nasri signing, the Gunners are looking to complete the deal with Barca to move the unsettled Hleb.
• Former Barcelona player, Deco, has moved on to Chelsea to join former Portugal manager Luis Scolari. He moves into a rather deep midfield as they already have the likes of Joe Cole, John Obi Mikel, Michael Ballack, Michael Essien, Florent Malouda, Claude Makelele, and Frank Lampard.

Corrections

• After Brazil confirmed that Ronaldinho would be joining a very young Brazilian Olympic team in the Beijing Games, the FIFA has denied him. While it would have been fun to watch an Olympics with Ronaldinho on the field, Brazil has enough young players to take his place. He would have only over-shadowed somebody else’s opportunity to shine.
• Although the source from AC Milan believes that they can acquire Ronaldinho if a move is to occur. The key phrase there is: if he moves. Amidst all the speculations and rumors, Barca may decide to keep ‘dinho after all.