History tells us that Atletico Madrid’s 1-0 advantage ahead of tonight’s Champions League last-16 second leg at Anfield makes them warm favourites to progress.

IN early January, Chelsea and Nottingham Forest played out an entertaining FA Cup third round match at Stamford Bridge.

West Brom have announced the signing of Republic of Ireland forward Callum Robinson on loan for the rest of the season.

League One Shrewsbury have been handed a dream trip to Chelsea in the FA Cup fifth round if they can find a way past Premier League leaders Liverpool.

Danny Drinkwater has joined Aston Villa on loan from Chelsea for the rest of the season, the Villa Park club have announced.

Daniel Storey casts his over the Premier League's weekend action.

Lampard’s Chelsea face Ajax at Stamford Bridge tonight, knowing a repeat of their victory in Amsterdam two weeks ago should put them within touching distance of the Champions League knockout stages.

Manchester United manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer fears a lack of quality could cost his side Champions League qualification following a limp 1-0 loss at Bournemouth.

Trizia Fiorellino, Chelsea fan correspondent for the Irish Examiner since 2004, has died in a London hospital after a short illness.

Two new football books. Written by two dreamers. Coming from very different angles.

Of all the potential impacts of VAR on the Premier League, one surprise knock-on effect could be witnessed at Stamford Bridge yesterday, and twice at the King Power Stadium on Saturday.

Currently in Cork for a Beckett play, actor Stephen Dillane tells Des O’Driscoll about some of his cultural reference points through the decades.

Daniel Storey reviews the weekend's Premier League action.

...and ended up in the Premier League with Sheffield United. Ireland defender John Egan on his enduring love of Gaelic games, the influence and legacy of his famous father, and why, after facing Chelsea today, he hopes to see the Kingdom put a stop to the Dubs’ drive for five tomorrow. He talks to Liam Mackey.

Statistics don’t always tell the whole story but David Luiz has a right to point to them when he turns up at Anfield with new club Arsenal still being billed as the Premier League’s defensive comedy routine up against the country’s best centre-back, Virgil van Dijk.

One of Lampard’s greatest skills is his effortless communication skills.

I remember seeing a clip once of Harry Redknapp having some sort of open forum with a large room full of West Ham fans.

And now the end is near for Maurizio Sarri, who can at least say “I did it my way.”

Eden Hazard, who admitted afterwards it is time for goodbye, crowned his seven-year career with Chelsea by scoring twice in a 4-1 demolition of Arsenal in the Europa League Final in Baku in what was an emotional but glorious farewell.

Maurizio Sarri stormed out of training on the eve of Chelsea’s Europa League final against Arsenal in Baku.

The score is 1-1, there are literally seconds until the final whistle and you win a corner. What do you do? Obviously put everyone in that box and swing it in and pray for the best. Well that’s what you do if you are anyone but us. We simply play it short. And that few seconds summarises perfectly what it’s been like to watch Chelsea this season.

Hendrick’s sweet volley handed Burnley the lead against the run of play, Chelsea failing to clear a corner.

There has been plenty of talk of Liverpool ‘bottling’ this title race, largely from those who wish ill upon them. But we can put that to one side for now. Facing Chelsea at Anfield, five years after Steven Gerrard’s fateful slip and on the eve of the 30th anniversary of Hillsborough, created a pressure that would make many teams crumble. But not them.

All eyes might be on Liverpool and Manchester because of the two horse nature of the Premier League title race but the also-rans from London could yet prove pivotal to the outcome.

Chelsea’s match against Brighton may have seemed like something of a sideshow compared to the festival going on up the road at Tottenham’s new ground, but their 3-0 victory could prove to be just as important in the race for the top four and for the future of their manager Maurizio Sarri.

This was a tie which began with two managers, both newly installed, both with outstanding openings to their campaign, but neither certain to be at their respective clubs next season.

It was hard to imagine that Ole Gunnar Solskjaer is entering the most pivotal spell of his brief, and spectacular, reign as Manchester United’s interim manager as he sat, as relaxed and on-message as ever, at his beloved Old Trafford yesterday.

If reports of Manchester City’s demise in the title race before Christmas were premature then the ones about the long-term future of Maurizio Sarri as Chelsea manager may be proven completely accurate in the coming weeks.

Daniel Storey on the weekend's talking points...

It is somewhat disappointing that, despite all the fine, sophisticated minds operating at the top top levels of football, nobody has yet landed on any kind of labour-saving system.

Tottenham can see the glint of silverware at the end of what has been a very long tunnel after they held on to a 1-0 victory over Chelsea in the first leg of their Carabao Cup semi-final.

Daniel Storey's talking points after the FA Cup weekend

Holders Chelsea are safely through to the fourth round of the FA Cup but Premier League Cardiff were victims of a giant-killing act by Gillingham.

Chelsea were booed off the pitch at Stamford Bridge after being held to a goalless draw by struggling Southampton, for whom young keeper Angus Gunn was outstanding on his Premier League debut.

Not sure if you have noticed, but Spanish-speaking football managers like to talk about suffering. The word pops up all the time in their post-match interviews. It might be something to do with Catholicism or just a general, Pedro Almodovar heroine-style fondness for tortured emotion, writes Tommy Martin.

Between defeat at Chelsea in their first away game under Emery and mid-December, Arsenal took 14 of a possible 18 points on the road, but face trips to Brighton and Liverpool having been haunted by the ghost of seasons past against Southampton at St Mary’s.

It’s never a good day for Manchester United when they lose to Liverpool but to offer such a toothless display and be beaten so comprehensively by their bitter rivals, as they were in the 3-1 defeat at Anfield on Sunday, was clearly the final nail in the coffin for Jose Mourinho, writes Liam Brady.

Chelsea slipped 10 points behind Manchester City in the Premier League title race after a shock defeat at feisty Wolves.

For once, in his post-match comments on Saturday, José didn’t dissemble, and he spoke for what was in all our hearts. We all knew we’d robbed the Cherries blind - but we felt it was the cosmic karmic balancing for our own last-gasp mugging at Stamford Bridge two weeks back. Somewhere in the back of mind chirped the old cliché “these things even out over a season”.

Chelsea boss Maurizio Sarri says they will accept the Football Association's punishment for coach Marco Ianni.

In Giroud’s absence, Morata floundered again.

Jose Mourinho has enjoyed some remarkable days at Stamford Bridge — in fact it took him 78 matches to even lose a game there as manager — but as he returns to west London with struggling Manchester United today, he will be aware of some pretty painful memories, not least two sackings after poor performances at a ground he once called home.

Chelsea boss Maurizio Sarri reckons the players at Jose Mourinho’s disposal at Manchester United are the best in the Premier League – and that the Portuguese will win major silverware again.

Mourinho will be fortunate to keep his job