Manchester United manager Sir Alex Ferguson has held talks with Carlos Tevez in a bid to keep the striker at Old Trafford. Argentina international Tevez has found first-team opportunities hard to come by this season as the partnership between Rooney and Berbatov begins to flourish.
Tevez has yet to agree a permanent deal at Old Trafford, raising concerns he could be tempted elsewhere as Real Madrid are rumoured admirers. But Ferguson has revealed that he has met with the 24-year-old, who started against West Ham on Wednesday, to discuss his future.
Sir Alex has explained to Tevez that he remains a top player in the eyes of the manager, the players and supporters. Three players won't fit into two positions and it's the manager's job is to balance the team. Tevez has understood that when the season really hots up the team will need everyone.
Chelsea send Hull City back to earth with a 3-0 triumph. Hull had gone into the game at the KC Stadium trailing the Blues only on goal difference but a superb strike from Frank Lampard after just two minutes established superiority.
Hull, who had won their previous four games, battled hard but in the end were well beaten by a Chelsea side whose extra class was evident. Chelsea doubled their lead in the 50th minute through Anelka before Malouda scored from a Carvalho cross after 75 minutes.
Tevez was given a chance after sitting on the sidelines for virtually a month and Rooney was the man sacrificed. Ronaldo took his tally for the campaign to five, first profiting from Nani's precise cross before tapping home from two yards, an effort that owed everything to the genius of Dimitar Berbatov.
Greek 16-year-old wonderkid, Kyriakos Papadopoulos admits he would be 'proud' to play for Manchester United, but is trying not to be distracted by transfer speculation.
Report says that United are planning a bid to sign the Greek starlet, who currently plays for Olympiakos, in the January transfer window. The highly-rated centre-half is unaware of any interest from United, but would be honoured to join the Premier League and European champions.
Theo Walcott has said he would be willing ''to die for England'' and play for the Under-21s in next summer's European Championships in Sweden. His declarations could send a worrying message to Arsene Wenger's who fear the youngster could be at risk of burnout..
England Under-21 manager Stuart Pearce has made no secret of his desire to take the young Gunners to the finals and Walcott insists he would be more than happy to play. Walcott has been in a great form this season scoring three goals for Arsenal in the Premier League and the Champions League.
Liverpool skipper Steven Gerrard has warned him team-mates they should not get carried away with the win over Chelsea. He believes that Chelsea are a fantastic side, who will come back, and Manchester United will be there or thereabouts.
He also pointed out that they have proved nothing yet as they sit on top of the Premier League with just a quarter of the season gone. Gerrard is wary of showing over confidence after the Merseysiders fell away badly following a good start last season. He further added, to win this league and become champions, they have to handle the pressure of being at the top.
Cristiano Ronaldo has been named FifPro World Footballer of the Year. It is the first in what is expected to be a host of individual honours for the 23-year-old, who scored 42 goals for Manchester United on their way to Champions League and Premier League title glory last term.
Ronaldo had suggested last week he could do no more than he did to be crowned the best player on the planet and peers from over 40 countries are in agreement. He also feels that being recognised by over 50,000 professional players worldwide is absolutely amazing.
FifPro team: Iker Casillas (Real Madrid), Sergio Ramos (Real Madrid), John Terry (Chelsea), Rio Ferdinand (Manchester United), Carles Puyol (Barcelona), Steven Gerrard (Liverpool), Kaka (AC Milan), Xavi (Barcelona), Lionel Messi (Barcelona), Fernando Torres (Liverpool), Cristiano Ronaldo (Manchester United).
Didier Drogba escapes disciplinary action from the Football Association over comments in his autobiography saying he wished he had punched Nemanja Vidic in last season's Champions League final.
Drogba was shown the red card for slapping the Manchester United defender with 3 minutes to go, and in his book said he now wishes he had punched Vidic. However, after studying the comments the FA have decided to take no action.
Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger believes striker Eduardo will return from injury in November and would be eased back into first-team action. The Croatia international suffered an horrific broken leg against Birmingham City back in February by a challenge from Martin Taylor.
His rehabilitation is progressing well and Wenger has confirmed that he may return to action next month. The 25-year-old signed for the Gunners from Dynamo Zagreb in 2007 and has netted 12 goals in 31 appearances before he suffered the injury.
Liverpool surrendered their 100 per cent start to this season's Champions League but remain on course for a place in the last 16 following a 1-1 draw at Atletico Madrid. Simao Sabrosa netted a late equaliser to earn Atletico Madrid a 1-1 draw.
Earlier, Liverpool took the lead on 14 minutes as striker Robbie Keane breached the Atletico defence to collect a Steven Gerrard pass and stylishly slot past Leo Franco. At the end, Simao's goal maintained his side's place at the top of Group D.
Barcelona made it three wins out of three in Champions League Group C as they brushed aside Basel 5-0 in Switzerland. Basel were completely outclassed by the Spanish giants, who romped to their eighth straight win.
Lionel Messi, Sergio Busquets and Bojan Krkic scored during a first-half masterclass, while Krkic and Xavi Hernandez rounded off a stunning performance by Barca. The win cemented Barcelona at the top of Champions League Group C.
It was a game between two evenly matched sides that failed to live up to the pre-match billing during a disappointing opening period, with chances few and far between. Until a second-half winner by Chelsea captain John Terry ended Roma's stubborn resistance in the 1-0 victory at Stamford Bridge.
Terry headed home from Frank Lampard's 77th-minute corner to keep Luiz Felipe Scolari's side top of Champions League Group A. Tempers then threatened to boil over on more than one occasion before the Stamford Bridge faithful were able to celebrate a crucial success.
AC Milan vice-president Adriano Galliani has confirmed the club hope to sign David Beckham on a short-term loan. The former England captain is determined to maintain fitness and keep his place in the national team, and a spell on loan in Europe during the Major League Soccer close season could be beneficial.
A number of clubs have been linked with the former Manchester United and Real Madrid star, but Milan are leading the race for Beckham's signature. He is under contract with LA Galaxy but their regular season finishes on Sunday. However Beckham would not be available immediately because of his key role in Galaxy's promotional tour of Australia and New Zealand.
Two goals from Dimitar Berbatov, taking his Champions League tally to four and a customary strike from Wayne Rooney gave Manchester United a 3-0 win over Celtic at Old Trafford. Rooney, who now has nine in seven games for club and country, paid scant justice to United's total dominance.
Celtic players were comprehensively outplayed and penned in their own half for long stretches, allowing Sir Alex Ferguson to gain personal satisfaction of avenging a defeat to the same team two years ago. Dimitar Berbatov was delighted with his double and was given standing ovation when he left and replaced by Carlos Tevez.
Arsenal recorded another convincing 5-2 win over Turkey's club, Fenerbahce. Both teams defended poorly and the only difference between the two was up front where Arsenal took their chances and Fenerbahce did not. It was the hosts' first defeat in Europe at home in 16 matches but in truth they were the architects of their own downfall.
Wayne Rooney, Frank Lampard and Steven Gerrard are among 11 Premier League players shortlisted for this year's Ballon d'Or. The trio are the only England players nominated for the award alongside the likes of Manchester United winger Cristiano Ronaldo, the clear favourite and Arsenal midfielder Cesc Fabregas.
The France Football magazine today revealed the condensed list of 30 contenders for their European golden ball award. Spain are represented by seven players after winning Euro 2008 in the summer - Torres and Fabregas being joined by Marcos Senna, Sergio Ramos, Iker Casillas, David Villa and Xavi.
Nominees
Cristiano Ronaldo, Wayne Rooney, Nemanja Vidic, Edwin van der Sar (all Manchester United), Frank Lampard, Didier Drogba, Michael Ballack (all Chelsea), Steven Gerrard, Fernando Torres (both Liverpool), Cesc Fabregas, Emmanuel Adebayor (both Arsenal), Iker Casillas, Ruud van Nistelrooy, Rafael van der Vaart, Sergio Ramos, Pepe (all Real Madrid), Lionel Messi, Xavi, Samuel Eto'o (all Barcelona), Sergio Aguero (Atletico Madrid), David Villa (Valencia), Marcos Senna (Villarreal), Kaka (AC Milan), Zlatan Ibrahimovic (Inter Milan), Gianluigi Buffon (Juventus), Franck Ribery, Luca Toni (both Bayern Munich), Andrei Arshavin (Zenit St Petersburg), Yuri Zhirkov (CSKA Moscow). Karim Benzema (Lyon)
Cesc Fabregas has rejected new 90,000 pound-a-week contract talks to Arsenal, paving the way for him to quit the Emirates at the end of the season. Spanish giants Real Madrid and Barcelona have been put on alert after Fabregas turned down the chance to renegotiate his existing deal.
The Gunners wan to offer Fabregas a 35,000 pound-a-week pay hike plus a two year extension to his deal, which runs until 2014. According to 'News of The World', Fabregas, 21, has put off talks as he wants to see what Real Madrid and Barcelona can offer next summer. Lionel Messi has also urged Barcelona to break the bank to lure Arsenal's Cesc Fabregas back to Nou Camp.
Arsene Wenger admitted Arsenal had saved their season after beating Everton. The Gunners showed the kind of fighting spirit they will need to stay the course in the Premier League title race after coming from behind to beat Everton 3-1 at the Emirates Stadium.
The Gunners were facing another home defeats after falling behind to Leon Osman's well taken goal until they were transformed in the second period and eventually cruised home thanks to strikes from Samir Nasri, Robin van Persie and Theo Walcott. The victory provided a timely fillip for Wenger, whose main concerns ahead of Tuesday's Champions League meeting with Fenerbahce surround the fitness of his key players.
Luiz Felipe Scolari brushed aside Chelsea's injury problems after seeing his side destroy Middlesbrough. Scolari's unbeaten league leaders are most bookmakers' tip for the title and their stunning 5-0 demolition of Middlesbrough on Saturday will only have shortened the odds on them wresting the crown away from Manchester United. But he Brazillian insists it is too early to start billing Chelsea as Premier League title favourites.
Chelsea haven't lost in the league for 10 months, but the manager says he will only start to believe he can claim the title in his first season in charge if they remain in pole position as the campaign reaches its climax in May. despite the absence of the likes of Petr Cech, Didier Drogba, Michael Ballack and Ashley and Joe Cole, they emerged on the right end of a 5-0 romp with their position at the top of the Premier League further enhanced. Two goals from Salomon Kalou and others from Juliano Belletti, Frank Lampard and Florent Malouda ensured Middlesbrough were outclassed by a Chelsea side missing seven first-team regulars.
David Beckham would be welcome to train with Serie A giants AC Milan over the winter. The club's vice-president Adriano Galliani confirmed the midfielder had been "close'' to joining the Rossoneri before moving to LA Galaxy from Real Madrid. "If Beckham wanted to train with Milan, then I would have to ask coach Carlo Ancelotti, but from the club's point of view, there would not be any problem", said Galliani.
Beckham is keen to keep up his match sharpness in order to remain part of the national squad but with the Major League Soccer season coming to a close he will need to find alternative arrangements. The former England captain is eager to stay in Fabio Capello's England plans as he bids to add to his 107-cap tally. With only another 2 caps, he will overtake Bobby Moore as the country's most capped outfield player.
