Five things we learned in Barclays Premier League action Sunday and the FA Cup final:
Who will win the FA Cup? Ian Rush and Marcel Desailly give us their predictions.
What started out as Chelsea's worst season since owner Roman Abramovich arrived in 2003 is now on the verge of becoming one of the English club's best.
Martin Skrtel's early own goal gave Fulham a historic first win at Anfield on Tuesday and left Liverpool in danger of finishing outside the top eight in the English top flight for the first time since 1954.
Some quick thoughts on this weekend's FA Cup semifinal contestants:
Chelsea romped into the English FA Cup semifinal with a 5-1 beating of London rivals Tottenham Hotspur in a controversial match at Wembley Sunday.
An 87th minute header from beleaguered striker Andy Carroll handed Liverpool a 2-1 victory over Merseyside rivals Everton in the semifinal of the English FA Cup on Saturday.
Liverpool manager Kenny Dalglish will be under pressure to deliver an FA Cup semifinal win Saturday after receiving the "full support" of his bosses.
In the March 13 Merseyside derby, Steven Gerrard scored his 87th, 88th and 89th league goals for Liverpool, the club with which he signed his first professional contract 15 years and 400 first-team appearances ago. Gerrard is one of several one-club Premier League players in their 30s -- Jamie Carragher (also Liverpool), Ryan Giggs, Paul Scholes (both Manchester United), Tony Hibbert (Everton), Ledley King (Tottenham Hotspur), and Chelsea captain John Terry (if you don't count the six appearances he made while on loan at Nottingham Forest at 20 years old) -- but they're few and far between in these days of big-money transfers. That wasn't always the case; here is a selection of more or less well-known one-club players from the recent and distant past of English soccer.
Tottenham are through to the semifinals of the FA Cup after beating battling Bolton 3-1, in a match that was originally abandoned after Bolton midfielder Fabrice Muamba suffered a heart attack on the pitch 10 days ago.
Jermain Defoe underlined his goalscoring ability once again as Tottenham Hotspur came from behind to beat Stevenage 3-1 in their FA Cup fifth round replay Wednesday.
As Cup final victories go, Liverpool's Carling Cup final success (3-2 in a penalty shootout) over Cardiff City on Sunday was particularly unconvincing. When a Premier League team plays a side from a lower division, even if it plays a team from lower down the same division, anticlimax is probably the best it can hope for; to win by a comfortable two- or three-goal margin.
The Best -- One of the first black football pioneers, Clyde Best
Manager Kenny Dalglish is determined to use Liverpool's first trophy win in six years as a catalyst for future success, following Sunday's dramatic penalty shootout win in the English League Cup final.
Arsenal recovered from two goals down at halftime to beat Aston Villa 3-2 in their English FA Cup fourth round tie at the Emirates Sunday.
Liverpool dumped Manchester United out of the English FA Cup with a dramatic late winner from Dirk Kuyt at Anfield on Saturday.
Tottenham Hotspur survived a testing encounter at second-flight Watford to progress to the last 16 of the English FA Cup with a 1-0 win Friday.
The FA Cup would be nothing without its traditions. Every third-round weekend the regular old rituals are trotted through: the grainy shots of finals past, the semi-knowing talk of the romance of it all, the hand-wringing about how the luster can best be restored to "the oldest cup competition in the world." The FA Cup is a peculiarly English event, not just because it stretches back to 1871-72 and the prehistory of the game, but because it is something that is never as good as it used to be.
Paul Scholes came out of retirement for a shock return as Manchester United beat FA Cup holders Manchester City 3-2 in Sunday's dramatic third-round tie between England's top two teams.
English football club Liverpool apologized Sunday after an opposing team's player complained of being abused by supporters.
Manchester City manager Roberto Mancini wants to add to his squad during European football's January transfer window, but the Italian has revealed the English Premier League leaders must sell before they can recruit new players.
The "always a bridesmaid, never a bride" quips about Brad Guzan's European career can head to the back burner. At long last, Guzan is Aston Villa's No. 1 goalkeeper. With Monday's word that regular starter Shay Given will be out for the next month after tearing his hamstring in the first half of Aston Villa's 1-0 loss to Manchester United on Saturday, the Villans will turn to the 27-year-old Illinois native between the pipes. Guzan looked at ease upon entering against the Red Devils and didn't concede a goal, though he was hardly put to the test in 52 minutes.
The upset bug made its way around Europe over the weekend, with Mainz beating German power Bayern Munich and Getafe taming the all-mighty Barcelona, but for a few U.S. national team starters, their teams couldn't quite come up with the efforts necessary to stake claims to landmark Thanksgiving weekend victories against top competition.
Five things we learned from Saturday's action in the Premier League:
Five things we learned from Saturday's action in the Premier League and FA Cup:
With England's Premier League taking the weekend off save for those teams still alive in the FA Cup -- including Stuart Holden's Bolton -- a number of Americans in the country's lower divisions made some headlines.
For five Americans, the wait is over.
Tim Howard's penchant for stopping penalty kicks and Nicolas Anelka's penchant for missing crucial ones converged Saturday on one fateful FA Cup moment.
The fourth round of the FA Cup interrupted the Premier League calendar over the weekend, which meant the handful of eliminated top-flight clubs were not in action. Here are a few thoughts on some that were:
The winter transfer season is in full swing, and plenty of Americans have had their names tossed around in the daily rumor mill in one form or another, for better or for worse.
Premier League storylines from the weekend's FA Cup action:
Clarence Goodson is taking his talents to the western outskirts of Copenhagen.
Tackling has moved to the top of the Premier League agenda this week after Fulham's Bobby Zamora suffered a broken leg against Wolves and Arsenal substitute Abou Diaby had to be substituted himself, 13 minutes after coming on, thanks to a Paul Robinson challenge aimed at the ankle he dislocated four years ago.
It was a dejected Team Limey that curled up with its warm milks last Saturday night. The closest thing to a shock that day from the 23 FA Cup third-round knockout matches was third-tier Millwall holding second-tier Derby to a 1-1 draw at home. We were as bored as a monk's todger.
In this early stage of the English Premier League season, experience has played a major role in two contrasting ways. The club at the top of the league is reaping the benefits of it, with Ryan Giggs flourishing for Manchester United. At the other end of the standings, judging by its current plight, rock-bottom Portsmouth hasn't taken heed of history.
There's cigar smoke and perfume in the evening air as the thronging masses head to Castle Limey for our annual awards ceremony. Only one man is headed the other way: a winking, temperamental, petulant, prima donna flagging down a lift to Madrid. Are you sitting comfortably now, the chilled Taittinger bubbling to perfection? Team Limey takes the stage.
One of Africa's most successful footballers, Nwankwo Kanu, has had a glittering career on the pitch.
Nwankwo Kanu is Africa's most decorated football player.
Everton goes into Saturday's FA Cup final as underdogs riding on a high. After claiming the scalps of two "Big Four" teams -- Manchester United and Liverpool -- en route to the final, it clinched fifth place in the Premier League for the second year running.
Before Chelsea had Roman Abramovich's rubles and Rafa Benítez built Liverpool into Champions League winners and English Premier League challengers, Manchester United and Arsenal dominated the EPL throughout the 1990s and early 2000s. On Saturday, the former "big two" face off after having taken contrasting paths in recent years.
Liverpool Manager, Rafael Benitez talks to CNN about his first five years at the club, the Champions League and his plans for the future.
Ordinarily, Manchester United making a trip to Craven Cottage isn't much of a story. Fulham hasn't beaten United at home in league play since 1964. But an unusually high amount of attention is focused on this weekend's encounter.
Silverware, iPods, playground spats, free booze and nights in jail. Confused? You should be, but it's all in a day's work for Team Limey in the reporting of what's happening in English soccer.
When even the FA Cup is drawing criticism, you know domestic cup competitions are in trouble.
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