West Ham United were hammered at home against a ruthless Chelsea who, themselves, were coming from a painful Carling Cup Final exit a week earlier. The Blues recorded an emphatic 4-0 away victory even after playing a good part of the game without influential midfielder Frank Lampard.

The celebrations started as early as 120 seconds into the game when John Terry’s parried header was slotted home by new-boy Nicholas Anelka, only for the Frenchman to be told that he was off-side. Chelsea did not despair, though. With 17 minutes on the clock, Frank Lampard put the away team in the lead after Salomon Kalou had been tripped in the box by Antoine Ferdinand for a Chelsea penalty.

Three minutes later, former West Ham midfielder Joe Cole broke Hammers’ heart with a well-guided low shot after an equally superb control. The Bubbles just weren’t forming; because, two minutes later, Germany captain Mickael Ballack cemented last year’s League Cup champions’ lead with a fine, angled shot, making the most use of Frank Lampard’s cross, who was, by now, everywhere, including, in the 33rd minute, in the referee’s book. What looked like a tangle on the ground between the Englishman and West Ham’s Boa Morte ended in dismay for the former, who was having an excellent game thus far.

But it seems Chelsea are just as dangerous without one man as they are with one, if not more potent. Two Mark Noble shots were all the home team had to show before half-time.

Chelsea managed to keep their defense tight-lit in the second half until late when Carlton Cole should have scored after managing to squeeze the ball past and beyond Petr Cech only for captain John Terry to clear off the line. That was all the conformation they needed for a mediocre evening, but former Arsenal left-back made sure of the points when he reacted quickest from Joe Cole’s parried shot to side-foot the ball into the net from an acute angle.

The win keeps Chelsea’s title-aspirations alive after league-leaders Arsenal crucially dropped points at home against Aston Villa. West Ham United will feel bitter, but not too so, since they will know they had played with a side teeming with unspeakable talent and determination.

Arsenal fell under a curse from the Red Devils on Saturday evening after an enthralling performance by the hosts. A comprehensive 4-0 thumping at the hands of their fiercest rivals was enough to deter Arsenal spirits ahead of an equally crucial encounter against continental giants AC Milan later in the week.

What has been described as a ‘virtuoso’ performance by England wonder-kid Wayne Rooney proved to be a little too elusive for the gunners as the comeback-kid wreaked havoc in the visitor’s shaky defense. It was a sixteenth minute corner from the tunnel-end of Old Trafford that sparked everything. A well-positioned Rooney reacted quickest to a lose ball in the penalty area; and his header was too well-place for a hapless Jens Lehmann, even with two men on either post.

Perhaps the difference of the game was United’s new-found Portuguese inspiration Nani, who, without his fellow countryman Christiano Ronaldo, was given license to kill in midfield. And kill he did. A perfect ball on the 20th minute mark fell kindly for Scotland’s Darren Fletcher to further drop the jaws of the United fans, who were, at this point, quite literally in ‘dreamland’. But the dream turned into fantasy just seven minutes before half-time when no-nonsense centre-halt Michael Carrick fed a deserving Nani to slot home an incredible third.

At this point, it couldn’t get worse for Arsenal, surely.

But it did. Three minutes after the re-start, straight-from-the-Africa-Cup-of-Nation Emmanuel Eboue couldn’t hope for a more unpleasant welcome when he was shown red after a barbaric tackle on French left-back Patrice Evra.

Without Flamini, Rosicky, Adebayor, Clichy, Van Persie, Walcott, or even Denilson, Arsenal was looking rather shallow in terms of creativity. Danish Nicklas Bentener and Eduardo didn’t seem to blend, and Fabregas and Hleb in the middle just looked to be out of options. United were simply on top of their game. And perhaps it was the injection of youth that did the damage, with tenacious yet stylish Anderson filling in for Scholes, Park Ji Sung for Giggs, and Nani for Ronaldo. Arsenal was given a dose of their own medicine.

The final nail was carefully inserted in the coffin in the 74th minute when an amazing Nani managed to pull off a juicy cross at the end of a mazy run to find Darren Fletcher unmarked at the far post. His header was, again, perfect.

The result sends the Gunners crushing out of England’s most famous Cup, and United straight into the draw for the quarterfinal where they will be joined by other big-guns Chelsea. Meanwhile, last year’s Champion’s League finalists Liverpool were also very rudely booted-out by a very much second tier Barnsley FC.

Star-studded Barcelona was frustrated by last year’s UEFA Cup winners Sevilla in an exciting match played at the Estadio Ramoa Sanchez Pizjuan on Saturday.

An impressive start by the home side ensured a competitive match-up, with Victor Valdes in the Barcelona goal being made to work early in the first half. A Daniel Alves free-kick forced the Barca goalkeeper into an early acrobatic save.

Returning from a disappointing show at the just-ended African Cup of Nations, striker Freddie Kanoute came close to putting the hosts ahead with a volley from close-range mid-way in the first chapter. But Sevilla’s relentless pressure paid off a few minutes later when a beautifully-worked move started with inspirational Alves finding a well-positioned Jesus Navas before falling graciously for teen-ager Capel who made no mistake in front of goal.

The Catalans came to life in the second half thanks to a judicious move by tactician Frank Raijkaard when he brought on former Player of the Year Ronaldinho. Having the Brazilian on the pitch was in itself enough to inspire the visitor’s midfield who, after a swift pass by Argentine sensation Lionel Messi, found the solution to their problem when celebrated Spain playmaker Xavi slotted past Andres Palop with only fourteen minutes left on the clock.

A late sending-off for Mali international Seydou Keita gave Barca a chance to increase their tally, but Raijkaards men failed to take advantage with so little left on the clock.

The draw means that Barcelona stay on second place after their fierce rivals Real Madrid trounced Valladolid 7-0.

Manchestrer United relinquished top-spot in the Barclay’s English Premier League following a nerve-wrecking encounter with Tottenham Hotspurs at White Hart Lane on Saturday. A last-second Tevez equalizer salvaged a point for the defending champions, much to the wreckage of Tottenham hearts.

The game seemed to pick up where the two teams left just a week earlier in the FA Cup where United managed to overcome the North Londoners. Spurs, with their new-found pace-based style of play, took the game to United early on, with Aaron Lennon wreaking havoc on the right and in-form Steed Malbranque doing the damage on the left. It was the England under-21 international who whipped in a terrific square-ball on the 20th minute mark after midfielder Jermaine Jenas had claimed to have been fouled in the penalty area. The cross came off goalkeeper Edwin van der Sar onto the feet of the lethal Dimitir Berbatov who had no choice but to slot into an empty net. Van der Sar was then booked for his remonstrance; the first of what would be a record seven yellow cards in one game for United this season.

Some impressive defending from the giant Tom Huddlestone put United further under pressure, with nothing going past the Spurs’ back-four. But it was on the break where the hosts took maximum advantage. The understanding between Berbatov and Keane proved to be deadly as one would continually manage to find very good opportunities for the other.

And it was the Irish captain who should have put the game beyond doubt early in the first half when he shot feebly from 18 yards with only the goalkeeper in front of him. That miss was going to be decisive. Tottenham were under pressure to take their chances from a crowd that replicated the atmosphere during the League Cup semi-final when the Spurs saw-off their city rivals Arsenal.

United found their form in the last ten minutes with the exciting Christiano Ronaldo proving to be a menace every time he had his feet on the ball. Nani for Giggs and Anderson for Scholes were substitutions designed to inflict a little bit of youth and creativity to try and get something out of the fixture. A wise decision from the master tactician Ferguson.

A last minute corner from the United’s right fell gratefully to an unmarked Carlos Tevez who made no mistake in squeezing the ball into the bottom-left hand corner from a tight angle to bring his Premier League tally to 11 goals.

The draw means that Manchester United fall one step to second spot after Arsenal comprehensively beat their Ciry rivals Manchester City at the City of Manchester Stadium. Tottenham will stay at the bottom half of the table with just 29 points from their 25 games, seven behind tenth placed West Ham United.

Arsenal booked a famous fifth round trip to Old Trafford on Saturday evening when they saw off a dejected Newcastle United at the Emirates. The Gunner’s 3-0 win over the side from Teesside means that they will face their fierce rivals Manchester United sometime in February.

Arsene Wenger took no chances when he made seven changes from the side that was trounced at White Hart Lane just four days before. Germany’s World Cup goalkeeper Jens Lehmann made a return to first-team football with an impressive performance. But it was the Arsenal defense that was going through stints of dryness, when, late in the first half, Gael Clichy cleared off the line from a goal-bound Allan Smith header. Kolo Toure was definitely being missed in the heart of the defense. England striker Michael Owen was dangerous, coming close to putting the Magpies in the lead but failed to connect with Steven Carr’s teaser. Arsenal’s best chance came right at the stroke of half-time when French midfielder Abou Diaby’s exquisite strike was parried away by Shay Given.

The old shooting machine came to life in the second half with a beautiful goal by in-form Emmanuel Adebayor six minutes after half-time. The Togolese was quickest to react to Eduardo’s shot coming off the post when he collected the rebound, swiveled past defender Cacapa and coolly slotted home past a defenseless Given.

The injection of momentum saw magician Cesc Fabregas raising his game in midfield alongside the lanky Diaby to provide for the likes of Eduardo upfront and stir the crowd into excitement. It was all red after that and Adebayor sealed the victory in the 83rd minute with a serpentine run through the Newcastle defenders, leaving behind three or four casualties before, again, with extreme ease, picking his spot in the bottom left hand corner of the net.

Arsenals were through, and Keegan’s reign couldn’t take a worse turn. With only a minute left on the clock, Nicky Butt, former Manchester United midfielder, put the game beyond doubt when he unwittingly headed into his own goal from a well-taken Fabregas free-kick.

The win puts Arsenal in pole-position as the two sides meet again on Tuesday night, this time in the English Premier League.

Arsenal got a beating of their lives at an electric White Hart Lane on Tuesday night. Spurs, coming into the second leg of the competition from a fantastic performance in the opening tie at the Emirates tore their North London rivals to shreds in perhaps one of the most famous nights in the history of the club.

An early strike by England midfielder Jermaine Jenas put the home side in the lead adding an extra volt to the already energized atmosphere. The gunners found it difficult to play their usual quick-passing game as they were completely closed down by a resilient Tottneham defense led by captain Ledley King. One of comparatively few corners for Spurs put them further in the lead thanks to a misguided header by Arsenal’s young Danish striker Nicklas Bendtener in the 27th minute.

Arsene Wenger’s League Cup policy of featuring mostly fringe players was somewhat disturbed as he was forced to bring on his celebrated young Spanish playmaker Cesc Fabregas early in the first half after Brazilin midfielder Denilson pulled a hamstring. Fabregas brought some stability to the Arsenal midfield but was frustrated by lack of mobility from his strikers, Bendtener and Walcott. On the other end, Dimitr Berbatov and Roby Keane were dangerous, especially on the break. And it was the former Republic of Ireland forward that nailed another coffin to the young Gunners early in the second half.

A series of fruitless second-half corners left Arsenal’s backline vulnerable and Tottenham made full use of the absence of Ivory Coast tower Kolo Toure and his natural replacement in the name of Phillipe Senderos. The sheer speed and trickery of young England international Aaron Lennon proved too much to bear for the likes of Arman Traroe at the back for Arsenal, when Lennon scored with a striker’s instinct in the 60th minute much to the disgust of some traveling fans who at this point decided that they had had enough.

Arsenal brought on BBC’s African Player of the Year Emmanuel Adebayor and their new-found revelation Eduardo to try and shake things up upfront. It was their top-scorer this season, though, who managed to spare their blushes after a cracking effort from just outside the box in the 65th.

Surely it wasn’t going to be a spectacular comeback to prevent Juande Ramos a coveted cup-final in his first season. And it wasn’t. Relentless Arsenal pressure in the dying minutes of the match further exposed their impotent defense as yet another counter-attack led by the second-half substitutes Prince Boateng and Jermaine Defoe found Jermaine Jenas who did exceptionally well to release an unmarked Steed Malbranque to add one more to the already emphatic score line.

The demolition of Wenger’s men ends Tottenham’s unimpressive run against their neighbors, with their second victory in close to nine years. They book a place in the finals against another London rival, Chelsea, in what should be a breathtaking encounter.

Liverpool’s woes continue as they leave it late to earn a point at home against in-form Villa who are level on points with the Reds although the latter have a game in hand.

The team from Merseyside took an early lead when Yossi Banayoun struck in the 19th minute. The 42000-odd fans at Anfield watched an exciting Liverpool, with Rafa Benitez fielding arguably his best side. Some solid midfield play by Gerrard and Mascherano allowed Liverpool to trouble the Villa defense, with Benayoun coming close to netting his second in the 31st minute, and Torres’ effort going just wide a few moments later.

The long ball was one of very few options for Villa, causing some menace on the Liverpool half especially when former Valencia striker John Carew got at the end of them.

Liverpool’s wastefulness was highlighted when Aston Villa scored the equalizer deep in the second half. Harewood’s 69th minute spectacular overhead kick gave the visitor the confidence they needed to go ahead when, moments later, Olef Mellberg’s effort was deflected past Reina.

But a famous victory it wasn’t going to be for Villa, as, with only two minutes from time, lanky striker Peter Croutch outstretched his leg to connect with the ball from ten yards.

The result further dents Liverpool’s prospects of even a Champions League spot as they fall a Herculean 14 points behind the leaders and defending champions. Aston Villa will be smiling as they climb to 40 points on a coveted 6th position, just two points behind Eveton on 4th, and 3 above Portsmouth who are 8th.