With no Euros to occupy our attention today, the English Premier League grabbed the headlines with the news of a big move for Chelsea hero Didier Drogba. What does that mean for Fernando Torres? Hot-blooded Italian rumors! MLS is back and in a big way with six matches tonight, including four of the top five teams in this week’s MLS Power Rankings. We’ll catch you up with where everyone stands. Plus, some off the beat highlights from the U.S. Women’s National Team’s short trip to Sweden.

English Premier League

The biggest news coming today is that former Chelsea striker Didier Drogba has officially signed with Chinese club Shanghai Shenhua:

One month after sealing Chelsea’s victory in the European Champions League final, Didier Drogba signed with Shanghai Shenhua on a two-year contract that reportedly will make him China’s highest-paid player.

Shanghai confirmed the signing on Wednesday, and Drogba said on his website he will join the Chinese Super League team in the country’s financial hub next month.

No details were given on Shanghai’s offer, although local media reported the club was willing to pay as much as $15 million per year.

Does this mean that Fernando Torres has a spot in the starting XI? Not if Juventus has anything to do with it:

According to Goal.com it appears that Italian Champions, Juventus are chasing the out of favor Spaniard with an offer of £24 million having been directed towards Chelsea.

Despite having shelled out £50 million for the former Liverpool hitman in January of 2011, the club could be set to cut their losses and move on with Torres getting a new lease on life in Italy where his talents would be more apt to shine due to the nature of the Italian game.

Euro 2012

FIFA President Sepp Blatter finally admitted that goal-line technology is a “necessity,” after a major blown that knocked Ukraine out of the Euros:

The most powerful man in soccer called goal-line technology a “necessity” Wednesday, only hours after Ukraine was denied what appeared to be a legitimate goal in its must-win match against England at the European Championship.

“After last night’s match GLT is no longer an alternative but a necessity,” FIFA President Sepp Blatter wrote on Twitter.

Want a good laugh? Search “Sepp Blatter GLT” on Twitter.

Major League Soccer

Though we’ve been quite content with Euros and international friendlies in the last couple weeks, I’d be lying if I didn’t say that I missed MLS. Well, it’s back to your regularly scheduled programming and we’ve got tons of matches with the cream of the crop to look forward to. In case you’ve forgotten where everyone stands, here’s MLS’s Week 15 Power Rankings to catch you up. Real Salt Lake remain firmly at the top, but the New York Red Bulls are down after a 3-1 loss on Sunday to Chicago Fire, breaking their six-game unbeaten streak.

After stumbling in Chicago, can the Red Bulls get past Eastern Conference rivals D.C. United this Sunday? If they want to, they’ll have to figure out how to stop D.C.’s “forward thinking” attack. MLS’s Armchair Analyst breaks their attacking mentality down.

Houston Dynamo defender Geoff Cameron just returned his club after interational duty with the national team, but he may not be there for long. Cameron is drawing interest from European clubs in the Bundesliga and Premier League:

Reports during this past Saturday’s broadcast of the Texas Derby – a 2-1 win over FC Dallas – claimed that three clubs, Schalke 04 of the German Bundesliga and English Premier league clubs Everton and Stoke City, were at BBVA Compass Stadium for the game to scout the multi-talented defender.

[snip]

While Cameron is distancing himself from the process, it is no surprise teams are interested in the 6-foot-3 center back. The 26-year-old’s unique skill set – especially on the ball – is sure to attract more interest along the lines of what he got on Saturday night.

“Geoff’s a top player and we’ve heard through the grapevine that some clubs in Europe are interested,” Dynamo executive Chris Canetti told MLSsoccer.com. “We certainly wouldn’t be surprised if some teams knocked on our door about him but, at this point, no formal offers or inquiries have been made.”

U.S. Women’s National Team

The USWNT took care of business in Sweden this past weekend, defeating Sweden 3-1 and Japan 4-1 in the three-nation Volvo Winners Cup, a friendly tournament in preparation for the Olympics. But it wasn’t all business. On a day off from training, midfielders Megan Rapinoe and Lori Lindsey took a trip to the Liseberg Amusement Park in Gothenburg and documented their adventures. More Pinoe and Lori, please, U.S. Soccer.

Okay, I hope you guys are feeling great today. After a crazy race to the airport in Baltimore, I’m back after the USMNT game yesterday and there are tons of headlines to report! The English National Team have bad news, Liverpool get their man and Barcelona and Real Madrid might actually agree to share something.

And after you read the headlines, don’t forget to head over and check out this week’s Midweek Muscles post featuring David Luiz!

Here’s the Thursday Daily Kick Around!

USMNT

Fed Ex Stadium was rocking last night as the USMNT took on Brazil. Being there in person was crazy and I have to say I enjoyed pretty much all of it – except the U.S.’ loss to the Brazilians, 4-1. U.S. head coach Jurgen Klinsmann basically said after the game that from a learning stand point, it was a great game for the U.S. And I agree . Look for a post from me soon on what I saw not only in the game, but in the open U.S. practice I attended two days before the match.

Euros 2012

As if the England National team didn’t have enough on their plates, today they were hit with the news they would have to head into the tournament without Frank Lampard. Apparently the Chelsea man picked up a thigh injury in practice and is out for the June competition. Liverpool’s Jordan Henderson is coming in as his replacement.

English Premier League

Speaking of Liverpool, seems like a new manager has been pulled into the Reds. A deal has been reached between Liverpool and Swansea City for manager Brendan Rodgers. ESPN is reporting Rodgers will be “paraded around Friday” during an official announcement.

I don’t think anyone thinks EPL teams don’t spend beyond their means and provide players massive ego boosts in the way of pounds. That was confirmed when reports were released to show that EPL wages have gone up £201 million in the 2010-11 season! That’s crazy!

La Liga

Here’s something that might surprise you. Real Madrid and Barcelona are thinking about sharing something – TV rights that is. In hopes to make La Liga more competitive, Barca and Mardid have said they are open to negotiating TV rights. They own the most of any other clubs in the league, which means more of their games are broadcasted and they get more money. More money means bigger players, etc, etc. The hope is that if the wealth is shared, other teams will use the money to get better and the league will grow.

Everyone is trying to sign Porto player Hulk, and it seems Real Madrid are adding their hat to the pile, competing with the likes of EPL side Chelsea. Not only that, but free agent Didier Drogba is showing interest is hooking up with Madrid. Summer transfers are going to be interesting guys! UPDATE – ESPN is now reporting Chelsea will sign Hulk for an estimated 38 million!!

Major League Soccer

Yikes, eight – EIGHT- MLS clubs were knocked out this week in U.S. Open Cup play. Sporting Kansas City, DC United, San Jose, Philly, New York, Chivas USA and Colorado remain standing after the carnage Tuesday night, and Seattle joined them Wednesday. Congrats to all the winning teams though! Makes the US Open Cup interesting this year!

I don’t know if anyone else’s Tuesday has been crazy, but wow! It seems like there is a lot to talk about! From the Galaxy’s Josh Saunders, to Didier Drogba, to David Villa’s Euros future. If you missed it, don’t worry! We’ve got the headlines in your Tuesday Daily Kick Around!

English Premier League

Well, it’s not official. Chelsea’s powerhouse striker Didier Drogba has officially announced he’s saying farewell to the Blues. Drogba’s contract will expire in June and his feature is a little uncertain; rumors have him linked to clubs in China and even MLS. Have to hand it to him, he’s leaving the Blues after pulling off a miracle with the Champion’s League win.

Oh the woeful story of Owen Hargreaves. After being released to City last season when he was plagued with injuries at United, he is now in limbo as Manchester City have opted not to renew his contract. Hargreaves only appeared four time for City. This is harsh news for the 31-year-old. I was hoping he would bounce back from his injuries, but unfortunately, he just can’t seem to get it.

Speaking of releasing players, Arsenal also decided not to renew the contracts of seven of its players, including goalkeeper Manuel Almunia who has been with the Gunners for eight years.

La Liga

In another Messi v. Ronaldo battle, Messi has come out the victor as he just nudges past CR in Goal.com’s Player of the Season. Readers of the site chose Messi over Ronaldo by a margin of two percent.

The wait is finally over! After tons of rumors and speculation, Real Madrid’s Jose Mourinho put pen to paper today and signed a new contract with Real until 2016. Congrats to all the Madrid fans!

Major League Soccer

Good news for LA Galaxy fans – goalkeeper Josh Saunders, who had been checked into MLS’ substance abuse treatment program, is back at training with the team and says he feels happy with where he is as. Details were sketchy when Saunders went into the program, but the official statement now states Saunders was not admitted for any drug abuse.

Oh Toronto FC. Things have been quite dire for the MLS Canada-based team this season. With a record of nine losses, they’ve not only been labeled the worst team in MLS, but the worst team in the world.  And their striker Danny Koevermans agrees.

Euro 2012

In a big blow to the Spanish NT, it was announced today that David Villa would not be back to fitness for the Euro 2012 competition set to begin next month. Villa had broken his leg in December when Barcelona played Al Sadd in the Club World Cup and has been struggling to get back to playing fitness for the summer tournament.

Double facepalm for Bayern Munich in the 2012 UEFA Champions League Final. Screencap via Timothy Burke at 30fps.mockession.com

Could it have ended any other way?

Chelsea’s dramatic comeback season was capped Saturday with a dramatic comeback win against heavy favorites Bayern Munich, who were playing on their home turf, in the UEFA Champions League Final. Didier Drogba was the hero of the match, scoring the equalizer in the 89th minute to send the match to extra time, and then putting away the fifth and final penalty kick for Chelsea, to win 4-2 in penalties (1-1 FT).

For Munich, it was a story of missed opportunities coming back to haunt them. They out-shot Chelsea 43-9 (FORTY THREE TO NINE?!), including 20 corner kicks, and dominated time of possession 56%-44%. After a back and forth start to the match, Munich began exacting their dominance midway through the first half, pouring pressure on Chelsea in the penalty area. They simply couldn’t do anything with those chances, however.

Credit the Chelsea defense, and in particular Ashley Cole, who seemed to get a leg or a head on nearly everything that had a chance. At times, it almost seemed as if Chelsea had divine intervention on their side. Keeper Petr Cech knocked away a Robben strike with his leg in the 20th minute, only to have it go off the corner of the post and out. Point blank chances in front of goal seemed to freeze Mario Gomez and Thomas Müller, who were unable to put the right touch on anything to get out in front of the visitors.

Just at the end of the first half, Drogba gave Chelsea their first real opportunity of the match, with a hard strike right at the near post but it was just knocked out by goalkeeper Manuel Neuer.

Despite an inability to maintain any kind of possession through the midfield, and not taking advantage of their few chances on Bayern’s end of the field, Chelsea had to feel good about the match being scoreless at the half.

But with the pressure from Bayern building, it was only a matter of time before they put one away. It finally came in the 83rd minute on a cross from Schweinsteiger to Muller, who finally evaded Cole and headed the ball over the goal line and out of Cech’s reach.

Munich and their fans celebrated their presumptive win, with just minutes to play, but Drogba had other ideas. With a minute to go in regulation, Chelsea drew a corner kick – their first of the match – and Drogba delivered a gorgeous header off the cross from Mata, bouncing just off the tip of Neuer’s hands into the top of the net for the equalizer.

And on to extra time we went.

Just minutes into the period, Chelsea’s magic nearly disappeared when Drogba was called for a foul on Ribery in the penalty area. Robben lined up for the kick, threatening to put the home squad ahead by a goal. But Cech guessed correctly on the low strike to the right side, and knocked it away to keep the score equal.

Bayern continued to dominate possession throughout extra time, but their troubles finding anything on target continued, and Chelsea’s back line wouldn’t allow them to break through. And so the drama could end in no other way but with penalty kicks.

Bayern went up 1-0 on the first try from each team, with Juan Mata’s attempt down the middle knocked straight out by Neuer. The next two attempts from each side went in, with strikes by Luis and Lampard for Chelsea into the top of the net giving Neuer no chance, and Munich’s grounders from Gomez and Neuer just out of Cech’s reach. But Bayern’s fourth try from Ivica Olic was slow and predictable to the right, and Cech stopped it with one hand. An Ashley Cole strike into the right corner evened the score up again, and suddenly it was up to Schweinsteiger to keep Munich alive. But a slight hesitancy caused him to take a touch off of the ball, and it went off the right post.

And up stepped Didier Drogba, who completed the comeback by sending Neuer to his left, then the ball the other way, sinking it in for the win.

On March 4, when Chelsea head coach Andre Villas-Boas was fired, the club stated that the team was ”showing no signs of improving at a key time in the season”. Insert interim manager Roberto DiMatteo, who orchestrated a comeback that nobody could have seen coming.

Despite finishing sixth in Premier League play - the first Champions League winner to finish so low in league play - the club went on to edge Liverpool in the FA Cup title, and defeat defending champion Barcelona on a 3-2 aggregate at Camp Nou in Champions League play, en route to the final and a storybook ending.

As champions, Chelsea edged Tottenham out for the fourth Premier League spot in next year’s Champions League.

FA Cup

If we told you two months ago when Andre Villas-Boas was let go from Chelsea that the Blues would win the FA Cup, you’d probably spit your beer in our faces laughing. But that’s exactly what happened, as Chelsea defeated Liverpool 2-1 Saturday to claim the title. Dirty Tackle has photos and video from the celebration, including Didier Drogba’s “dressing room dance party.”

The win was not without controversy, however. Andy Carroll, who had cut the lead in half with Liverpool’s first goal in the 64th minute, thought he equalized on a header in the 82nd minute, but the official said that the ball was not over the line before Chelsea keeper Petr Cech knocked it out. Cue the arguments for goal-line technology…

English Premier League

Manchester City is just a win away from their first League title since 1968, but they’re already looking toward next year. City has offered Arsenal’s Robin van Persie £250,000 per week to sign with them next year. Could this signal the end to Mario Balotelli’s time at the Etihad?

 Major League Soccer

It was a big day in MLS on Saturday, with seven league matches, including an ESPN prime time clash between the New York Red Bulls and the L.A. Galaxy. The Red Bulls were down two of their stars, Thierry Henry (hamstring) and Rafa Marquez (suspension), while the Galaxy was bringing their big guns after resting Beckham and Keane against the Sounders a week earlier. On paper the match looked to be in the Galaxy’s favor, but just two weeks after getting absolutely demolished by D.C. United, the Red Bulls’ back line pulled a complete 180, holding up a 19′ goal from Joel Lindpere. Rookie keeper Ryan Meara had the game of his life, saving numerous Galaxy chances, and posting a clean sheet for the second week in a row.  Get match highlights and a full recap at newyorkredbulls.com.

Vancouver and Montreal both pulled off huge shockers, with the Whitecaps knocking off the Western Conference leader San Jose Earthquakes 2-1 in stoppage time and the Impact pulling out a huge road win to hand Sporting KC their second straight shutout, after starting the season 7-0.

League One

Some fans wear face paint. Others wear scarves or toot vuvuzelas. Fans of Hartlepool United support their team by dressing in costume for the final match of the season. Last season it was Ooompa Loompas. This season? Smurfs. 

U.S. Women’s National Team

After the Seattle Sounders’ win over the Philadelphia Union yesterday, NBC Sports Network interviewed the goalkeeper for the Sounders Women squad, who you may have heard of: Hope Solo. Solo chatted about the U.S. National Team’s prep for the the Summer Games, her thoughts on their group stage matches, playing Japan again in a friendly before the Olympics, and of course, the possibility of grabbing the gold at Wembley Stadium.

Check back throughout the day for more news and recaps from EPL and MLS, and follow @AerysSoccer on Twitter for the latest reactions to all the weekend’s matches. 

Ok, folks!  Rise and shine cuz it’s Hump Day and we have scores, highlights and news to get you over the hump and through the rest of the week.  You don’t even need your coffee this morning.  How about some really jarring, awful U.S. National Team home kits to wake you up instead? Both men and women’s teams will don the same loud, wide striped ensemble at home this coming season.  Am I the only one who is NOT a fan?  Give us your opinion!

U.S. Men’s and Women’s National Team

Oh no, say it isn’t so!  New photos of the home jerseys were released Monday and were supposedly inspired by the American flag, according to the U.S. Soccer Federation.  Both men and women will wear the same jerseys, designed with bold red and white horizontal stripes and a dark blue collar.  A faint hint of the tonal sash worn by the men’s team since 2010, can be made out as well.  Awake now?  I thought so.  What do you think about these new kits?

Champions League

Tied one all until the 90th minute, Mario Gomez of Bayern Munich scored the game winner to take the lead in the first leg of the Champions League semi-final match against Real Madrid last night.

Today, Chelsea and Barcelona face-off at Stamford Bridge in the other first-leg semi-final Champions League match.  Chelsea interim boss Roberto Di Matteo has his work cut out for him but the question everyone is asking is whether to start Didier Drogba or Fernando Torres up front.  I’d go with Drogba – experience and consistency – over a spotty, at best, Torres any day.  Catch the big game today at 2:45 p.m. ET.

English Premier League

It’s been just over a week since Manchester City manager Roberto Mancini practically handed over Mario Balotelli to the FA for investigation.  At the same time, Mancini also claimed the striker was “finished” playing for City the rest of the season.  Suspiciously, the tested manager now seems to have changed his tune about the striker’s future.  Mario Balotelli, on the other hand, believes he still has a future at Manchester City and can lead his team to the league title.  Are Mancini’s hands tied by City’s owner?  It will be interesting to see what transpires post-season and if it is in fact, Mancini who is “finished” at City, not Balotelli.

England National Team

In a devastating blow to England, Jack Wilshire has ruled himself out for the European Championships later this year.  The young, creative Arsenal midfielder has been out since June with an ankle injury.

World Soccer: Eyptian Riot Trial Update

First the Prime Minister and now senior Egyptian police officers and fans have been questioned and charged in the deadliest riots in the country’s history.  An update on the trial, which started Tuesday, can be found here.

Well, we’ve been talking about it all week, so I think you can guess that it’s finally MLS’ First Kick! And we can’t contain our excitement! We’ll have recaps later tonight after all the games and coverage tomorrow as well! Today’s DKA has all the MLS line ups, scores from the EPL and more! Here’s your Saturday game day DKA!

Major League Soccer

It’s like Christmas in March for the MLS fans today! It’s time for the rivalries, the excitement and the road to MLS Cup 2012! Everyone has something to prove this year, from expansion team Montreal Impact to Cup champs L.A. Galaxy. Be sure to follow all the action of your favorite club this weekend. Here’s the schedule:

Saturday:

Vancouver v. Montreal and Columbus v. Colorado; 6 p.m. ET
D.C. United v. Sporting K.C.; 7:30 p.m. ET
San Jose v. New England and L.A. v. Real Salt Lake; 10:30 p.m. ET

Sunday:

Dallas v. New York; 3 p.m. ET
Chivas USA v. Houston; 7 p.m. ET

Monday:

Portland v. Philadelphia; 9:30 p.m.ET

Check out the TV schedule for every game here!

English Premier League

Looks like Chelsea actually came away with a win this morning against Stoke, thanks to a goal from none other than Didier Drogba.  Bolton Wanderers also notched a victory against QPR, 2-1. Everton and Tottenham are going at it as I type, with Everton in the lead with a goal. Other scores from the morning are:

Aston Villa 1 – Fulham 0
Sunderland 1 – Liverpool 0
Wolves 0 – Blackburn 2

 EPL team owners are about to get a wake up call from league officials. After some criticism from British politicians, there will now be a new way to police the owners of EPL teams:

“Under the proposals, a licence system will be introduced to ensure clubs meet minimum standards on financial regulation, ownership and their stadium.”

This should definitely be interesting.

La Liga

Speaking of EPL teams seeing some change, there has been talk in the footy world that there is a shift in dominance of the game. English teams have performed poorly as a hold in the UEFA Champion’s League this year, and major EPL clubs aren’t showing well in Europa league either. This article talks about the swing from EPL to La Liga and the fact that maybe Real Madrid and Barca aren’t the only “good clubs” in La Liga anymore.

Fernando Torres isnʻt concerned that Chelsea fans hate him. He just cares about one Blues supporter: Aerys Sports founder Julie DiCaro

Before we get started with what’s been going on in the soccer world on this fine Sunday morning, I want to  wish a very happy birthday to CEO and Founder of Aerys Sports, Julie DiCaro. Without Julie, I’d still be sleeping in this morning instead of up reading the soccer headlines. Oh, and this blog wouldn’t exist. So thanks, Julie, for being awesome. I hope your kids let you sleep in, at least. Now everyone, go send a “happy birthday” on Twitter to @JulieDiCaro.

Now here’s what you’ve been waiting for.

U.S. Women’s National Team

Unless you’ve been living under a rock with the Geico caveman, surely you’ve seen Alex Morgan’s photoshoot for the Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Edition. If you’ve since picked your jaw off the floor, you might be wondering how that bodypaint swimsuit was so precisely painted on Alex, and her feelings about it. This video on SI.com shows the whole process of creating the suit. Apparently, the artists did such a good job of replicating a bikini on her skin that Alex said she didn’t even feel naked during the shoot. Wow.

FA Cup

Poor Arsenal. First the Gunners said goodbye to Thierry Henry, as he heads back across the pond to join the New York Red Bulls for the 2012 season. Then, yesterday, they went down to Sunderland in the fifth round of the FA Cup, “the first time Sunderland has beaten Arsenal in an FA Cup match since 1973.” Ouch.

English Premier League

If you thought that was bad, things are even worse for Chelsea’s Fernando Torres. Not only can’t he score, but the website givemefootball.com conducted a poll where 64% of Chelsea fans voted to have Didier Drogba start ahead of Torres. The punchline? The poll results were posted by the Fernando Torres official Facebook page, and received over 2,000 “likes” by Torres’s fans.

Though the story was likely auto-posted to the page simply because it contained his name, this is just another indignity Fernando Torres has been subjected to of late. Poor Fernando.

Despite “strong ties” with the Tottenham Hotspurs, the owners of MLS’s L.A. Galaxy, Anschutz Entertainment Group, denied that they were trying to buy the club after a joint bid between AEG and the Spurs for London’s Olympic Stadium failed. Good thing, too. AEG already owns the Kings and the Lakers, in addition to the Galaxy. We wouldn’t want “The Tottenham Hotspurs of Orange County” now, would we?

La Liga

Real Madrid defeated Racing Santander 4-0 on Saturday to remain undefeated at home this season. Cristiano Ronaldo scored a header in the sixth minute  - “an easy kiss home with the slickness of his gel,” as the announcer on Gol TV described — off a headed assist from Kaka in front of the net, and it was off to the races (no pun intended) from there.

Oh, by the way, have you checked out our pinboards on Pinterest yet? We’ve got our delicious Midweek Muscles for your everyday viewing, plus fantastic photos from around the leagues. Check it out!

Bienvenue football fans! You know what day it is? FRIDAY! We have everything from the departure of Thierry Henry, Michael Ballack to MLS rumors as well as some graffiti to Newcastle FC’s stadium! Here’s your Daily Kick Around!

English Premier League

Well it’s the time that every Gunner wish had never come: the departure of Thierry Henry, for the second time. The King was brought back to Emirates on an offseason loan from his MLS club, New York Red Bulls, in hopes he could help guide the very young Arsenal team into the direction of a Top 4 finish. Not only did he succeed in helping, but he scored a few goals and brought the joy back into every Gunner’s heart. Today, Arsenal FC, posted Henry’s good-bye as well as his hopes for the Gunners.

“It was not always nice and pretty, you have to remember that we had some times where we just wanted to go home at the end of the game. The difference is how this team can react and I think this team can do that.
If you are an Arsenal fan then you are an Arsenal fan, that’s the way it is.
Once a Gunner, you are always a Gunner, you can’t change.”

Note to sports stadiums: Never change the name of your venue. A man in Newcastle was charged after repainting the old name of the city’s football club’s stadium over the new one. Sports Direct Arena was covered with St. James’ Park, which was changed in November. The stadium has been the home of the Toon’s matches since 1892.

The Wolves’ players are having a hard time seeing their coach Mick McCarthy leave the club after being fired for inconsistency. Jamie O’Hara praises McCarthy stating that he was a fantastic manager and he will go on and do another great job somewhere else. The Wolves are beginning the interviewing process for a new manager; prospects include former Sunderland boss Steve Bruce.

Andre Villas-Boas is having a hard time at Chelsea. Players are leaving and not supporting him, except for Didier Drogba. With the lack of respect in the Chelsea locker room towards AVB, Drogba insists that you have to respect his authority and believe he knows what he’s doing. Didier, whose contract expires this summer, said something every Chelsea supporter wants to hear:

 “I’m optimistic it can happen but at the same time if it doesn’t happen that’s life. But you will never change the respect and the love we created together. My heart is blue.”

Major League Soccer 

Landon Donovan, Thierry Henry and Robbie Keane have proved to be the official MLS Ambassadors, with their incredible runs in the EPL during the MLS offseason. Donovan headed back to Everton, Keane to Aston Villa and Henry back to Arsenal, all three men made huge impacts on their EPL clubs. Henry had great stats, coming off the bench at Arsenal, scoring 3 goals in 7 matches (43%). While at NYRB, he has a 43% as a starter scoring 16 goals in only 37 matches. Robbie Keane scored 3 goals in 6 matches, giving Aston Villa’s manger the idea to try to extend Keane’s loan, but of course the Galaxy didn’t allow it. Donovan, the most well-known MLS player in the world, proved to supporters and players alike that there is great talent coming from the U.S. with 6 assists on his loan.

Could Michael Ballack be the next European player to head to the MLS? Most Likely. Apparently the former German International is in negotiations with the MLS, saying he wants to finish out his career in the MLS. There’s five clubs that MLS Executive Todd Durbin said were interested in Ballack: New York, Montreal, Chicago, Philly & Seattle. All I know is, it would be amazing to see him suit up wearing Rave Green!

Aston Villa displaced Chelsea, dropping the Blues into 5th place to close 2011. Today marked the last EPL match day of 2011. It included some surprising upsets which shook up the standings a bit. Four of seven results produced draws, but it was the losses that made headlines today.

Manchester United v Blackburn

Manchester United experienced a shocking loss to last place Blackburn. To add insult to injury, the loss took place on Sir Alex Ferguson’s 70th birthday, giving him little to celebrate as the year comes to a close. The result keeps the Red Devils in second place for the year behind their cross-town rivals. Manchester City pair up against Sunderland tomorrow.  Check out the in depth match report from United fan Kayla Knapp. Final score 2 – 3 at Old Trafford.

Chelsea v Aston Villa

A home crowd at Stamford Bridge watched in disbelief as Chelsea was unable to capture a win against middle of the table Aston Villa.

A Didier Drogba penalty kick gave the Blues their one and only lead of the game in the 23rd minute after a foul by Richard Dunne.  Five minutes later, Villa equalized as Stephen Ireland tapped in his own rebound to make it 1 – 1 at the half.

As the match entered the final 10 minutes, Chelsea feared they might be looking at their fourth 1 – 1 draw in a row.  Little did they know, a draw would have been a preferred result today.

In the 83rd minute, Stiliyan Petrov scored to give Villa the lead.  Only three minutes later, Darren Bent sealed the win, their first at Stamford Bridge since 2002.

The Claret and Blue have reason to celebrate their spectacular year-end result.  The three points breaks them into the top ten in a much deserved ninth place.

Chelsea has been displaced from the top four, allowing fifth place Arsenal to squeak into the number four spot thanks to their win today against QPR.

Arsenal v QPR

Other Results from Saturday, December 31, 2011

Bolton 1 – 1 Wolverhampton

Norwich City  1 – 1 Fulham

Stoke City 2 – 2 Wigan Athletic

Swansea City 1 – 1 Tottenham

Tomorrow’s New Year 2012 Matches

Sunderland v Manchester City

West Brom v Everton

 Stay with Aerys Soccer for all your EPL coverage!