EUROPEAN SOCCER The European Soccer season is broken down into different levels of competition It can be confusing to keep track Here's a handy guide to help you follow the action League Play The 20 best teams in England play in the Premier League Teams play all league opponents twice each season for 38 total games The three teams with the worst records are relegatedor sent down to the second division which sends three teams up to replace them the next season The Premier League debuted in 1992 93 It replaced the Football League First Division 1888 1991 as England's top league European Play The top four teams in the Premier League qualify for the Union of European Football Associations UEFA Champions League This annual tournament involves the best teams from the top leagues throughout Europe The Champions League started in 1992 It replaced the European Cup a similar tournament that began in 1955 The next three teams in the Premier League qualify for the UEFA Europa League The Europa League is Europe's second tier tournament It runs in a similar manner to the Champions League but crowns its own winner The Europa League debuted in 1971 as the UEFA Cup but was renamed in 2009 Domestic Cups Almost every English team is eligible to play for the Football Association Challenge Cup FA Cup The tournament typically includes several hundred teams including the professional teams from the Premier League Founded in 1871 72 the FA Cup is the oldest soccer tournament in the world The League Cup is a similar tournament It involves teams from only the top four divisions in England
Chelsea's attack improved with Diego Costa's arrival from Spain But then the Blues hit a bit of a drought The team still had some great players such as defender John Terry forward Didier Drogba and midfielders Hazard and Willian But the club hoped some new stars could inject new life into the team Before the 2014 15 season Chelsea signed midfielder Cesc Fàbregas and forward Diego Costa Both players came
from the Spanish league Fàbregas had been with Barcelona one of the best teams in Europe Meanwhile Costa had proved to be a goal FAST FACT scoring dynamo for Atletico Chelsea FC won only one league championship in its first 100 years Madrid Chelsea hoped the Then it won four titles in 11 years 25 year old Costa could bring his goal scoring instincts to west London Costa made an immediate impact that year He scored in his first four Premier League games The outburst included a two goal game against Everton and a hat trick against Swansea City Costa was named the Premier League player of the month in his first month with Chelsea He went on to lead the team with 20 goals in league play that year Clear of the Field Chelsea began to pull away from its closest rivals as the season progressed It lost only three of 38 Premier League games Chelsea's 26 victories and nine draws proved the Blues were the best team that season
NO SEA LUERE SAMSUNG do Eden Hazard 10 splits the Crystal Palace defense to score from a header A league title is every team's goal The 2015 league title was especially timely for Chelsea That year marked the 60th anniversary of the team's first title It came in what was then called the First Division in 1954 55 After their dominant start the Blues needed to win one of their final three games to clinch the championship They got it done on their first try Hazard began the winning play
