Stoke City stood toe-to-toe with Chelsea, manager Mark Hughes said while praising his players after they knocked out the League Cup holders on penalties.
Chelsea manager Jose Mourinho struck a defiant note after his team crashed out of the League Cup, insisting he did not need reassurances over his future.
Arsene Wenger said he was forced to field a strong Arsenal team in the 3-0 defeat to Sheffield Wednesday due to the growing strength of the Championship.
Skipper Mile Jedinak and goalkeeper Mat Ryan have returned to Australia's squad for their upcoming World Cup qualifiers against Kyrgyzstan and Bangladesh.
Chelsea were dumped out of the Capital One Cup 4th round by Stoke City on Tuesday, while Arsenal suffered a humiliating 3-0 defeat at Sheffield Wednesday.
Ten-man Inter Milan replaced AS Roma atop Serie A, at least for 24 hours, after beating Bologna 1-0 away on Tuesday to end a run of 4 games without a win.
Real Madrid great Raul has no plans to make a quick return as a coach following his decision to leave New York Cosmos and retire at the end of the season.
Spanish third-tier side Villanovense host Barcelona in the King's Cup, but both sides would prefer the two-legged tie to be decided by a one-off match.