“Presumptions that Chelsea or Barcelona would lose ground in their domestic leagues while their African players were appearing in the African Cup of Nations appear to have been greatly exaggerated. Chelsea has four key players — Didier Drogba, Michael Essien, Jon Obi Mikel and Salomon Kalou — on national team duty in Angola. Without them, Chelsea on Saturday thrashed Sunderland, 7-2, the first time in 50 years that the club had scored seven goals in a top-flight match in England.” (NYT)