Ashley Cole in a 2am Stand-off with Anton Ferdinand

RACE row football rivals Ashley Cole and Anton Ferdinand came face-to-face in a 2am bust-up in a car park.

The pair were separated by pals following a tense stand-off outside a nightclub in Los Angeles.

Cole’s England team-mate Andy Carroll appeared to put a protective arm across him to keep the men apart.

A source said: “There was no row, no confrontation. They spoke but that was it. There might not be much love lost between them but there was no trouble.”

There has been a rift since Chelsea’s John Terry was accused of calling Ferdinand, 28, a “f***ing black ****” in a 2011 game.

He was cleared of race abuse in court after team-mate Cole, 32, backed his account. Ferdinand later snubbed a pre-match handshake with both of the players.

Ferdinand’s spokesman last night declined to comment. Cole’s spokesman did not respond to a request to comment.

Lukaku: I’m a Top Dog

Romelu Lukaku vowed to be better than Didier Drogba after revealing he is returning to Chelsea.

The Belgium striker has been told by new boss Jose Mourinho he will be part of his plans after a successful season on loan at West Brom.

Lukaku, 20, who hit 17 goals for Baggies, had feared another year away from the Bridge.

He said: “I’ll play for Chelsea next season. I had a chat with Jose and he’ll put me in his squad.

“People compared me to Drogba. He’s my idol, we’ve a similar style. But I hope to do even better than him and win more trophies.”

Jose Mourinho wants Luka Modric at Chelsea.

The Special One is quitting Real Madrid for Stamford Bridge next week and hopes the Croatian playmaker will follow him out of the Bernabeu.

And Mourinho is ready to test Madrid’s resolve by slapping in a £30million bid for the former Tottenham star. 

A Chelsea insider confirmed: “Mourinho’s very keen to clinch a deal for Modric. “He knows it will be tough but if anyone can make it happen, we believe Jose can.”

Mourinho is a big fan of Modric, 27, and paid £30m to take him from White Hart Lane to Spain less than a year ago.

Two years ago the Blues made bids of £22m and £27m for Modric, which were rejected by Spurs.

But now Chelsea chiefs believe they can finally seal a deal with Los Blancos at £30m. Mourinho has the inside track and knows Madrid can be tempted to sell.

Modric was voted La Liga’s worst signing of 2012 and has struggled to make a positive impact during his time in the Spanish capital, scoring three times in 31 games.

So president Florentino Perez may be ready to trade and free up cash for new players for Mourinho’s replacement.

Chelsea Edge Man Utd to Cement Champions League Place

Juan Mata’s dramatic late goal earned Chelsea an unlikely three points in their quest for Champions League football as they secured a 1-0 victory at Premier League champions Manchester United on Sunday.

The Chelsea midfielder struck at the end of a rare flowing move in the 87th minute — Ramires’ back-heel finding Oscar, whose pass to Mata allowed his team-mate to drive the ball home via a deflection — to lift his team into third place in the table.

To add to United’s dissatisfaction, substitute Wayne Rooney claimed he had been brought down just outside the Chelsea penalty area in the seconds leading up to the goal.

It was a rare moment of memorable attacking play in an otherwise forgettable contest and a goal that ensured an ill-tempered conclusion to the game, with United defender Rafael da Silva shown a straight red card two minutes later.

The Brazilian hacked at the ankles of countryman David Luiz as the pair tussled for the ball near the corner flag, and players from both sides engaged in a subsequent shoving match.

There had been pre-game speculation over whether United manager Alex Ferguson would shake the hand of opposite number Rafael Benitez, with whom he has a frosty relationship, but the veteran manager went out of his way to seek out the Chelsea interim coach on his way to the bench.

Ferguson had taken the controversial step of resting key personnel and handed starts to reserve goalkeeper Anders Lindegaard and midfielders Anderson and Tom Cleverley.

It was a selection that will have raised eyebrows at Tottenham Hotspur and Arsenal, the clubs in direct competition with Chelsea for Champions League places.

United’s performance will have done little, therefore, to allay fears that this is a United side that is far from firing on all cylinders.

After just three minutes, Mata picked out Demba Ba at the far post and the forward heading just wide while off-balance.

The Senegalese striker then misfired horribly from a promising position, the chance created after Lindegaard had flapped at a Mata cross unconvincingly.

Errors by Patrice Evra and Phil Jones then handed the visitors two more promising openings.

First, Lindegaard did well to turn a shot from Oscar onto his post before smothering the rebound, then Mata laid the ball off for Victor Moses, whose 18-yard shot rose harmlessly over the United goal.

Robin van Persie just failed to make clean contact as he ghosted in to meet a superb through-ball from Ryan Giggs and shot wide, but moments of quality such as that displayed by United’s Welshman were few and far between.

Suarez Bites Chelsea Twice to Earn Draw

Luis Suarez capped a controversial afternoon by scoring a dramatic late equaliser as Liverpool ruined the former Red’s gaffer, Rafa Benitez return to Anfield after a dramatic 2-2 draw with Chelsea.

Eden Hazard's penalty on 57 minutes appeared set to lift Chelsea back into third spot after Liverpool's half-time substitute Daniel Sturridge had cancelled out Oscar's first-half header. However, midway through the second half, Suarez appeared to bite Branislav Ivanovic before the Uruguayan striker headed home an equaliser in the seventh minute of added time.

The home side created the first chance on five minutes when Suarez's clever pass slipped in Glen Johnson, but the former Chelsea full-back could only poke his shot wide. Jordan Henderson then volleyed over from 25 yards before Chelsea tested Pepe Reina for the first time on 20 minutes when the Liverpool keeper punched away Ramires's dipping effort

More so, the Blues went ahead on 26 minutes when Oscar took advantage of slack defending to head Juan Mata's corner inside the post and the lead was almost doubled three minutes later.

Suarez saw a shot beaten away by Petr Cech before half-time and Liverpool then made a blistering start to the second half following the introduction of Sturridge for Philippe Coutinho. Within 15 seconds of the restart, Sturridge had slipped in Steven Gerrard, whose shot was kept out by Cech's legs, and a minute later the former Chelsea forward rattled the post after a smart turn and shot.

Sturridge then drew Liverpool level on 52 minutes when he was presented with a simple finish at the far post from Suarez's superb cross after Stewart Downing had neatly flicked the ball back to the Uruguayan.

 Just as the game was much on, Suarez then gifted Chelsea the lead again on 57 minutes when he was penalised for handball from a corner and Hazard calmly sent Liverpool’s goal stopper,  Reina the wrong way from the spot to keep Chelsea aloft.

The most controversial moment of today’s league actions came midway through the second half and a tangle between Suarez and Ivanovic resulted in the Liverpool striker appearing to bite the Chelsea defender on the arm.

Substitute Jonjo Shelvey side-footed a great opportunity to equalise for Liverpool wide with five minutes to go and Sturridge was fortunate to escape punishment for a challenge on Ryan Bertrand.

With Chelsea looking set to hold on for a much needed win, Sturridge crossed from the right deep into stoppage-time and Suarez's near-post header beat Cech as the two sides share the spoils of the game.