England's Ashley Cole, Jermain Defoe and Steven Gerrard were among the goals this weekend.

Ashley Cole is revelling in the praise of his club manager and teammates after scoring his first goal since May 2010.

Cole capped an excellent display from left-back in Chelsea's 1-0 victory over Stoke City with a clever finish.

The 85th-minute winner earned Chelsea three points and keeps them top of the Premier League table.

"He's a fantastic pro," said Blues boss Roberto Di Matteo. "Somebody that's the first one out in training.

"He trains every day like a professional, is reliable, somebody that you could go to war with.

"And he's a very quiet guy as well, very private. There's no doubt for me he's one of the best left backs in the world."

Cole is also hugely popular with the Stamford Bridge crowd, who chanted his name - very different to his early days in west London when he arrived from rivals Arsenal and took time to win over the supporters.

"He has become a legend here, he is now Chelsea through and through," added Di Matteo. "But I wouldn't say it's just happened recently, he's been here many years at the club and has contributed a lot."

Cole's defensive teammate Branislav Ivanovic is in no doubt about the left-back's qualities.

"For me, Ash is the best left back in the world and has been for a long time - and he's appreciated at Chelsea," said Ivanovic.

"Ash has everything - he has skill, he has speed, he can overlap going forward. He is defensively good, has a good reading of the game. 

" I'm not telling anyone anything new about his qualities. He's always been like that."

Over at Tottenham, striker Jermain Defoe is also in absolute top form - scoring the winner that handed manager Andre Villas-Boas his first home win as Spurs boss, a 2-1 triumph over QPR.

"He [Defoe] is performing at the top level," Villas-Boas said. "He has had his opportunities this season and he is taking them tremendously."

But it was a mixed day for England captain Steven Gerrard, who scored the opening goal of a highly emotional afternoon against Manchester United at Anfield on a day when tributes were paid to the 96 fans who died at Hillsborough in 1989.

Gerrard heaped praise on fans of both sides, however, saying: "There was a lot said about supporters on both sides behaving - and credit to them both, they were fantastic."

There was bad news for England's Under-21s, though, when Reds defender Martin Kelly picked up a knee injury.

England new boy Adam Lallana starred in Southampton's 4-1 victory over Aston Villa, a match which saw Rickie Lambert score twice for the Saints and Darren Bent hit the net for Villa.

England left-back Leighton Baines was one of the stars of Everton's 3-0 victory at Swansea and believes his side can challenge for the top four. "This is as good an Everton side as I have played in," he said.

In fact Baines has also targeted glory in The FA Cup, adding: "The last time we were at this level we went on to reach The FA Cup Final in 2009. We want to go on a good Cup run this year too."

Joe Hart made some impressive saves for Manchester City, but was denied a clean sheet when Arsenal earned a 1-1 draw through Laurent Koscielny - cancelling out a headed goal from England centre-back Joleon Lescott.

Tickets for England's next game, their 2014 World Cup Qualifier against San Marino at Wembley, are still on sale. Click here for details.