Euro Exit Aids Ancelotti

Carlo Ancelotti admits Chelsea's exit from the UEFA Champions League may have been a blessing in disguise.

The Blues slipped out of Europe's premier club competition at the hands of Jose Mourinho's Inter Milan.

Few at the time welcomed the stumble at the last-16 stage, but have since realised that it could play into their hands.

Having enjoyed a midweek free of continental competition in the build-up to their vital top of the table meeting with Manchester United on Saturday, Chelsea were able to make their fresh legs count.

A 2-1 win at Old Trafford returned them to the Premier League summit, opening up a two-point gap on the Red Devils and a three-point cushion on Arsenal.

Ancelotti accepts that, with the Gunners also still in the Champions League, his side appear to hold the upper hand heading into the final throes of the season and hopes they can make the most of the opportunity put in front of them.

"Maybe it is an advantage not to play in the Champions League," said the Italian coach.

"It is important to be able to train during the week.

"It is important at this moment of the season because it is very busy for the teams who are in the Champions League. We have to take advantage of it."

Rest Provides Tonic For Chelsea Against United, Says Florent Malouda

According to Florent Malouda, who engineered the opening goal, Chelsea came to Old Trafford with a plan. "We knew we would be fresher than United, we didn't have a game in midweek," the French winger said. "That's why we started the game so quickly. We knew if we kept at a high intensity they would have some problems, and that's how it worked out."

Sir Alex Ferguson said beforehand that United were used to playing two games in a week and extra rest would not necessarily work to Chelsea's advantage, though Carlo Ancelotti's post-match summary appeared nearer the mark. "Of course we were fresher than United," the Chelsea manager said. "When you play a Champions League game you lose a lot of energy."

Ferguson accepted as much in the end and admitted his players looked leggy in the first half, yet he surely contributed to the effect by giving his ageing trio of treble veterans their third game in a week. It was one thing to select Gary Neville, Paul Scholes and Ryan Giggs against Bolton last Saturday, and another to involve them to varying degrees against Bayern Munich, 11 years after the Camp Nou event, but to start the trio again in a title-decider against Chelsea smacked of either loyalty, or United's resources, being stretched too far.

After confessing he possibly blundered in Germany by playing Park Ji-sung instead of Antonio Valencia, Ferguson came to the mystifying conclusion that the Korean was worth a try in the centre of midfield here, with Giggs returned to his old left-wing beat and Nani left on the bench. It was scarcely a success, with both Park and Giggs anonymous and Nani having to come on to create United's goal before the end, though at least the pair avoided being booked for failing to keep up with the pace of the game, which is effectively what happened to Scholes and Neville.

Scholes had an off-day with his distribution, repeatedly hitting overoptimistic passes no winger could hope to reach. In addition to a foul on Malouda that earned him his caution, Neville was out of position when the winger came down the right to set up Joe Cole's early goal. Wayne Rooney may be injured, though Ferguson had younger alternatives on the bench in Rafael da Silva, Michael Carrick and Darron Gibson. While it is no secret the Scot values experience in big games, here he appeared to overdose on it. Chelsea, the side he politely suggested last season were not getting any younger, were the ones to take advantage. It would appear United are not getting any younger, either, and, though it would not be the first time they have suffered through taking on Europe as well as the rest of the Premier League, this may be the first self-inflicted setback.

It remains remarkable that United are still getting service from three players in their mid-30s who have been with the same club all their careers. It would be more remarkable still, beyond even Camp Nou improbability, for the old guard to save United's season now. Ferguson has not only been blessed with a golden generation; he can be congratulated, as can the players, on extracting full value from it. But nothing lasts forever.

Joe Cole Puts World Cup 2010 Dream On Hold

Joe Cole is putting his World Cup dream to one side in order to concentrate on making Chelsea champions again.

Cole has endured a difficult time since returning from cruciate surgery in September and was left out of Fabio Capello's squad for the recent friendly win over Egypt at Wembley.

"You cannot talk your way into the England squad," Cole told www.bbc.co.uk after scoring Chelsea's opening goal in their 2-1 win at Manchester United. "If I am playing regularly in a team fighting to be champions I will have every chance. But my main focus now is Chelsea."

He added: "It is very important this club gets back to the summit of English football. I want to be part of the team that becomes champions again."

Cole admits he has found it hard to hold down a regular place in Carlo Ancelotti's side.

The fierce competition for places at Stamford Bridge meant easing himself back to form was not an option and as the season dragged on, it seemed Ancelotti was determined to keep both Nicolas Anelka and Didier Drogba in his starting line-up.

A minor injury that kept Drogba out of the Villa game gave Cole his chance and it would be a brave man who altered the formation again given how close Chelsea are to reclaiming a crown they last won under Jose Mourinho in 2006.

"It is not down to me to pick the team," said Cole. "But I enjoy playing on that right side.

"We changed the system in January and things went really well. We also changed the system in the last three games and the same thing has happened.

"I never lost belief in myself and there is no doubting what I can do. I just needed a run of games."

Ferguson On Didier Drogba Winner

Sir Alex Ferguson blasted blunder linesman Simon Beck for allowing Didier Drogba to score a blatant offside winner at Old Trafford.

The angry Man United boss hit out after his Premier League champions were knocked off the top by Chelsea's Didier Drogba.

Alex Ferguson blasted: “What I can’t understand is that the linesman is directly in front of it.

“There is nobody near him. Not a soul in front of him. He sees it and he gets it wrong.
‘‘With a game of this magnitude you need quality officials.

“We didn’t get them I’m afraid. It was a poor, poor performance. And when I saw that Mike Dean was the referee I did worry. But I’m not going down that road.

“That is twice, though, that we have lost out to refereeing decisions against Chelsea. Down at Stamford Bridge it was exactly the same.

“We have been caught on the wrong end of it this season. It’s just the quality of officials which has cost us. If he can’t get that right why is he officiating on Saturday?”

Chelsea boss Carlos Ancelotti wouldn’t be dragged into a slanging match but did say: “It’s only offside when the flag goes up.”

Both managers couldn’t agree either who were title favourites with the bookies making Chelsea their 8/13choice to be crowned kings and deny United their fourth in a row.

Ferguson added: “Chelsea are favourites now. There are five games left and they have two points more with a better goal difference. They are in the driving seat.

“I am certain we will respond but we can win all the next five games and not win the title. It’s a good position now for them to be in.

“We have to lift our players and we still have an opportunity to get into the semi finals of the Champions League. That should be incentive enough.”

Ancelotti added: “We’re not the favourites. But we have gone top. We have five games left. We have to stay focused and keep our composure. We now have a better possibility for winning the title.

“We have to be calm and quiet and be very focused. We have had a good reaction from the Inter Milan defeat. My players are very strong and they are very professional.

Petr Cech Hopeful Of Premier League Title Chances

Chelsea goalkeeper Petr Cech is hopeful his side can maintain their title challenge following Saturday's victory over Manchester United.

The Blues are now top of the league and two points ahead of United with five games remaining.

And Cech insists his team must handle the pressure of being front-runners after the crucial victory at Old Trafford.

"It is very important to win these matches, the so-called six-pointers," he wrote on his personal website.

"It is equally important for us to manage the fixtures we have remaining.

"We are now in a position where our destiny is in our hands and it is up to us to cope with it."

The Czech international also entered the debate surrounding Didier Drogba's goal, which appeared to be offside, pointing out that United's goal was equally controversial when Federico Macheda appeared to touch the ball with his hand.

"If everyone is talking about an offside position for our second goal, then there should also be talk about the handball which helped lead to Manchester United's goal," he said.

"With that in mind, one situation and one decision went our way, but the second situation and decision went against us.

"After all that, it is clear that we were still better by one goal and deserved to win."

Florent Malouda Claims Manchester United Are Running Out Of Steam

Florent Malouda reckons Manchester United have cause for concern ahead of Wednesday's Champions League clash with Bayern Munich after claiming the Reds are running out of steam.

Chelsea moved back to the summit of the Premier League with a convincing 2-1 win at Old Trafford on Saturday, thanks to goals from Joe Cole and Didier Drogba.

It was just deserts for Carlo Ancelotti's side, who outplayed their rivals for large parts of the match, as United failed to find their rhythm.

And Malouda, who set up Chelsea's opening goal, blamed United's poor performance on fatigue after they lost in Munich on Tuesday.

'We knew we would be fresher than United, we didn't have a game in midweek,' the French winger said.

'That's why we started the game so quickly. We knew if we kept at a high intensity they would have some problems, and that's how it worked out.'

Chelsea were dumped out of the Champions League by Inter Milan last month and in the build up to Saturday's showdown Sir Alex Ferguson insisted the extra rest would not necessarily work to Chelsea's advantage, though Carlo Ancelotti's post-match summary appeared nearer the mark.

'Of course we were fresher than United,' the Chelsea manager said. 'When you play a Champions League game you lose a lot of energy.’

Malouda Eyes World Cup Start

Chelsea's in-form winger Florent Malouda is hoping to start this summer's World Cup finals for France.

The 29-year-old is currently enjoying a purple patch for Carlo Ancelotti's side having scored four goals in three games.

Malouda was instrumental in Chelsea's 2-1 win at Manchester United on Saturday, although he is not a regular starter for Raymond Domenech.

The France boss has opted for Bayern Munich star Franck Ribery on the left of late, with Malouda restricted to a role off the bench.

However, Malouda is backing himself to impress Domenech and get the nod when the South Africa tournament starts in June.

"I have faith in myself," he told Canal Plus. "I hope to earn a position in the starting line-up.

"I hope I can play at the same level for France as at club level but to do that, I have to be given playing time.

"If I am at my best then I'm able to be part of that team."

Chelsea Boy Clearly Wants United Move

Chelsea fans will begrudgingly admit that Joe Cole has been shit for them since returning from injury. The winger that has always had to prove himself has been obviously frustrated by his lack of opportunities under Carlo Ancelotti and this has been reflected by his performances on the pitch.

“The player who has surprised me most is Joe Cole,” they said. “I just can’t work out what’s happened to him. He’s always been a player who has had to prove himself season after season and he’s never truly been appreciated at Chelsea as far as I’m concerned. Having said that, no matter what’s going on behind the scenes, he has always produced the goods on the pitch. This season though, it just hasn’t been happening for him and together with the lack of a contract, which worries me a lot.”

Cole always said he would never bring his contract negotiations in to the press, the way “Chelsea legends” John Terry and Frank Lampard did, to squeeze more money out of the club they “love”. Maybe he was naive but he genuinely seemed to believe that football was more than just about money. Sadly for him, he is playing at the wrong club. Money is everything at CFC and after Cole’s poor season, the club aren’t interested in rewarding loyalty (that is something the club is interested in after the player threats to play football elsewhere) and have offered him a poor deal. He is 28-years-old and looking to sign the last big contract of his career but his club isn’t too bothered.

“I’ve never spoken publicly about contracts before,” Cole said at the beginning of March. “I don’t think contracts should really be discussed mid-season. I have always signed mine in the summer in the past. But this time it’s different. We can’t seem to find common ground and it’s distracting. At the moment there is no offer on the table, so I know where I stand.”

Cole has been heavily linked with a move to United, with Sir Alex Ferguson named as a long term suitor of the attacking midfielder. We wouldn’t offer him the money he wants from Chelsea, but we would offer him the opportunity to play for one of the biggest clubs in the world, under the best manager in the world, alongside some of the best players in the world. Whatever his feelings for Chelsea, he would be mad not to consider a future at United, regardless of what we offered him in weekly wages.

After a poor season for Chelsea, it comes as no surprise that he would have the game of his life against United. Just as our players recommended Eric Cantona to Ferguson after we played Leeds, and they did the same for Cristiano Ronaldo, I’m sure our lads will have a thing or two to say about Cole after his good performance today.

Is it really a coincidence that he’s been poor all season for Chelsea, where they’ve offered him little respect in terms of a contract, only to play out of his skin at Old Trafford in front of Sir Alex Ferguson? I don’t think so.