Tough Week for Chelsea
A Midweek loss to Inter Milan, knocking them out the Champions League, and now a weekend Premier League tie to mid-table Blackburn, costing Chelsea 2 important points in the race for the League title.
The tie drops Chelsea 4 points back of league leader Manchester United, who beat struggling Liverpool 2-1, and for the first time this year Chelsea is also looking up at Arsenal who moved into second with a weekend victory over London rival West Ham.
Manchester United sits with 69 points, Arsenal 67 and Chelsea 65. Chelsea does have a game in hand over both teams ahead of them, and plays Manchester United once more this season. So they still control their own fate for winning the league, but that cannot make Sunday’s tie at Blackburn any easier to swallow.
On a day that Chelsea wanted to avenge their mid week loss to Inter and exit from the Champions League, things started out well at Ewood Park. Nicolas Anelka, coming down the right side, fed a nice fall back to Didier Drogba, who nailed it home with his left foot to give Chelsea an early lead, just 5 minutes into the game.
It stayed that way until late in the second half. In the 70th minute El-Hadji Diouf broke the Blues heart and spirit with the game equalizer. Neither team really threatened the rest of the way. Chelsea’s best chance for more goals came in the first half. Salomon Kalou had a couple chances, and Drogba another.
First year manager Carlo Ancelotti, who has heard little criticism in time at Chelsea, now must suddenly face up to the fact that his team in out of the Champion’s League and now in third place in the title race and in dire straits.
In his post game news conference Ancelotti admitted, “This is a difficult time for Chelsea.”
No doubt he hoping for a better week.
By: Ron Furlong
DFN Sports Staff Writer
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