Pure delight: Chelsea players mob Frank Lampard after his goal sealed the points against LiverpoolCarlo Ancelotti saluted his celebrating Chelsea players and hailed their 2-0 win at Liverpool as the moment the Barclays Premier League title headed for Stamford Bridge.
The Chelsea manager emerged from a noisy away dressing room and claimed that, although the race will go to the final Sunday after Manchester United’s 1-0 win at Sunderland, any doubt about the outcome had been removed.
Chelsea may still have to beat Wigan at home, but Ancelotti was adamant his players’ party mood was not misplaced.
‘We may still have work to do, but this was the key game in the fight for the title,’ he said. ‘It was the important one, and it was a fantastic performance and result. I’m very happy.’
Didier Drogba gave Chelsea the lead by seizing on Steven Gerrard’s weak back pass and United manager Sir Alex Ferguson said: ‘It was a great gift. There’s nothing we can do about it now, we just have to get on with it.’
Hand up who wants the title: Carlo Ancelotti's name was sung proudly by the Chelsea fans at AnfieldAncelotti added: ‘It was a difficult step for us to take here at Anfield, but we played with personality and courage, as well as great tactical awareness.
'There was a great deal of pressure on us, going into this game, but the way we handled it has put us in a very good situation.’
The Chelsea boss did not stay at Anfield to watch United’s televised game against Sunderland, which kicked off half-an-hour after his players had left the pitch.
Ancelotti said: ‘I’m not really interested. I always said the title would go to the last game.’
Gerrard’s blunder was the turning point, according to Ancelotti, who also paid tribute to Frank Lampard’s opportunism for the second strike.
‘Liverpool seemed to lose strength after the first goal,’ he said. ‘It was not easy for them, after they played on Thursday, but if the stadium was quiet, maybe it was because of the way we played. It was my first visit here. I leave with happy memories.
‘I wasn’t at all surprised that Frank came up with the decisive second goal. He has this fantastic skill to move into the area at just the right time and that is why he has 26 goals to his name this season.’
Ancelotti had to be prompted by coach Ray Wilkins to acknowledge demands for a wave from Chelsea’s travelling supporters.
Sliding home: Frank Lampard put in another man of the match performance‘I didn’t understand what they were chanting, so Ray had to explain to me,’ smiled the Italian, who duly obliged. ‘They have followed us and supported the team, and I was happy to say thank you to them.’
Rafa Benitez again flatly refused to answer questions about his future, amid mounting speculation next Sunday’s game at Hull will be his farewell appearance before joining Juventus.
‘I still have not heard from anyone at the club, but I hope to sit down with the chairman and speak with him in the next few days, hopefully in the coming week,’ he said.
‘Do I want to stay? I do not want to talk about this too much. This season has not been the best, with 11 Premier League defeats, but there have been a lot of problems.
'It seems the manager here has been taking responsibility for everything over the past two years.’
source: dailymail
