The One that got away?
Blackburn 1 Chelsea 1By Jeremy Cross - Monday, March 22, 2010
CARLO ANCELOTTI refused to dismiss Chelsea’s title chances despite watching his side drop two vital points at Ewood Park, but admitted his side had lost their composure and now conceded the advantage to close rivals Manchester United at the top of the table.
This result could prove to be a major setback for them come the end of the season, considering they are now four points behind United with a game in hand and still third in the table.
El Hadji Diouf scored his first goal this year to salvage a draw for Blackburn after Chelsea looked to be coasting towards another three points when Didier Drogba put them ahead after just five minutes. Carlo Ancelotti’s men threatened to run riot but missed several chances to extend their lead and paid the ultimate price midway through the second half when Diouf rose above the flat-footed Paulo Ferreira to head an equaliser with his third goal of the season.
It could and should have been so different for Chelsea, yet this setback leaves them in third place, four points behind leaders Manchester United but with a game in hand against Portsmouth on Wednesday.
Ancelotti said: "We started well and scored a nice goal. We had other chances to improve our scoring but the second half was more difficult for us. Blackburn won a lot of second balls and we lost our composure before conceding the goal. We still came back to play but it was too late and I’m disappointed. We’ve lost two points, important points.
"I don’t know if there was a hangover. We tried to win the game and forget about the defeat to Inter. For an hour we did well but this is not an easy moment for us.
"It will be more difficult for us to win the title now but not impossible. We won’t have to lose our confidence or composure.
"Manchester United are top of the table and we need to leave this moment as soon as possible. We have to win now, it’s the only solution to go forward. It’s difficult to explain why this has happened, but we need to look forward to the next game.
"We need to work together so we can stay close to Man Utd. I don’t know how many points we need for the title, but I know we need to win on Wednesday."
Drogba pounced after just five minutes for his 28th goal of the season for what looked like being the game’s decisive strike.
But Ancelotti’s men betrayed their bright start and proceeded to lose their way the longer the game went on. Blackburn were encouraged to take the game to the visitors and were duly rewarded when Diouf met Michel Salgado’s far post cross to beat Ross Turnbull.
No-one likes to upset convention more than Allardyce. As well as beating Chelsea in December, he has also got under the skin of Rafa Benitez, the Liverpool manager and takes a great sense of pride in overcoming the leading lights in English football. Only Arsenal and Liverpool have beaten Chelsea more times than Blackburn have in the Premier League – 11 – although the last time Blackburn actually scored a league goal against them was back in May, 2006.
Three of Chelsea’s five league defeats this season had also come in the north west, while Ancelotti’s men had won only two of their last seven games on the road. So the omens pointed towards a potential upset, despite the fact Allardyce was forced to hand a league debut in defence to teenager Phil Jones due to injuries to Ryan Nelsen and Gael Givet.
Chelsea, meanwhile, were without Michael Ballack after Ancelotti dropped the German international from his squad altogether.
Allardyce was delighted, especially with the performance of teenager defender Phil Jones on his league debut. "We have seen him play in the first team this year and do very well. As big a game as this was we felt it was his time to get the chance and he’s grasped it.
"He took it much better than I thought he would. Being a young lad from Chorley it’s great credit to the academy staff. Blackburn’s future success is about producing young players and he’s a great prospect. But everyone played their part because we had some injuries."
MATCH RATING: **** - Lively from the beginning with Chelsea showing their class. Blackburn could have been dead and buried by half time but hung in there with some grit and determination, which made for an interesting spectacle and they got their rewards in the end.
REFEREE: Steve Bennett (Kent) 7 - Tried to let the game flow whenever possible and used his common sense when required, although he had few contentious decisions to make.