Malouda rushes to Drogba’s defence

FLORENT MALOUDA has defended Didier Drogba’s right to speak out about his feelings after the French striker revealed that he had hoped he failed his Chelsea medical and was “disgusted” on the day he signed for the club.

“I think it’s good that he says what he thinks, rather than keeping his bitterness inside,” said Malouda, who played with Drogba at Guingamp. “Didier is the kind of guy who often leads the way and speaks out. And he always says what’s on his mind because he feels it in his heart.

“I was aware of what was going on and the story behind the scenes and I knew what state of mind Didier was in. He didn’t lead me into a trap or anything,” Malouda told L’Equipe.

And Malouda tried to excuse Drogba’s comments by explaining the background to his move to Chelsea. “Didier was grimacing when he signed for Chelsea,” he said. “He wasn’t aware of the opportunity opening up for him. His reluctance was all down to the amazing relationship he had with the Marseille fans. That was something quite incredible. Marseille was where he wanted to be and the people loved him so much.”

Dynamo were chicken in Kiev, claims Hargreaves

By Simon Stone

OWEN HARGREAVES has accused Dynamo Kiev of being “afraid” of Manchester United a fortnight ago. United romped to a 4-2 win in the Ukraine, completing one of the easiest European away triumphs during Alex Ferguson’s stint in charge.

Providing Ferguson’s side can confirm their superiority over Kiev at Old Trafford tomorrow, they will book a place in the knockout phase with two games to spare.

Said Hargreaves: “Dynamo seemed a bit afraid of us in Kiev.

“It is very rare in the Champions League that you see someone pulled apart so easily and concede four goals at home. Normally, those type of games are very difficult but Dynamo were really quite poor, surprisingly so for that level of competition.”

Although a change of coach, which has seen former Arsenal star Oleg Luzhny handed the top job, has only come about due to the ill-health of Jozef Sabo, Kiev clearly hope the move can have a galvanising effect on a team yet to register a point in Group F.

It seems unlikely they will gain anything from Old Trafford though.

Ferguson’s side saw their eight-game Premier League winning streak come to an end thanks to William Gallas’ injury-time strike at the Emirates Stadium at the weekend, but they remain very much in-form.

The added bonus of key players such as Michael Carrick, Louis Saha, Gary Neville and Hargreaves himself all returning to action since the game in Kiev only fuels the feeling United will cruise home.

“I am sure Kiev will try to redeem themselves but we are at home and we are expecting to win,” said Hargreaves, who won the competition with Bayern. That would give us 12 points and many teams have qualified for the second phase with less.”

It would certainly represent one of the more straightforward qualifying campaigns during Ferguson’s spell as United chief, confirming the theory that, after their semi-final appearance 12 months ago, the Scot has moulded together another side capable of challenging at the very highest level.

However long Ferguson has left, and weekend pronouncements suggest the 65-year-old has no inclination to step down any time soon, after nine Premier League wins, five FA Cups and a League Cup triumph, adding another Champions League crown to the one he won so famously in 1999 represents the major remaining ambition.

Hargreaves feels the Red Devils have the capability to exceed last year’s last-four berth. But, given the extreme nature of competition, the Calgary-born star accepts United must hit the pinnacle of their powers at exactly the right time.

“It is not about peaking now, it is about peaking towards the end of the season,” he said.

“Obviously, it is great to be playing well now but it is towards the end of the season that we want to be at our best and have everybody playing well.’’