Ballack: Chelsea players held set-piece inquest

MICHAEL BALLACK has revealed how Chelsea’s players held a training ground inquest into the set-piece errors which are threatening to disrupt their season.

Chelsea face Atletico Madrid in the Champions League at Stamford Bridge tonight hoping for a victory that will take them one step closer to qualifying for the knockout stages.

But even though Atletico have endured their worst start to a season since 1994, they still have enough quality to upset the Blues’ European campaign.

Chelsea are becoming increasingly concerned by the defensive errors that allowed Aston Villa to inflict a second successive away defeat last Saturday.

Chelsea lost 2-1 with both goals being conceded from corners. Captain John Terry was furious with their defensive lapses and Germany midfielder Ballack, who missed the game with an ankle injury, revealed the squad are determined to eradicate the mistakes.

“John’s reaction on the pitch showed that he takes a big responsibility not just for himself but for the team,” said Ballack. “He was really disappointed when we conceded the second goal.

“That’s what you need, emotions like that, to make sure it doesn’t happen again. We speak with each other. We have no problem criticising each other in the dressing room.

“I was there the next day and we spoke about it. Everybody has to make an impact on the situation, me too. Everybody has to take responsibility, otherwise we will concede more goals.”

Coach Carlo Ancelotti admits his team have spent time working on set-pieces ahead of the clash.

“We have worked on this particular situation,” said Ancelotti. “We have to pay attention on set plays in the game.

“But we have worked on them because we have to improve. You can play good matches, like we did at Aston Villa, but if you don’t pay attention for six seconds – for one set-play – you come away with a bad result.

“This is not good. We have to put in a good match tomorrow, too, and we have to win it.’’

Meanwhile Atletico coach Abel Resino insists victory over Chelsea can kick-start their season.

The Spanish side are yet to win a game in Group D. They are five points adrift of Chelsea and defeat tonight would be a massive blow to their hopes of qualifying for the knockout stages.

But Resino, who defended questions over his future with the Spanish side, believes they can upset the Blues.

“We are in a bad situation at the moment and we need to turn it around,” said Resino. “We need to play in a relaxed manner and that is what we are trying to do. We can win tomorrow. We are in a bad moment but we are working hard.”

Former Manchester United striker Diego Forlan is relishing the prospect of returning to England.

“I love the pressure of these games,” said Forlan. “We haven’t started well. We have had some difficult games and have been struggling since the beginning. Now we are trying to get the shape back and start winning games as soon as possible.”