Chelsea put in display to match flat atmosphere

SO OFTEN an occasion for celebration, Chelsea’s final home game of the season had all the atmosphere of a sombre wake.

This year there would no last minute bolt for the title, no celebratory showboating with silverware and when Steven Taylor denied the Blues victory with an added-time header, the mood was complete. The damage had been done a week earlier when Carlo Ancelotti’s side failed to beat Manchester United at Old Trafford, all but handing the title to Alex Ferguson’s side and, increasingly it seems, drawing a line under the manager’s prospects of retaining his job.

Ancelotti remains steadfast in his desire to see out the remaining 12 months of his contract owner Roman Abramovich is not known for his patience and last season’s success in steering the club to its first ever league and FA Cup double appears likely to count for little when set against this season’s failure to land a trophy. Ancelotti’s lap of honour alongside his players appeared more like a final farewell than a brief, summer send-off.