Queiroz: Chelsea losing invincible aura

Carlos Queiroz feels Chelsea are starting to be found out by their Premiership rivals.

After 18 months of almost total dominance, Jose Mourinho’s side are suddenly struggling much more than they used to.

It took a hotly-disputed Didier Drogba effort to provide a cushion against a badly weakened Manchester City side at Stamford Bridge, with the Blues failing to score at all in the second half once visitors’ skipper Sylvain Distin had been dismissed.

Throw in Chelsea’s poor recent record on their travels – they have won just once in six away games, a run which continued in such bad-tempered fashion at Fulham last weekend – and it is easy to see why Queiroz has arrived at his theory.

It may come too late to help United regain their Premiership crown this season but over the past few weeks but Sir Alex Ferguson’s assistant has detected a change in approach from Chelsea’s opponents.

No longer, it appears, are they prepared to play into Mourinho’s hands by pushing forward and allowing the Blues midfield runners to get beyond Didier Drogba.

Instead, they are sitting back and suffocating the space. As a result, Chelsea do not appear quite so invincible anymore.

“If you allow Chelsea to use the aces they have, they are a killing machine,” said Queiroz.

“But from what I have seen recently, opponents are playing with much more caution against them.

“People are understanding how to play against them now. They are trying to explore Chelsea’s weaknesses and the results are coming.”

The win over City means Mourinho’s side now require 13 points from their final seven games to emulate United as the only back to back title winners of the Premiership era.

A fixture list which sees them tackle West Ham on home soil, plus tricky trips to Bolton, Blackburn and Newcastle suggests Chelsea may not achieve their task with any comfort, although United’s end-of-season run-in is arguably even more difficult as it includes encounters with Bolton, Arsenal and Tottenham.

The Red Devils’ task is to try and ensure they still have a chance of overhauling Chelsea when they visit Stamford Bridge on the penultimate weekend.

Realistically, it means adding another seven straight league wins to the five they have already, starting with tomorrow’s Old Trafford clash with ailing Birmingham.

Yet, if such a favourable sequence of results can be achieved, Queiroz feels a ninth Premier League championship might yet be theirs.

“We cannot control what Chelsea do or what other teams do against them,” he said.

“But at the moment we are releasing a message that we are strong and playing fantastic football. We are being very entertaining and we have a lot of confidence.

“We have two games in hand over Chelsea and we have still to play them. If we can show enough quality to win those fixtures, anything can happen.”

Meanwhile, Queiroz has reaffirmed United’s desire to keep top scorer Ruud van Nistelrooy.

The prolific Dutchman has been on the bench for the Red Devils’ past four games and is expected to be a substitute again tomorrow.

Inter Milan owner Massimo Moratti claimed earlier this week he knew Van Nistelrooy was unhappy with life at Old Trafford but, just as he did prior to last weekend’s win over West Brom, Queiroz insists the 29-year-old figures in Ferguson’s long-term plans.

“There is nothing to say about Ruud,” said Queiroz.

“What we said about him last week applies this week, next week and every other week.”