Ancelotti hails Blues' true grit

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(China Daily)
Updated: 2009-09-14 09:22

STOKE, England: Chelsea will embark on their Champions League campaign this week in a buoyant mood after a stoppage-time win at Stoke that coach Carlo Ancelotti hailed as just reward for his side's determination.

The Premier League leaders had looked destined to drop their first points of the season until Florent Malouda struck deep in injury time to seal a 2-1 win at the Britannia Stadium on Saturday.

Ancelotti hails Blues' true grit

But Ancelotti insisted there was nothing fortunate about a goal that extended his side's winning start to the season to five matches.

"We maintained good control throughout the match and that was important," he said. "We applied a lot of pressure and were rewarded for our play.

"We know all about Stoke and were not surprised by the way they play. We were ready for a physical match and knew how to deal with the long ball. A victory is always welcome and this is a very important period for us as we now have the Champions League ahead.

"To be top of the league is very important. We have good confidence in our play and a very good atmosphere in the dressing room. We are doing very well and want to continue in this good position for as long as we can. We have a very good squad."

Mascherano to return

LIVERPOOL: Rafa Benitez is confident that Argentina midfielder Javier Mascherano will be fit for the start of Liverpool's Champions League campaign.

Mascherano was missing as his side demolished Burnley 4-0 at Anfield on Saturday, with his replacement Yossi Benayoun scoring the third hat trick of his Liverpool career.

But Benitez expects Mascherano to be available for Wednesday's game against Hungarian side Debrecen at Anfield after the midfielder was given special permission to remain in South America for treatment.

Mascherano suffered a pelvis injury playing for Argentina in their 1-0 World Cup qualifying defeat against Paraguay on Wednesday.

"He will be back here tomorrow (Sunday)," said Benitez after his side recorded back-to-back Premier League victories for the first time this season.

"It's not serious. He has had some problems and he's been doing some tests over there. We gave him permission to stay there but he is coming back."

Fergie backs team to retain title

Ancelotti hails Blues' true grit

LONDON: Sir Alex Ferguson has backed Manchester United to defy their critics and secure a fourth consecutive English Premier League title this season.

United were widely seen as being severely weakened by the departures of Cristiano Ronaldo and Carlos Tevez this summer and the doubts mushroomed after an unconvincing start to the season, which included a defeat at newly-promoted Burnley.

But Ferguson's side is now finding an ominous rhythm and, two weeks after crushing Wigan 5-0 at the DW Stadium, it chalked up another impressive victory on Saturday, ending Tottenham's unbeaten start to the campaign with a 3-1 victory.

"It's early in the season and too early to say, but I think we will be in the shake-up," Ferguson said. "We said before the season that we have the players here, we're improving all the time.

"Look at Darren Fletcher now and the way he is playing. You've got the experience of Paul Scholes, Ryan Giggs and Gary Neville. There is no reason why we can't win the league with these players. I've got confidence in them but obviously it's going to be tight."

AFP