Carlo Ancelotti insists there is no chance Chelsea will lose their nerve as they approach the final furlong of the race for the Premier League title.
Ancelotti’s side are within touching distance of winning the league for the first time since 2006 after Tuesday’s 1-0 win over Bolton left the Blues four points clear of Man United with four games to go.
The leaders looked anxious at times as they labored to kill off Bolton and Owen Coyle’s team could even have snatched a draw if referee Lee Probert had awarded either of two strong penalty claims.
PHOTO: AFP
Ancelotti is adamant his players’ ability to grind out wins from tense encounters like the Bolton game shows they are made of the right stuff to end United’s three-year reign as champions.
“We don’t want to look at the other teams. The Premier League is in our hands. We have to stay focused and calm and prepare for our games,” Ancelotti said. “We have to play game by game and we are not interested in the results of the other teams.”
“There was pressure on us because we had to improve our position. The players have a very good motivation to finish the season well,” he said.
Suggestions from Bolton striker Kevin Davies that his former Wanderers team-mate Nicolas Anelka doesn’t like playing with Didier Drogba were made to look wide of the mark as the pair combined for Chelsea’s winner on Tuesday.
Anelka’s close-range header from Drogba’s 43rd minute cross was his first goal in 14 matches.
Bolton boss Coyle was aggrieved his team was not awarded penalties for Drogba’s handball as he tried to clear from Davies and then when Terry blocked Lee Chung-yong’s cross with his arm.
“We didn’t need any luck. We only needed the officials to get the big decisions right,” Coyle said. “There were two stonewall penalties out there for handballs. The first one when Drogba handballs in the area. He could play world-class volleyball for anybody on that evidence.”
“Then there’s the second one when John Terry handles it. The assistant referee says it hit his shoulder, but it’s a clear penalty. He must have a shoulder that stretches down to his ankles in that case,” he said.
Bologna on Thursday advanced past Empoli to reach their first Coppa Italia final in more than half a century. Thijs Dallinga’s 87th-minute header earned Bologna a 2-1 win and his side advanced 5-1 on aggregate. Giovanni Fabbian opened the scoring for Bologna with a header seven minutes in. Then Viktor Kovalenko equalized for Empoli in the 30th minute by turning in a rebound to finish off a counterattack. Bologna won the first leg 3-0. In the May 14 final in Rome, Bologna are to face AC Milan, who eliminated city rivals Inter 4-1 on aggregate following a 3-0 win on Wednesday. Bologna last reached the
If the Wild finally break through and win their first playoff series in a decade, Minnesota’s top line likely will be the reason. They were all over the Golden Knights through the first two games of their NHL Western Conference quarter-finals series, which was 1-1 going back to Minnesota for Game 3 today. The Wild tied the series with a 5-2 win on Tuesday. Matt Boldy had three goals and an assist in the first two games, while Kirill Kaprizov produced two goals and three assists. Joel Eriksson Ek, who centers the line, has yet to get on the scoresheet. “I think the biggest
The Minnesota Timberwolves, with so many promising performances spoiled by late mistakes fresh in their memory bank, sure timed this strong finish well. Jaden McDaniels scored a career playoff-high 30 points and spearheaded Minnesota’s stifling defense on an ailing Luka Doncic, and the Timberwolves beat the Los Angeles Lakers 116-104 to take a 2-1 lead in the best-of-seven Western Conference first-round series in Minneapolis, Minnesota, on Friday night. “Jaden never looks tired. He looks like he could play 48 minutes,” said teammate Anthony Edwards, who had 29 points, eight rebounds and eight assists. Julius Randle added 22 points for the Wolves, who outscored
From a commemorative jersey to a stadium in his name, Argentine soccer organizers are planning a slew of tributes to their late “Captain” Pope Francis, eulogized as the ultimate team player. Tributes to the Argentine pontiff, a lifelong lover of the game, who died on Monday at the age of 88, have been peppered with soccer metaphors in his homeland. “Francisco. What a player,” the Argentine Football Federation (AFA) said, describing the first pope from Latin America and the southern hemisphere as a generational talent who “never hogged the ball” and who showed the world “the importance of having an Argentine captain,
RSS