Carlo Ancelotti admits Chelsea were not the best this season, blames injuries
http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Chelsea-c38786 boss Carlo Ancelotti admitted his squad had not been the best this season and had struggled with injuries to key players which had cost them the season. This has been Chelsea’s worst slump in over 15 years and this will be the first time the Blues
end up trophy less ever since Russian billionaire Roman Abramovich took charge of the club in 2003.
Ancelotti said while speaking to reporters, “I don't think the squad was good enough this year.” The Italian manager was of course referring to the likes of http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Florent-Malouda-c13838 and Frank Lampard. All the players who had played
a big role in clenching the domestic double of the Premier League and the FA Cup in his first season at Stamford Bridge.
The Italian manager also mentioned the effect injuries had had on key players and effectively on their season. Ancelotti said, “At the start of the season, we couldn't have envisaged having very important players out at the same time. We struggled to manage
this - without Lampard, Drogba, Essien, Terry, Alex. It was very difficult.”
The former AC Milan manager has had a tough time with injuries to key players, who have been absent for the better part of the season. Ivory Coast striker Didier Drogba was diagnosed with malaria and had to be rested until he fully recovered. England international
http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Frank-Lampard-c14097 missed most of the first half of the season, sidelined with various injuries.
Drogba and Lampard have been crucial in recent seasons in establishing Chelsea as one of the top teams in not only the English Premier League but also Europe. The 33-year-old Ivorian was the highest goal scorer for the Blues and Lampard’s contribution of
27 goals also helped the Blues to the Premier League title, beating rivals Manchester United and Arsenal.
This season, the absence of these players has undoubtedly affected the Blues and they are likely to finish without any silverware. They were eliminated from the Carling Cup and the FA Cup earlier on in the season, while losing their spot at the top of the
league. Their recent disappointment was the elimination from the UEFA Champions League quarter-finals by Manchester United.
Ancelotti revealed it had been a difficult time without the key players, he continued, “At a certain point in the season, we needed to put [Paulo] Ferreira in at centre-back because we'd lost all our other centre-backs. In the difficult moment, it was not
easy to move on without these kind of players. We missed them in November and December when we didn't play well.”
With only six games remaining in the English Premier League, Chelsea are currently at third place on the Premier League. Their main aim now is to finish in the top three to qualify for the Champions League next season.
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