Carlo Ancelotti looking forward to reunion with Roberto Mancini
Chelsea manager Carlo Ancelotti is looking forward to meeting up with Manchester City boss Roberto Mancini — but dismissed his fellow Italian’s claim that the Blues will stroll to the English Premier League title this season.
The old friends’ clubs will clash in the league tomorrow, and Ancelotti will be looking for revenge after City emerged triumphant in both of the clubs’ games last term.
Chelsea managed to recover from those defeats to claim their first championship win in four years and, after steam-rolling over all-comers in the league so far this campaign, former Inter Milan manager Mancini said that the Stamford Bridge outfit will hang
on to the EPL title this season.
Ancelotti has rejected such a notion though and, while Mancini’s claim may just be a subtle attempt to unsettle the defending champions, former AC Milan boss Ancelotti has said that his friend was not playing mind games.
He told his club’s official website on Friday that, “I think it is not a mind game, I know him very well, for this reason he knows us very well, he knows our ability, and I think that's what he thinks. It is not dangerous for us.”
Ancelotti has long been friends with his City counterpart, as they played together for the Italy national team in the 1980s and 1990s. They developed a friendly rivalry when they were both in charge of the Milan clubs.
But the Chelsea boss made sure to point out that he was ahead in the pair’s matches against each other. He said that, “We were team mates in the past on the national team. I met him two months ago in Manchester and the relationship is very good. He is very
competitive and he has experience — he has ability to read the game. [In Milan] sometimes he won, sometimes I won. 8-7 and three draws — I want to improve my lead.”
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