ENGLISH FA CUP Chelsea 1 Everton 1( AET, 0-0 after 90 mins, Everton won 4-3 on penalties): A DEFIANT Carlo Ancelotti has refused to countenance the possibility of his ailing Chelsea side enduring Champions League humiliation to FC Copenhagen tomorrow.
Elimination from the FA Cup on Saturday intensified the pressure on the Italian, who insisted that he would not consider his own position even if Chelsea’s season continued to unravel.
Defeat to Everton on penalties on Saturday was the London club’s first in the FA Cup since 2008 and, with Manchester United now a distant 12 points clear of the title holders, has left the Champions League as Chelsea’s only remaining route to silverware. Ancelotti and his side were due to fly to Denmark this morning before the first leg of their European tie with the stark admission that only two or three of his players were playing near their best, but insistent that a loss to Danish opponents is unthinkable.
“Chelsea will not go out against Copenhagen,” he said. “Playing this game gives us the right kind of pressure. We have 180 minutes coming up to win this tie. We have to maintain our levels, stay together and work hard together. Maybe this game will be a good moment to get a result and, obviously, keep our season alive. We are out of the FA Cup, and we haven’t done well in the Premier League: to win the Champions League will not be easy, but it brings great motivation for all of us.
“As for me, I am not here to consider my own position. It is the owner who has to consider my position. I just have to work and try my best. The pressure is football – you have to be able to manage at moments like this.”
Ancelotti has a year to run on his contract at Stamford Bridge beyond the end of this season, with no talks scheduled until summer over extending his stay. Asked whether he would ever walk away from the job, he replied: “No.” Regardless, the repercussions of elimination to the Danes would threaten his position. Chelsea already face a stern test to finish in the top four this year – they trail Tottenham Hotspur by two points after only five wins in 16 league matches – but losing over two legs to FC Copenhagen would represent humiliation.
Stale Solbakken’s side have not played a competitive fixture since early December and have never reached this stage of the knockout phase before. To be jettisoned by such unfancied opponents could yet make Ancelotti’s position untenable, whether immediately or at the end of the season.
Ancelotti was painfully realistic in conceding his team’s confidence was fragile at best. Asked how many players other than the goalkeeper Petr Cech were performing near their peak, the manager replied: “At this moment? [Branislav] Ivanovic, who is playing consistently. And [John] Terry. A couple of others are not, at this moment, playing with 100 per cent fitness.”
Everton have made amends for the aberration at Bolton last week. Further progress in this competition, with Reading to visit Goodison Park on March 1st, would make up in part for the team’s failings in the Premier League. Regardless, Moyes departed Stamford Bridge with his enthusiasm renewed. “Any manager of a team who had produced that performance last Sunday would have been upset,” said Phil Neville, whose calmly taken fifth penalty confirmed the win.
Guardian Service
