Tuesday, December 28, 2010

Cech: We can't find the right chemistry

Petr Cech has refused to concede defeat in the Premier League title race even though he admits Chelsea's judgement on the pitch has deserted them.
The champions' slump has now descended into a full-blown crisis after embarking on their worst run since 1998 by dropping 18 points in their last eight games. On 6 November, they sat five points clear at the summit of the table, yet by the end of tomorrow's clash with Bolton they may occupy sixth place.
Chelsea were exposed once again at Emirates Stadium last night when their five-match winning sequence against Arsenal ended with a shattering 3-1 defeat. Bereft of confidence against their title rivals, they were undone by two goals in 90 seconds from Cesc Fabregas and Theo Walcott shortly after half-time.
Trailing 3-0, they appeared powerless to stage a meaningful fightback and Cech admits they have become ruinously error-prone. "We are not used to seeing Chelsea play the way we are playing at the moment," said the Czech keeper.
"The reality is we aren't doing the right things on the pitch, we are making mistakes and we got punished for the mistakes. On the second and third goals, it was really unlike Chelsea. I don't remember since I've been here us conceding two goals in one minute like that. We are making the wrong choices all over the pitch, defensive-wise and attacking-wise.
"We have stopped doing the things we were doing at the start of the season when we didn't concede goals and we were scoring a lot. Credit to everyone, we keep working on it and nobody's panicking. Nobody's happy with the situation but at the moment we can't find the right chemistry on the pitch. We will try to find a solution and keep working. We aren't throwing the towel in yet because we know everything can change fast."
Uncertainty now shrouds the future of manager Carlo Ancelotti, who sits third in the Premier League sack race behind Avram Grant and Mark Hughes. Ancelotti fended off questions over his position with dignity after Arsenal had crushed their capital rivals, but it is hard to envisage owner Roman Abramovich tolerating the slump should it continue.
Only last season Ancelotti steered Chelsea to a Premier League and FA Cup double and the Italian looked slightly bemused as he explained the collapse of a team that looked unstoppable just two months ago. "We lost confidence in that period without our key players," said Ancelotti. "Now we must get back to playing the way we were last season and the start of this season, but it is not so easy.
"We have to keep playing and have confidence in our ability, our play and our capacity. It's not totally wrong. We have fantastic players but at the moment, it's no good for anybody."

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