Ancelotti: Chelsea can control title race

Chelsea manager Carlo Ancelotti believes his team can win the Premier League title following a convincing 3-0 win at Arsenal, but only if his players can remain focused and avoid complacency.

The Blues restored their five-point lead at the top of the league with victory at Emirates Stadium on Sunday as Didier Drogba scored twice and Thomas Vermaelen netted an own goal.

Chelsea's next league match comes against big-spending Manchester City at Eastlands and Ancelotti is adamant his players must maintain their focus if they are to stay on top.

"It is important for me that Chelsea continue to play as we did (against Arsenal) with determination and concentration," the 50-year-old said.

"We started the season believing we can win the title. We know very well our possibilities. We can win every game but also if we don't have determination and concentration, we can lose every game.

"We have to maintain a good behaviour in our work. We started the season believing we could win it. When I signed a contract with Chelsea, I believed we could win something."

The Premier League leaders out-muscled Arsene Wenger's young pretenders in all departments, but Ancelotti believes there is more to his team than their physical prowess.

"We have this quality of strength and when we have to use this, we can," the former AC Milan boss said. "I think this team has a lot of technical, mental and physical quality.

"We didn't want to use physical quality, we wanted to use intelligence to defend in our half and there we won the game."

Drogba's double-strike moves him to joint top of the Premier League top scorers' list with 11 goals. Ancelotti praised the 31-year-old's work-rate and also found time to applaud his strike partner Nicolas Anelka.

source:www.soccernet.com

Gattuso threatens to quit Milan

Milan midfielder Gennaro Gattuso, who is unhappy at the way he has been treated by coach Leonardo, has threatened to leave the club.

The Italian international has been a peripheral figure this season and he admitted that he is unhappy with his current situation.

"I am not happy at playing little. Will I leave? We will talk about that later," Gattuso told Sky Sport Italia

"After 11 years of playing at Milan I just cannot hope that someone gets injured in order for me to play. I cannot think that I am no longer needed by the club and team."

On Tuesday Leonardo claimed there was "no problem" with Gattuso, but the player appears to disagree.

Real Madrid coach Pellegrini to axe Higuain for Benzema at Barcelona

Real Madrid coach Manuel Pellegrini is ready to make a shock selection for the El Clasico against Barcelona.

AS says Pellegrini will drop Raul and Gonzalo Higuain to the bench and select Karim Benzema to lead the attack at the Nou Camp. Higuain scored the winner in the Champions League win over FC Zurich, while Benzema failed to take the field on the night.

Benzema has scored four goals in 13 games, while Higuain has seven from the same amount.

Even more concerning is the statistic that shows Benzema averages a goal every 244 minutes this season, while Higuain is averaging one every 112 minutes.

source: www.tribalfootball.com

Reina looks to Europa League

Pepe Reina is already targeting the Europa League after Liverpool's disappointing exit from the Champions League on Tuesday left the club with the chance for consolation in Europe's second tier club competition.

After five successive seasons of reaching the last 16, Liverpool crashed out of the Champions League at the group stage despite their 1-0 win over Debrecen, but Reina insisted the team must refocus on the competition they won under its previous name - the UEFA Cup - in 2001.

"Of course we are disappointed because the Champions League is a big competition that we have done well in. Now we are out, though. It's tough but it is not always possible to get out of the group stage," Reina said.

"The Europa League is another competition for us and we want to win it. It also has strong teams and it will be nice to play in it. It's already become a target. There are also so many good teams involved, but we have to look forward and keep trying to win.''

Liverpool must wait for the December 18 draw for the Europa League's last 32, when they will be parachuted into the competition along with seven other Champions League clubs who finished third in their groups. Liverpool can expect to be seeded, which means they are likely to be drawn against the sides who have finished runners-up in the group stages.

Liverpool will play their first match in the Europa League on February 18, and the sides they might have to face include Ajax, Anderlecht, Valencia, Hamburg, Sporting Lisbon, Everton, Roma, Galatasaray, Fenerbahce, holders Shakhtar Donetsk, Villarreal, Benfica, PSV Eindhoven and Werder Bremen.

The prospect of a Merseyside derby with Everton in European competition is a tantalising one, however unlikely, but fans will get a taster when the clubs meet in Premier League action on Sunday.

Barca to make decision on Ibrahimovic and Messi

Barcelona will decide on Tuesday whether to risk Zlatan Ibrahimovic and Lionel Messi in their Champions League clash with Inter Milan at the Nou Camp.

Ibrahimovic and Messi have struggled to recover from thigh injuries in time for the penultimate Group F game, which Barca need to win after taking just one point from their two games against Russian side Rubin Kazan. The champions are third behind Inter and Rubin Kazan and a defeat would put them out if Rubin beat Dynamo Kiev.

"We won't know until tomorrow," Barca coach Pep Guardiola said. "We are doing all we can for them to be available. The medics haven't told me one way or the other.

"Whoever plays, we are all in it together, and I don't know why we can't win without them. But you always notice it when you are without your best. We have two games left and we need four points. Every team has a chance, but it is in our own hands."

Ibrahimovic trained with the rest of the squad on Monday evening, while Messi worked apart, but Guardiola also has to worry about the visit of new La Liga leaders Real Madrid for their top-of-the-table clash on Sunday.

Inter striker Samuel Eto'o's return to Camp Nou has been another talking point in the build up to the visit of the Serie A leaders. The Cameroon striker spent five years at Barca, helping them win two European Cups before leaving in the swap deal that brought Sweden's Ibrahimovic in as his replacement.

"He (Eto'o) will get the reception he deserves, and he deserves a good one," Guardiola said. "The fans understand the player was not responsible for his exit. His coach was."

Inter manager Jose Mourinho, who had already said he was convinced Ibrahimovic would feature, played down the significance of the doubts over the fitness of Argentine Messi.

"I'm not worried about whether Messi will play or not," he said. "It doesn't change my plans. The world of football hopes to see Barca continue in the Champions League. They are the best team in Europe and they don't appear to be scared of us, but neither are we of them."

Croatia surprise inclusion in Euro 2012 top seeds

The 2012 European Championship qualification seedings have been announced, with Croatia a surprise inclusion in the group of top seeds.

Euro 2008 champions Spain and beaten finalists Germany are joined by some familiar names in Pot One, though Croatia will be a top seed despite not even making the World Cup play-offs after finishing third in their qualifying group behind England and Ukraine.

Beaten play-off nation Russia are also included in the elite group, while World Cup 2010 qualifiers Greece, Switzerland, Serbia, Denmark and Slovakia are all only afforded a place in Pot Two.

Republic of Ireland and Bosnia-Herzegovina may feel a touch unlucky to be in Pot Three as the Czech Republic, Romania, Sweden and Turkey are all included as second seeds despite failing to make the World Cup play-offs.

As joint hosts of the 2012 tournament, Ukraine and Poland are not required to qualify.

The UEFA co-efficients are decided by taking into consideration a team's performance in the 2006 World Cup finals and preceeding qualifying campaign, Euro 2008 and the preceeding qualifying campaign and 2010 World Cup qualifying, though UEFA do stress that "more recent results are given greater consideration".

Pot One: Spain, Germany, Holland, Italy, England, Croatia, Portugal, France, Russia.

Pot Two: Greece, Czech Republic, Sweden, Switzerland, Serbia, Turkey, Denmark, Slovakia, Romania.

Pot Three: Israel, Bulgaria, Finland, Norway, Republic of Ireland, Scotland, Northern Ireland, Austria, Bosnia-Herzegovina.

Pot Four: Slovenia, Latvia, Hungary, Lithuania, Belarus, Belgium, Wales, FYR Macedonia, Cyprus.

Pot Five: Montenegro, Albania, Estonia, Georgia, Moldova, Iceland, Armenia, Kazakhstan, Liechtenstein.

Pot Six: Azerbaijan, Luxembourg, Malta, Faroe Islands, Andorra, San Marino.

source:www.soccernet.com