Ancelotti focused on Atletico
Posted Tuesday, November 03, 2009 by PA
Carlo Ancelotti insists his Chelsea side must forget about their Barclays Premier League showdown with Manchester United on Sunday and concentrate on qualifying for the knockout stage of the Champions League.
Chelsea warmed up for their clash with Atletico on Tuesday night with another 4-0 drubbing of Bolton.
The win kept Chelsea top of the league but Ancelotti wants his squad to concentrate on victory over Atletico instead of looking ahead to their clash with Sir Alex Ferguson's side.
"Usually all the people think about the game against Manchester United but we have another important game during the week and we want to prepare well," said Ancelotti.
"It is very easy to prepare for Manchester United because it is a very important match, but we need to maintain concentration in the Champions League at this moment."
Chelsea have now scored 17 goals in their last four games without conceding and victory over Atletico, who they thumped 4-0 at Stamford Bridge a fortnight ago, will almost certainly put them into the last 16.
Frank Lampard, who scored his fourth goal in as many games from the penalty spot against Bolton, agrees with Ancelotti that a singular attitude towards games is the key.
"We play Manchester United at the Bridge next Sunday and we wanted to be top, but not because we are facing the champions," said Lampard.
"You must have a singular attitude to every game. Now we have done well at Bolton, we have a Champions League game before we face United, and these are very exciting times for us."
Didier Drogba is available again against Atletico after serving his three-match European ban and may well get straight back into the side with Salomon Kalou carrying a slight knock.
Struggling Atletico Madrid face two of Europe's biggest clubs in the space of five days this week, but coach Quique Sanchez Flores welcomes the prospect.
Atletico play host to Chelsea on Tuesday knowing that anything other than a victory could end their hopes of reaching the knockout stages of the Champions League, while this weekend they host bitter rivals Real Madrid in the Primera Division.
For a team that finds itself in the relegation zone of La Liga after nine matches and bottom of Group D in Europe with only one point, Atletico could be forgiven for fearing the worst ahead of those two fixtures, but Sanchez Flores is thinking just the opposite.
"It's a good thing to have to play these two matches because the fans will have to come to the stadium and be very positive," said Sanchez Flores, who only took charge of the Rojiblancos last week following the dismissal of Abel Resino.
"The fans will really have to be behind us to make it possible for us to win and that will be positive for the players and their mindset.
"From a psychological point of view it would be very important to win these next two games.
"First of all because it would give the team a lifeline in both competitions, but also because it would be good for the players.
"Chelsea is a match that we could win. We really have to think we can win it, because we have to be positive and we have to feel we can win it."
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