Chelsea boss Carlo keeps faith in Cech
CHELSEA vs. APOEL NICOSIA
CHELSEA boss Carlo Ancelotti insists he still has full faith in Petr Cech despite holding the goalkeeper responsible for Saturday’s shock defeat at Manchester City.
Cech’s poor positioning allowed Carlos Tevez to curl home a match-winning free-kick and slash the Blues’ lead at the top of the Premier League to two points.
But Ancelotti has been happy with the Czech stopper’s form during the rest of the campaign and plans to field him in tonight’s clash with Apoel Nicosia.
“This season, I think Cech did very well. I like him. He takes the responsibility and likes to come out and catch the ball in the box,” said the Italian. “He could do better if you ask me about the free-kick on Saturday. I think the goalkeeper has to stay on his post and, if the player puts the ball over the wall and in, we have to congratulate him. Even a good goalkeeper can make a mistake sometimes but this season Petr has been doing very well.”
Ancelotti is likely to rest stars with minor knocks, such as captain John Terry, defender Ashley Cole and midfielder Michael Ballack, with top spot in Group D already assured.
That is expected to mean a first start for promising French winger Gael Kakuta, with fellow youngsters Daniel Philliskirk and Nikki Ahamed also in contention.
Frank Lampard is poised to start and Ancelotti also backed the England midfielder, who missed a penalty in the weekend 2-1 loss at Eastlands.
“I can say that, at our training ground, Lampard is the player who practices penalties more than any other player,” he added. “It’s a psychological problem to shoot a penalty.”