Drogba dazzles but injury mars milestone victory
CHELSEA manager Carlo Ancelotti insists his side can cope without Didier Drogba after the talismanic striker was carried off in the win over London rivals Tottenham.
Drogba continued his impressive early season form, setting up Ashley Cole for the opener and scoring himself to seal a club-record 11th successive Premier League victory that keeps Chelsea top of the table.
The Ivory Coast international, right, was then carried off in the 83rd minute with a calf injury but Ancelotti was quick to play down the possible ramifications.
“We have played without Didier before. He is a very important player for us, a fantastic player. I think we can play well without Didier,” he said.
“We hope tomorrow we will have a precise diagnosis of the situation. It is a calf injury but he felt that he had cramp. If it is cramp, it is good for us.”
Tottenham boss Harry Redknapp was left to rue Howard Webb’s decision not to award Robbie Keane a penalty with the score at 1-0 as his side suffered a second defeat on the spin.
“If he felt he had dived then why didn’t he give him a card, it is either a penalty or a card,” he fumed.
“He Ricardo Carvalho has caught him and what Robbie’s done is try to stay on his feet, and that is what happens. We had him Webb at Old Trafford last season and he cost us the game with a diabolical penalty decision that he apologised for after.”
After Manchester United secured a last-gasp victory over local rivals Manchester City to overtake them in the league earlier in the day, Chelsea began tentatively as Spurs made the early inroads.
Striker Jermain Defoe, who has eight goals already this season, was for once off target, scuffing a shot straight at Petr Cech while Jermaine Jenas went close from the edge of the box.
But Chelsea broke the deadlock in the 32nd minute, Cole diving in at the far post to meet Drogba’s cross.
The visitors were then left astounded as the penalty incident took centre stage. To compound matters for Spurs, Michael Ballack added another, scrambling home from close range after Drogba’s shot was saved.
Drogba rounded things off, racing clear to slide the ball past former Blues stopper Carlo Cudicini before tapping in.