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Didier Drogba plays down Red Devils' title chances.
Chelsea striker Didier Drogba has stoked up tension ahead of his side's clash with Manchester United by insisting that Sir Alex Ferguson's men are not the 'invincible' side they were last term.
The Blues lie second in the Premier League table, four points behind leaders Liverpool with a game in hand, while the Old Trafford outfit are fourth, eight behind their Merseyside rivals but having fulfilled three less fixtures.
After 'Pool boss Rafa Benitez's extraordinary outburst on Friday, followed up by post-match comments in the wake of The Reds' 0-0 draw away to Stoke City, the rivalry at the top of the table is reaching boiling point.
And ahead of the clash between last season's champions and runners-up in Lancashire, Drogba believes the hosts have lost their edge.
Speaking to The People, he said, "Manchester United are not playing any better than us - they are struggling to win games too.
"Old Trafford is never an easy place to go but I don't see United as being so invincible as last season."
One key element of Chelsea's season over the coming months will be the ability of Drogba to partner up with the league's top-goalscorer, Nicola Anelka, who has netted 14 times already.
However, while many have predicted that Luiz Felipe Scolari will opt for a one-striker formation in the belief that both talismanic forwards would struggle in the same line-up, the Ivory Coast international believes they are compatible.
Hope
"Things are not going as well for us as we had hoped, especially in attack. We are finding it difficult to get goals and that is complicating matches," he added.
"I have played with many different strike partners over the years and I think Nicolas Anelka and I are compatible on the pitch."
Speculation in recent weeks has suggested that there is disharmony within the Chelsea ranks due to Scolari's forthright command, but the 30-year old has hailed the Brazilian for his similarity to former manager Jose Mourinho.
Boost
"Everyone who plays for or coaches Chelsea is under pressure to have success but I think Scolari will get the best out of us," he continued.
"He is very experienced and he knows how to handle the players. Scolari is not Mourinho but he has a lot of factors close to the Portuguese in terms of his treatment of the players. He uses a lot of psychology to boost our morale.
"Chelsea are alive in all the big competitions but for me the Champions League is my special challenge after what happened to us in Moscow last year."
Chelsea striker Didier Drogba has stoked up tension ahead of his side's clash with Manchester United by insisting that Sir Alex Ferguson's men are not the 'invincible' side they were last term.
The Blues lie second in the Premier League table, four points behind leaders Liverpool with a game in hand, while the Old Trafford outfit are fourth, eight behind their Merseyside rivals but having fulfilled three less fixtures.
After 'Pool boss Rafa Benitez's extraordinary outburst on Friday, followed up by post-match comments in the wake of The Reds' 0-0 draw away to Stoke City, the rivalry at the top of the table is reaching boiling point.
And ahead of the clash between last season's champions and runners-up in Lancashire, Drogba believes the hosts have lost their edge.
Speaking to The People, he said, "Manchester United are not playing any better than us - they are struggling to win games too.
"Old Trafford is never an easy place to go but I don't see United as being so invincible as last season."
One key element of Chelsea's season over the coming months will be the ability of Drogba to partner up with the league's top-goalscorer, Nicola Anelka, who has netted 14 times already.
However, while many have predicted that Luiz Felipe Scolari will opt for a one-striker formation in the belief that both talismanic forwards would struggle in the same line-up, the Ivory Coast international believes they are compatible.
Hope
"Things are not going as well for us as we had hoped, especially in attack. We are finding it difficult to get goals and that is complicating matches," he added.
"I have played with many different strike partners over the years and I think Nicolas Anelka and I are compatible on the pitch."
Speculation in recent weeks has suggested that there is disharmony within the Chelsea ranks due to Scolari's forthright command, but the 30-year old has hailed the Brazilian for his similarity to former manager Jose Mourinho.
Boost
"Everyone who plays for or coaches Chelsea is under pressure to have success but I think Scolari will get the best out of us," he continued.
"He is very experienced and he knows how to handle the players. Scolari is not Mourinho but he has a lot of factors close to the Portuguese in terms of his treatment of the players. He uses a lot of psychology to boost our morale.
"Chelsea are alive in all the big competitions but for me the Champions League is my special challenge after what happened to us in Moscow last year."
