Carlo Ancelotti insists Chelsea are ready for Inter Milan in the
Champions League on Tuesday night following the 4-1 win over West
Ham.
Chelsea went back to the top of the Premier League thanks to
a brace from Didier Drogba and other goals from Alex and Florent
Malouda.
Scott Parker had briefly given West Ham hope when he
cancelled out Alex's 15th minute opener on the half hour but
Chelsea ran out comfortable winners to go one point clear of
Manchester United at the summit.
But with Chelsea in the midst of a goalkeeping crisis as they
approach Tuesday's last 16 return leg showdown with Mourinho,
Ancelotti was keen to stress that Chelsea, unlike Inter, were in
"good condition".
Inter surprisingly lost to Catania on Friday night and that,
coupled with Chelsea's victory over West Ham, has put the Blues in
the perfect frame of mind.
"I don't think we sent a message," said Ancelotti. "The game
is in the balance. We want to win but so do Inter.
"We have to do our best to win and in this moment we are in
good condition to do our best. I have not seen Inter's game yet, I
will watch it on Sunday."
Ancelotti was a little coy though when it came to the
situation concerning his goalkeeping choice for Tuesday night's
game.
Third-choice keeper Ross Turnbull made his Blues debut
against West Ham, and while he looked competent enough, he had
little to do.
His inexperience, particularly when it comes to the Champions
League, may be a concern for the Blues.
Chelsea are without calf injury victim Petr Cech and his
deputy Hilario, has a groin strain. But Chelsea may well try to
rush Hilario back to full fitness in time although Ancelotti
continued to maintain Turnbull will play.
"We can play with a good goalkeeper on Tuesday," he added.
"Ross was not involved a lot of time in the game but he did a good
save in the last minute of the match.
"He played with confidence and a good game. There was no
worry. This is important. he deserved to play this game because he
trained very well in the last month to improve his quality. We have
confidence in him. I think he will play Tuesday."
After the 4-2 defeat to Manchester City at home, Ancelotti
was looking for his side to bounce back in the league. They
delivered the response perfectly.
"It was important to have a good reaction," said the Italian.
"We had a good reaction against Stoke and we improved again
today. We had a bad day against Manchester City but we came back
the right way. It was a very good performance."
West Ham coach Gianfranco Zola said the scoreline was not a
true reflection of the game but they could not recover from
Chelsea's second goal from Drogba.
"It was tough after the second goal," said Zola. "Until then
we looked okay. But the second goal was a big blow.
"We played well and kept the control. Scott Parker was
dominating in my opinion and I thought we could have got something.
But Chelsea punish you when you make mistakes.
"The result does not reflect the way the game was played. It
was too much. I feel for my players because they worked hard all
the game and they did not deserve that result.
"The first goal was poor marking and we lost our shape for
the second."
