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Ancelotti hopes Chelsea have turned the corner

As FC København coach Ståle Solbakken all but conceded his side's quarter-final chances, Chelsea FC's Carlo Ancelotti said a 2-0 away win represents a fresh start for his charges.

Ancelotti hopes Chelsea have turned the corner
Ancelotti hopes Chelsea have turned the corner ©UEFA.com

FC København coach Ståle Solbakken admitted his side's UEFA Champions League ambitions are all but over after two Nicolas Anelka goals earned Chelsea FC a 2-0 away win in their round of 16 tie. It was the English outfit's first victory in four outings, and while manager Carlo Ancelotti paid tribute to his players' commitment and his strikers' class, he is keen to make sure they continue in the same vein.

Ståle Solbakken, København coach
It will be extremely difficult to go on in the competition now, particularly with Zdeněk Pospěch suspended [after being booked tonight]. Too many of my most prominent players failed to hit their peak: they did OK, but were not at their very best. Furthermore, we made too many mistakes and hit too many inaccurate passes.

We lost to a better team. Based on the possession and opportunities, the result was well deserved. Maybe we were a bit too optimistic about our chances before the game. We had some problems with Chelsea's pace at certain points, but that was to be expected.

Carlo Ancelotti, Chelsea manager
It was good result, a good performance. We were focused for this game, prepared well and the mindset was good. My players worked hard and played good football. The result is good but it's just the first half and we have to pay attention to the second leg. We are focused because we want to be the best. We have to be able to move on quickly after the bad results and we were able to because we played some really good football: we have to continue to stay focused.

[Fernando] Torres didn't play on Saturday [against Everton FC in the FA Cup] and Anelka played extra time and some period of the game so Torres was fresher. Anelka did a fantastic job and scored two goals. Torres did very well because the key to the game was the work of the strikers. He was always dangerous and unlucky he didn't score but he played a fantastic game. If we are able to maintain the same level we have a chance to win against Manchester United [next week].

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