Source: London_Paper
Chelsea midfielder Michael Ballack admits he got lucky
MICHAEL BALLACK admitted he got lucky as Manchester United were left screaming blue murder following their Community Shield defeat to Chelsea.[LNB]Carlo Ancelotti's men beat the Premier League champions 4-1 on penalties, but Sir Alex Ferguson was fuming after claiming referee Chris Foy cost United the match in normal time.[LNB]After Ricardo Carvalho had cancelled out Nani?s opener, Frank Lampard put Chelsea in front but Ballack appeared to elbow Patrice Evra in the lead-up to the goal.[LNB]Chelsea played on while Evra writhed in agony and German ace Ballack thought Ferguson had good reason to be annoyed.[LNB]?I have to be happy the referee didn?t blow. Maybe I blocked him a little bit,? Ballack said.[LNB]?If he would have given the foul then OK - but he didn?t. They were unlucky they conceded straight away.[LNB] ?I kept on playing but when I didn?t have the ball I couldn?t see how injured he was. It is our choice to continue playing so that is it.?[LNB]Wayne Rooney made it 2-2 in injury time to take the match to penalties, but Petr Cech was the hero after saving spot-kicks from Ryan Giggs and Patrice Evra.[LNB]And the Czech goalkeeper reckons kicking off the season with a trophy in the cabinet will give Chelsea all the impetus they need to wrestle the Premier League crown away from United.[LNB]?The result gives us a lot of confidence ahead of the new season,? he said. ?It is great to start the season like that, beating one of our main contenders.[LNB]?If you win a trophy at the start it doesn?t matter who you beat - it?s a positive start and that?s what we wanted.?[LNB]Lampard, Ballack and Didier Drogba were on target for Chelsea in the shootout and following the misses from Giggs and Evra, Salomon Kalou netted to win Ancelotti his first trophy as manager.[LNB]And Ivorian striker Kalou reckons Chelsea have landed an early psychological blow in this season?s title race.[LNB]He said: ?United are one of our main rivals so beating them makes us ready for the league.[LNB]?Every season Chelsea get stronger and with our good preparation in pre-season, we will be able to win games.?[LNB]
