Chelsea Football Club

• Nickname:Blues
• Founded:1905
• Manager:Rafael Benitez

• Ground:Stamford Bridge
• Capacity:42440

Scolari hails injury-hit Blues

22 Sep 2008 - 08:19:49

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Chelsea boss Luiz Felipe Scolari hailed the spirit of his players after the Blues fought back to secure a 1-1 draw at home to Manchester United.

Scolari's side needed a Salomon Kalou header late on to rescue a point, after United had taken a deserved first-half lead through Ji-Sung Park.

Cheslea had to cope with the loss of midfield playmaker Deco in the pre-match warm-up, leaving a less than fully-fit Michael Ballack to plug the gap left by the withdrawal of the Portugal star.

Scolari said: "The game is one of the best games we've played this season, because we have many problems.

"After we lost Deco, Manchester controlled the game for 15 minutes and they played better than us.

"They made a goal and after this, we improved. We had more chances than them. but we missed some chances in front of goal.

"They (the players) have a fantastic spirit. I said before the game Michael Ballack had maybe 45 minutes in him and Didier Drogba 45 minutes.

"Michael played 70 minutes because of his spirit and he wants to win, he gave more than I expected.

"I have many problems in terms of injuries and I have to change the team, but that is my job."