Luiz Felipe Scolari was left frustrated after his side were held to a goalless draw by Newcastle at Stamford Bridge.
Chelsea dominated the game but could not find a way to break the deadlock as the Magpies defended stoutly.
The Blues had the ball in the net in the 54th minute through Joe Cole but officials correctly gave the midfielder offside.
Soon afterwards Given had to back-track to catch a Frank Lampard free-kick and the ball could have gone over the line but replays were inconclusive.
On a more positive note, Chelsea remain top on goal difference as Liverpool were held to a goalless draw themsleves at home to Fulham.
Asked if he was frustrated, Scolari said: "Yes because we played for the win and we had chances to win."
But he praised Newcastle interim boss Joe Kinnear and his stubborn side.
He added: "Newcastle were very good. They played for a draw and got one. They didn't come here to play for a win - just a draw.
"They were better than us because they were only thinking about a draw and got one, while we were thinking about a win and didn't.
"Newcastle did not have one shot on goal in 90 minutes. We had 70 per cent of the possession but we didn't score a goal.
"If we had scored, maybe we would have scored three or four but we lost two points.
"Sometimes it is more easy to win away than at Stamford Bridge. When you are away, the home fans pressure their team to attack us, but you are at home, they don't want to attack us.
"I said congratulations to the coach and his team. They had a strategy to draw and it worked. We have now lost nine points at home.
"We had two or three chances to score and we didn't - this is football."
Didier Drogba was missing after the Ivorian received a three-match ban for throwing a coin back into the crowd during Chelsea's Carling Cup defeat by Burnley.
But Scolari did not blame the failure to break down Newcastle on this.
"Drogba is out. It is not only Drogba, it is my team," he said. "My team is not only one player, it is 24. If we lose because we are missing one player, we are not a team. But we are a team."
0 comments:
Post a Comment