Ancelotti hails Blues´ true grit

Chelsea will embark on their Champions League campaign this week in buoyant mood after a stoppage-time win at Stoke that coach Carlo Ancelotti hailed as just reward for his side’s determination.

The Premier League leaders had looked destined to drop their first points of the season until Florent Malouda struck deep in injury time to seal a 2-1 win at the Britannia Stadium on Saturday.

But Ancelotti insisted there was nothing fortunate about a goal that extended his side’s winning start to the season to five matches.

“We maintained good control throughout the match and that was important,” he said. “We applied a lot of pressure and were rewarded for our play.

“We know all about Stoke and were not surprised by the way they play. We were ready for a physical match and knew how to deal with the long ball.

“A victory is always welcome and this is a very important period for us as we now have the Champions League ahead.

“To be top of the league is very important. We have good confidence in our play and a very good atmosphere in the dressing room.

“We are doing very well and want to continue in this good position for as long as we can. We have a very good squad.”

Ancelotti revealed that injured playmaker Deco could be back for the visit of Porto in the Champions League on Tuesday following a calf injury sustained on international duty with Portugal.

Stoke manager Tony Pulis was left dejected by both the defeat and the loss to injury of striker James Beattie and goalkeeper Thomas Sorensen, two of his most important players.

Pulis said: “The result is disappointing for us because we battled really hard and defended well.

“They had a lot of possession second half and got a lot of bodies forward. We have given them a game and made them work hard.

“We haven’t got the quality Chelsea have. I hold my hands up to that. They are a very good side. But our attitude and commitment and everyone’s willingness to work will take us a long way.”

Ancelotti would not comment on the confirmation by FIFA that the recently-imposed ban on Chelsea signing any new players until 2011 would also prevent the club from bringing players who have been sent out on season-long loans back to Stamford Bridge in January.

With the likes of Didier Drogba and John Obi Mikel due to head to the African Nations Cup, the Italian had thought he would have the option of recalling players such as winger Scott Sinclair (currently at Wigan) or defender Michael Mancienne (Wolves).

It now seems that will not be the case but Ancelotti did not appear unduly upset by the news.

“We are appealing to FIFA, so we have to wait,” he said. “All I am thinking about is the next game against Porto, that’s all.”

The Chelsea manager also revealed he had opted to rest some of his key players, following international duty. Eyebrows had been raised by the decision to start without Ricardo Carvalho, Michael Essien or Nicolas Anelka but all three will now be fresh for the start of Chelsea’s quest to land the Champions League trophy.

Stoke had taken the lead through Abdoulaye Faye when Chelsea goalkeeper Petr Cech was caught out of position and watched a header loop over him.

The injuries to Beattie and Sorensen resulted in eight minutes of first-half stoppage time and Chelsea took advantage with Drogba drilling in a brilliant equaliser after a through pass by Frank Lampard.