17th April, 2015
Ahead of Saturday’s Barclays Premier League blockbuster between Chelsea and Manchester United, the Reds’ legends have warned the team to beware of the threat of the Blues at Stamford Bridge.
Given Chelsea’s current form, Denis Irwin said that he expects a tough duel. “Chelsea away is always a difficult game for us and there’s no doubt that Jose Mourinho has made them a difficult side to beat. They’re very solid defensively and have brought in one or two players who have made a difference, like Cesc Fabregas and Diego Costa. I’d be surprised if they don’t win the league. They’re in a healthy situation at moment. I think their manager knows how to get over the line. We’re on a good run though – you can see the progress we’ve made from early in the season and we’ve gained a lot of confidence as well. There’s an awful lot still to play for so we have to keep going,” Irwin said.
Commenting on how key is Saturday’s game to where Man. United finish on the English Premier League table, Bryan Robson said: “If we go to Chelsea and win, then Arsenal get a really good result against them next weekend… all of a sudden there’s a lot of pressure on them. But Chelsea have only been beaten three times in the league, they’re a really difficult side to beat, so I don’t think they’ll slip up enough for anybody to catch them. They’re a bit like United sides from down the years – when you’re not playing well and drawing, then all of sudden somebody does something, scores a goal and nicks all three points. Chelsea have done that this season.”
Meanwhile, Chelsea midfielder Oscar is wary that Louis van Gaal’s in-form visitors could derail his team’s charge to Premier League title. Chelsea are seven points clear ahead of second placed Arsenal and eight points ahead of United but speaking to Perform, Oscar said they have not yet won the title and will only know how close or far they are from the title after their next two games, against United and Arsenal.
“They were struggling in the beginning but they’ve shown a lot of improvements. They are playing very well at the moment. One can see that Man United found their ideal starting XI and we will face a tough opponent this coming weekend.
“I wouldn’t go that far. It seems easy but it’s definitely not. We will face Man United and then Arsenal. Those will be like two finals for us. After that we will have a clear idea on how close we are from the title. We will certainly fight until the end of the season. But we hope we can be the champions as soon as possible,” he said.