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Manchester United are not the same without Rooney, says Carlo Ancelotti

Carlo Ancelotti has backed his Chelsea team not to relinquish their lead at the top of the Premier League and questioned whether Wayne Rooney's absence with an ankle injury may have caused irreparable damage to Manchester United's hopes of winning the title or the Champions League, although the striker could make a shock return in Wednesday's Champions League quarter-final against Bayern Munich . Chelsea's 2-1 victory at Old Trafford yesterday left them two points clear of Sir Alex Ferguson's team and three ahead of Arsenal with five games left to play. "The players have a great desire to win this title because it has been a lot of years since Chelsea last won the league," Ancelotti said. "They have had a fantastic reaction from the Inter game [losing in the Champions League]. I've been very impressed with their character, their strength and the way we have bounced back to play some really good football." Chelsea have now beaten United and Arsenal home and away and they will have the chance to do the double over Liverpool when they go to Anfield in their penultimate match of the league season. "I think we should be further clear," Ancelotti said. "We have done very well against the top four but have lost points against the other teams. The important thing now is that we maintain good control because we still have a lot of games to go and we have to stay focused. But I think the character we have shown to bounce back from the Inter defeat proves we are very professional." United have lost seven times in the league this season – no side has won the title with that number of defeats since the move to a 38-game format. They trail Bayern 2-1 going into their Champions League quarter-final second leg on Wednesday. Ancelotti hinted that Rooney's absence could be key in that match. Talking of the frequency with which United's players lost possession, the Italian said: "I'm not surprised because this is not a good moment for their team after losing to Bayern Munich during the week and because they have lost a very important player. It's not easy for United to maintain their characteristic and momentum without him. It's going to be difficult for them now, having lost against Munich, having lost Rooney and now this game." "United are not the same team without Rooney," Ancelotti said. "He is a fantastic player, very difficult to replace. [Dimitar] Berbatov is good, but Rooney is totally different."

Source: The Guardian ↗

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