Torres not to blame for Chelsea’s form slump: Ancelotti

LONDON - Chelsea boss Carlo Ancelotti has said that the record-breaking signing of Fernando Torres was not to blame for the end of the revival of the club’s fortunes.

The signing of Torres has coincided with a winless and scoreless two matches, that has all but killed off Chelsea’s hopes of retaining their crown and has seen them slip back to fifth in the Premier League table.

Torres flopped on his debut against former club Liverpool and failed to shine at Fulham on Monday night.

Ancelotti was adamant that the Spain striker’s arrival had not been disruptive, saying: “It is not the fault of Fernando, obviously. I think that he needs to have time. In my opinion, he played well for 60 minutes against Fulham. He had two or three opportunities. He didn’t score but he will score, obviously.”

“He needs to have time, but playing, to improve his combination with the other players. It will take time playing with us,” the Daily Mail quoted Ancelotti, as saying.

Torres has not impressed in his first two outings, but Ancelotti has vowed to remain patient with the Spanish star

Star midfielder Frank Lampard earlier had admitted that it would be a ‘disaster’ if Chelsea finished outside the top four. (ANI)