Michael Ballack insists that Manchester United will now be feeling the pressure in the title race.
Goalscoring hero has eyes on title
Michael Ballack insists that Manchester United will now be feeling the pressure in the title race.
Ballack was the Chelsea hero as he helped himself to both goals in their 2-1 win over United on Saturday.
Ballack has experience of a similar title race from his time in Germany when his Bayer Leverkusen side were caught and over-taken by Bayern Munich.
"In 2000 I was in a similar situation at Leverkusen, but we were the ones leading and Bayern Munich caught us," said Ballack.
Pressure
"In the last game we were three points in front, but lost the game and the title.
"It can happen up to the last minute. The pressure is on them because last week they looked like they were the champions. They had a five-point lead and now we have closed the gap.
"It was our best performance, especially in the first half. We passed the ball and didn't just use long balls. We moved the ball very well in this game and showed we can play good football.
"Manchester United still have everything in their hands but the pressure is on them. It looked like they were champions, but now it's getting smaller and tighter. Nobody expected Chelsea to be in this position now or in the Champions League."
Confident penalty
Ballack also revealed he had little doubt taking the late penalty which won the match for Chelsea, with normal taker Frank Lampard missing.
"I'm used to handling these situations," said Ballack. "I've taken a lot of important penalties in my career and this was a big situation. It was no problem for me and I liked it. We have to be good at something at least!
"Normally Frank is there to take the penalty. He is usually first having been here a long time and he is used to it. But I scored a few last year and we have a lot of good penalty takers.
"It also depends how you feel at the time, how the game has been going for you and if you feel confident. I have missed a few in my career back in the Bundesliga, but they were not important games."
Chelsea goalkeeper Petr Cech also believes Chelsea have a great chance of pipping United to the title.
"Due to the fact that Manchester have a better scoring record, they are still one point ahead of us and that means they still have it in their hands," Cech told his own website.
"We need to win twice and wait for their slip-up. But the title race is still open. The pressure is now on United."
