Ancelotti – I will drop Torres against Man United

The Chelsea boss Carlo Ancelotti has rubbished suggestions that he is being forced to pick Fernando Torres for every game, and insists that he will drop him if he is not playing as well as the other Chelsea strikers.

Ancelotti said: “Why would I not leave him out? There’s a lot of competition up front and anything can happen, so Fernando might not start against United.

“I have to choose the line-up looking at the training session, the condition of the players and the spirit, not thinking about the money the club paid for them.”

In the first leg against Man United, Ancelotti took off Didier Drogba and there was talk that he was forced to keep Torres on the field, even though he was anonymous for most of the game. “I have never thought that. Roman’s so intelligent he’d never ask me to do this.

“I took Drogba off because he played 90 minutes against Stoke and was a bit tired and because I wanted to put two wingers on, Malouda and Anelka, and play Torres through the middle.”

But Ancelotti admits he is not sure why Torres can’t get the ball in the back of the net since joining the Blues. “It’s difficult to understand the reason. It could be the fact it is a new team, new team-mates and every- one has to get to know each other.

“He was a lone striker at Liverpool and the formation is different here. That could be another reason.

“But we have to try. I don’t think he has problems playing with another striker. Players don’t think about the transfer money.

“This is not a good moment for Fernando, but he has the support, first from himself and from his manager and team-mates. I’ve spoken with him a lot of times and told him to stay focused on the job and confident.

“I don’t know what he really feels inside, but outside he’s relaxed, confident in training. He likes to joke and have fun in training. I don’t see him afraid or worried.”

The fact is that with the return leg against United coming up. Ancelotti should drop Torres unless he starts scoring against Wigan.