Fergie: Chelsea ‘obsessed’ with Champions League

Manchester United and Chelsea square up tonight in the second leg of their Champions League quarter final and there is no doubt that United boss Alex Ferguson has been throwing some well-aimed jabs Cheslea's way in the build-up to the match, claiming that the Blues were "obsessed" with winning the competition.

The canny Scot is already in the box-seat having seen his side leave Stamford Bridge with a 1-0 lead and appears confident that his side will make it through to the semi-finals. He also managed to take a swipe at Chelsea's £50m striker Fernando Torres, who has yet to score for the Blues since arriving in January and who is not even sure of a place in the starting line-up at Old Trafford.

He implied that the lack of success in Europe was a monkey on the back of Chelsea owner Roman Abramovich. "That is certainly why they signed Fernando Torres in January," said Ferguson.

"Abramovich has very much nailed his colours to the mast in that respect. I've felt that for quite a while with him. But to have an obsession with winning the European Cup can stretch you a wee bit. It's a fantastic competition but, at the end of the day, it is also a very difficult competition to win. All the best teams are there. You see the form of Barcelona at the moment – it's fantastic."

Ferguson added that he understood the Russian's pain - or at least used to. "When we won in Barcelona in 1999 it was the greatest feeling of all time and it took the monkey of my back a bit," he reminisced.

While Abramovich's aim in buying Torres may well have been to conquer Europe, Ferguson's reason for pointing it out was to ratchet up the pressure on the Chelsea team, who will have some explaining to do to their paymaster if they fail in the competition once again.

However, the Blues boss Carlo Ancelotti attempted to cool things down. "It's not an obsession, it's a dream," he responded. "It's not pressure, it's excitement."

He also tried to hit back at Ferguson by promising "something special" in his tactics. The smart money is on that being a switch to a 4-3-3 formation and the possibility of using Torres as a substitute.

But Ancelotti refused, once again, to be drawn on the issue of Torres. "I'm not interested in a goal for Fernando," he said. "I'm interested in Chelsea winning this game. If he scores it's good for him and for Chelsea, but it's just important to win here."

However, the Italian manager must know that leaving the Chelsea owner's favourite player out of the team is a high risk strategy. If the Blues lose and Torres plays little or no part in the game then it could seal Ancelotti's fate. ·