London: Chelsea boss Carlo Ancelotti has admitted that Premier League rivals Manchester United is now favourite to win the title after his club slipped up again.
Days after being knocked out of the Champions League, the Blues saw their Premier League hopes dented by Sam Allardyce's Blackburn.
El-Hadji Diouf headed Rovers level in the second half after the visitors had failed to build on the early lead given them by Didier Drogba's 28th goal of the season.
And it means Chelsea are outside the top two for the first time since August and lie four points behind United, although they still have a game in hand.
Ancelotti admits his team have made it much more difficult for themselves and knows only a win will be enough when they travel to Portsmouth on Wednesday night, The Sun reports.
Asked whether United now had the advantage, he said: "They are top of the league now, so yes. We know we have to do better than this. We now have less probability of winning the title. We have made it more difficult for ourselves now - although it is not impossible. I still think we can do it."
"We still have the ability to win this title but we have to be at our best. What we have to do now is stay as close to Manchester United as possible so that's why our game at Portsmouth on Wednesday is so important," he said.
Ancelotti admitted this was his worst week since taking charge at Stamford Bridge, but admitted his players are struggling to recover from their humbling by Manchester City last month.
ANI
First Published: Monday, March 22, 2010, 13:52