Grant rues missed chance
Sunday, 10 Feb 2008 20:24
Chelsea's next league game is not until March 1st against West Ham United
Chelsea boss Avram Grant admits his side blew their chance of boosting their title hopes after drawing 0-0 with
Liverpool at Stamford Bridge.
The Blues failed to breakdown a Reds side, without Fernando Torres, which leaves them five points behind Premier League leaders
Arsenal.
Chelsea were unlucky not to be awarded a penalty in the first half when Joe Cole was tripped by Javier Mascherano, while Michael Ballack came close with a volley in the closing stages.
Grant said he was "very disappointed" after watching his side draw for the second game running.
"We had a chance to close the gap at the top but we did not take it," Grant said.
"The main problem we had was that the quality of our passing was not good."
"It is not easy against Liverpool. Especially away from home they play very tactically.
"In the end we created chances to win the game but we did not take them."
Meanwhile, the draw for Liverpool moves them up two places to joint-fifth place.
Reds boss Rafael Benitez felt his side dropped two points after the chances they spurned in the second half.
"We are disappointed but it is not easy to get anything here and if you cannot get three points, then it is better to draw than lose," the Spaniard said.
"We were trying to win and two or three times we had players in good situations but we could not finish."
"If we win our game in hand we are in fourth place," he added. "After that we must try to progress.
"If we play like we did here then we will win a lot of games between now and the end of the season."