Coach defends Torres selection

Carlo Ancelotti defended his decision to pick Fernando Torres despite another disappointing display from the Spanish striker as Chelsea crashed out of the Champions League.

Torres was substituted at half-time as Manchester United powered into the semi-finals with a 2-1 victory.

Chelsea veteran Didier Drogba, who replaced Torres at the break, immediately caused problems for United and scored an equaliser which gave the visitors hopes of a dramatic comeback.

As Chelsea’s dejected fans were left pondering what might have been had Drogba been picked to start ahead of Torres, Ancelotti was unrepentant.

“I thought a lot of time to take this decision,” Ancelotti said.

“I preferred to start with Fernando for this kind of game. But Didier played very well in the second half.”

Ancelotti rejected suggestions from Alex Ferguson that it would have been impossible for the Chel-sea coach not to pick Torres given the record outlay on the player.

Ancelotti insisted however that Ferguson’s comments were wide of the mark.

“This is not true,” he said.

“I picked Fernando because I felt his skills and ability could be good for us.”

Drogba had been brought on at half-time because Chelsea were chasing the game at 1-0 down, Ancelotti said.

“I wanted to put more pressure on the front,” Ancelotti said.

“We needed to score. I felt Didier was fresh and we could use his power in front. This was the reason I took out Fernando.”

Ancelotti would not be drawn either on his own future or that of his first team squad, which could be the subject of a summer transfer clear-out.

Asked if a major overhaul of the playing staff was required following Chelsea’s failure to reach the Champions League semi-finals for a second year running, Ancelotti replied: “To speak about this now is not the moment.

“We still have eight games in the Premier League, we have to play these games and after that we have the time to speak about this.”