Mourinho may have played helping hand in Chelsea's title chase

Whisper it quietly around Roman Abramovich, who has made Europe his stated aim. But it seems Chelsea are about to profit from their own misfortune.

There can be no other conclusion to draw from Chelsea's first-half superiority against a 'leggy' United outfit that struggled badly without the injured Wayne Rooney.

And whilst Nicklas Bendtner scored another amazing stoppage-time winner for Arsenal, how long can they sustain their challenge without Cesc Fabregas, William Gallas and Andrey Arshavin?

"Maybe it is an advantage not to play in the Champions League," said the Chelsea boss. "It is important to be able to train during the week. It is important at this moment of the season because it is very busy for the teams who are in the Champions League. We have to take advantage of it."

Ancelotti called for focus and composure as he masterminds the defence of a two-point lead at the Premier League summit. In truth, the chances of United winning their final five games to apply some pressure is remote, especially if they overhaul Bayern Munich's first-leg advantage in their Champions League quarter-final return against Bayern on Wednesday.

Yesterday represented the fifth time this season they have lost immediately after a Champions League game and one of the others was a home draw against Sunderland.

"I am sure Chelsea would have preferred to be in Europe rather than out of it but it is quite testing when you play away in Europe and then have to come back and play an early kick-off," said United assistant boss Mike Phelan. "But we have done it many times before. We can't moan about it. That is the fixture list. We have to get on with it."

Nevertheless, the United display left TV pundit Ruud Gullit "worried" ahead of the Bayern encounter, particularly as the German giants are likely to have Arjen Robben and Bastian Schweinsteiger back to bolster their ranks.

Whether that triggers a quicker-than-expected recall for Wayne Rooney is open to debate.

Rooney has now dispensed with the cast he wore on the return flight to Manchester last week and Ferguson could be forgiven it would be worth having his 34-goal talisman on the bench against Bayern if there was any chance of him making a meaningful contribution, no matter how short the playing time.

Phelan was vague when he addressed the question of Rooney's fitness, although clearly Wednesday falls outside the minimum two-week time-frame Sir Alex Ferguson confirmed on Friday.

"You miss his goals," reflected Phelan. "He is a threat around the box. You can tell that by the season he is having. He is undergoing intense treatment and we are trying to get him as fit as we possibly can. But we know we can't risk these things. If he is ready, fine. If not, we have to use the players we already have."

Ancelotti will be nothing more than an interested observer, no doubt hoping for extra-time and penalties to get United especially tired ahead of their trip to Blackburn next Sunday.

A day earlier Chelsea will tackle Aston Villa at Wembley for a place in the FA Cup final, which could form part of the first domestic double in their history.

"Our reaction since that Inter Milan defeat has been very good," said Ancelotti. "After a defeat like that, it is very easy to get down.

"But when you are a professional you need a very strong character.

"We have got ourselves into a good position but we have won nothing yet."