Scolari: United caused us 'big damage'

"I think it's done some very big damage because we didn't come here to play like this" - Luiz Felipe Scolari

Luiz Felipe Scolari says Chelsea's 3-0 defeat at Manchester United has caused "big damage" to his side's title bid.



The Blues suffered their worst Old Trafford defeat in 15 years as United eased to a thoroughly-deserved success after Nemanja Vidic had broken the deadlock in first-half stoppage time.

Wayne Rooney added another just after the hour mark before Dimitar Berbatov completed victory for Sir Alex Ferguson's men near the end.

Scolari put things simply afterwards when he said: "Manchester United were better than us."

He also admitted that the result will have had a damaging effect on his side's title challenge.

"I think it's done some very big damage because we didn't come here to play like this,'' he said.

"We were thinking about winning the game. Now we need to think about the result, what happened to some players, what happened from set-plays and now we have to think about the future.''

Meanwhile, Ferguson called on his players to make the most of their victory as they chase down Liverpool at the top of the table.

BIG TEST

United are now a single point adrift of Chelsea with two matches in hand. And if they win the first of them, against Wigan Athletic on Wednesday, they will only trail Liverpool by two and could go top with a win over Bolton Wanderers next weekend.

Liverpool and Arsenal still have to visit Old Trafford before the end of the season, and with the first big test of their championship credentials passed, Ferguson has called on United to march on from here.

"As we've said all along we've got all the main teams at home and we really need to win those games," he said.

"And we've got the first one out of the road, but we've got some tough games coming up now. We've got players who are playing fantastically well at the moment. (We play Wigan) on Wednesday and then Bolton away which is also a tough game.

"So there's a lot of interesting games to see in the next few weeks. January, as I've said, is a big month for us, I think we've got eight games in January so it's a big test for us."

Despite the heavy defeat Ferguson was still full of praise for Chelsea.

He said: "They had a lot of good possession at times and they're a threat when they get possession.

"They've got so many clever players, but we defended well at the 18-yard line so I don't think they really had a clear-cut chance.''

Resource: Premier League