Mourinho has left Ancelotti, Abramovich and Chelsea's players with plenty of questions to answer

By Ian Cruise in Laptop with Martin Lipton

Published 11:32 17/03/10

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The reaction of the two owners told the story.

First across, slowly, with a rictus grin on his face but stone in his eyes, was Roman Abramovich.

He went into the silent Chelsea dressing room, to show his sympathy and support but there were no smiles or laughs.

Then, 20 minutes later, walking in front of the Inter fans still inside Stamford Bridge, Massimo Moratti.

He revelled in the acclaim, raised his clasped hands to the tifosi, strode into the tunnel to embrace Jose Mourinho, before telling the world how he always knew the Portuguese was Special.

And on a night of salutary lessons, in which Mourinho demonstrated once more that revenge is a dish best-served cold, the need for Carlo Ancelotti to stamp his own authority on Chelsea was there for the world to see.

Unlike his recent predecessors, Ancelotti is not walking a survival tightrope - at least, not yet.

The Italian has impressed the Chelsea hierarchy with his calmness and maturity as much as his modest good humour.

Unlike Mourinho, Ancelotti knows how to deal with Abramovich, when to show him respect, when to explain that as manager he must be the one who makes the final decisions - eight years of dealing with Silvio Berlusconi were not wasted in that department.

But at the same time, Ancelotti did not try to pretend his side had deserved any more than they got as Samuel Eto'o produced the killer moment - just as he did to inflict the only outright home defeat of Mourinho's Chelsea reign four years ago.

At times this season, Chelsea have looked the class act in the Premier League field, the team that Europe had to fear.

With Didier Drogba on course for his most prolific season, Frank Lampard already on 15 goals, Ashley Cole outstanding on the left and Florent Malouda showing himself as a big player for a big team, it seemed that this would be the campaign to consign the bitter memories to the past.

Yet against Inter, as Mourinho won the tactical battle and his players went out and won all the physical ones as well, they looked very different.

Weak in mind, weak in body. Basically weak and old.

Anceotti could conjure no inspiration, his players could find no response, with Drogba's red card, a moment of frustration boiling over, symbolic of the evening.

It was not supposed to happen like that but a combination of factors, some on-field, some off it, have contributed to the situation that leaves the entire season at a tipping point.

First up is the one element that cannot be conquered - time. Chelsea are an old team, getting older.

There has been no serious transfusion of new blood since Mourinho left and indeed, had Petr Cech, Cole and Michael Essien been fit, nine of Tuesday's starting side would have played for the Portuguese.

Then were the wobbles. Chelsea dropped eight points in six matches in December, allowing Arsenal back into the title race and Manchester United to close the gap, compounding that felony by squandering a further eight in five games last month as Drogba's return from Africa had an adverse effect on Nicolas Anelka and the poise of the side.

And when you add in the extra instability caused by the misdemeanours involving John Terry and Ashley Cole, and the whole circus surrounding Mourinho and his return to SW6, the seeds were clearly being sown.

The big question is: what next?

For Ancelotti, this is the big test. Irrespective of what will happen in the summer - an overhaul now seems inevitable, with Abramovich opening his wallet - the onus is on the Italian to show he is a leader in times of crisis.

As the Chelsea manager insisted, in a view reiterated by his players, the season is not over.

Chelsea still have nine matches in the Premier League, plus the FA Cup.

The equation is simple, too. Win those games - admittedly including trips to Old Trafford, White Hart Lane and Anfield - and the title will be back at the Bridge, with only Aston Villa and then the winner of the other semi-final between Portsmouth and Spurs or Fulham standing in the way of the club's first domestic Double.

Simple, that is, until you realise what that will require, a step change in morale terms for a number of players who wore the dazed look of zombies as they walked along the touchline to the car park for the drive home.

Blackburn on Sunday is the first hurdle, suddenly far larger and more challenging than it looked 24 hours ago and one that will be even bigger if, before the kick-off at Ewood Park, Arsenal beat West Ham and United are too strong for Liverpool.

They could not answer the questions asked by Mourinho. Now they have to find a solution to the ones raised by the doubts inside their own minds. This is where we will see the real measure of Ancelotti - and whether he will still remain in Abramovich's good books.

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