Chelsea manager Carlo Ancelotti has admitted he may have got it wrong by starting Fernando Torres in the Champions League defeat to Manchester United.
With the Blues looking to overturn a one-goal deficit from the first leg of their quarter-final tie, Ancelotti opted for his £50m January signing ahead of Didier Drogba at Old Trafford.
The Spain international, who is yet to score for the Blues, once again failed to deliver and was hauled off at half-time as Ancelotti turned to Drogba, and the decision looked to be a smart move as the Ivorian twice troubled United goalkeeper Edwin van der Sar before getting on the scoresheet.
However, a 2-1 defeat on the night meant Chelsea crashed out of the competition and when asked if he was wrong to start Torres, Ancelotti said: “Maybe. Could be.
“I told you a lot of times this season I wanted to start with Fernando for this kind of game, these type of tactics.
“Didier played well in the second half. I wanted to put more pressure up front because we needed to score.
“Didier was fresh and he could use his power up front. This was the reason I took out Fernando.”
Meanwhile, United counterpart Sir Alex Ferguson believes Ancelotti’s hand was forced because of the huge fee spent to land Torres from Liverpool.
Ferguson said: “A lot of people thought Drogba would play. I thought having signed Torres for the money they did they had to play him.
“I wasn't 100% sure but I couldn't see how they could leave Torres out.”