Chelsea forward Didier Drogba has praised his team’s fighting spirit after their 2-1 victory over Manchester United put them on top of the Premier League by two points with only five remaining.
The Ivory Coast international was well offside for his match-winning strike, which gave his side a 2-0 after Joe Cole had struck in the first half.
Federico Macheda almost immediately got a goal back for the three-time defending champions, but Drogba’s goal proved to be the difference in a Blues victory that leaves their title destiny in their own hands.
“I still believed we could do it even when we were behind, even though we had the frustration of losing points we should not have dropped in the last month. But now we are top and we really want to stay there. Drogba told The Mirror.
“It would mean more for us to do it now having waited for three years to win it back again.
“We know we’re not there yet. All I know is that we want to win it a lot, to prove to people the team we are.
“We are more determined now. To go to Old Trafford and have the mental attitude to win here, that shows we really want it.
“The desire was so good. This was a big result, a very big result, and we had a lot to be proud of.”
Drogba, who came off the bench on Saturday, believes his 32nd goal of the season could be one of the most critical strikes he has ever had.
“Maybe you don’t need to score a lot against the big clubs, just the important goals, and this one was one of those goals.
“It was perhaps the most important one I’ve scored.
“I’ve only scored twice against them, the first in the FA Cup Final and now this one at Old Trafford.”
Next Saturday Chelsea will travel to Wembley to take on Aston Villa in the FA Cup semi-finals before continuing their run to a Premier League title three days later when they host Bolton Wanderers.
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