Carlo Ancelotti Sees Advantage For Chelsea Ahead Of New Season

Chelsea manager Carlo Ancelotti believes his squad have an edge going into the new season; an edge sharpened by the fact that, with no major departures over the summer, their sense of unity has intensified.

Of the Premier League's 'big four', only Chelsea did not lose a top star this summer, having successfully repelled Manchester City's attempts to lure captain John Terry north.

Ancelotti was quoted as saying in the Daily Mail, "We do have an advantage because we are the same group of players and they all have good relationships. It can be an advantage for us.

"We bought Yuri Zhirkov and Daniel Sturridge. Zhirkov is a top international player and Sturridge is a good young player. We got Ross Turnbull as well because we needed a goalkeeper.

"But it was more important we did not lose a player this summer than it was to buy players. We stay well with these players.

"I don't want to take other players because I think the squad is very competitive at Chelsea. We don't need other new faces."

In contrast to Chelsea, Manchester United lost Cristiano Ronaldo and Carlos Tevez, while Arsenal lost Emmanuel Adebayor and Kolo Toure, and Liverpool saw Xabi Alonso head to Real Madrid.

Regarding this weekend's Community Shield clash with United, Ancelotti said, "We have taken very good information from our pre-season. We did very good pre-season because we don't have injuries. We worked well, with a good mental attitude.

"United will be a difficult game but we arrive happy and excited to be at a beautiful stadium such as Wembley."

And he even added, "I like the weather in England as well because I don't like the sun. Every day rain, rain, rain. Rain makes good pitches. This is a good temperature to work in."