Premiership: Chelsea Benitez plans to outdo Man United

LONDON (AFP) – Chelsea interim manager Rafael Benitez said on Tuesday he hadn’t given up hope of overhauling Manchester United’s 11 point lead in the English Premier League and winning the title.

The 52-year-old Spaniard – who has struggled to win over the fans since he replaced Champions League winning manager Roberto di Matteo on November 21 – have won five of their last six games in all competitions and scored 13 goals in their last two.

Benitez, whose side play Norwich away on Wednesday coming in on the back of an astonishing 8-0 humbling of Aston Villa on Sunday, said he would not accept defeat in the title race for a while yet.

“We will see after two or three more games,” said Benitez, who had been out of management for almost two years when Chelsea came calling.

“You could see the team had confidence in themselves, they believed, and that was there to the end.

“They had good movements, created chances. Now we have to sustain this run and it will be easier for me to say we can compete.”