Louis Saha has applied salt to the wounds he inflicted on
Chelsea on Wednesday night by saying
that Manchester United remain the dominant
force in the Premier League and will be spurred by
the leaders' defeat at
Goodison Park.
The Everton striker's two goals ended
Chelsea's 13-match unbeaten run, brought David Moyes his first win
over the league leaders in 23 attempts and helped his former club
close to within a point of Carlo Ancelotti's team. Saha's 100th and
101st league goals in English football capped an authoritative
display against John Terry, who erred for both on the night.
And though admittedly biased in favour of United, where he spent
four injury-plagued seasons, the French forward believes they have
the edge over Chelsea in their pursuit of a fourth successive
league title.
Saha said: "I'd love to say Everton are going to win the league
but obviously that's not going to happen, and I think it will be
tight between them. Chelsea are very strong but I think United are
better, and personally I would be delighted if they won it. I'd
definitely prefer that. I still keep in touch with a lot of them
from United, especially Patrice Evra. Wayne Rooney and Owen
Hargreaves are on the phone a lot, and they've got a really good
bunch of guys. But I will probably have more messages and calls
than ever after this result. Our win was a big boost for United but
the main thing has to be Everton, and taking us as high up the
table as possible."
The 31-year-old now has 15 goals for the season and further
underlined the extent of his rehabilitation at Everton last week
when agreeing a new two-year contract with the club. Saha admitted
that the protracted negotiations had been a distraction but, with
his immediate future secured, believes he can continue to shed his
injury-prone reputation on Merseyside.
"The main thing for me is to stay at this level now. That's my
only goal," added Saha, whose next opponent will be United at
Goodison on Saturday week. "I'm really enjoying my football. I had
a spell with bad injuries, so I'm just happy with how it's going.
But it is a relief having the contract talks settled too because it
was a bit stressful. I have always said I see my long-term future
at Goodison and the win over Chelsea showed the self-belief we
have. It was not about just me, but the great spirit we have
here."
Saha rejected claims that Terry was culpable for Chelsea's
fourth away defeat of the season, particularly with his defending
for Everton's 75th-minute winner, and preferred to pay tribute to
his own colleagues instead. "I know what people are saying [about
Terry] but they have got to realise what a great ball it was from
Sylvain [Distin] for the second goal."
Everton, meanwhile, may discover today the extent of the ankle
injury that Marouane Fellaini suffered at Liverpool last weekend.
The Belgium international was due to see a specialist in London
yesterday amid concerns he could face a lengthy spell on the
sidelines.