Edwin van der Sar concedes Sunday's defeat at Arsenal has
allowed Chelsea back into the title race, with the Dutchman well
aware Manchester United missed a glorious opportunity to tighten
their grip at the Premiership summit.
The 36-year-old goalkeeper was twice beaten late on at Emirates
Stadium by first Robin van Persie, seven minutes from time, and
then again courtesy of Thierry Henry's last-gasp header.
After taking the lead early in the second half through Wayne
Rooney, United had looked all set to open a nine-point gap over
Chelsea, who a day earlier had endured an Anfield aberration in
going down 2-0 to Liverpool.
Van der Sar believes United must now regroup, put the late
capitulation behind them and focus on the next job in hand, which
is to negotiate a three-point haul from their next league game,
against Watford at Old Trafford.
"We have kept Chelsea in it," he conceded to the club's official
website.
"It could have been a good weekend for us and it would have been
nice to take advantage of their (Chelsea's) mistakes at
Anfield.
"If we could have made the gap nine points or seven points, then it
is further away than six and good for us. I just hope it doesn't
give Chelsea a lift.
"It was poor for us to lose the game like that. We were on our way
to a clean sheet and playing with confidence. We are bemused by
what happened.
"Nevertheless, we are still ahead and better off than we were last
year. We must now concentrate on winning our next league game
against Watford."