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Grant praises Chelsea for emotional win over Man Utd By Reuters Tags: Manchester United  LONDON - Chelsea manager Avram Grant described yesterday's 2-1 victory over Manchester United that kept alive the London side's title hopes as "very emotional." The normally stony-faced Israeli, in his 50th game for the club since taking over from Jose Mourinho last September, even cracked a smile when he said he felt optimistic Chelsea could overturn United's lead with two games left in the Premier League. A fiercely competitive game provoked spats between opposition players but also an on-pitch argument between Germany captain Michael Ballack, scorer of both goals, and Chelsea teammate Didier Drogba over who should take a free kick. Advertisement Grant, who has suffered criticism for Chelsea's dour play in recent months, said he enjoyed the fans' noisy appreciation of an exciting match. "I think they appreciated the commitment and spirit of the players and their energy," he said. Chelsea, level with United on points but with a far inferior goal difference, needs to win both its remaining league games and hope United drops points against either West Ham or Wigan Athletic. "But you can't reach this stage without expecting to win ... otherwise you would not be in sport. You need to be optimistic. We are optimistic," he said. Grant praised substitute Andriy Shevchenko, for making the "save of the year" off the line in the dying moments of the game. He also said midfielder Frank Lampard, missing after the death of his mother, would decide for himself whether he was ready to return for the second leg of Chelsea's Champions League semifinal against Liverpool on Wednesday. "We need to leave the decision to him ... on the way to excellence you also have to be human," he said. Ballack, named man-of-the-match after his first-half header and 86th minute penalty, said he had felt his responsibility keenly when he stepped up to the spot for the kick normally taken by Lampard. "But for me it was not a problem. I can handle the pressure," he said. Chelsea captain John Terry added the side was convinced of victory from the start. "I think you saw today we want to win this Premiership to take it away from Manchester United," he said. "I think we showed people today we can match anybody." Post-game brawl After the match, Chelsea ground staff and Manchester United players got involved in a bizarre fracas on the pitch in an almost deserted Stamford Bridge stadium after the match. None of the United players who took part in the match were involved but players Patrice Evra, Gary Neville, Paul Scholes, Gerard Pique and John O'Shea were all warming down when an argument began with the ground staff tending the pitch. Stewards quickly moved in to separate those involved but after the situation quieted down, the row flared up again, although no punches were thrown. A Chelsea spokesman told reporters: "We will be studying the CCTV footage of the incident and take whatever action is appropriate." In the other English Premier League matches yesterday, it was: Birmingham 2, Liverpool 2; Manchester City 2, Fulham 3; Sunderland 3, Middlesbrough 2; Tottenham 1, Bolton 1; West Ham 2, Newcastle 2; and Wigan 0, Reading 0. Bookmark to del.icio.us   Survivors and pioneers Yad Vashem exhibit shows how Holocaust survivors helped shape Israel's identity Researching bacon Lahav's pig breeding gained widespread notoriety because of its legal loophole.

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