Benitez in search of elusive Chelsea goal

Rafael Benitez admitted his Chelsea side was in need of a confidence boost after successive scoreless draws in the new manager's opening two Premier games in charge.

Benitez's men were held by Fulham in the Premier League at Stamford Bridge on Wednesday, four days after the draw with champion Manchester City.

And the Spaniard admitted that marked a disappointing start to his time with the west London club, where he has been appointed as interim manager until the end of the season.

Benitez insisted there were positives from the Fulham stalemate but he added: "You cannot be satisfied when you haven't won these games.

"City are a top side, a team with a lot of options. Today (against Fulham) I saw a lot of positive things, sustaining the attacks and regaining the ball very high. I didn't like the two chances we gave away on the counter-attack, and when we didn't move the ball too quickly, but it's a question of time.

"We've only had a few training sessions. We need more time. The main thing is to win games. If we do we'll be there and we can win competitions. We need to start doing that and the confidence will come back."

Chelsea has now gone six league games without a win and its problems in front of goal against Fulham were reflected in another frustrating performance from Fernando Torres.

The forward, who flourished under Benitez at Liverpool, had few opportunities and has now failed to score in almost 11 hours of Premier League action, a run the new Chelsea boss also put down to a lack of confidence.

(China Daily 11/30/2012 page24)