Manchester United’s chances of retaining their Premier League title were diminished at Ewood Park when, in the absence of Wayne Rooney, they were unable to unlock a stubborn Blackburn Rovers defence and missed out on the opportunity to overtake Chelsea at the top of the table.

Without Rooney, Sir Alex Ferguson recalled Dimitar Berbatov to the starting line-up but the Bulgarian was found wanting, and his sulky manner will have done him no good with the manager who dropped him for the Champions League decider against Bayern Munich in midweek.

Ferguson may well have given up on the striker who cost him £30m from Tottenham, but with Rooney and Michael Owen both hors de combat he has no effective alternatives. The manager turned here to Federico Macheda, only to find the Italian unequal to the task on his debut.

United were collectively ordinary at the end of a week that has seen them lose to Chelsea, eliminated from Europe and now unable to claim the three points that would have restored them to pole position in the title race.

Ferguson fielded an attacking formation, with two strikers supported by two wingers and Ryan Giggs in midfield, but the Rovers back four were impressively resilient, and when United did manage to find a way through, Berbatov was horribly inaccurate in front of goal. United hope to have Rooney back for the Manchester derby next Saturday, and how they need him.

Premier LeagueBlackburn RoversManchester UnitedJoe Lovejoyguardian.co.uk

• Draw with Blackburn leaves Chelsea in third place
• Manager admits title is ‘more difficult’ after poor run

Carlo Ancelotti conceded tonight that his Chelsea team had lost confidence and composure after their second demoralising result in a week. Six days after going out of the Champions League they could only draw 1-1 at Blackburn Rovers and their manager admitted they were no longer favourites for the Premier League title.

Didier Drogba gave Chelsea a sixth‑minute lead with his 28th goal of the season but they threw away a winning position when El Hadji Diouf equalised in the second half. Ancelotti later accepted that Manchester United were now “strongly placed” for what would be their fourth championship in a row. “For us it is less of a probability,” he said.

In all competitions Chelsea have won five and lost four of their last 11 games and Ancelotti believes the rot set in when they were beaten 4-2 at home by Manchester City on 27