Crisis looms for Scolari

MANCHESTER, England: Luiz Felipe Scolari is only one defeat away from the first full-blown crisis of his reign at Chelsea - but the Brazilian insists he will not be plunging into the transfer market in search of a remedy.

As they surrendered meekly in a 3-0 defeat to Manchester United here on Sunday, the Londoners looked a pale shadow of the side that pushed Sir Alex Ferguson's side to the wire last season.

Devoid of inspiration going forward and calamitously casual in defence, Scolari's class of 2009 suffer even more in comparison with the Chelsea sides that Jose Mourinho - who was in the VIP seats at Old Trafford - led to back-to-back Premier League titles in 2005 and 2006.