London, Jan. 12 : Argentinian football boss Diego Maradona triggered off an alarm at 7 a. m. on Sunday by puffing on a Havana (cigar), and is now being blamed for Chelsea''s defeat against Manchester United, as the team was staying in the same hotel as the Argentinians.

According to The Sun, the alert led to 200 guests being evacuated from the posh hotel in Manchester where Chelsea were staying before their match with Manchester United.

Chelsea lost the match three goals to nil at Old Trafford following their night of shattered kip.

Stars, including John Terry, Joe Cole and Frank Lampard, had to wait for 40 minutes in near-freezing temperatures before getting the all-clear to go back inside the Radisson Edwardian hotel.

Several, including Michael Ballack, looked tired as they left later to head to the stadium.

Maradona was in Manchester to watch Argentinian striker Carlos Tevez turn out for United, though the player was left on the subs' bench.

Earlier, two fire trucks raced to the 263-room hotel and ten firefighters checked out every floor.

After the defeat - Chelsea's worst at Old Trafford for 15 years - coach Felipe Scolari admitted his team were outplayed and "some very big damage" had been done to their title challenge. (ANI)