Ancelotti admits confusion at Wigan performance.

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Chelsea boss Carlo Ancelotti demanded a response from his team after their first defeat of the season at Wigan.

The Blues face a Champions League match on Wednesday with Cypriots Apoel Nicosia, then play Liverpool on Sunday.
Keeper Petr Cech will be banned against the Reds after his dismissal at Wigan, while Ashley Cole is an injury concern.
“We have to give a very good reaction, we have a Champions League match, that is an important match, and I’m sure the team will do better,” he told the BBC.
Ancelotti is known to talk to his players in Italian when he is angry and when asked what language was used at half-time at Wigan he said: “I spoke in Italian after the first half.”
The former AC Milan coach admitted he did not expect such an impressive performance from Roberto Martinez’s side, which resulted in Chelsea’s first defeat in 24 matches as they lost 3-1 – his first at the helm.

“They used all of the pitch and attacked well,” he said. “They deserved to win.”

Cech was sent off after lunging foot-first into a challenge with Hugo Rodagella, meaning that deputy Henrique Hilario will come into the side in the league match with Liverpool at Stamford Bridge.
In addition, Cole was carried off with a knee injury, meaning he and John Obi Mikel, who suffered an ankle problem, could both miss the Champions League trip this week.
“I don’t know why we lost at Wigan because we prepared very well and we knew what was important,” Ancelotti lamented.
“This can happen after a lot of victories and we have to accept this loss and fix it in the next match in the Champions League.
“I don’t think we were over-confident. In football it can happen that one day it’s not good and now we have to look forward.” (BBC Sport)

Let’s face it, it wasn’t a result many would have predicted and it put paid to Carlo Ancelotti’s excellent start to the season, but there is still nothing for the west London outfit to be too worried about. Chelsea are still joint top and they were unfortunate to lose their keeper who was in my view, wrongly sent off.

It was an average display from the Blues but every now and then a team will turn in a below par performance and it would be unwise for anyone to read too much into the 3-1 defeat.

Nothing should be taken away from Roberto Martinez’s side attitude and commitment to the cause. They battled well and showed a fair bit of ability and Wigan under the Spaniard are on their way up in the world. Chelsea will have learned something from such a result and if there was any sense of complacency within the camp after such a fantastic start to the season then that will surely have been vanquished.

The Stamford Bridge outfit will still be in the mix come May and anyone predicting that their new Italian boss will fail to clinch any meaningful silverware this term may well find themselves looking rather foolish. All the usual top four candidates have suffered odd and unexpected defeats this term. Man United fell to newly promoted Burnley, Liverpool lost at home to Aston Villa and Arsenal were put to the sword by Man City. Yesterday was Ancelotti’s turn to taste just such a defeat, and he is just the type of experienced boss who can draw positives from such a defeat and get his team back and firing on all cylinders before too long.


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