Chelsea’s defeat proves the title race is still wide open

When Liverpool lost for the second time in their opening three Premier League games against Aston Villa, many were quick to write off their title chances. However, they are now just three points behind the leaders Manchester United, and as Chelsea proved on Saturday, there is plenty left to play for.

Carlo Ancelotti was unable to explain Chelsea’s defeat against a superior Wigan side, but with a mid-week Champions League game and Liverpool visiting Stamford Bridge next Sunday, he will need to work it out pretty quickly. A suspension for Petr Cech and injury to Ashley Cole will hardly help matters against the free scoring Merseysiders.

Games such as those at the DW can only make for a more exciting title race. With Manchester United having lost to Burnley and Arsenal getting beaten on successive weekends in Manchester, all of the top four have now lost and it is difficult to imagine that they won’t do so again and it is looking increasingly unlikely that one team will run away with the league.

With that said, Manchester United are starting to look increasingly comfortable without Cristiano Ronaldo, especially when they can still call on Ryan Giggs to produce displays as influential as on Saturday. They are back where they feel they deserve to be, at the top of the league, and they will fight hard not to relinquish that position.

Liverpool too seem to be hitting their stride, and next Sunday’s game would be the perfect opportunity to prove their title credentials. In beating Fulham at the weekend, a fixture which they lost last season, Arsenal have shown they are able to ‘win ugly’ and should not be discounted from the running.

Chelsea’s defeat is not disastrous for them, but it does prove that that is not just the head-to-head games between the top four will decide the destination of the title. To quote Ancelotti, the contenders need to “pay attention to all games”, or else they may just come a cropper like his side did at the DW stadium on Saturday.