Is Chelsea’s season coming off the rails?
When Chelsea and Manchester City came face-to-face on Saturday at Stamford Bridge, few would have expected Roberto Mancini’s side to walk off with all three points. Form suggested that Chelsea would extend their lead at the top of the table, and dent Manchester City’s chances of finishing in the top four in the process.
Wayne Bridge failed to shake captain John Terry’s hand, but more importantly Chelsea failed to extend their lead at the top of the table and are now in danger of being caught at the summit. Their lead over Arsenal has been cut to just three points following their victory over Stoke, whilst Sir Alex Ferguson’s Manchester United side are now just one point adrift thanks to their ‘noisy neighbours’.
Chelsea weren’t just beaten, they were well beaten in what was there first home defeat of the season. Ancelotti’s side were the first to score after a through ball from Joe Cole saw Lampard put his team one up just minutes before half time. However, the advantage was short lived when Carlos Tevez scored for Man City seconds before the end of first half stoppage time. City went in with their tails up and the tone was set for the game.
Within minutes of the start of the second half, City scored again through Craig Bellamy which a shot flew into the far corner. Before Saturday’s match, Chelsea had only conceded eight premier league goals at home so the concession of two in quick sucession must have set alarm bells ringing on the Blues’ bench and with their supporters.
Also of concern will have been the ill discipline which saw Juliano Belletti concede a penalty and earn a red card which allowed Tevez to make it 3-1 from the penalty spot in his first match back in two weeks. Add to that a second yellow card for Michael Ballack which saw him join his team mate for an early bath and a fourth City goal from Craig Bellamy, and it was a truly miserable afternoon for the Chelsea faithful, most of whom had left for home before Frank Lampard could stroke home a consolation penalty.
Ancelotti was understandably disappointed with his team’s performance and recognised the errors which cost them. “We had the game in our hands but we made mistakes. We lost our balance and conceded goals on the counter-attack and after that the game was more difficult”, he said. The business end of the season has arrived and the Italian must be feeling the pressure.
He showed a great deal of faith in his squad in resisting making any signings during the January transfer window, something which is now starting to look somewhat misplaced. He has lost player to injuries, most notably Petr Cech and Ashley Cole, suspension (Ballack and Belletti), and he must have some concerns about John Terry’s very visible dip in form following his private life revelations.
Things are unlikely to get any easier for Chelsea in the forthcoming weeks. They face a tough FA Cup quarter-final against a resilient Stoke side at the weekend, followed by a must win London derby against West Ham, before they host Inter Milan and try and overturn the first leg deficit in their Champions League tie.
City’s win means the battle for fourth spot remains closer than ever. Worryingly for Chelsea fans, the title race is now looking equally as tight. Having been top of the pile for so long, anything other than a third Premier League title has to be considered a failure for the Stamford Bridge club, something which their manager must be all too aware of.
Rachel Thompson
