Asked if his two star players are still on talking terms, Ancelotti insists that is the case. "Everything is OK in the dressing room," Ancelotti was quoted as saying in The Guardian newspaper. The Italian went on to play down the draw, insisting his team have not lost their winning mentality.
"We've lost confidence but not our winning mentality because our bad moment has been too long. I think that in the last game [the 1-0 win over Bolton Wanderers], the play was good. Obviously, we have to improve but I think we are improving."
The Blues boss gave 19-year-old Jeffrey Bruma his first league start alongside Terry as Alex is out injured and Branislav Ivanovic was suspended. Bruma allowed Emile Heskey to tower over him and score Villa's second goal but Ancelotti defended the teenager, insisting he played well - although he admitted the absence of Alex and Ivanovic did some damage.
"Defensively, we lost something, obviously," he added. "I just want to say that Bruma played very well but without Alex and Ivanovic, we lose some energy on the high balls. We conceded the second goal for this reason. The third was different because we needed to have more attention in the box."
Chelsea remain fifth in the standings, six points behind leaders Manchester United who have a game in hand.
Source: ESPN
carlo Ancelotti
