No reason to fault players for Chelsea’s recent Premier League losses: Ancelotti

LONDON - Chelsea FC coach Carlo Ancelotti has said while the club’s back-to-back defeats to Sunderland and Birmingham were frustrating, there was no reason to fault the effort or the commitment of the players.

Reacting to Chelsea’s first back-to-back defeats in four-and-a-half years, Ancelotti told The Sun: “I’ve already said to the players ‘don’t lose confidence because you played good football. The result is frustrating but they deserved to win.”

“The team didn’t play well against Sunderland and this result is not good but we didn’t deserve to lose. We didn’t win because we were unlucky and because Foster played a good game. We have to take confidence from the way we played. It is just the result that was disappointing,” he added.

Chelsea remains at the top of the table on goal difference and will be in no doubt they must lift their game to stand any chance of retaining the title.

“It is a strange Premier League this season. There are a lot of opportunities for teams to close the gap at the top. We are losing opportunities, but so are other teams,” Ancelotti said. (ANI)