Ancelotti untroubled by Chelsea defeat

Chelsea manager Carlo Ancelotti was untroubled by Saturday's 2-1 defeat at Manchester City, after their lead at the top of the Barclays Premier League was cut to two points.

Carlos Tevez scored the second-half winner after Emmanuel Adebayor had found the net at either end before the break, while Frank Lampard had a penalty saved by Shay Given.

Ancelotti said: "We don't have any reason to be worried. We are doing well at the moment but today it was difficult because Manchester City played very well.

"But we are still top of the league and we have two more points than Manchester United so we do not need anything extra."

City boss Mark Hughes was pleased his team ended their run of draws. He said: "We had to show courage and bravery.

"When you are playing a team like Chelsea you need to believe in your own ability.

"Some sides give them too much respect, which just allows them to create opportunities and win games."

Manchester United manager Sir Alex Ferguson admitted the injuries which have depleted his defence are giving him a headache.

The casualty list includes Rio Ferdinand, Jonny Evans, Nemanja Vidic, Gary Neville, Edwin van der Sar, Wes Brown and long-term casualty Owen Hargreaves.

After the 4-0 win at West Ham he admitted: "The injuries in defence are becoming a bit of a headache to us.

"Michael Carrick stepped in and did very, very well. He's got the composure and the pace and it was a good performance in the second half. We used our experience."

Arsenal boss Arsene Wenger was impressed with the contribution of makeshift striker Andrey Arshavin in the 2-0 defeat of Stoke.

The 60-year-old admitted he may use the Russian more in that role in the absence of recognised strikers Nicklas Bendtner and Robin van Persie.

Wenger said: "I don't think he was a big fanatic to play centre forward but I'm convinced he can play there because he has good body power, good movement and technique.

"He made intelligent movements and it worked today. He got a goal but could have had two or three and overall he did very well.

"I have to try it again to see if it works, at home and away from home, and to find a balance because I have many technical players around the team who can penetrate from deep positions - and that's needed when you have a player like him.

"We'll see. At the moment we don't have much choice, of course."

Liverpool boss Rafael Benitez defended his decision not to bring on Italian midfielder Alberto Aquilani in the goalless draw at Blackburn.

He said: "He is fit now, the ankle injury has healed. But I feel this was a difficult, physical place to come and not the right time to throw him on.

"He will be better getting his chance in a home match with our fans behind him. It is a difficult decision when someone is not fully match fit, he could make a mistake and it would set him back."

Rovers boss Sam Allardyce was pleased to be back in the dugout after heart surgery.

He said: "I felt okay until the last few minutes, they were a heart-stopper. But in those minutes we could have won it."

Elsewhere Portsmouth and Wolves recorded important home wins over Burnley (2-0) and Bolton (2-1) respectively, while Birmingham moved into the top half of the table with a 3-2 win at Wigan.