LONDON: Carlo Ancelotti watched his fading Chelsea side foul up again on Sunday – as they went from heroes to zeros in just three minutes.
Aston Villa’s last-gasp equaliser means the champions have now dropped 17 points from eight games to leave the Italian under intense pressure.
“It is our own fault because we were not able to maintain concentration to the end,” said Ancelotti
The Blues boss now admits they must beat Manchester United at home to have any chance or retaining their title.
He added: “There is a large gap at this moment and we have to beat United here to have a say about the title.
“The title race is not over yet because we are still improving but, obviously, we need to win against United.”
Penalties by Frank Lampard and Ashley Young cancelled each other out before Emile Heskey gave Villa a shock lead.
Didier Drogba levelled again then skipper John Terry thought he had fired an 89th-minute winner.
But Ciaran Clark’s equaliser for Villa leaves the Blues down in fifth place and six points behind leaders United, who also have a game in hand.
United’s visit to Stamford Bridge has now been rescheduled for March 1 after being cancelled due to snow before Christmas.
Ancelotti added: “Of course I am disappointed with this result because we used a lot of energy to come back in the game after the breather.
“We thought we had won then we lost two points right at the last situation.”
Chelsea also have to travel to United on May 7.
But optimism is in short supply – they have dropped 25 points this term, three less than the whole of last year.
Villa manager Gerard Houllier insisted his side’s performance showed they are capable of moving back up the table and drew a line under claims of unrest between the boss and certain players.
Defender Richard Dunne returned to the side for the first time since a training ground fall-out with assistant manager Gary McAllister, while their midfielder Stephen Ireland could feature against Sunderland this week.
“Sometimes a player who is not playing obviously calls his agent who obviously calls the press,” Houllier said.
“But you can’t play a game like that and get a result like that without having togetherness.
“This can be a turning point. We have lost so many points in the final minutes of games or after leading.
“This time a late goal got us a point.
“We have more experienced players back and they are coming back towards their usual level of match fitness.”
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