It could be, as Carlo Ancelotti attempted to explain in his best broken English, construed as two senior players letting off a bit of steam at the end of a frustrating 3-3 draw against Aston Villa in which the double winners had trailed 2-1 before being within touching distance of back-to-back Premier League wins.

Instead, it could be more evidence that all is not well on board the good ship Chelsea.

The champions remain in fifth place but are six points behind the leaders Manchester United, who have a game in hand over them and have yet to visit west London. Ancelotti’s team have taken just ten points from an available 30 to slip from the summit of English football ahead of their midweek trip to Wolves (Wolves 6/1 draw 10/3 Chelsea 4/9 – match betting).

Sir Alex Ferguson suggested before the weekend the open nature of the race for the title was a “dream” for fans and players alike – but whether Chelsea will be part of it on current form is now open to debate.

Manchester City could again flex their financial muscle in the January window, Arsenal appear on the cusp of finally realising their potential and Tottenham’s all-out-attack approach could see them go close.

One area of obvious concern for Ancelotti has to be a leaking defence which has shipped in 17 goals in all competitions going back to, and including, the 2-0 defeat by Liverpool at the start of November last year.

“Defensively, we lost something, obviously,” Ancelotti said, when reflecting on Sunday’s stalemate.

Another concern, highlighted on Sunday, was the lack of cohesion and zip between principal goal threats Nicolas Anelka and Drogba, who scored against Villa but was otherwise anonymous (9/2 Drogba – Premier League top goalscorer).

“They have difficulty in this moment but Drogba scored today and for a striker, that’s very important,” added the Italian.

Ancelotti said the visit to the capital of United in March would determine whether or not Chelsea will retain their domestic crown and he can take heart from the affection afforded to him by the players when Terry put the Blues in front.

It sparked memories of when they did the same for former manager Luiz Felipe Scolari after a late winner by Frank Lampard against Stoke City in January 2009.

Scolari was sacked three weeks later.

Want £200 Free? Click here to visit Bet365 and claim your free money.

Chelsea could have gone back to the top of the league on Saturday with a win, with Manchester United having seen their game with Blackpool called off due to a frozen pitch at Bloomfield Road.

However, it was another lacklustre display by the Blues and, despite taking the lead through Didier Drogba, they couldn’t maintain their slender advantage as Everton’s Jermaine Beckford rescued a point for the Toffees.

It was the least Everton deserved after a battling display but Chelsea will be left to rue yet another poor display which means they have won one of their last six league encounters.

Under-pressure Ancelotti has admitted Chelsea need to get things sorted quickly but with games against Tottenham, Manchester United and Arsenal to come Chelsea need to rediscover their form quickly.

“It’s difficult to understand. We have had a lot of injuries but now we have some of them recovering and they played today, like John Terry and Michael Essien,” said the Italian.

“I think they did well. Now we have to work on getting (Frank) Lampard back and work harder than we have done recently.”

As Chelsea struggle for a win, Tottenham’s recent run of good form hit something of a stumbling block as they were held to a 1-1 draw at Birmingham, despite having taken the lead.

St Andrew’s isn’t quite the fortress it was last season and Spurs could have put the game to bed had they taken their chances. With Manchester City (4/11 top four finish) having beaten Bolton (40/1) 1-0 at Eastlands, Spurs (15/8) find themselves with a three-point gap to make up if they want to return to the Champions League next season.

Redknapp says he wasn’t happy settling for a point as he believes Tottenham can beat anyone this season and claims three points was there for the taking against Birmingham.

“I fancy us to play anybody. I really thought we’d come here and win,” said Redknapp. “I was disappointed in the end because I thought there was three points here for us.

“While two of London’s premier clubs were struggling Arsenal enjoyed a great day at the Emirates Stadium for once as they climbed to the top of the league with victory over Fulham.

The Gunners are now top for the first time this season and are priced at 10/3 to win the league, thanks to Samir Nasri’s double against the Cottages.With Cesc Fabregas and Robin van Persie having struggled with injuries Nasri has stepped up and been Arsenal’s star man thus far, scoring 11 goals in all competitions.

Manager Arsene Wenger was quick to praise the French midfielder after he saved his side yet again.

“It’s always difficult to compare,” Wenger said when asked whether he thought Nasri had been one of the Premier League’s star players this season. “But what is important when you are a manager is you want to get the best out of a player and I always was a strong believer in him.

“Many people questioned me when I took him here but he is showing that he is an exceptional talent and I think there is more to come from him. While life is going swimmingly for Arsenal, things at the bottom for Wolves got a lot gloomier on Saturday as they were hammered 3-0 by Blackburn.

That result moved Wolves (4/7 to be relegated) to the foot of the table, courtesy of their goal difference, and manager Mick McCarthy was his usual black and white self as he took aim at his side’s poor defensive performance.

“We started the game really well as everyone knows who watched it and then defended badly,” said McCarthy. “We just had a bad day defensively that’s for sure because we had chances.

“But that doesn’t matter when you’re three goals down.”

Bet on the World Cup and get £200. Click here to visit Bet365 and claim your free money.

The Blues boss watched his side stroll to victory in Slovakia on Wednesday as Anelka set up Michael Essien to open the scoring on 13 minutes, before adding two more before the half-hour mark.

Daniel Sturridge made it 4-0 two minutes into the second half, before an error by Petr Cech allowed Tomas Oravec to grab a consolation goal in the 55th minute.

However Ancelotti saw enough evidence from his side, and Anelka in particular, to be heartened that it could be the Londoners’ time to end their long wait to lift the biggest prize in European football (9/2 Chelsea Champions League Outright).

“Every game in the Champions League is hard to play,” said Ancelotti. “We started very well in the first half, we played fantastic football, the second half was different.

“Zilina put more pressure on our defence. The back four did a good match. When you are 3-0 up it’s normal to have more difficulty.

“The key was Anelka, he played a fantastic game. He created space, he had opportunities, he was the key for this game.”

The comprehensive victory, in which Chelsea made it 21 goals already for the season, has placed them firmly at the top of the Group F table (Chelsea 1/6 Group F Winner) on goal difference ahead of Spartak Moscow, who won 1-0 at Marseille.

However, Ancelotti insists they are not trying to break any goal records – they scored 142 last season – as the main aim for the Blues is to simply ‘play good football, to win the game’.

He added. “We are not interested in beating the score from last year because it’s our record, maybe we are not able to improve on our record.”

Bet on the World Cup and get £200. Click here to visit Bet365 and claim your free money.

Chelsea

The Italian tactician allowed Cole to leave after his contract came to an end at Stamford Bridge.  There was a contract offer handed to Cole but he decided to weigh up his options, and Ancelotti did not exactly put a great deal of effort into trying to persuade the England star to stay.

The former AC Milan boss secured the services of Benayoun from Liverpool in a £5.5million deal earlier this summer and Ancelotti thinks the Israeli playmaker will be a better player for his Chelsea side than Cole was in his time with the Blues.

“I think Joe is a quicker player, but I think Yossi tactically is better,” said Ancelotti.

“They are different players. Benayoun is Benayoun, Joe Cole is Joe Cole.”

Many pundits and fans alike have suggested Liverpool got the better deal in this particular scenario.  While the two transfers were not interlinked in terms of the actual deal, the fact the players play in the same position essentially means that Yossi Benayoun is Cole’s replacement at Chelsea, and vice versa.

However, the Chelsea boss believes he has secured a better player to replace Cole and suggested that Cole did not think tactically, or listen to instructions from the manager.

He added:  “People may say Liverpool have the better player but everyone can explain their own opinion. We are happy to have Yossi here.

“Joe Cole had a fantastic career at Chelsea but this year is another story.

“Yossi is very intelligent and tactically he thinks very well – he can play in different positions and will be a good player for us.”

Chelsea are the current favourites to secure the Premier League title after their success last season, and although Ancelotti has been fairly quiet in the transfer market the current squad at his disposal is arguably the strongest in the league.

However, Manchester United will be eager to take the title back to Old Trafford after coming close last season.  United have also been fairly quiet in the transfer market, with just Chris Smalling and Javier Hernanez added to the side who came second last season, but the club’s hierarchy claim there is money available to boss Sir Alex Ferguson if he wishes to splash out on a big name player.

Arsenal boss Arsene Wenger believes his team have matured enough to challenge for the top domestic prize in the coming season, while the Frenchman has also secured the services of Marouane Chamakh from Bordeaux in the hope the striker scores the goals that bring the title to the Emirates.

Big spending Manchester City have also received backing from pundits who believe this could be the year the established sides stranglehold on the Premier League will be broken, while reports of a takeover at Liverpool could allow boss Roy Hdgson the funds required to turn the Anfield outfit into a side capable of battling it out at the very top of the table (Chelsea 13/8f in the full Premier League 2010/2011 outright market).

Bet on the World Cup and get £200. Click here to visit Bet365 and claim your free money.