Ancelotti finds positives

Carlo Ancelotti
12 April 2012

Chelsea manager Carlo Ancelotti remained upbeat despite his side's second defeat of the season against Liverpool at Anfield on Sunday.

The Barclays Premier League leaders missed the chance to re-establish their five-point advantage over Manchester United after Fernando Torres scored twice in the 2-0 victory. Both goals came in the first half and although the introduction of Didier Drogba after the interval, having been put on the bench because he was suffering with a fever, livened up the visitors they found the Reds in no mood to capitulate.

"Obviously the result is not good but the performance in the second half was really better and I am happy to see my team play like they played in the second half," he said. "I think we had strong pressure in the second half and we deserved to score because we did a fantastic job in their half but we were unlucky not to score."

He added: "(Jose) Reina is a fantastic goalkeeper and he saved some opportunities, defensively all the players played for the team and for this reason they deserved to win."

Ancelotti also acknowledged the quality of Torres, a player Chelsea were linked heavily with in the summer.

"He scored two fantastic goals and he showed he was fit and has come back from not a good moment. He is a fantastic striker," said the Italian, who admitted his side paid for a finely-balanced first half in which Liverpool seized the initiative and then held on.

"We didn't play quick in the first half; we didn't have time to build play from the back and we didn't have the possibility to find space in the opponents' half.

"Liverpool defended very well in the first half and counter-attacked, scoring two fantastic goals.

"For us it was very difficult to get back in the game. The second half was better when we played with strong intensity and had opportunities but it was not enough because Liverpool defensively played well for 90 minutes.

"To come here and lose can happen but we have to be positive, we played a fantastic game in the second half. We are still top of the table. It is impossible to win every game and sometimes you lose but the team showed the same mentality and strength."

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