Carlo Ancelotti admitted he was content with the performance of his players despite losing 4-3 to Newcastle United in the Carling Cup third round.
The Blues found themselves 3-1 down in the 50th minute but rallied to tie up the contest before the Magpies netted a late goal through Shola Ameobi to head into the fourth round.
Although his side were unsuccessful, Ancelotti said it was a fair performance considering his men played the final half-hour with ten men.
"I am disappointed with the result but happy with the performance. We had a fantastic reaction when down 3-1 and it was 10 against 11," the Italian said.
"There was good spirit and personality from the young players. The game was very difficult but at the end we are happy for the performance of our players.
"The Carling Cup is not our priority. We have a very big game this weekend. We wanted to give opportunity to our young players to improve their skills and rest some of first team players. I am not so disappointed.
"We did our best. I am disappointed for the result because we conceded four goals, but the performance was good."
