Carlo Ancelotti was critical of Chelsea's midfield after defeat at Manchester City.

Ancelotti was unusually critical, accusing his midfield of capitulating under the weight of the home side's pressure and failing to provide service for Didier Drogba and Nicolas Anelka.

"The problem was that Man City put strong pressure on our midfield after we scored and we were not able to play through from behind," Ancelotti said. "They improved on their strength in the first half, so we had this difficulty. There was nothing else.

"When the opponent puts pressure on our midfield, we have to improve our support play, so we can open them up with the ball and use our offensive players like Anelka and Drogba. We had difficulty in getting service to Anelka and Drogba in the first half."