Chelsea boss Carlo Ancelotti believes Manchester City are serious title challengers after seeing his previous unbeaten side lose 1-0 at Eastlands on Saturday.
City edged a scrappy game 1-0 courtesy of Carlos Tevez's 59th minute winner to end Chelsea's 100 per cent start to the season.
"We didn't play how we wanted," explained Ancelotti."They won a lot of tackles in midfield and we conceded a lot of counter-attacks.
"We were not able to use speed in our play because there was no space.
"We played too complicated in the opening half so we didn't have a chance to score.
"They used a good tactic to play against us. To play against us they wanted to counter attack and they did some very well. We knew this but from one counter-attack they scored.
"If you play against a good team with a strong defence and you don't play at your best then it is normal that you don't score a goal."
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Chelsea are now just four points clear of City in fourth place and Ancelotti considers Roberto Mancini's side to be serious title contenders.
He added: "They have fantastic players and a very good squad and they can fight for the title."Subscribe to Football FanCast News Headlines by Email