Ancelotti - We must improve

Carlo Ancelotti admits it is vital he finds an answer to Chelsea's problems after seeing them drop more points.

The Blues saw their winless run in Premier League fixtures stretched to four on Saturday as they were held 1-1 by Everton.

Didier Drogba fired the hosts in front at Stamford Bridge, converting from the penalty spot, but Jermaine Beckford snatched a late leveller for the visitors.

The stalemate leaves Chelsea in third place in the table, two points adrift of new leaders Arsenal.

Ancelotti accepts that performances of late have not been good enough, including against Everton, and has been left bemused by the struggles of his side.

Control

"It was not good. We didn't win," the under-fire Italian told Sky Sports.

"We weren't able to play our football. The first half was good, we went 1-0 up, but the second half was poor. We didn't play our football we just played long ball and that isn't our aim.

"Sometimes we control the game but we have to make sure we don't lose our way. We have to play always to the best level.

"It is difficult to understand why this happened in the second half, but it did and we have to try and find out why."

Ancelotti hopes the return to action of key men such as John Terry and Michael Essien, who both figured against Everton, will help to snap Chelsea out of their slump.

Recovering

He added: "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.

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

Ancelotti has also played down any fears regarding Drogba's fitness, with the Ivorian striker carrying a slight groin problem.

"It was a little problem and he played the whole game," he said.

"I think he will be ready for the next game."