Chelsea's Mentality

Carlo Ancelotti is a great coach, let's make sure there's no doubt about that. But something is missing in his mental preparation of his teams, and that has been happening for years. It happened with Milan and it happened with Chelsea today. Here's the problem:

Ancelotti's teams are amped up to play against rivals for the title, and they are supremely confident when it comes to the whipping boys of their domestic leagues. But when it comes to the upstarts, the teams that traditionally finish between 4th and 7th, they don't know what to do. They're too confident to take them seriously, and not pumped up enough to consider it a rivalry. It happened with Manchester City and it happened with Aston Villa. If Everton finds their form (one day soon I hope) then it will probably happen with them too. Ancelotti, get your boys under control!