Essien defended by Ancelotti

Chelsea boss Carlo Ancelotti says he will hold off a decision on whether to appeal Michael Essien's red card until he has seen the midfielder's tackle again.
After sealing a 1-0 win against Fulham at Stamford Bridge with a 30th-minute header, Essien was given his marching orders deep into stoppage-time for a two-footed lunge on Cottagers man Clint Dempsey.
The Ghanaian's dismissal took some of the shine off his display and the Blues' victory, but Ancelotti insists, on first sight, he did not think the midfielder's challenge looked dangerous.
"I don't like to judge the decision," said Ancelotti. "But I can say that maybe it was not a red card because Essien made a strong tackle, but on the ball.
"There was not a risk on the opponent. I think he went for the ball, the last ball of the game, an important ball.
"I don't think he did a silly foul. He tried to do a tackle, he won the tackle. And I'm not sure it was a sending-off.
"I'd like to see it again but directly, on the pitch, I didn't think it was a dangerous tackle. I hope we won't lose him for three games. That would be a problem if we lose him for three games. We have to wait, I think. I want to watch the replay before doing anything."
Despite the late controversy, Ancelotti was pleased with his side's display, which puts them four points clear at the top of the Premier League table after Manchester United drew with Man City 0-0.
"It was a good performance," he added. "We started well from the beginning with a high tempo during the game.
"The first half was very good and we had good control in the second half. We had a little problem at the end, but this is normal.
"When you are just 1-0 up it's more difficult to control the game. We played well continuously over the course of the game, so it was a good performance.
"The Manchester result was good for us, though, to be four points clear. That's a good gap. Nothing is decided, but that's a good gap. We'd like to stay there in that position."
The manager also hailed his side for keeping a ninth successive clean sheet at home, adding: "It's important to maintain clean sheets.
"Defensively we did well. We are working to put more pressure on them, and we did that well in the first half when the midfielders worked hard together."
Chelsea 2/11, Draw 11/2, Sunderland 14/1
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