Ancelotti demands right response from Blues

Chelsea boss Carlo Ancelotti has urged his players to hold their nerve in the Barclays Premier League title race following their defeat against Tottenham at White Hart Lane.

Manchester United could be back at the summit by the time Ancelotti's men kick-off against Stoke next Sunday after Sir Alex Ferguson's men defeated rivals City then saw Spurs win 2-1 against the Blues.

"We had a problem with soft defence," said Ancelotti. "We didn't put pressure on the ball. Lampard scored at the end but when we lost Terry it was impossible to recover the game with 10 against 11."

Chelsea know they will win their first title since 2006 if they defeat Stoke, Liverpool and Wigan.

"We know what we have to do in the next three games," Ancelotti said. "We must not have a panic now. We are top of the league with only three games left so every team wants to be in our place.

"We have two at home and one difficult game away. We can be the best again. A one-point lead is not bad at this stage of the season.

Spurs are back in the Champions League places, with their victory over Arsenal in midweek backed up with goals from Jermain Defoe and Gareth Bale, while Chelsea had John Terry dismissed before pulling one back through Frank Lampard.

Boss Harry Redknapp praised his players after following up their midweek win against Arsenal with a victory over another title challenger.

"They were well-deserved wins," he said. "We were the better team again, there was no doubt about that. We created all the chances and deserved the points.

"The Man United result went our way but you have got to take advantage of that. We had to make sure we won to get the benefit. It's a difficult task beating Chelsea, not many teams manage to do that."