Chelsea look to bounce back from Wigan shocker

How Chelsea bounce back from their first loss of the Carlo Ancelotti regime, the unexpected 3-1 reverse away to Wigan in the Premier League at the weekend, will give observers and fans alike an idea about what resolve the Italian manager has brought to the side. The defeat at the DW Stadium allowed Manchester United to regain the summit for the first time this season, and Ancelotti declared that he "didn't know" why the club's eight-game winning run had come to an end.

The west Londoners have what looks like to be the perfect opportunity to recover their composure tonight when they take on Cypriot champions Apoel Nicosia in the Mediterranean island's capital tonight. But Ancelotti will be keen that his players don't underestimate opponents who drew at Atletico Madrid in the first game of the Champions League group stage, and is expected to hand summer signing Yuri Zhirkov his first start, in place of injury-worry Ashley Cole on the left.

Florent Malouda, the French winger who has played in all of Chelsea's Premier League games to date this season, told the Guardian that the players had already carried out an inquest among themselves as to what had gone wrong against Roberto Martinez's minnows during and after Saturday's game, which saw Petr Cech sent off for a professional foul early in the second half.

"Against Wigan we were always reacting to situations and were late with everything. Everything that could go wrong did. We didn't put all the ingredients in to win as we had in the first six games of the season. We know that, even if we are a good team, if we don't put in all those ingredients we won't win," Malouda said. "Every team we come up against is organised and wants to beat us. If we're not prepared for that, we can have trouble against any side. But now we have an opportunity in another competition."

Malouda also revealed that club captain John Terry had given the players a reminder of their responsibilities as Chelsea players, and had invoked the spectre of last season, when after a good start under then boss Luiz Felipe Scolari had been mislaid after a defeat to Liverpool. That sparked a slumped which lasted until the Brazilian was sacked early this year.

Ancelotti, mindful of his predecessor's fate, is reported to have administered a stern bollocking to his players on Saturday afternoon in his native. Whether the wake-up call has been enough remains to be seen. ·