Chelsea left frustrated by City

Claudio Ranieri admitted his frustration as Chelsea failed to cut the gap on leaders Arsenal and striker Adrian Mutu was allegedly involved in a tunnel bust-up with Birmingham’s Darren Purse.

Ranieri knew nothing of the alleged row at the end of his side’s goalless draw at Stamford Bridge, in which Mutu and Purse were said by eye-witnesses to have argued in the tunnel.

Mutu had apparently been angered by an earlier clash on the pitch with Purse, in which the Birmingham centre-back accidentally caught him in the face.

Purse is said to have visited the Chelsea dressing room after the final whistle to explain himself but Mutu supposedly barred his path and an angry exchange of words ensued.

While official action is unlikely, the net effect of the result on Chelsea’s title chances will be rather more serious.

After all, rather than reducing the gap on either Arsenal or Manchester United, Chelsea were left six points off the pace.

Ranieri admitted: “It was frustrating. We tried to do everything. Their goalkeeper was man of the match and made some great saves. We had some great chances to score but the luck was not with us.”

The Chelsea boss nevertheless insisted he is still under no pressure from Roman Abramovich to win any silverware this season as his priority remains building up his squad.

“Nothing has changed from the beginning of the season. I said we were building the foundations, even though everyone else said we must win, but I said ‘don’t worry’,” insisted the Italian.

“Next season? Maybe it will be the next manager then! But I am the current Chelsea manager and don’t worry.

“We are building well and, if it’s possible in April to be a little closer to Arsenal and United, we will try.

“This was a good chance to achieve three points but it proved impossible. The players tried to do everything and I’m very pleased with our performance but if you don’t score, then it’s difficult to win.”

Chelsea did strike the post through Joe Cole, while Olivier Tebily acrobatically cleared William Gallas’ lob off the line and Gallas also had a penalty appeal turned down.

However, Birmingham battled resolutely throughout, with keeper Maik Taylor, as well as midfielders Robbie Savage and Stephen Clemence in determined mood, and also had chances of their own to score.

Steve Bruce said: “As we saw with Wolves beating Manchester United, this Premiership is tough so I don’t think Chelsea underestimated us, but we thoroughly deserved our point.

“We had a couple of chances but we defended manfully as well.”

As for the penalty appeal, he insisted: “As far as I was concerned, it was a tangle of legs. I think that [to have awarded a penalty] would have been a bit harsh.”

Savage told Sky Sports: “We wanted three points but probably one point was the best we could have hoped for. We always fight hard and this result should be more about Birmingham than Chelsea.”