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What They Said: Maybe the title has gone - Villas-Boas

Chelsea's title challenge looks weaker with every passing week © Getty Images

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Chelsea boss Andre Villas-Boas confessed the Blues' title dream could be over after they failed to overcome Fulham on Monday, drawing 1-1 at Stamford Bridge: "You have to be sufficiently real," the Portuguese told Sky Sports.

"With City and United continuing to get the points they are getting at the moment, it'll be difficult. That is the perspective we have to make at the moment: it's difficult. It's not impossible. You cannot say that. But we have to focus on our position at the moment and make a real assessment. Maybe the Premier League is over for us at the moment."

Fulham's excellent defensive display, after Clint Dempsey cancelled out Juan Mata's opener, left Martin Jol to wonder how his side could have played so poorly in the 5-0 loss to Manchester United in midweek: "We had a good result against Liverpool, a good result at the Emirates [against Arsenal]. You can't say we are inconsistent - it was just against United that we didn't have a good result," Jol said.

Kenny Dalglish looked bereft of ideas after Liverpool once again threw away two points against Blackburn at Anfield, drawing for the sixth time at home from nine games this season: "It is the same story for us. It gets repetitive hearing it; it gets repetitive saying it for us," Dalglish said. "There is not a great deal more they (the players) can do other than have a bit of belief in themselves when they get in there.

"We did have something to show for it, we got a point, which is not what we deserved and is not what our intent was, either. But they (Blackburn) came to go away with something and they got it. They fought hard for the cause. We have got to look after what we can do for ourselves."

As for the returning Steven Gerrard, who managed 21 minutes as a second-half substitute and looked good during his time on the pitch, the Liverpool boss added: "He needs to get some time on the pitch. With him and Bellers coming on, it was to try and do something a little bit different to see if we could get something. From his (Gerrard's) first free-kick, we went close with a header. It is smashing to have him back."

Under-fire Blackburn boss Steve Kean confessed he hoped the 1-1 draw would change the opinions of some of the club's dissenting fans, although he admitted Rovers may be without Junior Hoilett and David Dunn for their next game with Manchester United: "Junior has had what we think is tightness in his hamstring. He has had a bit of hamstring problem over the last few weeks," said the Blackburn boss. "David felt his hamstring tighten as well, so we took them off as precautions. Hopefully we can patch them up. We will be in tomorrow and we will assess them tomorrow."

Liverpool could only find one goal against Blackburn © PA Photos

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Roberto Mancini showed clear frustration after Manchester City failed to score in their 0-0 draw at West Brom, but he appeared to relish the prospect of heading into the new year level on points with neighbours United: "It will be good and better for us," said the Italian. "But we are on the top because of goal difference and we know that it's impossible to stay at the top for 38 games but we will try.

"It was frustrating because we didn't score and if you don't score in games like this, then it can prove difficult to win. We had the chances but maybe we had chances to score two or three goals in the first half, but after if you don't score they defended with all players so it's difficult to find a good solution. In the second half, we had a good chance but that's it."

West Brom manager Roy Hodgson could only show pride for his team's efforts: "We have got to be pleased with that, we knew the magnitude of the task. We had to be at our best to try to keep them at bay. It's a bit concerning when you're the opposing manager watching the likes of [Edin] Dzeko and [Adam] Johnson coming on, when already you are dealing with [Sergio] Aguero and [Mario] Balotelli. You think you are doing okay then someone else comes on to cause you different problems.

Sir Alex Ferguson revealed Jonny Evans is likely to be out for two weeks with a calf injury following Manchester United's 5-0 win against Wigan, but he had time to praise hat-trick hero Dimitar Berbatov: "It was the right game for Dimitar," Ferguson explained. "I needed his height in terms of set-piece play against us and he weighed in with a hat-trick. We are really pleased for him. It helps his confidence. He has not had the best start to the season in terms of selection because of the options I have, with [Danny] Welbeck, [Wayne] Rooney and [Javier] Hernandez."

Wigan manager Roberto Martinez was angry at referee Phil Dowd's decision to send off Conor Sammon with the score at 1-0, but the Spaniard sounded a warning to Manchester City as the title race heats up: "What Manchester United have is that mentality," Martinez said. "They adapt to adversity. You can see everyone taking responsibility and using that to get a result. That is the biggest strength they have had for 25 years. That is why any team that wants to win the league, beyond any sort of money, or any sort of players you want to bring in, need to beat Manchester United mentally. That is the biggest battle."

Leighton Baines' penalty was hotly contested at Sunderland © Getty Images

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Sunderland's Martin O'Neill could not hide his anger after the Black Cats were denied victory by a controversial penalty decision in their 1-1 draw with Everton. Leon Osman appeared to kick the ground before falling in the area, but referee Howard Webb pointed to the spot to allow Leighton Baines to cancel out Jack Colback's opener: "I was unhappy obviously," O'Neill said. "I think that the players who were involved were more upset about that. Obviously it was pretty clear that the Everton player hit the ground. I had the chance to watch the incident again and it was obviously not a penalty."

O'Neill found support from rival boss David Moyes, who confessed he changed his mind over the incident having initially thought it was a penalty: "I've had the chance to see it again. I don't think it's a penalty kick - well, it's not a penalty kick," Moyes admitted. "It's a terrible decision by the referee. It wasn't a penalty kick and Martin should feel hard done by."

An increasingly tetchy Owen Coyle once again blamed his players after Bolton's 2-0 defeat to Newcastle at the Reebok Stadium: "I thought we started the game quite slow but then grew into it. Until their attack for the first goal Newcastle hadn't threatened - then they scored," Coyle summarised. "It was self-inflicted from our point of view. Then when you take that slap in the face you're looking for a reaction. And then we shot ourselves in the foot again. So it's absolutely disappointing. It's frustrating. It makes you angry."

Newcastle boss Alan Pardew revealed his squad had held a clear-the-air meeting in a bid to halt a run of six games without a win, which they managed thanks to strikes from Hatem Ben Arfa and Demba Ba: "We had an important meeting this week and had a chat about what we're good at and what we're not good at," Pardew said. "You've got to understand your weaknesses as a team. We exposed our weaknesses against West Brom the other night. Tonight we've shown our strengths. It was about getting back to a few things we're good at this week as a team."

After the late kick-off, which ended 0-0, Aston Villa boss Alex McLeish revealed Emile Heskey and Darren Bent were injury concerns ahead of the December 31 game with Chelsea, while Stoke manager Tony Pulis said he hoped Peter Crouch would be back to face Wigan: "We have to make sure Peter is well," Pulis commented. "He's such an important player for us. When he's ready we'll play him."

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