Jose Mourinho lamented his team’s failure to do the basics in Chelsea’s 2-1 defeat at the hands of Porto.
Chelsea FC fell yet again on Tuesday evening as Porto rode the passion of their home support to defeat Jose Mourinho’s side 2-1. In what was another crucial 2015/16 fixture, the Blues failed to put in an improved performance after a disappointing 2-2 draw with Newcastle United at the weekend.
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The Chelsea boss cut a forlorn figure when addressing the media following the loss and was understandably incensed by the manner in which his side conceded the winner.
"With the second goal it’s a ridiculous mistake. We watched dozens of repetitions of Porto taking corners, I thought we were completely ready for that and at a moment when the game was under control and we were preparing to make a change we conceded that goal."
Ruben Neves took the corner from the far side and delivered what could only be described as a poor ball, planned or not. Maicon, however, made something of it by losing his marker (Ramires) and glancing the ball past the near post.
Chelsea have been terrible thus far this season, but losing a game on the back of a poorly defended set piece was a real punch to the gut. The Blues have always been machine-like in their training ground preparation (particularly under Mourinho) and this has translated into ruthless efficiency at corners and free-kicks.
A Chelsea team running at half-speed would not concede in such a manner and the goal exemplified the situation that Mourinho’s men are currently in.
They literally have no idea what they are doing.
The boss, though, was relatively happy with the team’s performance as a whole given the cauldron that the Estadio do Dragao is.
"We reacted and we reacted well…It’s a difficult opponent and a difficult place to play. The Champions League brings a different emotion to matches, to the crowd and opposing players. I think the team played well."
This is frankly nonsense. Yes, Chelsea did have the odd opportunity to hit the back of the net but the overall show was woeful and there is no room for praise. There may be some people who will complain about the incorrect decision to not award the Blues a penalty for what was a clear handball, but I just don’t care. Chelsea did not deserve anything from this game and a point would have been smoke and mirrors in front of a car crash.
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Mourinho may have used the benching of Eden Hazard as a warning to other players that no-one is untouchable, but the message did not filter through. It is still hard to fathom how a largely unchanged double-winning squad could fall so far from grace.
The Blues need to sort themselves out sharpish, especially because Southampton visit on Saturday. Forget about a Premier League title defence, further slip ups will see Champions League qualification in jeopardy.
And that is not even scare-mongering.
All quotes taken from chelseafc.com.
Next: Phil Thompson On Chelsea FC Loss: Porto Were By Far The Better Team