Jos Mourinho has some serious work on his hands as Chelsea’s season goes way off track. If it wasn’t for the cakewalk Champions League group fixtures, we’d be talking about a possible sacking for the Portuguese.
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As usual, Mourinho is in the thick of everything. How he enjoys the limelight! Take last weekend’s incident, for example. In what was, perhaps, the most controversial incident of the season so far, Gabriel clearly flipped out at Costa and whether there was contact or not, it led to quite a hue and cry. The Chelsea boss has a right to be upset with the FA for punishing Diego Costa.
Chelsea did win the game despite the match being marred by that distasteful incident. But Jos had to add insult to Arsenal’s injury, particularly adding to Wenger’s woes. He recently commented on Wenger saying, “He can speak about the referees before the game, can speak about the referees after the game, can push people in the technical area, can cry in the morning, can cry in the afternoon, nothing happens.” That’s Mourinho for you! He would have probably made a great shrink, if wasn’t for his footballing acumen. Nothing else explains this crazy urge to get into someone else’s head.
In Chelsea’s current predicament, though, he needs to start showing some of his other strong abilities that made him one of the greatest managers of all time. His tactical genius can hardly be questioned, and instead of lashing out at the doctors and managers, he should focus on staying alive in the title race.
Chelsea had a glorious chance to reduce the eight point deficit to five points, as City were thrashed by a Harry Kane inspired Tottenham Hotspur. They failed to grab the opportunity by only managing a draw at Newcastle, which was actually more than what they deserved. They put up a disappointing and poor display once again, with their first-half performances coming in for much criticism.
Both goals conceded were due to errors on Chelsea’s part. The first was a hopeful ball forward, that should have been dealt with. It wasn’t, and Perez finished brilliantly to punish the error. If the first goal was poor, the second was unpardonably horrific for a team famous for its defence. Cesc Fabregas was caught watching the ball as he almost forgot who he was marking, and Wijnaldum took advantage of this heading it home perfectly. Not a bad debut for him, was it?
Chelsea finally found some inspiration. Ramires came on and scorched the net with a cracking strike from the edge of the area. This is the sort of lifeline that should be enough to fire up the players to go for the kill. Surprisingly, Chelsea didn’t show enough urgency and the tempo was not lifted. They eventually scored the equaliser through William’s free-kick, but it was far from a classic comeback.
The manager makes the plan, the players execute it. As influential as Jos might be, the players have to buckle up, something they haven’t done this season. John Terry is off colour, Costa isn’t scoring goals, it is difficult to spot an anonymous Eden Hazard on the field, not to forget Branislav Ivanovich’s and Cesc Fabregas’ poor form. These are players who were outstanding last season, but are struggling in this one.
Jos Mourinho’s Chelsea needs to shape up before the two Manchester sides set up a mean, uncompromising lead on top of the Barclays Premier League table. If things don’t change quickly for the Blues, the FA cup would be the only realistic trophy still within their reach by the end of December.