Defiant Mourinho sure he will remain Chelsea boss

Chelsea manager rails against perceived injustice during 3-1 home defeat to Liverpool

Chelsea manager Jose Mourinho on the sideline during his side’s 3-1 defeat to Liverpool at Stamford Bridge Photograph: Philip Brown/Reuters
Chelsea manager Jose Mourinho on the sideline during his side’s 3-1 defeat to Liverpool at Stamford Bridge Photograph: Philip Brown/Reuters

A defiant Jose Mourinho expects to continue as Chelsea boss after yet another defeat which he suggested hinged on an error by a referee.

After Liverpool inflicted the reigning Premier League champions' sixth loss in 11 games, Mourinho was once again fuming at perceived injustices against his side, notably referee Mark Clattenburg's decision not to show Liverpool's Lucas a second yellow card when the score was 1-1.

Two further strikes followed in Liverpool’s 3-1 win which left Mourinho’s side with one win in eight games and his job possibly in jeopardy.

Asked if he thought the game was his last as Chelsea boss, Mourinho said: “No, I don’t.”

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Mourinho, who was subject to the first managerial vote of confidence in Roman Abramovich’s 12-year ownership on October 5, will be wary of what the future holds.

Abramovich was absent from Stamford Bridge so did not witness the defeat or hear the defiant and supportive chants from the home faithful.

Mourinho hinted at his frustrations in a BBC interview, but said he could not expand on his thoughts.

Mourinho, who is subject of two ongoing Football Association disciplinary cases, said: "I can't express my feelings in any way at all.

“The fight goes on, but sometimes there are fights that are very impossible to win. You go to a fight with different ammunition. There are some fights that you cannot win.

“I can play against any team, I can play against any manager. My team can play against any team and win, lose, but more than this is difficult.”

After a terse live television interview, Mourinho was initially asked his thoughts on the contest in the post-match media conference and declined to give them before bristling when asked how a side which cantered to the title in May had fallen off the pace so much.

“There are things that are out of our hands,” he said.

“Two minutes extra time (at the end of the first half), we concede the goal on two minutes 35 seconds.

“Then what happened in the second half everything is a consequence of some crucial moments.

“Moments that the stadium saw, the players more than see, the players felt it, from now, what happens is just a consequence.”

Mourinho was asked about the support from the Chelsea fans, who sang his name often throughout, and took the opportunity to make a veiled criticism of Clattenburg and his officials.

“I have some players really sad in the dressing room and I am full of respect for them. We see it match after match,” Mourinho added.

“As professionals they are not getting the respect they deserve.”

Asked to explain what he meant, Mourinho added: “You are all intelligent guys. If you want to write, you write.

“Next press conference I will bring you nice glasses, maybe you see the game in a better way.

“Or I give you some five percent of personality so you can say what you see, you are not afraid of it.”

Mourinho plans to prepare for Wednesday's Champions League Group G clash with Dynamo Kiev as normal. "I go home, I go find a sad family," he said.

“I will try to watch some of the rugby (World Cup final) and disconnect a little bit from this.

“Then I will start preparing the training session for tomorrow morning and the game for Wednesday.”

It was Jurgen Klopp's second win at the fifth attempt as Liverpool boss since succeeding Brendan Rodgers and the Reds' first away win since the opening day at Sunderland.

On the Lucas challenge, Klopp said: “If you think in England, where many situations are sometimes a little bit strange when nobody uses the whistle... in a situation like this was it a sure yellow card? I’m not sure it was a foul.

“But if you want to win at Chelsea, you need a little bit of luck. Maybe in this situation we had a little bit of luck.

“Nobody knows if they would win with 10 against 11. It’s not guaranteed.”

Just as he had ahead of the match, Klopp expressed sympathy for Mourinho and backed Chelsea to climb out of their predicament. He then played down Liverpool’s title aspirations.

“Oh please. Are you crazy?” he said.

“We don’t think about this. We have to think about the next game, about improving our game and our style. We can do much better than today.”