“You can imagine now after this defeat at home”.
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He added: “Chelsea will never be fighting for relegation – no chance”. That’s not the problem.
Asked about the magnitude of the win for a club who have flirted with extinction, Howe said: “I think it’s at the very top”.
Premier League champions Chelsea’s fall from grace continued with a humiliating defeat by lowly Bournemouth on Saturday after Leicester City’s improbable title challenge was bolstered by a 3-0 victory at Swansea City.
But Howe disagreed with Mourinho’s view of Chelsea’s penalty appeal. Despite the support that Mourinho has seen at this club, owner Roman Abramovich and fans must be seriously considering where this spell ends; possibly at the expense of the manager. You realise that was an individual moment where the player did better than he’s doing.
Mourinho also appeared to concede defeat in Chelsea’s bid to reach the top four and qualify for the Champions League.
But after yet another loss the Special One admits that the club’s ambitions of a top four finish may be fading.
Matic headed over after Steve Cook had got just enough on Willian’s cross to put the Serb off balance at the back post and Gosling was on hand to boot away Costa’s header from a corner. We are always unlucky in these little details.
“If you analyse matches, and especially match after match, you can clearly identify a few players that it is hard for them to be consistent”, he said. “We did that, we defended well, we were very good with the ball, countered well, and gave them problems”, he said.
Mourinho insisted Chelsea did not need a new striker, despite again starting Costa on the bench, but rued missed opportunities which will not register among the official statistics. In the first half we were not aggressive enough.
“If you are in the box, you have to attack the ball and touch”.
Mourinho has often fallen foul of disciplinary regulations this season and has a suspended one-match stadium ban hanging over him, so refused to go further in his comments on the key decisions. Even though Mourinho has made a name for himself by speaking his mind during interviews, at this point in the season he has to stop accusing other teams and take accountability for his team’s poor performances.
It was no surprise that Costa came on for the second half, with Oscar making way, but the action began with Matt Ritchie firing another Bournemouth effort just over. The ball hit the defender on the arm as he slid in but referee Michael Jones ruled it accidental.
“The boys are gaining belief every week and I think it showed”, Murray said after Bournemouth climbed a point outside the relegation zone.
“I think it is a clear handball and penalty with the score at 0-0”.
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“A team that was defending and being, some people call “intelligent” and some people call “lack of fair play”.
