JOSE MOURINHO HAS today been sacked as Chelsea manager following the club’s slide to within one point of the Premier League relegation zone.
Here, we chart the nine league defeats that led to his dismissal by Chelsea for a second time.
August 16: Manchester City 3-0 Chelsea
In their second game, the champions are dealt a dispiriting defeat by title rivals City, who put down an early marker courtesy of goals from Sergio Aguero, Vincent Kompany and Fernandinho. City’s fans goad Mourinho for sidelining team doctor Eva Carneiro and physiotherapist Jon Fearn after they ran onto the pitch to treat Eden Hazard during a 2-2 draw at home to Swansea City on the season’s opening day. Mourinho brands it a “fake result”.
August 29: Chelsea 1-2 Crystal Palace
Joel Ward’s late header condemns Mourinho to only the second defeat of his 100 home league games in charge of Chelsea. Substitute Radamel Falcao cancels out Bakary Sako’s opener with his first Chelsea goal in the 79th minute, only for Ward to notch the winner two minutes later. “We didn’t deserve to lose,” Mourinho says.
September 12: Everton 3-1 Chelsea
Steven Naismith scores a hat-trick — the first to be scored against Mourinho in the Premier League — as Chelsea fall to a third defeat in their opening five games. Nemanja Matic briefly gives Chelsea hope with a fine long-range goal in the 36th minute that makes it 2-1, but Naismith’s third goal eight minutes from time seals the visitors’ fate. It is Chelsea’s worst start to a top-flight season since 1986.
October 3: Chelsea 1-3 Southampton
Willian’s free-kick puts Chelsea ahead in the 10th minute, but goals from Steven Davis, Sadio Mane and Graziano Pelle earn Southampton a deserved win that sees Chelsea slump to 16th place in the table. Aggrieved at seeing Falcao booked for diving, Mourinho accuses referee Robert Madley of being “afraid” to give his team decisions during a seven-minute monologue in a televised post-match interview. The Football Association responds by giving him a £50,000 fine and a suspended one-game stadium ban.
October 24: West Ham United 2-1 Chelsea
A turbulent London derby sees West Ham prevail thanks to a 79th-minute header by substitute Andy Carroll. Matic is sent off before half-time for two bookable offences and after assailing referee Jon Moss with expletives during the interval, Mourinho watches the second half from the stands, surrounded by mocking Hammers fans. He is subsequently given a one-match stadium ban by the FA.
October 31: Chelsea 1-3 Liverpool
Liverpool give Mourinho a Halloween nightmare as Philippe Coutinho scores twice and Christian Benteke strikes late on to earn Jurgen Klopp his first league win since succeeding Brendan Rodgers as manager. Mourinho is treated to chants of “You’re getting sacked in the morning!” from the visiting fans and gives a peculiar post-match interview with BT Sport in which he repeatedly says: “I have nothing to say.”
November 7: Stoke City 1-0 Chelsea
With Mourinho serving his stadium ban and watching from the team hotel, Chelsea are beaten by a 53rd-minute volley from Austrian striker Marko Arnautovic — a player described as “unmanageable” by Mourinho during their time together at Inter Milan. It is the first time Chelsea have lost three consecutive league games since October 1999. But goalkeeper Asmir Begovic says: “We are behind the manager.”
December 5: Chelsea 0-1 Bournemouth
Chelsea’s most embarrassing defeat of the campaign to date comes at the hands of promoted Bournemouth, who prevail courtesy of an 82nd-minute header by substitute Glenn Murray. It is Chelsea’s first home defeat against a promoted team since April 2001.
December 14: Leicester City 2-1 Chelsea
Goals from Jamie Vardy and Riyad Mahrez condemn Chelsea to a defeat that leaves them a point above the relegation zone. Mourinho complains afterwards that his players have “betrayed” his work. Three days later, Chelsea announce that he has left the club “by mutual consent”.
