CHELSEA MANAGER JOSE Mourinho criticised his side following their 2-0 Premier League defeat at Newcastle United on Saturday and conceded that they deserved nothing from the game.

Victory at St James’ Park would have provisionally sent Chelsea above Arsenal at the top of the table, but instead they went down to second-half goals by Yoan Gouffran and Loic Remy.

“I didn’t like it. I think we deserved to lose,” Mourinho told BT Sport.

“We had a couple of good chances to score the equaliser, but they were in the game more than us, they fought more than us and they were much more committed than us.

“They were the best team on the pitch. If someone had to win, I think it was Newcastle, not us.

“The game was quite easy to play in the first half, but we were not sharp, we were not intense with the ball. So we let the game go, waiting for a chance to score a goal or a chance to concede and lose it, and that is exactly what I was telling the players at half-time.”

It was Chelsea’s second league defeat of the season, following a 1-0 reverse at Everton in September, and brought an end to a nine-game unbeaten run in all competitions.

However, Mourinho said that his side were not in need of a wake-up call.

“I don’t need to lose a match to be aware of (how competitive the league is),” said the former Real Madrid coach, whose side host Schalke in the Champions League on Wednesday.

“It is something I know and pass on to my players every game. I know exactly how it is. The race is there for everybody. If Arsenal win (against Liverpool) today, they open the gap. I didn’t like my team today.”

YouTube credit: h2mza

(C) AFP, 2013

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