Wednesday, October 28, 2015

Stoke 1-1 aet (pens 4-5)



Independent:
More misery for Jose Mourinho as Blues are dumped out of League Cup on penalties

Chelsea 1 Stoke City 1 (aet; Stoke win 5-4 on penalties):
Late Loïc Rémy strike takes game to extra-time, but it's the same old story for the visitors
Ian Herbert Britannia Stadium

There was a time not so long ago when Tony Pulis would resort to scuffing up the centre of the Britannia Stadium pitch in preparation for Jose Mourinho, by getting his players to run on it in long studs on a Friday afternoon. And still Stoke’s players would find Chelsea unplayable. Mourinho’s players would go around the edges to exploit them. They’d lost once to the side in 17 encounters before last night.

It is in that context that the exit from the Capital One Cup should be judged, rather than the mellifluous Mourinho prose, employed in the Britannia Stadium press room after Eden Hazard’s missed penalty had sent his side out and made a hero of the goalkeeper Jack Butland - who, after some ups and downs on his journey through the foothills of football, is beginning to make good on his promise.

The very fact that Mourinho did not blow, but came armed with a winsome smile and his bag of puzzles – suggesting Diego Costa had been hospitalised with a rib injury because he’d “punched himself” – seemed to throw a gloss on the outcome. That, and his side’s excellent first half: a 45 minutes of football as good as any from them all season, written through with confidence, panache and a high attacking line which suggested no fear.

But they could not see it through and the forced smile doesn’t disguise that Mourinho looks ready to blow at any time. There was an awkward moment at the end of the press conference  when Trevor Sinclair, the former England international who was summarising for BBC Radio 5, asked a question and Mourinho, not recognising him, was suspicious. “Who are you?” he asked, though Sinclair’s question had been a dolly about how he “lifted” the players. “Yeh I know,” Mourinho said as Sinclair introduced himself. He proceeded to tell him that because he was “one of the guys who was there” as an ex-player, he might offer some professional instruction to his “colleagues” about how it is more of a crime to play poorly and lose than to “play well and lose” as his side had done.

Those “colleagues” were undoubtedly the Sky Sports pundits for whom Mourinho can currently barely supress his contempt, though his sense of victimhood, where their analysis is concerned, is wholly overblown. Mourinho also conjured a Manuel Pellegrini football philosophy: that the way you play is more important than winning. When what has actually made him a champion, of course, is his cussed resolve to win at all costs, even on a foul, godforsaken Tuesday night in the Potteries when this ground looked like a graveyard for any manager whose job prospects are questioned.

His interpretation of events included emphasis on how – as he told Sinclair - his players “didn’t make mistakes” and had managed to “participate” well. “How many touches?” There was materially less focus on a second half in which they struggled to create, before relying on Loic Remy ‘s 90th minute equaliser to take things into extra time. And how, once there, they had drawn a further blank, despite the dismissal early in extra time of Phil Bardsley - with no complaints - for a second bookable foul.

 That put Chelsea’s players into the lottery of the shoot-out, for which Mark Hughes’ players were mentally and technically very well prepared. Asmir Begovic did not come close to stopping a spot kick before Hazard stepped up for the tenth of the shoot-out and Butland delivered his heroics, raising his hand to dispel Hazard’s kick having seemed to commit himself with a low dive. “He made a couple in the first half when Chelsea were the best team,” said Hughes, so much a subsidiary part of the night’s script that he was in and out of the press room in the time it took him to answer two questions.

Stoke were very much a part of the equation, though. Ryan Shawcross’ contribution on his return from the back trouble which has kept him out all season demonstrated how much he has been missed. The Peter Odemwingie indiscipline which gave Chelsea their redemptive late equaliser was unfortunate because they had looked increasingly confident and untroubled before that.

And then there was the contribution of Jon Walters - the best player of the 90 minutes, running expressively at Mourinho’s back four and employing one of his favoured techniques – spinning around onto the ball from a position with back to goal – to put Stoke ahead. His strike was precise, sending the ball in off the underside of the bar, as Gary Cahill backed off and allowed him the split second to look up and take aim.

That was tough on Chelsea, who deserved to be well head at the interval and the game out of sight, with a strong starting line-up. They thought they had an early advantage when John Terry turned in from Willian, only to be ruled offside: rightly so.  Take your pick of the opportunities Chelsea had created by then. Hazard deconstructed his tag as under-performer-in-chief, spinning away from Charlie Adam in the centre of the pitch and surging up-field before feeding Costa in the inside left channel. The striker pulled the ball across goal from a tight angle and it deflected goalwards off Philipp Wollscheid, with Glenn Whelan making the block on the line.

Mourinho went for broke in the second half, throwing on the midfielder Kenedy for Rahman and going three at the back. But his players’ decision-making and imagination revealed that same struggle to locate the confidence and authority they have misplaced somewhere. Substitute Bertrand Traore’s long range effort, millimetres over was as close as they came.

Progress would have been a bulwark against the sense that everything is unravelling. Instead, an encounter against Jurgen Klopp – the coming man – and Liverpool is only three days away.  ‘I sleep at nights. I feel fantastic,’ Mourinho said, his smile and smooth delivery fooling no-one.

Stoke: Butland, Bardsley, Shawcross, Wollscheid, Muniesa (Wilson 49), Whelan, Adam, Diouf, Afellay (Shaqiri 76), Arnautovic, Walters (Odemwingie 90)

Chelsea: Begovic, Zouma, Cahill, Terry, Rahman (Kenedy 70), Ramires (Traore 80), Mikel, Willian, Oscar, Hazard, Costa (Remy 33)

Man of the match Walters
Match rating 7/10.
Referee K Friend (Leicestershire).
Attendance 24,886.

=====================

Guardian:

Stoke turn screw on José Mourinho with shootout victory over Chelsea
Stoke 1 - 1 Chelsea

Peter Lansley at the Britannia Stadium

It never rains but it pours. A sodden October night in Stoke proved as demoralising for José Mourinho as it sounds as the Capital One Cup holders, having taken this fourth-round tie into extra time thanks to Loïc Rémy’s stoppage-time equaliser, were knocked out of the competition to compound the pressure bearing down on the Chelsea manager.

Jack Butland, who turned down a move to Chelsea in his Birmingham City days, was the hero as he saved the 10th spot-kick from Eden Hazard to cries of “England’s No1” from the ecstatic Stoke fans.
Mourinho’s future remains a matter for conjecture while Chelsea’s fortunes continue to nosedive even though his players, not least Hazard, appeared to play for him with their utmost endeavour.
Rémy, on as a substitute for the injured Diego Costa in the first half, had scored the equaliser. But even with Stoke down to 10 men for the additional 30 minutes after Phil Bardsley’s dismissal for a second caution, they could not make their dominance count, Butland making a crucial save from Kenedy, another substitute, in the 119th minute.

Jonathan Walters had looked as if he was going to be Stoke’s matchwinner after his memorable goal early in the second half but instead the drama was intensified. After six defeats in their previous 14 games this setback, amid all Mourinho’s disciplinary issues, only adds salt to Chelsea’s festering wounds.

Home games against Liverpool, in the Premier League on Saturday, and Dynamo Kyiv in the Champions League next Wednesday, will surely decide whether Mourinho’s intention to build a dynasty back at Stamford Bridge still holds water.
Reports that senior Chelsea players consider it a matter of “when rather than if” their manager departs did not affect their play and Mourinho cut a calmer figure on the touchline, waving at the fans who chanted their wholehearted support for him in the first minute and the 90th, and in the post-match press conference.

Frank Lampard, OBE, and Gianfranco Zola added their voices to the luminaries proclaiming that the special one should remain the irreplaceable one.
Alongside the three changes of personnel Mourinho made to the side who, much like himself, had lost their discipline in Saturday’s defeat at West Ham United, Hazard was called in from the flank to play in the No10 position. Oscar replaced Cesc Fàbregas, Mikel John Obi deputised for the suspended Nemanja Matic and Baba Rahman replaced César Azpilicueta.

Chelsea’s attacking players seemed to take turns to go down and before half-time Costa had to be withdrawn, apparently winded after being sandwiched by Ryan Shawcross and Charlie Adam. Stoke may be more refined in their approach these days, and had won four successive games before Saturday’s surprising home defeat by Watford, but they remain unafraid to mix it.
Stoke were indebted to Butland for saves from Costa, a deft flick at the near post in the fifth minute from Willian’s right-wing cross, and Oscar’s clipped shot from the edge of the penalty area. From Costa’s cross the ball ricocheted off Philipp Wollscheid for Glenn Whelan to clear from the line.
Ramires should have done better than to shoot into the side-netting after rounding Butland when running on to Rahman’s through-pass following great build-up play from Hazard.

“The first half, we should be three- or four-nil up,” Mourinho said, “we were playing so well, creating so many chances. So it’s really frustrating to get to half-time 0-0 and then that Stoke score with the first shot of the second half.”
Walters’ ability to hold the ball up is pivotal to much of Stoke’s best play and he had been integral to their best moments in the first half, setting up Marc Muniesa for an overhead kick and spinning on to Mame Diouf’s cross only for Asmir Begovic, who left the Britannia Stadium for £8m in the summer, to save.

Sure enough it was the Ireland centre-forward who gave Stoke the lead seven minutes after the restart. Quite what Chelsea’s central defenders were doing standing off him as he received the ball after a penetrating run from Whelan is unclear, but Walters took full advantage of the freedom by teeing the ball up, turning and hammering in a shot off the underside of the crossbar.
Chelsea dominated possession from thereon and from Willian’s quick free-kick Kurt Zouma shot against the outside of the post. But it looked as if Stoke had survived until Rémy popped up at the back post as Zouma headed on Willian’s corner to score. Stoke, however, refused to wilt. “I’m delighted to go through,” Mark Hughes, the Stoke manager and a former Chelsea player, said. “We showed a lot of courage and determination.”

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Telegraph:

Stoke City 1 Chelsea 1 (Stoke wins 5-4 on penalties)

More misery for Mourinho as Hazard fluffs lines
Eden Hazard's penalty shoot-out miss sends holders crashing out at Britannia Stadium
More misery for Jose Mourinho

By  Sam Wallace, Chief Football Writer, Britannia Stadium

The consolation for Jose Mourinho is that the spirit of his title-winning Chelsea team of 2014-2015 is still there – flickering, indistinct and wholly unreliable – but it exists nonetheless and it took a Capital One Cup fourth-round defeat on penalties at Stoke City for it to show itself again.
Whether it is enough to save the Chelsea manager in the long term is another question altogether, especially with his team out of a competition they won last season, but the Mourinho who presented himself on Tuesday night was talking up his players, not bemoaning his bad luck. Chelsea scored a 91st-minute equaliser that took the tie into extra-time and they really should have won it before failing on the last of their five penalties.

It was Eden Hazard who was the last penalty taker of 10 between the two teams and whose shot was saved by Jack Butland to give 10-man Stoke victory. Hazard had been his side’s outstanding player in the frantic hunt for the equaliser to Stoke’s second-half goal which eventually came from substitute Loïc Rémy in the 91st minute when other teams might have given up.

Where does it leave Mourinho? His team are out of a competition he has won three times in six seasons in English football but the bigger picture is that ahead of that crucial game against Liverpool on Saturday he might just have something to work with. It came at a cost: Chelsea lost Diego Costa to injury in the first half, and in spite of Jonathan Walters’s 52nd-minute goal, the Chelsea players looked throughout like they were playing for their manager.

Afterwards, Mourinho was back on the offensive, attacking the suggestion that his players have given up on him.
“You think they didn’t give me everything to win that game?” he asked. “It [the suggestion his players have given up on him] is not sad for me, it’s sad for my players. For me it would be a fantastic situation. If the players were against me I could say ‘We don’t get results because the players are against me’.”

He gave every impression that he had no worries about his future at the club, or at least if he did it was not something that was troubling him.
“I have a day off tomorrow, I can sleep well,” he said. “I am going to enjoy my day and then back on Thursday, one more day like I have had in the last 15 years of my life.”
The game’s best player was Hazard, whose first-half performance alone should have been enough to give Chelsea a lead by half-time. Cesc Fabregas was out with injury and his team did not miss him. John Obi Mikel came into defensive midfield alongside Ramires and, once again, Willian was superb.

Their problem was scoring goals and once Costa had gone off the pitch injured that only became more acute.
For Mark Hughes it was a famous triumph with his Stoke team playing extra-time without the full-back Phil Bardsley, sent off at the end of the 90 minutes.
They had their own injury worries too, with Marc Muniesa obliged to come off, and at times they rode their luck although no one could question their determination to win the tie and their five penalties were immaculate.
For Mourinho, his terrible record in penalty shoot-outs continues: including the 2007 Champions League semi-final with Chelsea when they lost to Liverpool, and the 2012 defeat for Real Madrid at the same stage of the same competition against Bayern Munich.

This time it was Hazard missing from the spot while in the past it has been the likes of Arjen Robben and then, at Madrid, Cristiano Ronaldo and Kaka.
No Ronaldo or Kaka in the Potteries but a splendid cup tie which Chelsea began strongly. On 11 minutes Hazard found Costa on the left and his cross came off Philipp Wollscheid – it was going in until Glenn Whelan got in the way. Later Hazard played in Baba Rahman who clipped a pass through Stoke’s defensive line for Ramires. The Brazilian midfielder went past Asmir Begovic but was running out of pitch when he turned and hit the sidenetting with his shot.
Costa’s injury had come when he challenged Butland for a cross from the right, and – when the bodies cleared – the Spain international picked himself up clutching his right side. He went over to the bench immediately to tell them of his discomfort and despite their best efforts he came off shortly afterwards to be replaced by Rémy.

Later he was sent to hospital and when asked what happened, Mourinho said cryptically that the striker had “punched himself”.
There was one very poor challenge from Charlie Adam on Willian in the second half that went unpunished which may have been part of what had upset the Chelsea manager, but he was not for expanding on it.
In the meantime, Chelsea’s grip on the game slipped and by the end of the first half Stoke were back in it.

Stoke’s goal came on 52 minutes with Glenn Whelan held off Ramires and picked out Walters on the edge of the area. The striker had a bit of bounce in the ball as he turned on the edge of the area and, with Gary Cahill standing off him, was able to hit a half-volley, clean and true, past Begovic.
Mourinho’s team chased the game and, as injury-time was announced, a corner broke for Rémy in the box and he beat Butland from close range.
Even with Bardsley off, Chelsea could not find a way through and in the penalty shoot-out it was left to Butland to deny Hazard and put Stoke in the quarter-finals. There have been worse defeats for Mourinho, and he will cling to the hope that this one gave him.

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Mail:

Stoke City 1-1 Chelsea (AET, 5-4 on pens):
Eden Hazard misses crucial final penalty in shootout as Jose Mourinho's side crash out of Capital One Cup to heap more misery on Portuguese boss

By Matt Lawton for the Daily Mail 

It remains to be seen if a game that was settled when the penalty shootout reached the sudden-death stage proves to be terminal for Jose Mourinho.
But this amounted to another crushing defeat for Chelsea’s beleaguered manager. One made all the more painful by his side’s failure to take advantage of an extra man for 30 extra time minutes as well as the sight of Eden Hazard, already a source of some frustration this season, executing the one spot-kick Jack Butland was able to save for Stoke.
The chances are Mourinho will limp on. At least until Saturday’s encounter with Liverpool. But surviving 120 minutes without getting himself in any more trouble might not be enough to keep him in a job too much longer when this is now nine defeats in a season that descends deeper into despair for the English champions.

In fairness to Chelsea, they actually played reasonably well for large spells of this game. Until Jon Walters opened the scoring with a stunning 52nd minute volley they were much the better side.
But the spirit they did display, not least in scoring their equaliser through Loic Remy a minute into second-half stoppage time, amounted to nothing in the end.
Mourinho seemed to endure a whole kaleidoscope of emotions. Indeed to watch him was to see a man who appeared to be moving through the different phases of professional recovery until that final, crushing blow.

For the opening 45 minutes he wore the look of someone who wanted to be anywhere else but here.
Motivated, perhaps, by a desire to avoid any further controversy, he failed to engage his own players never mind a match official. He was actually a little weird, glued to his seat, as motionless as he was emotionless.

Only when Walters put Stoke ahead did Mourinho even enter the technical area. But the goal was like a poke of the fire that continues to burn deep inside him; some kind of awakening.
He made a bold tactical move, switching to a back three with Kenedy sent on as a replacement for Baba Rahman, and remained on his feet for the remainder of the first half; steering clear of the referee and his assistants but guiding his players from the touchline, an altogether more animated figure.

Even then, however, he endured an agonising wait, the equaliser that took this fourth round tie into extra time not arriving until the initial 90 minutes were up.
Remy’s equaliser, struck from close range after he seized on Kurt Zouma’s flick-on from a corner, seemed to revive Mourinho further still. As did the sight of Phil Bardsley being dismissed for a second yellow card for what was a rash challenge on Kenedy.

Suddenly Mourinho had a further 30 minutes as Chelsea’s manager with a one-man advantage. Suddenly he could smell victory when he must have suspected this might be the last act of his second term at Stamford Bridge.
And he no doubt communicated as much when he called his players into a huddle and told them to go win this game.

That they failed to make it count is sure to be held against him, even if an independent observer might have noted how well Hazard and a number of other Chelsea players actually played. 
Here, at least, they did not give the impression that their manager had lost the dressing room. They were committed even if they were not the clinical unit that won both this competition and the Premier League title last season.

The supporters, here in their thousands, seemed to be firmly behind Mourinho too. In both halves they sang his name, even if that is likely to have little impact on Roman Abramovich as he contemplates the possibility of firing the Portuguese for a second time.
On Tuesday night the team he so expensively assembled certainly started well. They played with real confidence on the ball. Their movement and passing was excellent.
And in Diego Costa they seemed to have a real threat until injury forced him to come off in the 33rd minute.
Chelsea had the better of the chances, forcing Butland to make some fine saves. In fact not until Walters tested Asmir Begovic moments before the break was Chelsea’s former Stoke goalkeeper really troubled.
Begovic, however, had no response to Walters’ breathtaking strike seven minutes into the second half; a marvellous volley hit on the turn after receiving a pass from Glenn Whelan with his back to goal.

Mourinho’s response was bold, the tactical switch paying off. Zouma had already sent one effort against a post when Remy struck to send the game into extra time with Stoke now down to 10 men.
Perhaps inevitably, Chelsea were unable to make the advantage pay. And perhaps inevitably the luck was not going to be with Mourinho in this most difficult of campaigns.
The penalties, it has to be said, were top drawer. Well the first nine were anyway, with Hazard knowing he had to score to make it five apiece.
But the finest player in the Premier League last season could not deliver, shooting close enough to Butland for him to make the save and so leave the pressure resting ever heavier on Mourinho’s shoulders.

Chelsea have lost all five of their penalty shootouts under Jose Mourinho, while Stoke have won each of their last five. Stoke have also eliminated the Blues every time they have faced them in the League Cup, winning five ties including the 1972 final at Wembley when George Eastham fired home to land the trophy 2-1.

Stoke (4-2-3-1): Butland 7, Bardsley 5.5, Shawcross 6.5, Wollscheid 6, Muniesa 7 (Wilson 49 6), Whelan 6, Adam 6.5, Diouf 5.5, Afellay 5 (Shaqiri 76), Arnautovic 5, Walters 8 (Odemwingie 90)
Subs not used: Ireland, Sidwell, Given, Crouch
Booked: Bardsley, Wilson
Sent off: Bardsley
Goals: Walters 52
Manager: Mark Hughes 7

Chelsea (4-2-3-1): Begovic 6.5, Zouma 6, Cahill 6, Terry 5.5, Baba 6 (Kenedy 67 6), Ramires 6.5 (Traore 80), Mikel 6, Willian 7, Oscar 6.5, Hazard 7.5, Costa 5.5 (Remy 33 6.5)
Subs not used: Djilobodji, Azpilicueta, Amelia, Loftus-Cheek
Booked: Baba
Goals: Remy 90
Manager: Jose Mourinho 7
Referee: Kevin Friend 7
Att: 24,886
Star Man: Walters

*Player ratings by Chris Wheeler at the Britannia Stadium

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Mirror:

Stoke 1-1 Chelsea AET (pens: 5-4):
More misery for Jose Mourinho as Blues lose penalty shootout

By Adrian Kajumba
 
Loic Remy forced extra-time with a late equaliser but Eden Hazard's miss from 12 yards condemned the Blues to defeat

Jose Mourinho’s agony continued last night when Chelsea crashed out of the Capital One Cup on ­penalties.
Jack Butland was the hero for Stoke, brilliantly saving Eden Hazard’s spot-kick after City had played all of extra-time with 10 men following Phil Bardsley’s dismissal deep into injury time.
Cesc Fabregas, hooked at half-time at West Ham, was the big absentee from Chelsea’s squad and replaced by Oscar.
Better late than never some Blues fans might have said after his poor start to the season.
Mourinho took few risks in the latest game he could not afford to lose, with Baba Rahman replacing the benched Cesar Azpilicueta at left-back and Jon Obi Mikel in for the suspended Nemanja Matic.
Stoke captain Ryan Shawcross, fit again after back surgery, made his first appearance of the season and was one of six new faces in the side.

For all the changes Mark Hughes has made to Stoke, their ability to give the big boys a bloody nose remains.
And the locals smelt blood, greeting Mourino’s first ­appearance in the technical area with “sacked in the morning” chants.
By then, though, Stoke should have been behind. The Chelsea players may have been bracing themselves for Mourinho’s exit, but they are still playing for him.
If anyone had grounds to sulk it was Hazard, dropped and singled out by Mourinho recently.
Yet he more than anyone took the fight to Stoke early on.
Hazard was involved as Diego Costa went close twice, Glenn Whelan deserving credit for getting back just in time to hack his second effort off the line.

At the other end, Gary Cahill was putting his body on the line for the cause too, taking a bullet shot from Charlie Adam to the head and a few seconds to gather his senses after he was knocked to the floor. Costa, Hazard and Mikel were also in the wars. Costa had to be replaced by Loic Remy after failing to shake off the effects of being buffeted by Charlie Adam.
Marc Muniesa then looped an overhead kick onto the roof of the net from Stoke’s next real chance before Ramires found the side-netting after rounding Butland.
And either side of John Terry having a back-heel goal ruled out for offside, Asmir Begovic gave Stoke two reminders of what they are missing.

On his return to the Britannia, the former Stoke keeper got down sharply to keep out Adam’s cheeky low free-kick from a tight angle and then smother at the feet of Jon Walters. But Walters gave Begovic no chance in the 51st minute when he collected Whelan’s pass, spun and hammered a half-volley into the net off the bar.
That lifted the roof of the Britannia and brought a stern-faced Mourinho to the ­touchline.

Delirious Stoke fans were set to taunt him further, but were silenced within the first 60 seconds of the four minutes of injury time to play when Remy slammed in a corner from close range to take the tie to extra-time.
And there was still time for Bardsley to pick up a second yellow card as the game turned on its head and leave the Potters having to play the additional 30 minutes with 10 men.
But they held on to take the game to penalties and with the shoot-out score 4-4, Hazard stepped up only to see his shot superbly saved by Butland to book Stoke’s place in the quarter-finals.

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Express :

Stoke 1 - Chelsea 1 (1-1 AET Stoke win 5-4 on pens): Jose Mourinho's misery continues

JOSE MOURINO’S position at Chelsea is looking even more bleak this morning after a determined Stoke knocked out the holders following a thrilling penalty shoot-out.

By Graham Reed

Loic Remy blasted home an equaliser in the 90th minute to give the beleaguered manager a valuable lifeline by taking the game into extra-time.
But Stoke keeper Jack Butland was the hero of the hour when he saved Eden Hazard’s high penalty shot to send the delighted home side through to the quarter-finals.

Butland had earlier pulled off several excellent saves in extra-time as Stoke were forced to withstand an onslaught after being reduced to 10 men when Phil Bardsley was dismissed for a second bookable offence at the end of normal time.
It seemed as though Chelsea – and their manager – would be on their way out in normal time following a blistering 52nd-minute goal from Stoke’s Jon Waters.
Mourinho cut a lonely figure rooted in his technical area after that strike, enduring cruel chants of “you’re getting sacked in the morning” from delirious home fans.
The prospect of Mourinho walking out or being shoved towards the door now seems distinctly real.
Yet up to that point, Mourinho’s men had given him plenty of cause of optimism with a spirited display.

The Special One’s weekend meltdown during the defeat at West Ham left him facing a touchline ban after he confronted referee Jon Moss. The irony of having a referee called Kevin Friend last night surely could not have been lost on Mourinho.
He is not short of friends despite what he might think, though he was subjected to humorous chants of “You’re not ‘Special’ anymore!” as well as the taunts about the sack.
He was not without allies out on the pitch, where Hazard played like a man with a point to prove before that fateful penalty kick, while Oscar showed sublime skills early on.
Mourinho certainly wasn’t taking any liberties. The holders showed only three changes from the side which went down 2-1 to West Ham. No place for Cesc Fabregas, Cesar Azpilicueta had to settle for the bench, while Nemanja Matic is suspended.

Stoke welcomed back Ryan Shawcross for his first appearance of the season after recovering from back surgery.
And he showed he had lost none of his old combative spirit, whacking Hazard in the chest and flooring the Belgian.
Diego Costa lasted half an hour before having to go off with a rib injury sustained after Charlie Adam ran into him.
Through it all, Mourinho remained calm though he could not help but scramble from the dugout when Bardsley sent Costa flying with a hefty challenge and was booked.

But he saw his men continued their lively start, and only Butland’s legs stopped Oscar’s flick from giving them the lead. Glenn Whelan had to clear a Costa effort off the line and Butland denied Oscar but Stoke’s Marc Muniesa was unlucky with an overhead kick that dropped on the top of Asmir Begovic’s net.
Chelsea were floored by Walters’ stunner. He turned sharply before sending a dipping drive over Begovic and in off the bar.
But Chelsea were not to be denied and their pressure paid off when Remy rifled in a left-footed shot following a corner to take the tie into extra-time.
Chelsea pressed hard for the winner but Butland stood defiant before his shoot-out heroics piled yet more pressure on Mourinho.

STOKE: (4-2-3-1): Butland; Bardsley, Shawcross, Wollscheid, Muniesa (Wilson 49); Whelan, Affelay (Shaqiri); Walters (Odemwingie 90), Adam, Arnautovic; Diouf. Sent off: Bardsley.
Booked: Wilson.
Goal: Walters 52.
Next up: Newcastle (a), Sat PL.

CHELSEA: (4-2-3-1): Begovic; Zouma, Cahill, Terry, Baba (Kenedy 70); Ramires (Traore 80), Mikel; Wil- lian, Oscar, Hazard; Costa (Remi 33).
Booked: Baba.
Goal: Remi 90.
Next up: Liverpool (h), Sat PL.
Referee: K Friend (Leics).

===================

Star:

Stoke 1 Chelsea 1 (PENS 5-4 ): Misery for Mourinho as Hazard penalty miss costs Blues
EDEN HAZARD missed the crucial last penalty to send Chelsea crashing out.

By Jamie Anderson
    
Jack Butland pulled out a brilliant stop to pile the pressure on Chelsea boss Jose Mourinho.
Loic Remy had rescued Mourinho from even more embarrassment with a stunning equaliser a minute into stoppage time.
Chelsea looked dead and buried and even bigger shadows suddenly hung over Mourinho when sub Remy sent a stinging shot into the roof of the net to level out Jon Walters' 52nd minute goal for Stoke.
And when Stoke's Phil Bardsley was sent off for a second yellow a minute after Remy's strike, the home side faced an extra 30 minutes a man down.
Chelsea had good reason to fancy they had turned the tide and their boss cajoled them from the touchline only to see them frustrated in their frantic efforts to seal victory.

Not too long before he had cut a lonely figure rooted in his technical area enduring cruel chants of "You're getting sacked in the morning."
Walters goal had put even more question marks of how long the Special One will stick it out.
Suddenly the prospect of Mourinho walking out or being shoved towards the door seems distinctly real.
Walters stunned Chelsea with his 52nd minute sizzler which flew in off the underside of the bar to break the deadlock.
To be fair up to that point, Mourinho's men had given him plenty of cause of optimism with a pretty spirited display.

He certainly needed it as speculation mounts that he could be on his way.
His weekend meltdown at West Ham leaves him staring a touchline ban in the face after confronting referee Jon Moss and his increasingly troublesome behaviour is setting the alarm bells ringing.
The irony of having a referee called Friend surely couldn't have been lost on Mourinho.
Leicester official Kevin Friend was the man given the unenviable task of being next to get caught up in Hurricane Jose ­but it proved to be little more than a gentle breeze.
The Chelsea boss remained calm throughout, though there was more than the odd occasion when things might just have got a little testy for him.

He's not short of friends despite what he might think, though he was subjected to humorous chants of "You're not Special anymore!" from the home supporters.
He certainly didn't look without allies out on the pitch where Eden Hazard played like a man with a point to prove -­ which he is.
Mourinho certainly wasn't taking any liberties with his line-up, choosing to go strong in a competition in which he's enjoyed plenty of success.
No place at all for Cesc Fabregas, Cesar Azpilicueta had to settle for a place on the bench while Nemanja Matic is suspended.
Stoke welcomed back Ryan Shawcross for his first appearance of the season after recovering from back surgery.

Diego Costa lasted half an hour before having to go off with a rib injury sustained when the robust Charlie Adam run into him.
Through it all, Mourinho remained calm though he couldn't help but scramble from the dugout when Phil Bardsley sent Costa flying with a hefty challenge.
Out came Mourinho to protest but he seemed happy with the ref's decision to book the Stoke man. How costly that proved in stoppage time when the defender was sent off for another foul, ­this time on Kenedy.
Stoke did threaten and Marc Muniesa was unlucky with a brilliant overhead kick which just cleared the bar and dropped onto the top of Asmir Begovic's net.

And the former Stoke keeper did well to pull out a brilliant close range block to keep out Jon Walters' shot on the turn.
Chelsea were probably worth the lead when they were floored by Walters' stunning shot from the edge of the box.
He turned sharply before sending a dipping drive over Begovic and in off the underside of the bar.
But then came the twist ­ Remy equalising in the first of four added on minutes and Stoke going down to ten men a minute later.


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