Independent:
Aston Villa 1 Chelsea 0
Late Fabian Delph goal grabs all three points for Villa
Miguel Delaney
Chelsea have not yet lost top spot in the Premier League but this surprising defeat to Aston Villa – which saw Willian, Ramires and Mourinho himself all sent off – has now properly handed the initiative back to Manchester City. Should Manuel Pellegrini’s side win their games in hand, they will be fully clear, not just on goal difference.
That is the grace this game allowed. That is also the wider implication of this result, but not really the story of the match itself. As a consequence, meanwhile, Mourinho was not so graceful about the referee, Chris Foy.
At least three borderline decisions went against Chelsea, which eventually resulted in Aston Villa edging the game through Fabian Delph’s 82nd-minute winner. That all culminated in Mourinho being dismissed for attempting to confront Foy on the pitch. The Chelsea manager could not complain about that too much but could dispute some of the earlier calls.
In the first half, Nemanja Matic was adjudged to have handled the ball before he sent it over the line, despite the absence of protest.
Shortly afterwards, Joe Bennett was booked for hauling down Ramires just in front of the 18-yard box, with Ron Vlaar sufficiently close by to prevent a red card. It certainly seemed a more obvious card than the second yellow Willian received for bringing down Delph.
Mourinho, surprisingly, refused to comment on any of those incidents. “I prefer not to speak. If I speak, I will be in trouble and I don’t want to be,” he said. “I don’t want to do something that we are not allowed to do. We are not allowed to speak about the referees. I don’t want to be charged with bringing the game into disrepute.”
He did, however, comment an awful lot on Foy. Just at the end of the game, as Chelsea realised the result was beyond them, that frustration led to Ramires stamping on Karim El Ahmadi. He was sent off and Mourinho followed him. Afterwards, the Portuguese was asked whether he expected punishment. “Me? Me, or the ref? No, I don’t expect, because I did nothing.”
He also attempted to deflect attention on to Gabriel Agbonlahor, who got up off the bench to confront Ramires. “It’s a big occasion for me to know about the character of Mr Foy because I want to know what he’s going to write about my sending-off,” added Mourinho.
“If my sending-off was because I was on the pitch, two to three metres, I think we should be like [that for] 10 persons from the dugout: me, my two assistants. Paul [Lambert], Paul’s assistant, Agbonlahor, who came in and made an aggression on Ramires from behind.
“I think almost all of us just [wanted] to calm down and try to stop. So, if I was sent off because I was on the pitch, I ask why not the others, especially one player that made an aggression on another one, Agbonlahor on Ramires?”
Mourinho also revealed that he attempted to talk to Foy after the game. “I tried, but he refused to speak to me,” he said. “I tried to speak to Mr Foy twice. I tried to speak on the pitch and I tried in the dressing rooms. In the dressing rooms, I tried to ask politely, ‘can you give me five seconds’ and he refused.”
It is, however, difficult to refute the idea that Mourinho got it wrong. In the past few weeks, Chelsea have made a habit of starting slowly and finishing strongly enough to win.
Their last three games had been 0-0 at half-time and this was the same. On this occasion, though, they allowed the margins to get too small. With Chelsea finally trying to push in the second half and Villa always breaking dangerously, it forced the visitors into the kind of errors they could not recover from.
It remains to be seen how they will recover from this. “We are not in the title race,” said Mourinho. “We are in a match race. We play every match, we try to win, we think we can win, we give everything to win, sometimes you do, sometimes you don’t, but that’s our race.”
Villa certainly did that. When Lambert was asked about all the controversy involving his counterpart, he mischievously echoed a line that Mourinho had said about the Villa manager in August. “He reminds me of myself.”
Above all else, Chelsea were reminded of their flaws.
Chelsea (4-2-3-1): Cech; Ivanovic, Cahill, Terry, Azpilicueta; Ramires, Matic; Willian, Oscar (Schürrle, 67), Hazard; Torres (Ba, 67).
Referee: Chris Foy.
Man of the match: Delph (Villa)
Match rating: 7/10
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Observer:
Aston Villa 1 Chelsea 0
Aston Villa's Fabian Delph halts Chelsea's Premier League title charge
Willian picked up a second yellow card for a rather soft foul on the goalscorer, but the stamp on Karim El Ahmadi that brought a straight red for Ramires was altogether more serious and brought the game to a bad-tempered conclusion, with players squaring up to each other in front of the Chelsea bench.
"I tried to speak to the referee, he refused to speak to me," said Mourinho, who has still never won at Villa Park. "I prefer not to speak about the referee or the sendings off. If I do that I will be in trouble."
Paul Lambert described Ramires's foul as "a shocker, a potential leg-breaker", but could not hide his satisfaction with the result. "We have seen some big moments here over the past two years, but that is probably the best," the Villa manager said. "The team performance was outstanding."
City have three games in hand so can now overhaul Chelsea if they keep winning. Their win at Hull was achieved by 10 men but Chelsea could not show the same drive and determination, even before their numbers were reduced.
Villa spent the first 10 minutes bemused by the movement and interchangeability of Chelsea's three-quarter line of Oscar, Willian and Eden Hazard as the visitors opened the game with businesslike intent, moving the ball around purposefully and always appearing to have a spare man. It was impressive to watch, yet Chelsea's approach work did not lead to any openings in front of goal, just speculative long shots from Willian and Oscar. Most of the attacking threat was being channelled through the industrious Hazard, and once Villa worked that out they settled down and began to put together some moves of their own.
Christian Benteke could not keep his header down when Delph crossed from the left, and El Ahmadi should have done better than waft wastefully over the bar with a decent shooting opportunity, though at least Villa boosted their own confidence by showing they knew the way to goal.
When Benteke missed narrowly with a volley from the edge of the area that had Petr Cech scrambling just before half-time it was the closest the game had come to a goal, at least until Nemanja Matic bundled the ball over the Villa line a couple of minutes later, only to be recalled for handball by a linesman. It was hard to detect what the official had seen. It was far from an obvious handling offence, yet the player was slow to celebrate the goal as if he knew he might be pulled up. If that annoyed Mourinho, he was even more incensed on the stroke of the interval when Joe Bennett escaped with just a yellow card for bringing down Ramires in full flight when the Brazilian would have been through on goal. It was quite a long way out to be considered a clear goalscoring opportunity. Other players may have been able to come across and cover, though it would certainly have been a chance. Chris Foy's lenience brought Mourinho to his feet, waving an imaginary card, presumably a red one.
The visitors were dominating the game by the hour mark, with Villa rarely managing to cross the halfway line, though Chelsea's lack of conviction in front of goal was again highlighted by the directness the home side showed when they did come up with the occasional counterattack. Benteke was only inches wide after a one-two with Andreas Weimann in the area as once more Villa demonstrated they could soak up pressure and still threaten on the break.
Mourinho replaced Fernando Torres with Demba Ba midway through the second half in an attempt to bring more urgency to the Chelsea attack. Torres had not had one of his better games, losing the ball cheaply on more than one occasion, though the real problem seemed to be that while Hazard, Willian and Oscar could find each other with ease, even in tight situations in the penalty area, they could not find Torres or anyone else in a position to take a shy at goal.
Then, with 22 minutes remaining, Willian was gone and Chelsea were down to 10. The Brazilian was cautioned in the first half for a foul on El Ahmadi and received a second yellow, rather harshly in view of the trifling nature of the offence, for the slightest of tugs on Delph. That was all the encouragement Villa needed. Ba was a spectator, as Torres had been, and after Ron Vlaar had missed with a header from a corner, Delph put his side in front. Whether he applied the finish he intended was debatable, though he set up the goal by dispossessing Chelsea on halfway. If there was a bit of luck in the way he connected with Marc Albrighton's return pass to guide the ball past John Terry and Cech he probably deserved it. Benteke brought a save from Cech and Delph hit the bar in stoppage time.
Chelsea could have no complaints, especially after finishing with nine men and no manager.
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By Jason Burt, at Villa Park
Willian was first to go with Ramires then red-carded for a stamp on Karim El Ahmadi which provoked an angry reaction from the Villa bench.
Chelsea's anger will be stoked by the fact that Foy has now dismissed six Chelsea players in his last eight matches officiating their matches.
Willian will have felt hard done by but Ramires had to go while Villa triumphed through a fine goal from man-of-the-match Fabian Delph.
Suddenly, as Mourinho continued to maintain, Manchester City are in their slipstream and no longer dependent on goal difference should they win their games in hand.
Mourinho again failed to win at Villa Park - it is now three defeats and three draws at this stadium - which for such a serial achiever is remarkable.
Chelsea also felt hard done by after a Nemanja Matic effort was ruled out for offside. To add salt to their wounds it was Delph who scored the only goal.
There was an easy superiority about the way Chelsea began the encounter but it was Villa who made the early mark: firstly with Nathan Baker's studs into Willian's thigh and then more positively as Christian Benteke headed over after a sharp break heavily involving Gabriel Agbonlahor.
Chelsea responded by constructing an opportunity for Fernando Torres who raced in only for Eden Hazard's cross to skim over the top of his head. Soon after and Willian's quick feet created space for a powerful low shot from distance that had Brad Guzan stretching but it shimmered the side-netting.
There was intent from both sides: Mourinho's line-up was matched by an equally positive approach from Paul Lambert, albeit one designed to counter quickly as Villa then did only for Karim El Ahmadi to blaze over and the ball to run away from Christian Benteke as he rushed forward to meet Andreas Weimann's pass.
Chelsea continued to dominate possession but were forced back by Villa with Agbonlahor and Benteke - quick and aggressive and willing to take the fight to the visitors - prominent and the home side showing more ambition than at times during this patchy campaign.
However they were easily unlocked when Oscar's angled pass released Torres only for the striker to run wide and delay rather than attack the goal. Fabian Delph cut out his eventual cross.
Villa certainly appeared buoyed by their recent thumping victory over Norwich, their first win in five league matches, and were not phased by Chelsea's firepower, working hard to deny their opponents the space to create opportunities.
Once more it was not quite clicking for Torres who ran onto another clever through-ball, this time from Hazard, only to steer his right-footed shot into the crowded after, earlier, he had been hustled out and failed to find Oscar with an attempted cross. Then Torres was given another chance to shoot - only to again be met with a wall of defenders.
Benteke went close at the other end. Villa broke and the ball fell to the Belgium striker who swiftly executed a half-volleyed scissor kick around Gary Cahill and with Petr Cech scrambling across goal the shot narrowly cleared his far post.
Chelsea then believed they had fashioned the breakthrough with Nemanja Matic bundling the ball into the net from a corner - but it was correctly, if belatedly, ruled out for a handball by the midfielder. Much to Mourinho's frustration.
He was frustrated again soon after as Ramires threatened to burst through only to be hacked down by Joe Bennett - who was cautioned - with Mourinho demanding greater punishment. Oscar sent the free-kick into Guzan's arms.
Chelsea raised the tempo. There was more urgency and there was, also, nearly a goal as the ball once more flew across the Villa area - only for Hazard to collect, cut back and cross. El Ahmadi intervened but only sent the ball goalwards for Guzan to scoop out.
Villa were forced back. Their clearances were increasingly desperate with Vlaar and Bennett hurriedly hoofing the ball away only for it be quickly returned into theie area by a Chelsea team who again looked to try and rejuvenate themselves after an ultimately disappointing first-half performance.
Chelsea's eight goals in their last three league matches had all been scored in the second-half and there was an intensity to increase that tally with Hazard's influence growing even if the Villa defence continued to stand firm.
As Chelsea's frustration grew - with another half-hearted Torres shot charged down - Villa broke and suddenly it was three against four with Agbonlahor, Benteke and Weimann combining. The latter returned the ball to Benteke but as the goal opened up for him he steered his first-time shot narrowly wide.
Mourinho had seen enough and hauled off the underperforming Torres and Oscar and there was soon another change - but this one was coated with controversy as Willian was shown a second yellow card, after being cautioned in the first-half, for a nudge on Delph as he ran towards the Chelsea goal.
Mourinho looked stunned. Suddenly Chelsea were faced with a test - and Villa also. Did they alter their approach to try and capitalize on having the extra player or did that now make them vulnerable to the counter-attack.
With one such break Andre Schurrle was brought down by Vlaar on the area's edge - although it did not warrant John Terry then sprinting 60 yards to protest.
He was soon stunned as Villa scored. Delph broke again, feeding Marc Albrighton, and then ran on to meet the cross and deftly flicked it towards goal to beat Cech. In injury-time Cech deflected another Delph effort onto the cross-bar before Ramires was also dismissed.
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Aston Villa 1 Chelsea 0: Red mist for ragged Blues
Jonathan Northcroft
Efficiency evaporated, composure vanished. The machine overheated at a broiling Villa Park. A remarkable finale, in which Chelsea lost first Willian then Ramires to red cards and then a goal — brilliantly converted by Fabian Delph — ended with a melee of players and technical staff on the field and Mourinho stomping down the touchline after being sent off by Chris Foy.
The rancour did not stop there. Mourinho, with assistants and John Terry in tow, asked Foy if he could have a word and Foy, who has dismissed six Chelsea players and one Chelsea manager in his last eight Chelsea games, refused to speak to him.
In his post-match press conference, Mourinho said: “I don’t know why I was sent off. I asked, but the referee refused to speak to me. Gabriel Agbonlahor was on the bench. He jumped on to the pitch, he was aggressive, everyone jumps on to the pitch, me and my assistants, lots of people there. There are no statues in football so everyone should have been sent off. We must be very, very unlucky to have another refereeing performance like this one. This was not about one mistake but about a 94-minute performance.”
His counterpart, Paul Lambert, just wanted “to talk about the football” and the best victory, in his view, since he took the Villa job in June, 2012. “It was an extraordinary effort,” he said. “We were well worth the win.”
Ramires’ red card was for violent conduct — a stamp on Karim El Ahmadi — and he will miss three matches of the run-in, including Saturday’s pivotal clash with Arsenal, from which Willian will also be absent. Mourinho may face sanction too. The red cards aside, Chelsea had a first-half goal disallowed. As Foy appeared set to award it his assistant, Peter Bankes, flagged for a handball by Nemanja Matic. Chelsea also felt Joe Bennett could have been ordered off for a lunge on Ramires, and conceivably prevented a scoring chance. This one will run and run.
Lambert was right to praise the intensity and adventure of his side. At 11 v 10 Villa knew it was their moment and went for it. He who shows courage in a relegation scrap tends to survive. Nor should Delph’s goal be overlooked. He won the ball in midfield and set off on a counterattack, fed Marc Albrighton — a good substitution by Lambert — and zeroed into the six-yard area. Albrighton’s centre was slightly behind him and Delph, half turned in the wrong direction, directed the ball beyond Petr Cech with a superbly improvised flick of his heel.
Chelsea’s first red card, Willian’s, came on another break by Delph, such a relentless and dangerous runner on those days when his game is focused. Willian drew alongside him and leant in. Delph tumbled, exaggerating the level of contact perhaps, but Foy saw enough in it to issue a second yellow card, having booked Willian for a late tackle in the first half.
In the 68 minutes until then Chelsea had been the better side, building pressure. Mourinho, though, had just made two attacking substitutions — Andre Schurrle for Oscar and Demba Ba for a pitiable Fernando Torres — and Villa took advantage not only of the extra man, but the shortage of defensive players in Chelsea’s ranks. After Delph’s goal, in the 81st minute, Chelsea never looked like equalising. Delph almost scored again in stoppage time, hitting the bar.
In the final moments Ramires hurdled a reckless-looking challenge from El Ahmadi but landed deliberately on his opponent’s leg and Foy brandished red again. Mourinho, Lambert, substitutes and the substituted (including Agbonlahor) were soon on the pitch before, to the strains from home fans of “You’re not special any more”, Mourinho exited.
He must hate Villa Park. In five visits he has never won. Defeat here in September, 2007, was the first of three poor results that resulted in Roman Abramovich sacking him. Had Matic’s ‘goal’ after 40 minutes stood, it could have been different.
Villa flourished in attack only after Willian’s dismissal, but there had been plenty to admire before it. Their pressing prevented Ramires and Matic controlling midfield and though Oscar, Willian and Eden Hazard buzzed and interchanged, Lambert’s men stayed compact, restricting the scope for through passes. Torres didn’t help Chelsea. He took up some perceptive positions but his feet seemed like the paddles on a pinball machine: the ball could ricochet anywhere off them.
Torres, with laboured play, wasted one of Chelsea’s few truly threatening positions, though Ramires might have gone clear on Brad Guzan but for Bennett’s cynical foul. Foy’s failure to show Bennett more than a yellow card prompted theatrical angst from Mourinho and Lambert laughed at him. Mourinho, at that point, was still in good humour, and laughed back.
Chelsea’s best period was just after half time yet, twice teed up by Hazard, the shooting of Oscar was meek. After Willian walked, Ron Vlaar headed a corner wide and Delph seemed to have missed his chance to be a matchwinner when he shot wide. But then came his moment. And Mourinho’s anger. And his pain.
Star man: Fabian Delph (Villa)
Aston Villa: Guzan 7, Bacuna 5, Vlaar 7, Baker 7, Bennett 6 (Clark 78min), El Ahmadi 6, Westwood 6, Delph 8, Weimann 6, Benteke 6, Agbonlahor 6 (Albrighton 75min)
Chelsea: Cech 6, Ivanovic 6, Cahill 6, Terry 6, Azpilicueta 6, Ramires 5, Matic 6, Hazard 7, Oscar 5 (Schurrle 67min), Willian 6, Torres 3 (Ba 67min)
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Aston Villa 1-0 Chelsea: Delph goal dents Blues' title hopes after Ramires, Willian AND Mourinho are given their marching orders
Finishing with nine men and with their manager sent to the stands, Chelsea were exposed. They left Villa Park harbouring a sense of injustice, clearly distraught by a disallowed ‘goal’ and at least one contentious sending-off, even if the second red card was indisputable.
But the sight of Ramires leaving a stamp on Karim El Ahmadi and John Terry and Branislav Ivanovic, among others, remonstrating so vehemently has perhaps revealed a deeper vulnerability. What was beginning to look like an inexorable march to the title — Chelsea’s last League defeat was 3-2 at Stoke on December 7 — has been disrupted.
‘We are not in the title race,’ said Mourinho. ‘We are in a match race. We play every match, we try to win. We give everything. That’s our race.’
As everyone knows and despite Mourinho’s protestations, Chelsea are not only in the race but were many people’s favourites before Saturday.
And the manner in which they lost their heads suggests that deep down they know it, too.
To deal with the contentious incidents, Chelsea have a case in that the game’s turning point, the sending-off of Willian, was a marginal decision.
That said, the first yellow he received from referee Chris Foy on 25 minutes — an awful challenge through the back of El Ahmadi — was as close to being red as can be.
The second yellow, for a nudge on Fabian Delph as the Villa midfielder and man of the match strode through the middle, was less certain.
But Delph was streaking away, Willian was desperate and his touch unbalanced him, so Chelsea’s cause for complaint is relatively minor.
The remaining grievances can be dealt with swiftly.
That incident took place in front of the benches and Mourinho encroached on to the pitch as Gabriel Agbonlahor, who had been substituted, rushed to grab Ramires.
Perhaps Chelsea reacted so emotionally because Foy is the man who sent off Didier Drogba and Jose Bosingwa in the infamous match at QPR three years ago, during which Terry racially abused Anton Ferdinand. Foy has now sent off eight Chelsea players in his career.
But Mourinho’s dismissal, headline stealer that it is, was merely incidental.
‘The decision didn’t change the game. My team, to a man, were brilliant.’
Though Willian’s dismissal was pivotal, it did not wholly change the balance of the game. Villa had been excellent. They pressed and they ran like demons.
Long before the controversy, Villa had been getting in behind Chelsea, creating chances and playing on the front foot.
Chelsea were better in the opening period of the second half, when Eden Hazard began to find his exquisite range, sidestepping Leandro Bacuna on 51 minutes and forcing a Brad Guzan save, then setting up Oscar on 62 minutes for a shot that was hacked away.
But Villa’s midfield ultimately had the upper hand, Delph coaxing the foul from Willian that led to red on 68 minutes and then scoring a delightful winner on 82.
Delph nipped in front of Ivanovic on halfway to sprint goalwards.
On 90 minutes Delph saw another shot rebound off Petr Cech on to the crossbar. Deservedly, rather than controversially, Villa had beaten the champions elect.
Booked: Baker, Bennett, Benteke, Vlaar
Paul Lambert 8
Subs not used: Schwarzer, Lampard, Mikel, Salah, Kalas
Booked: Ramires
Sent off: Willian, Ramires
Jose Mourinho 6
MoM: Fabian Delph
Attendance: 40,084
*Ratings by Laurie Whitwell at Villa Park
By Dave Kidd
Willian and Ramires both saw red and Mourinho was sent to the stands as Villa dealt a blow to Chelsea's title hopes at Villa Park
So the task of the day in the title race was this: Play away from home and win with 10 men.
Manchester City had to do so for 80 minutes at Hull and succeeded. Chelsea had to cope short-handed for the final quarter against Aston Villa and failed.
The Premier League leaders even ended the match with nine men – and with Jose Mourinho sent to the stands – when bedlam broke out in added time and Ramires was dismissed for a stamp on Karim El Ahmadi.
Willian’s red card, for two reckless pieces of back-tracking, was the turning point, though.
And Fabian Delph netted a gorgeous late winner to end Chelsea’s 14-match unbeaten run.
Mourinho’s men now lead City by six points, having played three games more.
But this momentum shift could prove decisive. Nobody doubted that City had superior class, and yesterday they showed greater nerve when the going got tough.
Chelsea lost their heads after being on the wrong end of a series of contentious – but correct – decisions from referee Chris Foy.
Matchwinner Delph said: “I thought we were the better team from the start and we looked like we wanted it more. We were well organised, we attacked when we had the chance and we defended well.
“I’ve never scored a better goal than that in the Premier League. I’ve had a couple like it in training so it’s great when it comes off in a game.”
Paul Lambert’s men deserved victory for soaking up the pressure, frustrating their visitors to explosion point then seizing advantage of their extra man.
It was clear from the word go that Villa were not in pushover mode – and meaty early challenges saw Willian receive lengthy treatment before Nathan Baker was booked for a foul on Fernando Torres.
The pattern of the first half was generally Chelsea’s three-man production line of Willian, Oscar and Eden Hazard thrusting, Villa’s defence parrying.
Willian drilled one shot into the side-netting and Oscar curled another wide after a clever link-up with his Brazilian team-mate.
When Villa broke, Nemanja Matic showed the art of tackling lives on, while John Terry was his usual stubborn self.
Christian Benteke whistled a volley narrowly wide as he tumbled, but Chelsea thought they had taken the lead five minutes before the break.
Willian’s corner was flicked on by Terry for Matic to control the ball before tucking it into the side of the net. It was either a really good shout – or an extremely lucky one – from Foy and linesman Peter Bankes but it was correct. Matic had used his hand to bring the ball down.
If Mourinho was angered by this, he was apoplectic a couple of minutes later when Joe Bennett cynically hacked down Ramires – but Foy was right again to produce a yellow as the young left-back was not the final defender.
There was panic in the Villa defence early in the second half when Brad Guzan flapped at a Branislav Ivanovic centre.
Oscar tried to tee up Hazard and El Ahmadi’s miscued clearance forced a save from Guzan before Oscar skied the rebound.
But Chelsea were becoming increasingly frustrated by Villa’s refusal to yield and then, midway through the second half, came the chances for the hosts.
Benteke rampaged through on the breakaway, slipped a pass out to Andreas Weimann, collected the return and with a good deal of the goal gaping, screwed his shot wide.
Then came Willian’s second yellow, this time for upending Delph, having performed a similar foul on El Ahmadi early on. Chelsea felt Ron Vlaar should have seen red for cutting down sub Andre Schurrle but Foy showed only a yellow.
Then eight minutes from time Villa Park erupted in rapture.
Delph surged forward, fed sub Marc Albrighton on the left, and met the return pass with the cutest of finishes, a true moment of quality.
Delph hit the bar in added time but then Ramires was red-carded for reacting to a fierce challenge from El Ahmadi by stamping on the Villa midfielder.
Both managers spilled on to the pitch in the ensuing madness, Mourinho receiving his marching orders, but he had not completed his trudge to the dressing room before the final whistle blew.
JOSE MOURINHO left Villa Park bowed, defeated and disgraced last night.
By: Dave Harrison
Mourinho didn’t quite make it to the tunnel as he ambled slowly along the touchline, but further punishment awaits him from the FA.
Birmingham N6 continues to be a graveyard for Mourinho, who has never won at Villa Park in six attempts.
His visits to the home of Aston Villa have resulted in three draws and two defeats and this latest one – thanks to a magical goal from Fabian Delph – should be just as climactic as the last time he was beaten at the venue.
A 2-0 defeat in 2007 was his penultimate League game in charge of Chelsea before he parted company with owner Roman Abramovich in his first spell in charge of the club.
This latest defeat won’t threaten his job but it could provide the death knell for his team’s title hopes.
Chelsea are now just six points ahead of Manchester City – who have three games in hand – and their grip on the league leadership is slipping fast.
Although Mourinho’s men enjoyed a major share of possession, Villa continued to create their fair portion of chances.
Karim El Ahmadi fired a shot over from distance when he might have considered a through pass to Gabby Agbonhlahor, who was in a much more threatening position as he peeled off into the penalty area.
The last five minutes of the first half provided the most telling action of the opening session.
Christian Benteke’s eye for the spectacular finish provided him with a hooked volley which was not properly executed but had Petr Cech scrambling across his line as it flashed behind the far post.
Chelsea thought they had grabbed a lead in the 41st minute. Willian’s corner from the left reached Nemanja Matic unmarked at the far post and the giant Serbian forced it over the line. It appeared that referee Chris Foy awarded the goal initially but overruled it after a consultation with his assistant, Peter Bankes.
Television replays showed clearly that Matic had controlled the ball with his forearms before putting it into the empty net.
There was an extra purpose about Chelsea at the start of the second half. With Villa retreating behind their defensive lines, Branislav Ivanovic’s teasing cross had Brad Guzan flapping wildly at the ball.
It bounced around the six yard box before Oscar curled a right-foot shot over the bar.
As the pressure began to build on the Villa back four Oscar again forged an opening, but his cross-shot from 10 yards was far too close to Guzan.
It could have been even more frustrating for Chelsea in the 65th minute when Andreas Weimann pulled a cross back to Benteke. Villa’s leading striker had plenty of goal to aim at but dragged his effort wide.
Mourinho rang the changes immediately. He sent on Andre Schurrle and Demba Ba for Oscar and Fernando Torres but there was a further upset to his formation a minute later.
Willian, who was booked in the first half for a tackle on Leandro Bacuna, was involved in a tangle with Delph which sent the Villa midfielder tumbling to the ground.
It seemed innocuous enough but referee Foy produced a second yellow and then a red for the Chelsea man – much to Mourinho’s disgust.
Villa began to fancy their chances of all three points and Delph opened up the visitors’ defence, only to shoot wide from the edge of the area.
But it was Delph who sent Chelsea plummeting to defeat in the 82nd minute with a sublime touch.
The midfielder sent sub Marc Albrighton away down the left and, when the cross came over, he cleverly back-heeled it beyond Cech’s reach.
Ramires received a straight red card for his challenge on El Ahmadi in injury time, and in the touchline rumpus which followed Mourinho was given his marching orders as well.
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MASSIVE respect to Jose Mourinho.
By Harry Pratt
Chelsea not title favourites? Yeah right - pull the other one Jose!
Well, after this shock defeat – the runaway league leaders’ first in 14 games – maybe the Blues boss was right with his seemingly ludicrous take on the picture at the Premier League summit.
For that nine-point lead over Manchester City, the biggest threat to Chelsea’s domestic dominance, is now down to six points and their rivals have three matches in hand.
How Mourinho must hate Villa Park. He has yet to win in five attempts and after Fabian Delph struck the killer blow in the 82nd minute his evening descended into chaos.
Willian had already been sent off by Chris Foy in the 68th minute and in the closing stages Ramires also went for a shocking foul on Karim El Ahmadi.
But then the drama was not over because, as he contested those decisions on the pitch, Mourinho was also banished to the stands.
He can have few complaints about the actual outcome because Chelsea were just not at the races last night.
Understandably, given his poor record, Mourinho had expressed genuine fears about this trip while also ruling out the idea Chelsea would win their final nine Premier League dates with destiny. He was right there too.
Yet the flip side to that pessimistic outlook was the fact the Midlands men had been rubbish on their own patch over the last seven months.
An absolutely vital 4-1 romp over Norwich in their previous home outing a fortnight ago was only the fourth time the locals had seen a win this season.
Which is why before kick-off they were still too close to the danger zone for comfort just six points above 18th-placed Cardiff.
The only shuffle by Villa boss Paul Lambert was a forced one as on-loan Chelsea left-back Ryan Bertrand was unable to face his parent club.
But their main hitman Christian Benteke was out there – and back in form.
And in the tenth minute he nearly grabbed his third goal in two games when he headed Delph’s deep cross over the bar.
For a team on such a high of late, Chelsea were strangely subdued early on.
Only playmaker Willian appeared in the mood to do some damage as he underlined in the 13th minute, cutting in from the left and letting rip with a 25-yarder that was inches wide of the near post.
There was lots of huff and puff from both teams without any end product but that all changed in a dramatic finale to the first half.
Firstly, Benteke slammed a hooked volley first time that had keeper Petr Cech seriously worried as it bounced up just past his left post.
Then Chelsea thought they had taken the lead when Serbian midfielder Nemanja Matic bundled in John Terry’s flick-on following a corner.
So too did Foy who, having given the goal, reversed that decision thanks to his eagle-eyed assistant spotting a handball from Matic.
If he was upset by that decision, Mourinho was positively fuming soon after as Ramires – seemingly clean through on goal – was hacked down by Joe Bennett.
Foy produced yellow while the Portuguese coach was waving an imaginary red on the touchline.
Going in goalless at the interval is nothing new to the Blues who had done exactly that at Fulham two weeks ago and against Spurs last Saturday.
But this time they could turn up the heat and Villa carved out the best opportunity soon atter the restart.
Unfortunately, for the Midlands faithful Benteke was unable to keep his right foot drive on target – although Matic may have also deflected it to safety.
However, then the game swung in Villa’s favour. Big time.
Firstly, Willian went for a second yellow card having sent Delph tumbling.
Then with nine minutes left the same Villa player steered in the winner from nine yards out at the end of a delightful move as Chelsea chased the game.
