Aston Villa 2-0

Independent:
Diego Costa earns Jose Mourinho important win on return
Chelsea 2 Aston Villa 0
Glenn MOORE

With Jose Mourinho having diagnosed a lack of confidence, a visit from Aston Villa is just what Chelsea’s doctor would have ordered (had she not been pursuing legal recourse after being banished from the bench). With one point from seven games Villa are even more fragile than Chelsea and after a bright start they gifted their hosts the opening goal and swiftly faded.
“We are staying up,” chorused the home support, a suitable riposte to Villa fans telling Mourinho he was “not special any more”. The light-hearted mood was infectious, even Roman Abramovich was seen smiling.
Chelsea are still 10 points off the Premier League summit, but the gap to the Champions League places, which is half as much, looks very bridgeable.
“It was not a brilliant performance but a solid performance,” said Mourinho. “When the confidence is a bit low, the quality goes a down and you have to bring other ingredients. They did that in an amazing way: great discipline and effort defensively, great balance.”
That balance was achieved, said Mourinho, by dropping Eden Hazard, Footballer of the Year last season,  to ensure his central midfielders did not have to worry about protecting the left flank when Alan Hutton went forward. Hazard, he added, had not been spoken to individually but “I told the players that this is not the moment to think about themselves, this is a moment for the team, just the team”.
“Solidity,” said Mourinho, was the reason Ruben Loftus-Cheek, who was making his first Premier League start of the season, was withdrawn at half-time and replaced by Nemanja Matic.
The 19-year-old Loftus-Cheek was one of five changes from the team that lost 3-1 at home to Southampton with the changes including a first Premier League start for Baba Rahman, a £14million summer recruit, at left-back.
The way Hutton went past him after 11 minutes to bring the game’s first save from the Chelsea goalkeeper, Asmir Begovic, went a long way to explaining why Mourinho had chosen Pedro instead of Hazard on the left flank.
Though Villa’s team included only six players who have experienced a league victory this season – the opening day win at Bournemouth – they did not initially look haunted by the growing prospect of relegation, creating the best of the sparse chances, with Rudy Gestede also going close.
Then, shortly before the break, their goalkeeper, Brad Guzan, hit a difficult flat pass to Joleon Lescott. The former England centre-half mis-controlled the ball and it was seized on by Willian. The Brazilian drew Guzan and squared a pass for Diego Costa to tap in his first goal in the Premier League since August.
“It was a poor goal to give away,” said Villa manager Tim Sherwood. But he was not about to blame his goalkeeper. “Mistakes are there and we have to stick together. They’re team mistakes,” he said.
“It’s about bouncing back and making sure we don’t do it again.”
Sherwood added: “I thought we were better than them before that mistake but we lost again and are in a perilous position.”
Of his own future, he added: “I’ve had no indication that the clock’s ticking, but I know as a manager you need to win matches. If you don’t you’ll invariably lose your job somewhere along the line.”
The second goal, after 54 minutes, owed much to a fine advantage played by referee Roger East. Ramires was flattened by Kieran Richardson but East saw the ball was en route to Costa, whose attempted pass to Willian looped past Guzan off the ankle of his own defender, Hutton.

There was still 36 minutes left, but both teams knew that was game over.

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Observer:

Diego Costa puts Chelsea back on track in win over Aston Villa
Chelsea 2 - 0 Aston Villa

Dominic Fifield at Stamford Bridge

Chelsea’s players have been queueing up of late to pledge themselves to José Mourinho, doing their level best to douse suggestions mutiny is rife within the ranks, though this was the show of faith the manager really required. Business-like successes are to be savoured after an unfathomably shoddy start to the Premier League defence and a dismissal of a poor Aston Villa team can be cherished. The champions sacrificed their most creative talent here, ground out a performance and, at last, have some respite.
There were flashes of their former selves offered up en route. Most of them were fleeting, admittedly, but flurries of quality were still more than enough to condemn Villa to a fifth league defeat in succession.
Diego Costa, by his own admission overweight in pre-season after a summer back in Brazil, was more mobile and threatening for the right reasons as he returned from domestic suspension. This was him close to his authoritative best with indications, too, that Cesc Fàbregas’s radar is clicking back in. That combination had been key to this team’s lightning start to last term. Their telepathy appears restored.
Throw in the energy of Ramires and a more comfortable display from Nemanja Matic following his introduction at the break and there was cause for optimism even if it took the exclusion of Eden Hazard to deliver the required stability. There was better balance to this lineup, central midfielders not venturing out of position to cover team-mates’ deficiencies on the flanks where Willian and Pedro worked feverishly and effectively. Hazard’s own quest for form has left him prone to defensive slackness. By sacrificing last season’s player of the year, Mourinho banked on a more functional side prevailing.
“I left him out because we were conceding lots of goals and needed to defend better,” said Mourinho. “We need our midfielders to be concentrating on central areas, not worrying about compensating on the left or right. It’s like a blanket. If you pull one side, your feet are in the cold.”

Quite how long Hazard – who did manage seven minutes off the bench – is shivering out in the wilderness remains to be seen but Chelsea’s predicament requires a creative talent who signed a new five-and-a-half-year contract in February to emulate Willian and Pedro, allying discipline to those mind-boggling flashes of skill.
The collective has to be put first at present. Ruben Loftus-Cheek discovered that much when his bright attacking display was checked at the break with the manager citing naivety out of possession as reason enough to prompt his replacement. It was a harsh lesson to be learned with this win merely a start.
“Not a brilliant performance, but a solid performance,” said Mourinho, whose side had been presented with a first-half lead and benefited from a rare slice of luck when Costa’s second-half shot flicked from Alan Hutton’s calf and drifted inside Brad Guzan’s near-post with the goalkeeper wrong-footed and distraught.
The sense of crisis that lingered after the match swirled more intensely around the visitors whose manager, Tim Sherwood, had cut a helpless figure on the touchline. Chelsea always looked like a side who would eventually click into gear. There is simply too much quality in their ranks to anchor them in the bottom half for long. The same cannot be said of Villa.
This was by no means their slackest performance of term but, for all their use of the ball in midfield, they lacked bite up front to make any real impact. The visitors knew Baba Rahman was a weak link, but could not properly exploit the left-back on league debut.
Chelsea had conceded at least twice in all their top-flight games, with the exception of the home victory over Arsenal, but Villa had no weapons to wound them. Their best opportunity came when the contest was goalless, Jordan Ayew ambling easily away from Fàbregas and César Azpilicueta and squaring into the penalty area. Rudy Gestede had eked out a yard of space in front of John Terry, yet the striker was stretching when he poked at the ball with the outside of his right foot, his effort looping over the bar.

Within minutes they had self‑destructed. Guzan, under vague pressure from Pedro, scuffed a clearance awkwardly towards Joleon Lescott who was too startled to control the ball properly. Willian anticipated the error and stole away possession, darting free of the centre-half and into the area where he centred unselfishly for Costa to convert into an empty net. The sense of utter deflation on the visitors’ bench was palpable.
“It was a poor one to give away, but mistakes are made and we have to stick together,” said Sherwood. “We carried the ball well, our full-backs got forward at the right times, we were a threat between the lines, and had good possession. We were in control of the football.”
He may not be in control of his own destiny. Had Villa been humiliated here then the axe may have swung. As it is, he staggers on hoping he will be able to generate form in time. “It’s a young group in transition,” he said. “I can’t rest my hat on them and say I’ve seen them having done it before in the Premier League, because they haven’t. But we’re upbeat in there. We are in a perilous position, but there were positives from that performance. I’ve had no indication that the clock’s ticking. But, as a manager, you need to win matches and, if you don’t, you’ll invariably lose your job somewhere along the line.”

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Telegraph:

Chelsea 2 Aston Villa 0
Diego Costa eases pressure on Jose Mourinho but Tim Sherwood woes grow
Diego Costa returns from suspension to score one and force another as Blues fans sing "we are staying up"

By  Jason Burt

From player of the season to a liability? He has not quite fallen that far but it has been some descent for Eden ­Hazard. But then, from champions to a team scrapping in mid-table. It has been some drop for Chelsea.
They went into this game with the scrutiny intense around the future of Jose Mourinho – and, of course, that of the Aston Villa manager Tim Sherwood – and came out of it with a desperately needed win and a ­debate given further fuel over the decline of Hazard.
It was Mourinho himself who heightened that debate. Hazard was unceremoniously dropped with the Chelsea manager – who also then hooked teenager Ruben Loftus-Cheek at half-time for not being disciplined enough – unequivocal as to why.

“I left out Hazard because we are conceding lots of goals,” Mourinho said of his purely “tactical decision” before adding: “I continue, or he comes in our direction and tries to emulate the same work that Willian and Pedro put in.”
Asked whether he had explained his decision to Hazard, Mourinho was equally forthright. “I told the players that this is not the moment to think about themselves or their personal situation, a moment to moan or try to be selfish in the approach,” he said. “This is a moment for the team, just the team, and nothing else. I have to make decisions to try and bring results back.”

That is Mourinho’s prerogative, undoubtedly, and the result was achieved even if he left Hazard high and dry in the process. In front of Roman Abra­movich, again here at Stamford Bridge, Chelsea gained the victory which, ­although deserved, owed much to a huge slice of fortune with an inept ­decision by Villa goalkeeper Brad ­Guzan gifting them their first goal and then a cruel bit of luck, with a vital ­deflection off defender Alan Hutton, delivering their second.

Sherwood will rue it all, will believe that circumstances are conspiring against him but the cold facts are that his team remain in the bottom three, four points from safety, having now lost five league matches in a row since a draw at home to hapless Sunderland.
Sherwood will hope to be given the time to take the team for next weekend’s home match against Swansea City, he will cling to what appeared to be an improved performance, something the club’s hierarchy needed to see, but he must surely know that time is running out on his regime unless things change dramatically.
Not that he conceded that. Instead Sherwood, sporting a velvet jacket although this was far from a smooth afternoon, denied all knowledge that his job is on the line – even though it most emphatically is. “I’ve seen those reports,” Sherwood defiantly said.
“As a manager, you need to win matches. If you don’t you’ll invariably lose your job somewhere along the line. I’ll take my share of responsibility, but it’s a team effort. We stick together.”
Swansea may now be his defining match while this was a landmark for Mourinho – a 200th win as Chelsea manager (from just 309 games, with 43 losses) – but it did not feel like any cause for celebration. His name was sung, he acknowledged the supporters – and there was more hunger from Diego Costa (who had previously admitted to too great an appetite having returned for pre-season training overweight) – but Chelsea did not have their swagger back. Not yet. Costa led them, Willian and Ramires were impressive, there were some deft touches from Cesc Fabregas but it largely remained unconvincing. There is a clear vulnerability.
The question was – did Villa have the ability to exploit it? Sherwood was right to praise Jack Grealish and Carles Gil, was right to praise his team’s “desire and effort” and was also right in suggesting that they were in the ascendancy until Chelsea scored. But, once behind there did not appear any belief.
Villa had rightly sought to expose Baba Rahman who, on his league debut at left-back, appears a long way short of justifying the eye-popping £21.7million Chelsea paid German club Augsburg to acquire. Hutton ran past him – over him actually – to then shoot low with Asmir Begovic saving with his legs. The rebound fell to Hutton but his follow-up was scrambled clear.
Then Grealish breezed beyond Rahman to again drive the ball goalwards, only for Begovic to, again, save before Rudy Gestede wasted the best chance as he flicked a shot over the cross-bar with the outside of his foot.
And then Villa imploded. Guzan had appeared rash and nervous – Sherwood had hoped to replace him in the summer – and tried to sweep the ball across to Joleon Lescott, failing to spot the defender was under pressure from Willian. Lescott mis-controlled, Willian intervened, ran forward and slipped a pass inside to Costa who simply side-footed it into the net.
It was as if the balloon deflated for Villa. They suddenly appeared flaccid. And Chelsea capitalized. Ramires barreled into a tackle, wiping out Ashley Westwood, legitimately, and teed up Fabregas who floated an angled cross towards Costa. Had the striker been brimming with confidence Costa would have volleyed but, instead, he took the ball down, checked back and tried to find Willian only for his pass to clip up off Hutton’s heels, wrong-footing Guzan. And also ending up in the net. And that was it. Game over. Not game over for Mourinho – who then made his feelings plain on Hazard – but possibly, quickly moving towards that for Sherwood.

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Mail:

Chelsea 2-0 Aston Villa: Diego Costa makes Brad Guzan pay for embarrassing gaffe before playing a part in Alan Hutton own goal
Chelsea returned to winning ways in the Premier League with a 2-0 victory over Aston Villa

By Matt Barlow

Armed with that vote of confidence from the board, Jose Mourinho’s messages of intent may have carried a little extra weight, not least for Eden Hazard.
Hazard, the best player in the English football last season, was dumped on the bench, where he remained until the 83rd minute, by which time Chelsea had rediscovered their winning touch.
Diego Costa had tapped the Premier League champions into the lead after a defensive mistake by Aston Villa and will claim the second, although it is expected to go down as an own goal by Alan Hutton.
Costa, having spoken emphatically in support of Mourinho during the international break, backed his words with action. The proof was in the pudding.
Having admitted he returned overweight for pre-season, thinking it would be easy to slip back into the groove, he is back leading the team after his three-match domestic ban.

Costa looked more like the lean, mean goal-scoring machine who tore up the Premier League last season, and Mourinho was relieved to see an improved display from his team.
They lost 3-1 at home to Southampton on their previous encounter, a game which triggered long discussions between Chelsea owner Roman Abramovich and his closest aides.
For once, Abramovich backed his manager to lead the team out of their slump and this was echoed in Mourinho’s team selection.
Out went Gary Cahill, little more than a week after he captained England for the first time. Out went Oscar. And Radamel Falcao, who started up front against Southampton, did not even make the bench.
Hazard’s omission caught the eye, as did the warning which followed the game from Mourinho.

‘I left out Hazard because we are conceding lots of goals,’ said the Portuguese. ‘We need to defend better. We need our midfielders to be just worried in the central area of the pitch, not worrying about compensating on the left or right.
‘Playing with Willian and Pedro, the midfielders don’t have to move left or right. They know those parts are controlled. Pedro and Willian did amazing work. It was leaving super-quality on the bench, but bringing tactical discipline.’
Mourinho insisted it was all about the team. Cahill was left out so that Kurt Zouma could deal with the aerial power of Rudy Gestede and although Ruben Loftus-Cheek was handed his first start of the Premier League season, he was replaced at half-time.
‘This is not a moment to moan or try to be selfish,’ said Mourinho. ‘This is a moment for the team, just the team, and nothing else. When we have better confidence levels then we’ll go back to where we were.’
It was a win for Chelsea but not a convincing performance. Villa wilted feebly after a promising start when Hutton and Jack Grealish forced saves from Asmir Begovic. Jordan Ayew went close with a free-kick and Gestede skewed a good chance over the bar. All this when the game was goalless.
Defeat leaves Villa boss Tim Sherwood, without a win since the opening day of the campaign, under increasing pressure despite his defiance and the support of the travelling fans, who sang his name. Chelsea fans chanted: ‘We are staying up,’ and Abramovich was all smiles for a change. His team are up into mid-table. They remain 10 points adrift of leaders Manchester City but have stopped the rot and have a far more menacing edge with Costa rampaging up front.
He opened the scoring when keeper Brad Guzan fired a pass at Joleon Lescott which was too brisk for the centre-half to control. It squirmed under his foot and Willian pounced, taking the ball in his stride and advancing into the box.
Guzan dashed out, keen to make amends, but Willian rolled a pass square to Costa, who swept it into an empty net. Nine minutes into the second half they were two up and again Villa contributed to their own downfall.
Ramires won possession in midfield and Cesc Fabregas swept it forward to Costa, who gathered it superbly, ducked inside Micah Richards and tried to shape the ball low towards the far post. Costa’s effort caught the heels of Hutton, however, and spun past Guzan at his near post. As it did the tension washed away from Stamford Bridge.
Twice Costa was close to extending the lead, but miscued a header and was unable to connect with a pass threaded his way by Willian.
‘It was not a brilliant performance, but a solid performance,’ said Mourinho. ‘In football you are brilliant when the confidence levels are very high and the players are able to put on the pitch all their qualities.
‘When they feel the pressure of the moment, you have to bring other ingredients to the game, and they did that in an amazing way.
‘Great discipline and effort, great balance in the team. At this moment it’s difficult to be brilliant.’

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Mirror:

Chelsea 2-0 Aston Villa: 5 things we learned as Diego Costa's strike eases pressure on Blues

By John Cross
 
But there are more problems for Tim Sherwood as Alan Hutton's own goal leaves Villa with only four points from nine games

Diego Costa helped fire Chelsea to a much-needed win at Stamford Bridge - but the pressure remains on Aston Villa and Tim Sherwood.
The Blues striker struck in the first half after a Brad Guzan error.
Alan Hutton's own goal doubled the lead in the second half - and that's how it ended.
But what did we learn?

Here are five things from chief football writer John Cross:

1) No wonder we haven’t seen much of Baba
Have you noticed Jose Mourinho’s barbs about Chelsea’s summer transfer dealings? Well, the theory is The Special One wasn’t particularly keen on signing Ghana full back Baba Rahman.
And no wonder. Baba cost £21.7m from Ausburg and is the most unlike Mourinho full back you can imagine. This was his first Premier League start and it’s fair to say his game is about attack being the best form of defence.
He was even undone by Aston Villa right back Alan Hutton on a few occasions.

2) From Brad to worse
Villa keeper Brad Guzan is the weakest link. His distribution is shocking, his poor clearance led to Chelsea’s opener.
It’s not the first time either. He did it at Man City last season, Palace this season and his poor kick put Joleon Lescott under pressure, sparked a break and Chelsea took their cue.
No wonder Tim Sherwood has been looking to replace him. He’s lost his way, confidence and his form. You’ll go down with him in goal.

3) Ruben Loftus-Cheek won’t make it under Mourinho
Sorry, but that’s the harsh truth. He was played out of position - more No. 10 than anchorman - and lasted 45 minutes before being replaced by Nemanja Matic.
I’m just not convinced that Mourinho trusts young players, especially when he’s under pressure and needs results himself.
His discipline and work rate count against him. He’s got the ability, but Mourinho demands hard yards.

4) Tim Sherwood has got questionable fashion sense
From gilet to velvet jacket, Tactics’ touchline attire caused some debate as to whether it was stylish or rather dodgy.
His black velvet jacket caught the eye. In fairness, Villa also caught the eye with a better, more committed performance. In the first half they were actually quite good.
It has to be about improved performances rather than winning at Stamford Bridge. If that is the barometer, then Sherwood will be a little happier despite the result.

5) The gloves are off for Diego
Diego Costa started the game wearing a pair of blue gloves. Come on, Diego. It’s mid-October and you’re supposed to be a hard man.
Thankfully, Costa ditched the gloves early on, worked his socks off, battled, scrapped and really put in a shift for the manager. He epitomised a gritty but unspectacular display. That’s what Chelsea needed, though.
He did what he does best - caused the opposing defence problems. Scored the opener but the second went in off Alan Hutton. That means Own Goal is top scorer with three. Costa and Willian both have two each so far this season.

Player ratings - by John Cross:

CHELSEA
•Begovic 6 - Showed Villa what they are missing with solid display.
•Azpilicueta 7 - Superb block to stop Lescott from scoring. Top full back.
•Zouma 6 - Looks an absolute beast in defence. Imposing presence.
•Terry 6 - Solid. He’ll worry this means he won’t play in Kiev.
•Baba 4 - Awful. He’s not a Mourinho full back. Doesn’t defend.
•Ramires 7 - Much better when in the middle. A nuisance - and that’s a good thing.
•Loftus-Cheek 5 - Lasted 45 minutes before being hooked. Great shame.
•Pedro 4 - Very disappointing again. Made very little impact since signing.
•Fabregas 7 - Much better in the second half when he pushed further forward.
•Willian 7 - Booked. Worked hard, ran with the ball, tracked back
•Costa 8 - MotM. He’s definitely fighting for Mourinho. Good performance.
Substitutes
•Matic, for Loftus-Cheek, 45 mins, 6
•Hazard, for Pedro, 83 mins

Aston Villa
•Guzan 4 - Shocking clearance gifted Chelsea an opener. Weak link.
•Hutton 6 - Played well but unwittingly deflected Costa’s shot into own net.
•Richards 6 - Strong, committed display. Captain ensured Villa were better.
•Lescott 6 - Put needlessly under pressure by Guzan on Chelsea opener.
•Richardson 6 - Booked. Did OK, fairly solid and helped Villa tighten up.
•Westwood 6 - Good work rate but some of his passing was sloppy.
•Gueye 4 - Very poor. Did not work hard enough, easily outmanoeuvred.
•Gill 5 - Hard working but struggled to make an impression on the game.
•Ayew 5 - Booked. Set up good chance for Gustede.
•Grealish 7 - Worked hard, his dribbling caused problems, decent game.
•Gestede 6 - Had good chance in first half. Strong in the air, caused problems.
Substitues
•Amavi, for, Richardson, 64 mins, 5
•Traore, for Ayew, 68 mins, 5

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Express:

Chelsea 2 - Aston Villa 0: Diego Costa helps ease pressure on Jose Mourinho
IT wasn't quite the new dawn Jose Mourinho promised - but it's a start.

By Colin Mafham

Diego Costa  - yes, that man again - helped Chelsea on the long road back up to the top four spot their Special One believes they will get with a goal and an assist that put sorry Villa to the sword.
You might not always like the guy, but he definitely makes a difference. And he did that yesterday alright.

No wonder Mourinho likes him so much. Costa was a thorn in Villa's side all afternoon and put a smile back on his boss's face again in the process.
How the beleaguered Tim Sherwood would love someone like him on his side right now.

Villa's likeable manager has a mountain to climb to safety if this is anything to go by. And if his bosses give him the opportunity, that is.
Mourinho is probably spot on in assuming his job is safe whatever happens. Sherwood definitely can not say the same in these troubled times at Villa Park.
Mind you, it really was more like the gladiators being thrown to the lions to start with.
The perilous positions Mourinho and Sherwood find themselves in at the moment meant a battery of cameras and piercing eyes were there to greet them.
Hardly surprising either really, particularly for Mourinho, given that he left Eden Hazard, Oscar and Nemanja Matic on the bench.
And when Villa fans taunted the Chelsea boss with chants of "you're not special anymore" you couldn't blame the bloke for being a bit more animated than usual.
His worries eased a bit just past the half hour, though, when Diego Costa put Chelsea in front - courtesy of a combined blunder by Brad Guzan and Joleon Lescott.
The keeper's clearance was bad enough, but Lescott should have been able to deal with it instead of being so easily brushed aside by Willian.
Chelsea's Brazilian didn't need to be told twice what to do then and his final ball found Costa in front of a gaping goal.
Costa won't get  too many easier goals this season.
To be fair, Chelsea barely deserved that. Villa's Rudy Gestede had home hearts in their mouths on a couple of earlier occasions and he and his teammates probably had good reason to feel a bit aggrieved at going in at half time a goal down.
Mourinho will have had reservations about debutant defender, Baba Rahman, in that first half as well.
The Ghanan hardly looked worth the £14million he cost from  FC Augsburg, even after his boss found the  need to have a fatherly word or two with him on the touchline.
Still, it was young Ruben Loftus-Cheek Mourinho chose to replace - with Matic - for the second half.
But it was that man Costa again who really eased the champions' nerves - even though  Chelsea's second on 54 minutes was credited as an own goal by Alan Hutton.
Cesc Fabregas's superb defence-splitting ball to Costa was the best thing Chelsea had done  all afternoon up to then and the way the controversial striker brought it down certainly deserved a goal.
But poor Hutton got his leg in the way of the final shot and this time  Guzan was blameless as the ball was deflected past him.
You have to give credit to the Chelsea faithful after that, though. And those in The Shed end in particular.
There was no way they were going to let their side lose this one and the rousing chorus of support they mounted for a full five minutes or so was inspirational indeed.
Mr Mourinho looked well pleased for once. Mr Sherwood didn't.
Tempers frayed a bit in the technical area for a while, but it was all handbags stuff - especially after Ray Wilkins, back at The Bridge with Villa this time, played peacemaker.
How long he and Sherwood will stay around to continue doing that is anyone's guess.

Chelsea: Begovic 7; Azpilicueta 6, Zouma 6, Terry 6, Baba 5; Ramires 6, Fabregas 7; Willian 7 (Remy 90), Loftus-Cheek 5 (Matic 45) 6, Pedro 5 (Hazard 83); Costa 7.

Aston Villa: Guzan 6; Hutton 6, Richards 6, Lescott 5, Richardson 5 (Amavi 64) 5; Gill 5, Westwood 5, Gueye 5, Ayew 5 (Traore 68) 5; Grealish 6; Gestede 6.
Star Man: Diego Costa.
Referee: Roger East.

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Star:

Chelsea 2 Aston Villa 0: Mourinho's boys raise their game to heap pressure on Sherwood
IT WAS not quite the new dawn Jose Mourinho promised - but it is a start.

By Colin Mafham

Diego Costa - yes, that man again - helped Chelsea back on to the long road up to the ­top-four spot that their manager believes they will get.
It was the Spaniard's goal and assist that put sorry Villa to the sword here.
You might not always like the guy but he ­definitely makes a difference - and he ­certainly did that yesterday.
No wonder Mourinho likes him so much.
Costa was a thorn in Villa's side all afternoon and put a smile back on his boss's face again in the process.
How beleaguered Villa boss Tim Sherwood would love someone like him in his ranks right now.
The likeable Sherwood has a mountain to climb to reach safety if this performance is ­anything to go by - if his bosses give him the opportunity, that is.
Mourinho is probably spot on in ­assuming that his job is safe whatever happens but Sherwood definitely can not say the same in these ­troubled times.
The Villa boss admitted that his side needs to start winning - and soon.
"Sooner or later we need to start picking up three points," he said.
"We lost again and are in a perilous position - but there were ­positives out there.
"I've seen those reports about my job on the line but I've had no indication that the clock is ticking.
"As a manager, you need to win matches. If you don't you'll invariably lose your job­ somewhere along the line. I'll take my share of ­responsibility but it's a team effort. We need to stick together."
It was like the gladiators being thrown to the lions to start with.
Given the positions they find ­themselves in at the moment, it was hardly surprising that both Mourinho and ­Sherwood were greeted by cameras and piercing gazes as they walked out of the tunnel - especially the Portuguese ­after he left Eden Hazard, Oscar and Nemanja Matic on the bench.
Mourinho revealed how he sacrificed ­Hazard to stop ­Chelsea's slump and said: "I left Hazard out because we have been conceding too many goals.
"We needed more stability and effort to help make the team more solid.
"I like quality but when you don't have the ball you don't have quality and you don't have control. It was a tactical decision. I felt we had to make and I told the players that this was not the time to be selfish and think only of themselves.
"I want them to look at the bigger picture to get the results we need back. Once we have done that we can then go back to what we were before. This was not a ­brilliant performance today but it was a ­solid one."
When Villa fans taunted the Chelsea boss with chants of, "You're not special anymore" you could not blame him for being a bit more ­animated than ­usual.
But Mourinho's worries eased a bit just after the half-hour mark when Costa put ­Chelsea in front, courtesy of a blunder by Brad Guzan and Joleon ­Lescott.
Keeper Guzan's clearance was bad enough but Lescott should have been able to deal with it - as it was, he was easily brushed aside by ­Willian, whose final ball found Costa in front of a gaping goal.
Costa will not score many easier goals this ­season. But to be fair Chelsea ­barely deserved their lead.
Prior to that, Rudy Gestede had worked a couple of early ­chances and he and his ­team-mates had good reason to feel a bit ­aggrieved at going into the break a goal down.
Mourinho will probably have had ­reservations about ­debutant defender Baba Rahman in that first half too - the Ghanaian hardly looked worth the £14million he cost to bring in from FC Augsburg in the ­summer.
It was Costa who really eased the ­champions' nerves, even though Chelsea's ­second of the afternoon - on 54 minutes - was credited as an own goal by Alan Hutton.
Cesc Fabregas's defence-splitting ball to ­Costa was the best thing ­Chelsea had conjured up all ­afternoon - and the way the ­controversial striker brought it down was worthy of a goal.
But poor Hutton got his leg in the way of the final shot and this time Guzan was blameless as the ball was deflected past him.

Southampton 1-3

Telegraph:

Chelsea 1 Southampton 3
Home fans round on Jose Mourinho as champions lose again
What started as a blip has now become a crisis for Chelsea manager as Saints come from goal down to win

 By  Matt Law

Never mind retaining the Premier League title, Chelsea have got a fight on their hands to finish in the top four and manager Jose Mourinho is clearly worried about his job after owner Roman Abramovich watched the season go from bad to worse.
Abramovich, who was in the Stamford Bridge stands, will have heard the Chelsea fans around him boo Mourinho’s decisions to take off goalscorer Willian and substitute Nemanja Matic. What started as a blip has now become a full-blown crisis.
Mourinho has tried everything in recent weeks, frequently switching his players in a desperate attempt to find a solution to Chelsea’s mounting problems.
Whereas everything Mourinho touched turned to gold last season, everything he currently attempts is going wrong. John Terry and Eden Hazard returned to the team and were to blame for goals, while Branislav Ivanovic kept his place and was giving a chasing by Dusan Tadic.

The Chelsea fans who chanted ‘We want our captain back’ in Portugal cheered loudly when Terry’s name was read out among the starters ahead of kick-off, but by the end they sang ‘We’re ****ing shit’ and they were not wrong.
Mourinho spoke of wanting to build a Chelsea dynasty, but an all-too-familiar soap opera is once again developing at Stamford Bridge.
He left Oscar, Radamel Falcao and Lois Remy in England when the rest of his squad travelled to Porto in the Champions League. Oscar and Falcao returned to the side against Southampton, but if they were placated then Nemanja Matic will have gone home on Saturday night with his pride severely dented.
Matic once again started on the bench, but only lasted 28 minutes as a second-half substitute before being dragged off. Unsurprisingly, the midfielder did not shake the hand of Mourinho when he was replaced by Loic Remy.
Chelsea had got off to the perfect start, when Hazard won the free-kick from which Chelsea took a ninth-minute lead. The Belgian was fouled by former Chelsea midfielder Oriol Romeu left of centre and Willian scored for the fourth successive game from a set piece.

That should have provided Mourinho’s men with the perfect confidence boost, but Chelsea retreated further back into their shells the longer the first half went on.
Southampton saw their first penalty appeal ignored in the 14th minute when Ivanovic appeared to hold down Virgil van Dijk in the penalty area and there were louder shouts in the 33rd minute, when Ramires trod on the foot of Sadio Mane in his own area, but referee Robert Madley allowed play to continue.
Barely 60 seconds later, Mane went down again outside the area and Madley booked the Southampton forward for diving – even though replays showed he had been taken out by Ivanovic.
Goalkeeper Asmir Begovic saved from Victor Wanyama and Steven Davis, but Chelsea could not hold on to their lead until half-time.
Following a cynical trip from Ramires, Cedric Soares hit a long ball that was chested down by Graziano Pelle and Davis crashed a first-time shot past Begovic and into the net.
Both teams made changes at half-time, with Matic taking over from Ramires and James Ward-Prowse replacing Romeu, before Chelsea completely collapsed.

The home side were lucky to see Begovic save from Mane after Tadic had completely outpaced Ivanovic. Mane then had another shot blocked before Ward-Prowse fired wide after the Blues had failed to properly clear the ball.
Falcao was largely a passenger until Cesc Fabregas played the Colombian through into the penalty area and he went down as Maarten Stekelenburg went for the ball. Chelsea expected referee Madely to point to the penalty spot, but he instead showed Falcao a yellow card for diving. Mourinho responded with ironic laughter.
Disaster struck for the home side on the hour mark, following two horrendous defensive errors. Gary Cahill gave the ball away to Pelle and the striker passed to Mane, who turned Terry far too easily and beat Begovic to put Southampton ahead.

Mourinho responded by sending on Pedro, but the first signs of discontent among the Chelsea fans was evident as they booed his decision to take off Willian. Afterwards he revealed the Brazilian had been vomiting at half-time.
The mood really turned sour with 18 minutes remaining, as Southampton sealed all three points with a goal that again exposed all of Chelsea’s problems. Hazard needlessly lost the ball to Pelle, who passed to Mane and received the ball back to score.

Mourinho threw on Remy in place of the substitute Matic, who had only lasted 28 minutes on the pitch. The Chelsea fans jeered and then booed loudly at the final whistle. Abramovich will understand why.

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

Observer:
Chelsea and José Mourinho endure more misery as Southampton hit three
Chelsea 1 - 3 Southampton

Dominic Fifield

There were times here when José Mourinho, alone in his technical area as his ailing champions slumped yet again, wore the haunted look of the condemned. The kind of haggard demeanour that, dare it be said, marked out André Villa-Boas and Roberto Di Matteo before him, and the Portuguese is not used to being in such company. He was the one, unsolicited, who brought up the prospect of suffering the sack in the aftermath and, if that was him challenging his employers, a parting of the ways no longer feels an outlandish suggestion.
This was a humiliation, a fourth defeat of their Premier League defence inflicted by a rampant Southampton side whose effervescence simply blinded Chelsea. Sadio Mané ran amok, Steven Davis hassled and harried the hosts to distraction, and Graziano Pellè bullied his markers who merely wilted, cramped by anxiety. There was no saviour to celebrate in John Terry, the restored captain exposed and exploited when the visitors first forced themselves ahead. Mourinho’s complaints over the non-award of a penalty to Radamel Falcao ignored the reality Virgil van Dijk and Mané had legitimate complaints of their own at seeing appeals for spot-kicks dismissed.
More troubling was the lack of any coherent strategy imposed from the bench. Chaos reigned. Theirs had always felt a fragile midfield given the pace and movement Southampton boast in the centre. The half-time introduction of Nemanja Matic acknowledged as much, but he was hauled off 28 minutes later, the boos which erupted at that change echoing those at the withdrawal of Willian, who had been unwell at the break. They betrayed an audience mystified by the decisions of a manager in whom, only recently, they had placed every ounce of their trust. Now there was doubt, scepticism, even murmurings of revolt, with the chorusing of the team’s name bellowed out only in defiance.
The champions languish fifth bottom, 10 points from the summit, having lost half their Premier League games this season going into another international break when the manager will have only a handful of players to work with. He has offered no answers out on the pitch as yet, with no formula struck to rekindle last season’s swagger. This team feel broken, none of which will have escaped Roman Abramovich, peering down from his box up in the Gods in the west stand.
His manager’s post-match challenge will not have gone unnoticed, either.
“This is a crucial moment in the history of this club because, if they sack me, they sack the best manager this club has had,” he offered. “And the message again is that if there are bad results, the manager is guilty.” Yet Mourinho suddenly feels vulnerable, the memory of last season’s triumph fading fast.
That much is evident when two of last year’s stalwarts, Terry and Branislav Ivanovic, did not win a single tackle between them here. Self-doubt has infected even the most seasoned winners this club has ever had.
They were embarrassed here by a wonderful Southampton performance, the early lead enjoyed when Willian’s free-kick flew in off the woodwork nothing but a mirage. It took the visitors some time to find proper rhythm, but Ivanovic’s pull on Van Dijk could have earned them an immediate penalty, Ramires might have conceded another when he stepped on Mané’s foot, and Asmir Begovic did well to deny Ryan Bertrand. The hosts were eventually prised apart: José Fonte’s lofted pass was chested down by Pellè, free of Gary Cahill, and Davis tore on to the loose ball to crunch home a volley from distance. The Northern Ireland international had been ignored by Chelsea’s midfield shield, with Willian and Cesc Fàbregas dawdling. The error felt familiar.
Matic’s introduction did little to stem the flow, with Mané such a menace and the home side constantly on edge. They cracked again on the hour mark while Mourinho was still chuckling in livid disbelief that Falcao had been booked for a dive as Maarten Stekelenburg slid in and made contact. When Cahill surrendered possession at the other end, Pellè eventually slipped a pass into space which Terry, stretching out his left leg awkwardly, failed to intercept. Mané rolled away from the centre-half and on to the ball, his finish flicking from Begovic’s glove to dribble into the net. Terry, crestfallen, buried his head in his shirt, a saviour no more.
Mourinho’s disgust at the non-award of the penalty was an acknowledgement of his own team’s vulnerability. “They are in such a low moment that they collapse,” he explained, with Hazard’s poor touch duly allowing Pellè to seal possession and liberate Mané. The Senegalese galloped upfield and had options both ways, but his clipped return pass to the Italian was ideal, Pellè thumping home his finish across Begovic to shatter what hopes remained.
“We were the better team, had the better chances, and totally deserved the win,” added Ronald Koeman. That was an understatement even if the majesty of this win was rather buried beneath Chelsea’s utter mediocrity. Their title defence has endured a new nadir. The ramifications for the management could yet be grim.

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Independent:

Crisis at Stamford Bridge as Jose Mourinho's Blues are well beaten by Saints
Chelsea 1 Southampton 3

Glenn MOORE

The season is not yet a quarter old, summer is still hanging on, but already Chelsea look set for the worst title defence since Leeds United in the Premier League’s debut season 23 years ago. Chelsea look struck in a crisis of confidence compounded by key players ageing and exacerbated by Jose Mourinho’s capricious management.
John Terry came in for his 677th appearance for the club, but only his second since August.
Terry’s name was lustily cheered when announced.
In attack Radamel Falcao replaced the suspended Diego Costa while Oscar and Eden Hazard returned in place of Pedro and John Obi Mikel. Nemanja Matic was again on the bench. For all their early-season stuttering, Chelsea are still the champions and Ronald Koeman recalled one of their old boys to stiffen his midfield. In the only change from the Southampton team that beat Swansea 3-1 a week ago Oriel Romeu, whose career at Stamford Bridge fell away sharply, replaced James Ward-Prowse.
Romeu was booked just nine minutes later for tripping Hazard, his fourth caution in six Premier League games.
It proved an expensive foul. Willian, who has become a dead-ball dead-eye this season, did it again, deceiving Maarten Stekelenburg with a curler that went in off the post.
At the other end, Branislav Ivanovic was fortunate not to concede a penalty for virtually tugging Virgil Van Dijk’s shirt off at a corner. Few referees are brave enough to give spot-kicks in such circumstances; Robert Madley is evidently not one of them. That suspicion deepened when he failed to give a penalty when Saido Mané was tripped by Ramires, then booked Mané for simulation after Ivanovic upended him outside the box.
Those incidents highlighted Saints’ growing pressure and, after Asmir Begovic denied Ryan Bertrand, he was beaten by Davis’ 43rd-minute volley, Graziano Pelle having held off Gary Cahill to feed the scorer.
Whatever Mourinho said to his players at half-time went unheeded as Southampton created a series of chances immediately after the break, with Mané the most wasteful and Ivanovic again Chelsea’s weak link as he was bamboozled by Dusan Tadic.
Chelsea briefly responded and a sharp move ended with Falcao booked for throwing himself down after touching the ball around Stekelenburg.
It was a brief flash of the old Chelsea and on the hour Saints made their dominance pay. Cahill lost possession, Pelle fed Mané, who turned Terry inside out and squeezed his shot past Begovic.
Mourinho called up his cavalry in the shape of multiple medal-winner Pedro. Loïc Rémy followed, but he was waiting on the touchline when Saints capitalised on a slack Hazard pass to launch a counter-attack that concluded with Pelle scoring from Mané’s pass. Matic, on for only 28 minutes, was withdrawn. He is the new scapegoat.
Tadic wasted a chance to make it four after Mané embarrassed Cahill before boos rang out at the final whistle.

Chelsea: (4-2-3-1) Begovic; Ivanovic, Cahill, Terry, Azpilicueta; Fabregas, Ramires (Matic, h-t; Rémy, 73); Willian (Pedro, 64), Oscar, Hazard; Falcao.

Southampton: (4-4-1-1) Stekelenburg; Soares, Fonte, Van Dijk, Bertrand; Davis, Romeu (Ward-Prowse, h-t), Wanyama, Tadic (Rodriguez, 78); Mané (Yoshida, 90); Pelle.

Referee: Robert Madley
Man of the match: Mané (Southampton)
Match rating: 8/10

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Mail:

Chelsea 1-3 Southampton: Blues' nightmare start continues as Steven Davis, Saido Mane and Graziano Pelle score to stun Premier League champions at Stamford Bridge  
 
Rob Draper

Jose Mourinho has tried it all. He has criticised his players and questioned their attitude. He has then back pedalled and killed them with kindness, defending them after defeats. He has dropped some players and left others back in London when the team was in Portugal.
On Saturday, he went for restoring club captain John Terry to the line-up, to no avail; he was hopelessly exposed again. Then he brought on Nemanjic Matic at half time and took him off again after 28 minutes. Humiliated, Matic wasn’t even offered a handshake from his manager.
But it doesn’t really what he tries, what trick he tries to pull. None of them are working at present. Chelsea are abysmal. They have lost four times in the Premier League this season, won just twice and conceded 17 goals. Last season they lost three, and conceded 32 all season. This is not so much a title defence as a humiliating abdication before the autumn leaves have stated to fall.
Yesterday the crowd even booed his substitutions at Stamford Bridge, especially that of Matic. It seems they weren’t buying the gesture politics. Defensive solutions would be more appropriate but one of the great coaches of his generation can find none at present.
At which point you begin to question whether these players want to dig their manager out of this hole. It seems extraordinary to suggest as much when but five months ago they were parading down the Fulham Road with the Premier League title. Yet they play as if they are unconcerned at the growing crisis enveloping Stamford Bridge.
What made it all the more bizarre was that the evening had started well for Chelsea. The lethargy of the Porto performance was initially replaced by an energetic intensity. Notably Oscar, left at home in midweek, and Hazard, dropped in Oporto, were insatiable in their appetite to close down Southampton players and get on the ball themselves. It was much more like the Chelsea of last season; even more so when Willian opened the scoring on ten minutes.
In fact, it was rather like the Chelsea of last week, the Brazilian repeating his trick of curling in the ball from a lengthy free kick thirty yards out. What looked like a magnificent cross had sufficient spin on it to curl and curl on t the post and in the net past the despairing out-stretched arm of Stekelenburg. It was rather magnificent; being Brazilian, the odds were he meant it.
Chelsea seemed much more at ease with the world. When Fabregas and Oscar exchanged crisp passes inside the box and the Brazilian struck a shot goal-wards which Maarten Stekelenburg grasped out of the air, it seemed as though some of the joie de vivre of the title-winning might be returning.
It didn’t last. Chelsea can’t deliver over 45 minutes at present, let alone 90. Slowly Southampton eased themselves back into the game and Sadio Mane began to torment in the manner in which Porto’s players had in midweek.
It was to referee’s Robert Madley’s discredit that he didn’t award the excellent Senegalese a penalty on 30 minutes when clumsy Ramires felled him. It was to his shame that he booked him a minute later, when Ivanovic felled him and he was deemed to have dived.
Like most of Ivanovic’s opponents this season he was simply much too quick for the Serbian. The diving directive is all well and good in theory; in practice it is almost impossible to police with the naked eye.
Victor Wanyama then tested Begovic with a swirling cross which threatened to drop in under the cross bar. By now Chelsea had conceded the initiative and would never recover it.
They dropped deep and failed to compete as they had in the opening quarter of the game. So little surprise when Jose Fonte lofted a long ball which Graziano Pelle chested down quite superbly into the path of Steven Davis. The quality of his half volley matched the assist; Begovic barely saw it.
Having conceded, Chelsea could not re-adjust to their previous superiority. Mane by now was thoroughly enjoying himself, his pace and movement pulling Chelsea one way and another. Begovic denied him sliding in on 48 minutes and Ivanovic blocked him as the ball rebounded. Ward-Prowse then struck wide from the corner.
Chelsea felt aggrieved when Fabregas’ lovely through ball saw Falcao felled by Stekelenburg – the Colombian stated his fall a fraction top early and received a yellow card instead of the penalty he might have won had he not been so eager to fall into the challenge.
Yet, the pattern of the game was emerging. Chelsea were struggling, Mane was in the ascendancy. So when on the hour, when Pelle was allowed by Gary Cahill to play in a dangerous looking ball, which Terry completely misjudged with his sliding interception and Mane found himself clear on goal, the result was inevitable,. The Senegalese cooly dispatched the finish and then proceeded to celebrate in ecstatic fashion in front of the Southampton fans.
Mane then was fouled by Falcao, the Colombian fortunate not to attract a second yellow. And on 70 minutes, came the denouement. Hazard gave the ball away in midfield and Mane sprinted away, through the Chelsea defence and released Pelle wide on his right.
The Italian looked up, shot and finished superbly from just inside the box. Chelsea had been well beaten again. More worrying, they look wholly incapable of halting their decline.

Chelsea (4-2-3-1): Begovic 7, Ivanovic 4, Cahill 3, Terry 5, Azpilicueta 6.5, Ramires 5 (Matic 45 (Remy73 )), Fabregas 4, Willian 6.5 (Pedro 65), Oscar 6, Hazard 5, Falcao 3
Subs not used: Zouma, Baba, Blackman, Loftus-Cheek
Booked: Ramires, Falcao
Scorers: Willian 10

Southampton (4-2-3-1): Stekelenburg 5, Soares 6, Fonte 7, Van Dijk 7.5, Bertrand 6, Romeu 5 (Ward-Prowse 45), Wanyama 7.5, Mane 9 (Yoshida 92), Davis 7.5, Tadic 7 (Rodriguez 78), Pelle 8.5
Subs not used: Davis, Long, Martina, Juanmi
Booked: Bertrand, Romeu, Mane, Pelle
Scorers: Davis 43, Mane 60, Pelle 72

Referee: Robert Madley
Attendance: 41,642

John Terry return as captain failed to help Chelsea as nothing changed for Jose Mourinho's side at Stamford Bridge

John Terry was at fault for one of Southampton's goals in the loss
The captain returned to Jose Mourinho's starting line-up

By Matt Barlow for The Mail on Sunday

The sight of John Terry leading out the Chelsea team was supposed to soothe the anxieties of those inside Stamford Bridge.
They have missed their captain (leader, legend) and rather hoped his return would end a difficult spell and represent a return to last season's dominance.
It did not quite work out that way. Chelsea slumped to a sixth defeat of the season. Worse still, his misjudgment allowed Sadio Mane the chance to fire Southampton into a 2-1 lead, soon after half-time.
It was not the only reason Chelsea lost to Saints, but it was a pivotal moment.
Terry read the pass from Graziano Pelle. That, in a way, was his problem. He tried to step across the front of Mane but could not quite reach the ball.
Quick and smart, Mane rolled past him and was through on goal. Though not the most clinical of finishers, this time he forced a shot through Asmir Begovic.
Terry looked up to the heavens. Was it lack of match-sharpness; a rustiness from not playing regularly? Or was he feeling his almost 35 years?
It is impossible to know. What was Mourinho thinking? Would Kurt Zouma have dealt with it better?
The Chelsea boss has often preferred Zouma for his extra pace but, in Porto, on Tuesday, the 20-year-old looked like a young player ready for a break and the team lacked organisation, know-how and leadership.
Back came Terry, and nothing changed. There was no magic wand.
Mourinho's team were still flat in attack, devoid of zip or creativity, while strangely vulnerable at the back from both open play and when defending set-pieces.
Last year's title was built on a solid base around the twin towers of Terry and Gary Cahill, with two imposing full-backs and Nemanja Matic prowling deep in midfield.
Matic has not been quite the same force since the suspension and injury suffered in February and the form of Branislav Ivanovic has been so poor that it remains a mystery how bad it has to become before he is dropped.
No Chelsea player has played more minutes this season than Ivanovic, with £17million left-back Abdul Baba Rahman clearly not yet trusted by the manager.
Terry's return could not reinforce the defensive shield and when Eden Hazard surrendered the ball and Southampton broke for their third, Mourinho's team were in danger of falling apart.
Never before had they conceded three at the Bridge under his command.
Matic was hauled off having only come on at half-time. It may have been a tactical switch enforced by the third goal, but there was no explanation or word of consolation from the manager on the touchline.
Sheepishly, Matic returned to the bench where others offered him handshakes and back-pats.
Chelsea supporters, having jeered Mourinho's decision to take off Willlian, stirred to offer their team songs of defiance, but it was not supposed to be this way.
Terry's name had received a raucous cheer when the teams are announced and the Matthew Harding Stand burst into their John Terry song as soon as the match was under way.
All seemed to be going to plan when Willian curled in the opener with his fourth goal in as many games, all converted directly from free-kicks.
Southampton had started slowly, but once they found their rhythm mid-way through the first-half, Chelsea could not keep them out.
'Our league form up to now has been a long way short of what we expect,' wrote Terry in his captain's programme notes. 'It's up to us to put that right and start winning.
'With a win here before the international break, we can return for another home game in two weeks' time ready to build some momentum and get ourselves going again.'
It did not work out that way. Another defeat, and Chelsea are deep in trouble.

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Mirror:

Chelsea 1-3 Southampton: 5 things we learned as Blues' disastrous start continues at Stamford Bridge

By Darren Lewis
 
Goals from Steven Davis, Sadio Mane and Graziano Pelle sent Chelsea crashing to their fourth league defeat of the season already

Helpless Jose Mourinho was booed by his own fans as Southampton deepened the crisis at Chelsea.
The Special One is officially under pressure as Ronald Koeman’s side condemned the Champions to their fifth defeat in all competitions and their fourth in eight Premier League games.
Worse still, Mourinho humiliated midfielder Nemamja Matic after calling him from the bench to replace Ramires at half time - only to take him off after just 26 minutes.
The home fans booed the decision along with the move to replace goalscorer Willian as Falcao laboured.
Southampton may have scored three but they could have had several more as Chelsea's leaky defence failed utterly to cope with the visitors' strike force.
Willian netted in the tenth minute direct from a free-kick which flew into the top corner.
Steven Davis volleyed an equaliser from the edge of the box after the ball was chested into his path by Graziano Pelle two minutes before the break.
Man of the Match Sadio Mane took advantage of a mistake by John Terry, restored to the starting line-up by Mourinho, to put the Saints ahead on the hour. And Mane set up Pelle to rifle home a third with 18 minutes left.
Southampton were also denied two first-half penalties, first when under-fire Branislav Ivanovic pulled on the shirt of Virgil van Dijk in the box then when Ramires tripped Mane in the box.

Here are five things we learned.

1) Terry might be staring down the barrel of another spell on the bench

The Champions have now kept just two clean sheets in their last 11 games in all competitions.
Terry was making his first start in the Premier League since the 3-1 defeat at Everton yet he was at fault for Mane’s goal.
By then Steven Davis had already scored, Ramires should have given away a penalty and Branislav Ivanovic was also lucky not to do so too.

2) Ivanovic is still a liability

Mourinho continues to keep faith with the Serbian but his opponents continue to cash in.
Southampton should have conceded a penalty when Ivanovic pulled on the shirt of Virgil van Dijk in the box.
Tadic became the latest player to bamboozle him with a deft move to ghost past him shortly after half time.
It remains a mystery as to why Mourinho does not drop him, move Azpilicueta to right-back and slot £21.7m Baba Rahman in on the left.

3) Mane enhances his glowing reputation

Southampton were annoyed at the way that Manchester United leaked their supposed interest during the summer to deflect from their failed attempt to land Pedro.
That said, the 23-year-old Senegal midfielder is surely a player they could yet revisit.
He has now netted five time 12 appearances this season and is easily Southampton’s key man.

4) Chelsea crowd beginning to turn

They booed the decision to take off goalscorer Willian for substitute Pedro. Some fans made it cleared that they’d have preferred Cesc Fabregas to come off instead.
Then widespread boos and incredulity swept around Stamford Bridge as Nemanja Matic, thrown on at half time, was replaced by Loic Remy after 28 minutes.
Late on a section of the fans in the Matthew Harding Stand chanted: ‘We’re f*****g s***’.
The team as a whole do not look to be improving one iota and Southampton bossed them for long periods of this game.

5) Falcao really has lost it

It is sad to see. A player that was once the most feared frontman in Europe did not even belong in this company.
Mourinho talked in pre-season about the Colombian proving a few people wrong this season after Manchester United decided against making his disastrous loan permanent.
Falcao, however, has become even worse. How he lasted 90 minutes is a mystery.
Diego Costa can’t come back soon enough.

Chelsea: Begovic 4, Azpilicueta 4, Terry 3, Cahill 3, Ivanovic 2, Ramires 4 (Matic 3 [Remy 73, 3), Fabregas 3, Hazard 5, Oscar 4, Willian 6 (Remy 64, 4), Falcao 3.

Southampton: Stekelenburg 7, Soares 7, Fonte 7, Van Dijk 7, Bertrand 7, Wanyama 8, Romeu 7 (Ward-Prowse 45, 6), Tadic 8 (Rodriguez 78), Davis 8, Mane 9 MOTM (Yoshida 92), Pelle 8.


Mourinho's seven-minute rant

"I think you know me, and I think I don't run away from responsibilities.
"I think, first of all, I want to say that because we are in such a bad moment, I think you shouldn't be afraid to be also honest.
"Because when we were at the top, I understand that it is quite a big pleasure, and it is gone.
"But when you are so down, I think it's time to be a little bit honest and to say clearly the referees are afraid to give decisions for Chelsea.
"The result was 1-1 when it was a huge penalty, and, once more, we didn't get one.
"And the penalty was a crucial moment in the game with the result 1-1.
"And, I repeat, if the FA wants to punish me, they can punish me. They don't punish other managers, they punish me, but it's not a problem for me.
"I want to repeat because I think my players deserve it, Chelsea fans deserve it, I am a Chelsea fan too, and I want to say it again: referees are afraid to giving decisions to Chelsea.
"Why? Because when they give, there is always a question mark from you [the media].
"There is always a question, there is always a critic, so we are always punished.
"We are punished because Diego Costa is suspended with images. In other matches we see the same thing and that doesn't happen.
"Clear penalties are not given and with us it's one and one and one and one, and even in the Champions League, in a match we lost 2-1 [to Porto], which is a game with not three officials, but five, we are not given a penalty in the last minute.
"And this penalty in this game today is more than crucial, and do you know why? Because my team, in this moment, the first negative thing that happens, the team collapses.
"The team, mentally, psychologically, is unbelievably down. It looks like good players are bad players.
"In the first-half, we didn't show our quality, but we were in control, we were more than in control, and one mistake, a lack of concentration, one goal and you have a tough time.
"In normal circumstances, you come to the second-half and you do your game. I told the players 'no panic, we are not losing 4-0, it's 1-1, no panic'.
"The team comes out with a good spirit, we have a penalty and the penalty is a giant penalty, and he [the referee] was afraid to give, like everybody else is afraid to give, so no penalty.
"And, after that, the team lost even more confidence and you know that their second goal is an individual mistake and their third goal was another individual mistake.
"And the team, mentally, they tried but they collapsed.
"I can also know, what you are thinking and what you are saying in the studio about what is going to happen and what is not going to happen.
"I want to make it clear. One , I don't run away.
" Two , if the club wants to sack me, they have to sack me because I'm not running away from my responsibility and my team. To be champions will obviously be very, very difficult because the distance is considerable, but I am more than convinced that we will finish in the top four. And, when the season is so bad, if you finish top four, it is ok.
" Three , even more important than the first and the second, I think this is a crucial moment in the history of this club. Do you know why? Because if the club sacks me, they sack the best manager that this club has, and secondly, the message is again: bad results and the manager is guilty.
"And this is the message that not just these players but the other ones before [sic] they got during a decade.
"I think this is a moment for everybody to assume responsibilities. I assume my responsibilities, I think the players should assume their responsibilities, there are other people in the club who should also assume their responsibilities, and to stick together. This is what I want.
"The players still have to play until the end of the season with the gold champion thing in their shirt, and I want to work, as always.
"I consider myself, you know, that I have a big self esteem and a big ego, I consider myself the best.

"Leaving the worst period of my career, the worst results of my career, doing that as a professional hurts me a lot.
"Doing that at Chelsea hurts me twice, because it hurts me as a professional and it hurts me because I like this club very, very much and that's why I came back.
"So I want to carry on, no doubt, no doubt.
"And I assume my responsibilities, but I think it's time for everybody to assume their responsibilities, because when you go down to so many individual mistakes and fear to play, they have their responsibilities.
"They are players who are performing really, really bad, individually.
"I cannot come here and say, you and you and you and you - it's not my job - but I think it's clear that we are being punished by too many individual mistakes.
"And, as I was saying, sadness brings sadness, bad results attract bad results. The first mistake is just the first because after comes another one.
"This team needs to finish the first-half winning two or three nil, with the fears disappearing, coming into the second-half with a free brain, with a free spirit.

"This is what this team needs and unfortunately for them, this is not happening.
"And again, I repeat, so I want to make it clear again, because I don't want to be offensive, the referees are afraid to give us decisions.
"When you are top, you want to see people come down. When people are down, give us a break, and be honest and be loyal with us because the team deserves that and the penalty is clear, and 2-1 is a completely different story."

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

Express:

Chelsea 1 - Southampton 3: Davis, Mane and Pelle ruin Willian's early opener
JOSE MOURINHO really does need to see the doctor now.
By Colin Mafham

His ailing Chelsea stars went down yesterday with the sort of collective ills for which he needs to find a cure - and quick.
Southampton clinically heaped salt into their wounds to maintain an  unbeaten away record that rarely looked in danger yesterday.
Their three goals - all crackers - exposed everything that's wrong with Chelsea at the moment  to bring boos at the end from a disgruntled crowd that were cheering them not so long ago.

Hardly any wonder that the Special One looked the Sick One as he trudged off at the end of what turned out to be a drubbing.
He, too, is in need of a tonic right now. Times really are a changing at Stamford Bridge these days, though.
No one seems to worry about playing there anymore - least of all Southampton.

Apart from the fact that Chelsea didn't manage to beat them at all last season Saints turned up yesterday unbeaten on their travels and not phased one bit by the faltering champions.
Mourinho, without the suspended Diego Costa and wrestling with more problems these days than he's had for years, preferred Radamel Falcao up front to Loic Remy and Oscar for his big money buy, Pedro.
It's an understatement to say he was in need of something extra special yesterday. He got it with less than 10 minutes on the clock.
A free kick given after Romeu tripped Eden Hazard in full flow looked in a harmless enough position. But Willian was having none of that.
The Brazilian's exquisite cross floated over everyone - including keeper Maarten Stekelenburg - and into the net off the post.
You could have almost touched the relief that went round the Bridge.
But to be honest, that would have changed in a flash if Steven Davis hadn't blasted a great chance wide five minutes later with only Asmir Begovic to beat.
His manager, Ronald Koeman, was not a happy bunny. The Dutchman's mood was hardly lifted as Chelsea temporarily started to play with some of the swagger that served them so well last season.
And if one silky move involving Cesc Fabregas, Hazard and Oscar had got the reward it deserved he would have been contemplating a two goal deficit within half an hour.
Credit where credit's due, though, Saints are a good side. They ruffled Chelsea's feathers with set pieces and but for Begovic's bravery former Chelsea man, Ryan Bertrand, would surely have equalised before they eventually did.
And, boy, was it worth waiting for. A cracking volley from Davis two minutes before the interval that was his first goal in 63 games and 19 long months for a Southampton side that were growing in confidence by the minute.
It was no more than Saints deserved either. They were stunned by that Willian opener, but they worked their way back so very well.
Chances of Mourinho getting one over Koeman for the first time in four meetings were beginning to look less likely - especially as Chelsea persisted in playing long balls up to lone striker Falcao when the Colombian is clearly considerably shorter than the men marking him.
Even more significant was the uncharacteristic low profile role the Chelsea chief seemed to have settled for. Not once did he get to his feet in those first 45 minutes.
That changed - and it had to - when the increasingly confident Saints put John Terry and Co under the cosh after the restart, literally queuing up to take pot shots at the besieged Begovic. This was not the way it used to be.
And when Sadio Mane gave Southampton the lead they richly deserved on 59 minutes you got the feeling that things might be going to get a lot worse for Mourinho before they get better.

The tricky Senegalese winger had been threatening that all afternoon before wriggling his way through a floundering Chelsea rearguard to cooly stroke home Saints second.
No wonder Mourinho found his voice again. This time, though, Branislav Ivanovic and skipper Terry were the targets for his vitriol in the absence of anyone with medical qualifications.
Not that it made any difference as rampant Southampton got a superb third on 72 minutes.
Cesar Azpilicueta recklessly gifted possession, the ball went through to Pelle and the Saints striker lived up to his famous surname (with an extra l that is) with a rasping low shot.
Game over. And the banished Dr Carneiro was sadly missed to ease the pain in Chelsea minds and bodies.

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

Star:

Chelsea 1 Southampton 3: Saints pile more pressure on Jose Mourinho
JOSE MOURINHO really does need to see the doctor now.

By Colin Mafham

His ailing Chelsea stars went down yesterday with the sort of collective ills for which he needs to find a cure – and quick.
And after the Portuguese blamed the result on referee Bobby Madley for being “scared” to give decisions to his team, maybe he needs his head testing too.
Mourinho railed at the referee for failing to give a penalty when Falcao tumbled under Maarten Stekelenburg’s challenge.
In truth, the Colombian hammered the ball out of play and cynically made sure he fell into the prone keeper.
But Jose said the referee was “afraid to give decisions for Chelsea” and ranted for a full seven minutes about his side’s woes.
He knows he’s under pressure like never before, but said: “One. I don’t run away.
“Two. We will finish top four.
“Three. This is a crucial moment in the history of this club because if they sack me they sack the best manager this club has ever had.
“This is a moment for everybody to assume their responsibilities and to stick together.
“I have a big ego, I consider myself the best. I will not walk away.”
Southampton’s three goals – all crackers – exposed everything that is wrong with Chelsea at the moment to bring boos at the end.
Mourinho, without the suspended Diego Costa and wrestling with more problems these days than he’s had for years, preferred Radamel Falcao up front to Loic Remy and Oscar for his big money buy, Pedro.
And with less than ten minutes on the clock Willian conjured up something special that he desperately needed.
His free-kick, given after Oriol Romeu tripped Eden Hazard in full flow, floated over everyone – including keeper Stekelenburg – and into the net off the post.
You could have almost touched the relief that went round the Bridge.
Credit where credit’s due, though, Saints are a good side. They ruffled Chelsea’s feathers with set-pieces and but for Asmir Begovic’s bravery former Bridge man, Ryan Bertrand, would surely have equalised before they eventually did.
And it was worth waiting for.
A cracking volley from Steven Davis two minutes before the interval that was his first goal in 63 games and 19 months.
And when Sadio Mane gave Southampton the lead they richly deserved in the 59th minute you got the feeling that things might be going to get a lot worse for Mourinho before they get better.
The tricky Senegal winger had been threatening that all afternoon before wriggling his way through a floundering Chelsea rearguard to coolly stroke home Saints’ second.
Mourinho raged on the touchline.
Branislav Ivanovic and skipper John Terry were the targets for his anger.
Not that it made any difference as rampant Southampton got a superb third after 72 minutes.
Cesar Azpilicueta recklessly gifted them possession, the ball went through to Graziano Pelle and the Saints striker made no mistake with a rasping low shot.
Game over.
Koeman said: “We had a difficult start, made it 1-1 with a great goal.
“The difference was how we came out of the dressing room in the second half.
“We were much more aggressive and totally deserved the three points. “If they should have had one penalty, we should have had two penalties.”

Porto 1-2

Independent:

Porto 2 Chelsea 1

Jose Mourinho's misery continues on return to former club in Champions League
Matt McGeehan

Chelsea have now lost five matches before October for the first time in 37 years
Jose Mourinho's return to former club Porto ended in a 2-1 Champions League defeat as Chelsea's miserable start to the season continued.
Chelsea lost to Porto on Mourinho's first return in 2004-05 and history repeated itself at Estadio do Dragao as Andre Andre and Maicon scored either side of Willian's free-kick in the Group G clash.
Eden Hazard dropped to the substitutes bench alongside captain John Terry and Nemanja Matic as Mourinho proved there were no untouchables in his squad.
His hardline approach also followed his outspoken criticism of his players' attitude, but Mourinho's words did not have the desired effect as Chelsea looked vulnerable throughout.
Yacine Brahimi waltzed inside Branislav Ivanovic and behind Pedro, then fired in a shot which Asmir Begovic punched only as far as Andre, who hooked the ball in.
Willian replied with a delightful curling free-kick on the stroke of half-time, but then woeful defending allowed Maicon to head in a corner seven minutes into the second half.
Diego Costa hit the bar, but Porto placed Chelsea under siege and the visitors were grateful to goalkeeper Asmir Begovic for some crucial interventions and a Danilo header came off the post.
Mourinho, who won the 2004 Champions League with Porto, was scathing in his criticism following Saturday's 2-2 draw at Newcastle, which left the defending champions 14th in the Premier League with two wins from seven games.
He appears no closer to finding the answers to Chelsea's poor form.
Costa returned up front after serving two games of a three-match domestic ban, but Hazard, Matic and Terry were substitutes and Loic Remy, Radamel Falcao and Oscar were not even selected to travel.
Mourinho once made a statement at Real Madrid by dropping Iker Casillas and a rotten relationship ensued.
The Blues boss issued a curt reply in relation to Casillas, now the Porto goalkeeper, on the eve of the match, saying he would greet him - probably in the frosty manner he met Arsene Wenger at Stamford Bridge 10 days ago.
Casillas seemed keen to prove a point on his record 152nd Champions League appearance and saved from Cesc Fabregas and then denied Pedro one on one. Pedro should have scored.
Sloppy Chelsea struggled to find any fluidity as Porto probed down Chelsea's right.
Ivanovic avoided punishment for a clumsy challenge on Vincent Aboubakar and, down Chelsea's left, Maxi Pereira shot across goal.
Brahimi next easily cut inside Ivanovic and evaded the back-tracking Pedro before firing a shot which Begovic could only palm out as far as Andre, who volleyed in.
Chelsea equalised after Ramires earned a soft free-kick. Willian curled in from 20 yards, with Casillas flat-footed.
Porto were ahead again with defending uncharacteristic of a Mourinho team, but becoming increasingly familiar this season.
Ruben Neves floated in a corner and Maicon got in front of Ramires, Gary Cahill and Costa to head in at the near post.
Costa beat Casillas with a fine effort which ricocheted off the bar before Hazard replaced John Obi Mikel and soon fired into the side-netting.
Porto piled on the pressure, with Begovic saving from Giannelli Imbula and then scrambling clear at the feet of Brahimi.
Ivanovic headed wide from a Willian corner, but Porto went closer when Danilo's header hit a post.
Costa wanted a handball in the area against Marcano and Kenedy fired wide late on after Costa made space as Chelsea fell to defeat.

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

Guardian:

Maicon downs Chelsea as Mourinho’s return to Porto ends in defeat
Porto 2 - 1 Chelsea

Dominic Fifield at Estádio do Dragão

José Mourinho scowled out from the fringes of his technical area, hands planted deep in his pockets as the locals who used to rejoice in his presence poured scorn on his side. Rarely can the Chelsea manager have felt so helpless. The Premier League champions were overwhelmed at times, their attempts at defence reduced to wreckage as Porto, rampant amid the din, sliced through them at will.
The London club may still recover from this defeat to emerge from the group but their campaign, two months in, seems gripped by panic. Theirs were all familiar frailties. The sight of Branislav Ivanovic flailing desperately to claw back a winger has become a sorry if regular feature of this team’s displays since the start of the season.
Likewise, quick-footed creative talents have exposed the spaces permitted by the absence of an effective defensive shield in the centre too often already this term, just as Yacine Brahimi did so thrillingly at the Dragão while Danilo, Giannelli Imbula and André André rampaged forward at the Algerian’s side.
This was the seventh time in 10 competitive games that Chelsea have conceded at least twice, the defensive surety they once considered their forte fast becoming a thing of the past. What is even more disturbing than those clear deficiencies is the manager’s inability, as yet, to solve the issues undermining his side.
 
Chelsea have tried optimistically declaring “business as normal”, crossing their fingers in the hope that last year’s key performers recall the qualities that allowed them to secure the Premier League title and League Cup so impressively. When that did not work, Mourinho went the other way and was publicly critical of his players, most notably questioning their “attitude, desire and commitment” in the wake of Saturday’s slack draw at Newcastle.
Now he has even tried mixing and matching his selection, carrying through his threat to withdraw senior stalwarts by dropping Nemanja Matic and Eden Hazard to join John Terry kicking his heels on the bench. A trio of forward thinkers – Oscar, Loïc Rémy and Radamel Falcao – did not even travel to Portugal – and yet the mess remains.
The indecision that has dogged them all season manifested itself with skewed defensive headers or jittery clearances – and cost them both of Porto’s goals.
Ivanovic has become the fall guy only because he is being exposed more brutally than anyone else, but his form is in tatters. It was the Serb who allowed Brahimi to turn inside far too easily six minutes from the interval, Pedro tentative and reluctant to muster a challenge inside the area, with the forward spitting a shot round Kurt Zouma.
Asmir Begovic was perhaps unsighted but the save he managed with his right hand was weak, the ball merely looping to André, who crunched a volley through the goalkeeper’s attempt to recover before Gary Cahill could block.
Then there was the set piece that restored the home side’s lead soon after the interval, Ivanovic having been exposed by a lofted pass down the flank and Cesc Fàbregas bamboozled by Brahimi’s quick feet. Zouma conceded the corner but Rúben Neves’ ball to the near post should not have threatened.
Instead, Maicon burst away from Ramires and guided a neat header inside Begovic’s upright, with the goalkeeper slow to react. It was the kind of slackness that made Willian’s delicious equaliser, a free-kick curled beyond the static Iker Casillas from distance in first-half stoppage time, seem utterly irrelevant. Danilo, completely unmarked at Miguel Layún’s corner, should have added a third only to plant his header on to a post, with Begovic somehow summoning saves to deny Danilo and Imbula before the end.
Chelsea were a side laced with anxiety, all the authority that used to permeate their displays having drained away. Terry merely watched on from the sidelines at his manager’s back.
“More than anything I just think it lacked composure,” said Rio Ferdinand, the former England captain, in his capacity as a television pundit. “There was no real leadership out there. You look back on Mourinho sides, the Chelsea sides that were successful: you had the Drogbas, the Terrys, the Lampards, who the other players could look to. They’d turn around and say: ‘Listen, I’ve been here before, just follow me. You’ll be all right, we’ll get through this. Weather the storm.’ I didn’t see that tonight. I didn’t see players that would stand up and be counted in that way.”
Ferdinand has had his own issues with Terry, but his words carried weight.
Mourinho’s post-match assertions that, aside from the two errors at corners, his team had been defensively sound did not ring true. Perhaps that was merely the latest tactic to coax a positive reaction from his players. He has tried virtually everything else, other than offering Ivanovic some respite.
Admittedly, his side carried an attacking threat, Diego Costa striking the woodwork and impressive on a run-out in the midst of his domestic three-match ban, and Casillas – on his record 152nd appearance in this competition – doing well to thwart Fàbregas and Pedro early on. They might have plucked an unlikely point had Ivanovic nodded into an empty net or Kenedy, fouled according to his manager, not prodded wide with the last touch of the match. A draw, however, would not have been merited.
Seventh from bottom in the Premier League and now third in their Champions League section, albeit with time still to turn things round, this team is lurching from one befuddled display to the next.

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

Telegraph:

Porto 2 Chelsea 1

Jose Mourinho sees his side lose again, this time to his former team
Maicon punishes Premier League champions after Jose Mourinho wields axe

By  Matt Law

Jose Mourinho suffered a miserable return to the home of one of his greatest triumphs, as Chelsea’s bad start to the season threatens to slide into a more serious decline.
What Mourinho had hoped was just a blip is becoming a worrying trend, with the manager seemingly running out of options to initiate a change in form and, more importantly, results.
Having originally insisted it was business as usual at Chelsea, Mourinho this week got stuck into his players and attempted to wake them from their slumber by making a series of changes for his latest return to Porto, where he won the 2004 Champions League.
But while some of the names may have been different in Portugal, Chelsea once again paid for terrible defending and lacklustre individual performances.
It is becoming harder and harder for Mourinho to justify the fact he continues to select the fast-declining Branislav Ivanovic, who captained Chelsea on Tuesday night.
What must John Terry think as he watches from the substitutes’ bench, while Ivanovic seemingly survives error after error, match after match?
It was no surprise that Ivanovic was largely to blame for Porto’s opening goal from Andre Andre, before Maicon ensured the home side enjoyed a happy 122nd anniversary.
Their Champions League qualification from Group G may not currently be in any danger, but Mourinho must be increasingly concerned that everything he is trying to kick-start the season is failing.
Having complained about the “unstable attitudes” of some of his players, Mourinho dropped last season’s Player of the Year Eden Hazard and midfielder Nemanja Matic down to the substitutes’ bench. Oscar, Radamel Falcao and Loic Remy missed out altogether.
Mourinho confirmed before kick-off that Oscar, Falcao and Remy did not even travel to Portugal, and were simply not selected.
The decision raises doubts over the trio’s future, as Mourinho preferred to have no strikers on the bench with Diego Costa Chelsea’s sole frontman. When Chelsea were behind, the Portuguese could only call on Hazard, Matic and youngster Kenedy.
Midfielder Oscar had already been frustrated about his limited starting opportunities before the Porto game. It is hard to see how he and Remy will now feel anything but anger towards Mourinho, as their absences were not ultimately justified with a victory.
Mourinho’s team selection had echoes of the dramatic decisions made by Andre Villas-Boas and Roberto Di Matteo in the Champions League that effectively cost the duo their Chelsea jobs.
Villas-Boas was sacked shortly after dropping Ashley Cole, Michael Essien, Frank Lampard and Fernando Torres, and losing to Napoli, while Di Matteo was axed immediately after the defeat in Juventus, when he played Hazard up front instead of Torres.
Big team decisions are great when you win, but when you lose they bring scrutiny upon the manager and Mourinho cannot be considered blameless in this slump.
Ivanovic has been attracting most of the criticism for Chelsea and the right-back was again dreadful as he was at fault for Porto’s opening goal in the 39th minute.
Yacine Brahimi cut inside Ivanovic far too easily before unleashing a shot that Asmir Begovic could only claw back into the danger area and Andre scored.
For Porto, Iker Casillas made his 152nd Champions League appearance that earned the goalkeeper the outright record in the competition.
Casillas fell out spectacularly with Mourinho at Real Madrid and the Spaniard threatened to haunt his old manager with two superb saves before Andre had broken the deadlock.
First, Casillas saved from Cesc Fabregas after he had been played in by Costa and the 34-year-old did even better to stop Pedro after the former Barcelona man had been sent through by Willian.
Chelsea gave themselves a lifeline with the last kick of the first half. Danilo fouled Ramires on the edge of his own penalty area and Willian gave Casillas no chance by planting the resulting free-kick into the corner of the net before referee Antonio Mateu Lahoz blew up for half-time.
That should have been the cue for Chelsea to come out all guns blazing after the break, but if anything they were worse in the second period and quickly went behind again thanks to sloppy defending from a set piece.
Ruben Neves delivered a corner to the front post and Maicon nipped away from Gary Cahill and in front of the Ramires to head the ball into the net. Had there been a Chelsea player on the post, he would have been able to block the ball on the line.
The visitors almost responded immediately, but Costa’s long-range effort bounced back off the crossbar with Casillas beaten. Willian then got away down the left and should have done better than deliver a cross the evaded both Pedro and Fabregas.
Mourinho made his first change just after the hour mark, sending Hazard on to replace John Obi Mikel with the midfielder tasked with trying to rescue at least a draw for Chelsea. Hazard took over the number 10 role behind Costa and Fabregas dropped back next to Ramires.
Hazard almost made an immediate impact, as he skipped past a challenge after being found by Fabregas, but his shot smashed into the side-netting.
Mourinho tried his last throw of the dice by sending on Kenedy and Matic, and Ivanovic wasted a good chance to equalise by heading Willian’s corner over the bar.
Porto, though, were worthy winners and their margin of victory would have been greater had Danilo’s header not struck the post.

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

Mail:

Porto 2-1 Chelsea: Jose Mourinho has unhappy return to former stomping ground as Blues fall to Champions League defeat

By Matt Barlow for the Daily Mail 

The warnings from Jose Mourinho were loud and clear. Stars on the bench, stars left in London and still Chelsea were unable to stop their star from falling a little further.
Mourinho blamed attitude ahead of the game, but it was not a problem of desire in Porto, where they were outclassed at times and flattered by the result.
They were not awful for the entire game – there was a flurry in stoppage-time - but they were unrecognisable from the champions of last season, that imperious winning machine, built in Mourinho's ruthless image.
Suddenly Chelsea are ravaged by nerves, prone to panic, vulnerable from set-pieces and low on confidence. No-one epitomises the mess more than Branislav Ivanovic who was tormented by the outstanding Yacine Brahimi.
How Iker Casillas enjoyed this record-breaking night as Mourinho's mind tricks produced no magic and begged the question: what can he do next?
He has tried to charm and defend his players, he chided them gently before his verbal criticism became fiercer and culminated with threats to drop them all and 'play the kids'.
Then this setback. Another defeat, a fifth in a campaign when the only wins have come against Walsall, Maccabi Tel Aviv, nine-man Arsenal and West Bromwich. Are they still listening?
Asmir Begovic emerges with some credit, having kept the score down with a series of saves, while in front of him only Willian responded to a recall, scoring his third free-kick in as many games to equalise at the end of the first half.
Porto had gone ahead through Andre Andre – so good they named him twice – and went back in front early in the second half when captain Maicon headed in from a corner.
Conceding such a crucial goal from a set-piece will infuriate a meticulous organiser such as Mourinho - but he has broader issues.
This was a difficult test against an ambitious team and the result is not fatal in Champions League terms. Chelsea ought to qualify from Group G, which also contains Maccabi Tel Aviv and Dynamo Kiev.
Mourinho, however, cannot cajole his team into life. Keep an eye out for his selection for Saturday's game at home to Southampton.
Double Player of the Year Eden Hazard and Nemanja Matic were axed for this one. There was no John Terry, but that has become the norm and the reason remains a mystery.
Can they be much worse with Terry at the back? He would bring leadership and organisation at least. Kurt Zouma and Gary Cahill are Mourinho's new guard and they lacked composure in Porto.
Omitting Hazard and Matic was perhaps an attempt to jolt them back into form. Both are vital to Chelsea, but the future looks bleaker for others.
Radamel Falcao, Loic Remy and Oscar did not make the squad, left in London despite being fit and available. It meant no recognised centre forward on the bench, and fortunately the unreliable hamstrings of Diego Costa did not twang on this occasion.
Costa, free from the ban ruling him out of domestic matches at the moment, started hungrily and created an early chance but Cesc Fabregas was denied by Casillas, making a record 152nd appearance in the Champions League.
Casillas saved again from Pedro as Chelsea broke quickly. It was Costa again who carried the ball, before Willian slid a pass to Pedro but for the second time in quick succession a former Barcelona player was denied by a Real Madrid legend.
At the back, Chelsea started sloppily and got worse. Porto moved fluently forward with the ball through a midfield, energised by a noisy home crowd and encouraged by casual marking and hurried clearances.
They seemed anxious. Others were dropped but Ivanovic remains in the team. Not only that, he is the captain, and yet badly out of touch and perhaps trying too hard to make amends.
Spanish referee Antonio Mateu Lahoz, said to be Mourinho’s favourite, stirred Porto fans when he allowed a shuddering tackle by Ivanovic on Vincent Aboubakar to go unpunished.
And, as the decibels increased, the home side grew in stature. Aboubakar and Maxi Pereira fired wide and they took the lead six minutes before the interval.
Brahimi skipped past Ivanovic into the penalty box and forced Begovic to parry. Andre seized on the rebound and his volley had enough power to force its way past the goalkeeper.
As in Newcastle, on Saturday, it was a combination of Ramires and Willian which hauled Chelsea level. A burst from Ramires drew a foul and Willian curled the free-kick inside the post.
Casillas barely flinched as it whipped into his net, but Chelsea surrendered the impetus when Maicon slipped free to convert a corner with a glancing header at the near post. Again, the set-piece had been conceded after Brahimi had given Ivanovic the slip.
The Dragao Stadium was still jumping with joy when Costa swung an improbable effort against the bar. On came Hazard, Kenedy and Matic but Porto pushed for a third. Begovic saved and Gary Cahill blocked as the visitors resisted.
Ivanovic went close with a header and Costa had a good claim for a penalty for handball, but even Mourinho’s friendly referee did not oblige.
As in Newcastle, on Saturday, it was a combination of Ramires and Willian which hauled Chelsea level. A burst from Ramires won a free-kick 25 yards from goal and Willian stepped up to curl it over the wall and inside the post.
Casillas did not move as it whipped past into his net. It was the last kick of the first half and it offered hope to the visitors as they disappeared down the tunnel.
For Willian it was his third goal in three games, all from free-kicks, but Porto were soon back in front when Maicon slipped his markers to convert a corner with a glancing header at the near post. Again, the corner had been conceded after Brahimi had given Ivanovic the slip.
Chelsea were stunned but the Dragao erupted in a frenzy of celebration. Porto fans were still bouncing with joy when Cesar Azpilicueta swung an improbable effort against the bar from long range.
As Hazard, Kenedy and Matic came on, Porto pushed for a third. Begovic saved and Gary Cahill blocked as the visitors resisted.
Ivanovic went close with a header and Costa claimed a penalty for handball in stoppage time, but even Mourinho's favourite referee did not oblige.
The final chance fell to Kenedy but it was deflected wide.

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

Mirror:

Porto 2-1 Chelsea: Blues continue to flounder as Jose Mourinho's homecoming ends in defeat
 
By Dave Kidd
 
The Special One warned he would axe his players for youngsters if they failed to perform - and may have to raid the youth academy soon

If Jose Mourinho was in a dark, brooding and threatening mood ahead of this Champions League homecoming, then Heaven help his crisis-hit team now.
And if the Chelsea manager is to make good his pre-match threats, then the club’s youth academy had better brace itself to be raided.
Mourinho had played Bad Cop by warning his players they would be axed in favour of the kids, should they fall out of trophy contention, and even claimed they could end up as Premier League also-rans ‘like Newcastle’.
Yet this tough talking fell on deaf ears. The atmosphere of fear and loathing which seems to have submerged Chelsea since Mourinho’s bust-up with his medical staff on the opening day of the season, has infected their on-pitch performances.
Mourinho claimed this was a decent performance ruined by a couple of ‘ridiculous’ mistakes – but it sounded like a smokescreen to cloud a strange team selection.
Goals from Andre Andre and Maicon dealt Chelsea a Group G defeat after Mourinho had axed Eden Hazard and Nemanja Matic from his starting line-up, kept John Terry on the bench and left two of his three senior strikers, Loic Remy and Radamel Falcao, back home in England along with Oscar.
Yet Branislav Ivanovic, consistently the worst performer during Chelsea’s shocking start to their title defence, does not only keep his place but wears the captain’s armband – and was found wanting in the build-up to both Porto goals.
Nobody is quite sure whether Mourinho is still trying to send coded messages to Roman Abramovich with all these confusing personnel changes or whether the manager is actually beginning to lose the plot.
It looked as though Chelsea had been set up to draw last night, yet they failed even to garner a point, with Porto the more positive side and the deserving victors.
While the Blues must still fancy themselves to get out of what had looked a straightforward group, nothing can be taken for granted by English clubs in Europe any more – with five defeats in six matches for the once-mighty Premier League this season.
Dressed in black, to match their manager’s mood, Chelsea forced the first clear chance.
Diego Costa, in a break from his domestic suspension, showed some neat footwork down the left and teed up Cesc Fabregas, whose shot was beaten away by Iker Casillas.
Then Willian led a swift break, feeding Pedro who forced another decent save from Mourinho’s old Real Madrid enemy in the Porto goal.
It was the veteran keeper’s 152nd Champions League appearance – a new record for the competition – not that Mourinho would have been presenting him with any sort of silver salver to mark the occasion.
Six minutes before the break, Porto made the English champions pay for squandering those early chances when Yacine Brahimi danced past the flat-footed Ivanovic, his shot forcing an improvised save from Begovic but the rebound falling to Andre who drilled it in.
Yet with the final kick of the first half, Chelsea were level – though not without a hint of fortune.
Ramires went on a dribble towards the Porto box but after beating a couple of defenders, he appeared to lose control and fall without any contact. Yet ref Antonio Mateu Lahoz gave the free-kick and Willian hammered it into the top corner.
But just six minutes into the second half, Ivanovic was caught out as Porto forced a corner, which Ruben Neves delivered to the near post for Maicon to head home.
Mourinho sent on Hazard in place of John Obi Mikel, yet there was no sign of a Chelsea response, with Porto continuing to apply all the pressure and Begovic kept busy by a flurry of attacks.
A Danilo effort was deflected narrowly over and the crowd at the Estadio do Dragao was reaching fever pitch with Mourinho’s men rocking.
There was a late surge of Chelsea pressure, a decent penalty shout for handball and sub Kenedy having a shot deflected wide right at the death.
But it was too little, too late. Even Bad Cop Jose couldn’t arrest Chelsea’s decline.

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

Express:

Porto 2 - Chelsea 1: Jose Mourinho leaves former club empty handed

CHELSEA’S disastrous form in the Premier League was extended to Europe, as Jose Mourinho’s return to his former club Porto turned into a nightmare.

By Harry Talbot 

Chelsea, who kicked off their European campaign with a thumping 4-0 win over Maccabi Tel Aviv in Group G and yet lie 14th in the English top flight, crashed to defeat at the Estadio do Drago against the club he steered to European Cup glory in 2004.
Mourinho had used most of his motivational tricks in the build-up to the return to his old stomping ground, but he still saw his struggling side picked apart.
Mourinho’s teams were once built on sound defensive blocks, but time after time they are crumbling.

Chelsea went behind in the first 45 minutes of the clash, the eighth occasion they have conceded before the break this season.
And although Willian equalised, they were breached again before the hour as the home side sensed something was very amiss with this current Chelsea team when it comes to the defence.
Mourinho moaned before this match that his men had been consistent this season – as in consistently poor during their first-half displays.

He had also warned that if they continued to struggle he would boot out the big names and play the kids after slamming his players for having an attitude problem.  
Mourinho did not name names. But all the talk before the match was of former Porto star Radamel Falcao, Oscar and Loic Remy being left at home, despite not being injured.
Eden Hazard was downgraded to the bench and there was again no place for skipper John Terry. But Chelsea started brightly, at least when it came to attack.
Diego Costa did superbly in the sixth minute to burst down the left, cut back and tee up Cesc Fabregas, but his shot was parried for a corner by Iker Casillas.
The former Real Madrid skipper did even better seven minutes later, thrusting out his right leg after guessing correctly where Pedro would shoot after he was played in by Willian.
But Porto refused to be forced on to the back foot and looked lively and sharp.

Vincent Aboubakar bent a shot just over the bar in the 35th minute after another direct run, while Maxi Pereira hammered another effort wide.
But they were finally rewarded for their efforts in the 39th minute. Branislav Ivanovic was easily beaten by Yacine Brahimi and the Porto star cut inside before shooting.
Asmir Begovic did well to keep it out, but the ball fell for Andre Andre, whose volleyed follow-up beat Begovic, even though he got hands on it.
The lead did not last long, though, as Chelsea hit back.
A direct run by Ramires ended with him being brought down by Danilo and Willian stepped up to bend the free-kick into the far corner past a motionless Casillas.

It made it three free-kick conversions for the Brazilian in his last three appearances for Mourinho’s side.
But Porto were not to be outdone and went ahead again in the 52nd minute.
Centre-back Maicon got in front of Ramires at the near post to glance in a header from a Rubin Neves cross.
A long-range effort from Costa struck the bar but Porto were not to be denied, as Mourinho’s poor start to the season continued.

PORTO (4-4-1-1): Casillas; Pereira, Maicon, Marcano, Martins Indi; Andre (layun 80), Danilo, Neves (Goebel 78), Imbula; Brahimi (Osvaldo 87); Aboubakar. Booked: Marcano, Martins Indi, Danilo. Goals: Andre 39, Maicon 52.

CHELSEA (4-2-3-1): Begovic; Ivanovic, Cahill, Zouma, Azpilicueta; Mikel (Hazard 62), Ramires Matic 73); Pedro (Kenedy 73), Fabregas, Willian; Costa. Booked: Cahill, Matic, Azpilicueta. Goal: Willian.  NEXT UP: Southampton (h), Sat PL.

REFEREE: A Mateu Lahoz (Spain).

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Star:

Porto 2 Chelsea 1: Jose Mourinho's selection gamble backfires as hosts down Blues
JOSE MOURINHO’S Porto whine failed to inspire punch-drunk Chelsea last night.

By David Woods
    
The Blues boss tried every trick in his book to motivate his flops, but they were still left staggering in Porto.
Mourinho’s teams have always been built on sound defensive blocks, but they crumbled once again.
The Stamford Bridge side went behind in the first half, the eighth time they have conceded before the break this season.
Willian equalised, but Chelsea conceded again as Mourinho’s former club sensed the game was their for the taking.
Mourinho moaned before last night’s Group G clash that his players had been consistent this season - consistently bad in the first-half.

He warned them that if they continued to struggle they would be kicked out and he would play the kids.
The angry boss also slammed the players for having an attitude problem.
Mourinho did not name names. But all the talk before the match was of former Porto star Radamel Falcao, Oscar and Loic Remy all being left at home despite apparently not being injured.
Eden Hazard was downgraded to the bench and there was again no place for skipper John Terry.
But Chelsea started brightlywhen Diego Costa burst down the left, cut back in to tee up Cesc Fabregas but his shot was parried for a corner by Iker Casillas.

The former Real Madrid skipper did even better to thrust out his right leg after guessing correctly where Pedro would shoot.
But Porto refused to be forced on to the back foot and the goal they had threatened arrived in the 39th minute.
Not for the first time this season Branislav Ivanovic was all too easily beaten, this time by Yacine Brahimi.
He cut inside and slam a shot at Asmir Begovic, which the keeper did well to keep out his trailing left hand.
But the ball went straight to Andre Andre, who volleyed home.
The lead did not to last long though, with Chelsea rewarded after a direct run by Ramires ended with him being brought down by Danilo.

Willian stepped up to bend the free kick into the far corner past a motionless Casillas.
Porto grabbed the winner in the 52nd minute when centre back Maicon got in front of Ramires at the near post to glance in a header from a Rubin Neves cross.
Costa then hit the bar with a long-range shot.
But Porto continued to target Ivanovic and Giannelli Imbula and Brahimi were denied by Begovic.
Danilo then found space to head Mugeul Layun’s corner against the far post before Chelsea yelled for a penalty in one mad last raid.
But at the end Mourinho was first down the tunnel to yet another inquest into a defeat.