Newcastle 2 Chelsea 0: Mourinho Fumes at the Blues’ Lacklustre Attack

Chelsea boss Jose Mourinho has criticised his lifeless and unimaginative side, which lost 2-0 to Newcastle at St James’ Park on Saturday.

Chelsea were looking to climb to the top of the Premier League standing, but their below-par performance against the Tyneside outfit saw them drop to third behind Liverpool even with the other weekend matches set to follow.

Second-half goals from Yoan Gouffran and Loic Remy earned coach Alan Pardew’s side the much deserved victory.

The Week 10 encounter, which came on the back of six straight wins for Mourinho’s team failed to highlight the present form of the ‘Blues’ who were unfortunate not to have gotten a first-half goal when John Terry hit the bar and had a header cleared off the line.

Newcastle returned back from the break fired up and dominated the second 45 minutes. They went ahead in the 68th minute when Gouffran stooped to nod the ball past a helpless Petr Cech following a pin point Youhan Cabaye’s delivery.

Remy sealed victory for the ‘Magpies’ by curling in a shot from the inside of the post from a Vurnon Anita pass. It was the Frenchman’s sixth goal of the season.

“I didn’t like it,” Mourinho told BT Sport after the match. “I think we deserved to lose. We had a couple of good chances to score the equalizer but they were in the game more than us, they fought more than us and they were much more committed than us. They were the best team on the pitch, if someone had to win, I think it was Newcastle not us.”

Willian, Samuel Eto’O and Andre Schurrle were introduced from the bench by the Chelsea boss after the opening goal.

Willian had a shot saved while Eto’O’s follow-up was blocked by Mathieu Debuchy.

Eden Harzard, whose partnership with Juan Mata in the midfield failed to unsettle the hosts with Fernando Torres lost upfront, dragged a shot wide from 12 yards as Chelsea searched for an equaliser.

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

While the unpredictability of the 2013/14 Barclays Premier League season goes on; Mourinho’s St James’ Park hoodoo simmers on but the Portuguese, who has never won away at Newcastle, was quick to admit the fact that the race for the league title is still wide open for every team.

“I don’t need to lose a match to be aware of (how competitive the league is). It is something I know and pass on to my players, every game, I know exactly how it is. The race is there for everybody. If Arsenal win today they open the gap. I didn’t like my team today.”