Jose Mourinho today continued his critisisms of referee Chris Foy following Chelsea’s loss to Aston Villa earlier this month.
Jose Mourinho was sent to the stands and Chelsea reduced to 9 men during the game, which they lost 1-0, following the dismissals of Ramires and Willian, the latter vastly seen as an incorrect decision.
Mourinho: ‘The team have been playing well for a long time now. We crashed into a hurdle against Villa but we have been magnificent.’ #CFC
— Chelsea FC (@chelseafc) March 28, 2014
Despite Chelsea getting their title hopes back on track in the 6-0 demolishing of London rivals Arsenal last Saturday, Mourinho understands that Chelsea now face a numerical disadvantage to Manchester City in the title race:
“What happened in the defeat against Villa I never learn, I never accept. Somebody was very successful in putting a hurdle in front of us.”
Prior to the loss, Manchester City had games in hand on Mourinho’s side but could only climb above Chelsea on goal difference. The defeat means that Manchester City can go 3 points clear of Chelsea by winning their spare games.
When asked if that frustrating evening at Villa Park could be a turning point in Chelsea’s title hopes, Mourinho responded “Yes, because the other matches we lost because we didn’t play well.
“If you go to the other matches you find the natural reasons for losing a match, if you go to the Villa match it’s difficult”
Finally, the boss added: “The only thing I didn’t learn is to lose with that kind of referee performance, because it’s not a mistake, it’s a performance”.
Jose Mourinho also faces disciplinary action from the FA for “improper conduct” after he entered the pitch in the same game and approached referee Chris Foy. He has requested a personal hearing with the FA to contest the charges.
Following their game against Crystal Palace on Saturday, Chelsea travel to Paris for their Champions League quarter-final first leg, amidst rumours that the French club are in to take Eden Hazard and Oscar off of Chelsea’s hands.
In Friday’s press conference, Jose Mourinho joked that if £300 million were to be offered for the pair, Chelsea would “have to consider it”.
Chelsea travel to Tony Pulis’ Palace side to attempt to keep the pressure on Manchester City. The Manchester outfit travel to the Emirates to face Arsenal on Saturday evening.
