Mourinho axe overshadows title tilts
All eyes on underperforming Chelsea players as struggling champions host Sunderland today
>> LONDON: Jose Mourinho’s abrupt departure from Chelsea has put the crisis-torn champions’ clash with Sunderland today firmly in the spotlight on a weekend that would otherwise have been dominated by Premier League title tilts.
Mourinho will be gone but not forgotten at Stamford Bridge as Chelsea’s players and fans get the chance to respond to the polarising Portuguese coach’s sacking.
Dismissed on Thursday just days after a 2-1 defeat at Leicester left the Blues languishing one point above the relegation zone, Mourinho had apparently lost the support of a significant section of the Chelsea squad.
Suggestions that several players, Eden Hazard, Diego Costa, Cesc Fabregas and Nemanja Matic reportedly among them, had grown unhappy as a result of feeling the lash of Mourinho’s acerbic tongue were substantiated by Chelsea technical director Michael Emenalo’s talk of “palpable discord between the manager and players”.
Mourinho had claimed after the Leicester loss that he had been “betrayed” by his players and, with that in mind, it will be fascinating to see how Chelsea’s underachieving stars perform now.
There will be also be plenty of focus on the Stamford Bridge stands, where Chelsea’s fans had remained loyal to Mourinho right until the bitter end.
Even at Leicester they were chanting his name and their reaction during the Sunderland game will show whether Chelsea owner Roman Abramovich’s move has the support of the masses.
Abramovich was said to be keen to secure an interim replacement for Mourinho in time for Sunderland.
But regardless of who is in charge this weekend, Chelsea can ill-afford a 10th league defeat of the season, especially against a Sunderland side only three points behind them, as the west Londoners aim to climb away from the relegation zone.
“I cannot explain why consistency has been so difficult to achieve. I don’t know what happened to us against Leicester,” Matic said.
“In the game against Porto, a very good team, we played very well, we scored two goals and created chances, but we were like another team on the pitch against Leicester.”
Mourinho’s sacking has left Sunderland manager Sam Allardyce uncertain what to expect from the struggling champions in today’s game.
“I’m not sure whether it’ll make my job harder or not to be honest,” Allardyce said.
“Everybody expects a reaction when a manager gets sacked, and sometimes there is and sometimes there isn’t.
“I always think it’s quite a sad state of affairs when a team actually plays better when their manager has been sacked.
“I find it irresponsible from a players’ point of view, especially when they come out after the game and say: ‘We’ve done that for the old manager’.
“I think there will be a reaction from their players but I also think what happens with the crowd could be interesting.”
Allardyce knows that inflicting a 10th Premier League defeat of the season on Chelsea could make a crucial difference to Sunderland’s campaign.
“It’s fair to say that if we were to win, it would put a huge amount of pressure on Chelsea because we’d end up on 15 points, the same as they are,” he said.
“That would take them further down the league and it would be a huge success for us.
“Their players haven’t seen this before. They have had huge pressure at the top but the pressure down here is different.”
BIG MATCHES ON THE CARDS
Second-placed Arsenal host thirdplaced Manchester City on Monday, while surprise leaders Leicester travel to Everton today.
Arsenal are two points behind Leicester and one ahead of City and a victory over Manuel Pellegrini’s side would be the perfect boost for Arsene Wenger’s men heading into the busy Christmas programme.
The Gunners’ chances of beating City would be greatly improved if Chile forward Alexis Sanchez is fit to feature after a hamstring injury and French manager Wenger is cautiously optimistic.
“Maybe there is a slight chance for Alexis to be in the squad again, but it is too early to be sure about it,” Wenger said.
City seem more likely to have a key figure back in time for the Emirates Stadium showdown after Argentina striker Sergio Aguero, who has missed the last four games in all competitions, returned to full training on Wednesday following a heel problem.
With just one defeat from 16 league matches, Everton manager Roberto Martinez insists overhauling Leicester will be easier said than done for all their title rivals.
“Leicester deserve to be top of the league,” Martinez said. “I think Claudio Ranieri deserves all the credit for developing the belief in that team.
“Of course they are title contenders. I don’t see why they shouldn’t be. It’s not because they are top of the league, it’s because they’ve been so competitive in every game.”
Manchester United manager Louis van Gaal desperately needs a win against struggling Norwich today to silence the critics of his conservative tactics and keep pace with the leaders.