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JOSÉ MOURINHO has never won a Premier League match on Tyneside and, despite initially declaring he had “no complaints” after their 2-1 loss, Chelsea’s manager could not resist suggesting this unscheduled defeat had been down to a time-wasting conspiracy orchestrated by the home side. “We wanted to play more football, but it wasn’t possible because of a few things I thought didn’t belong any more to top-level football, but still belong here,” he said. “The ball disappeared, the ball doesn’t come, another ball comes, the ball boys run away. These kinds of situations that’re, unfortunately, still part of the game. But no complaints.”
While Mourinho suggested there should have been 20 minutes of stoppage time at the end of the game, Alan Pardew was nonplussed by the six minutes that were added and Mourinho’s ball-boy-related comments.
“José’s frustrated,” he said. “I understand that, but you’ve got to give the opposition credit. José’s moan at the ball boys was a bit harsh. Come on, it’s unbelievable. José won’t agree, but we’ve done the Premier League a favour by making the title race more interesting.”
Chelsea have now lost their past three league games at Newcastle, with the first of that sequence coming when Rafael Benítez was in charge. “We aren’t invincible,” said Mourinho, whose players could not capitalise on Steven Taylor’s 81st-minute sending-off for a second bookable offence. “We were unlucky. The best team lost. The team that tried to win, lost. It’s a lucky day for Newcastle, but that’s football. Congratulations to Newcastle.”
Not that he blamed the referee, Martin Atkinson. “I’d be very disappointed if the first defeat had arrived because of a big refereeing mistake or my team being complacent, I’d be very sad. But that’s not the case, the referee was very good and my players tried everything to win. We were unlucky – but one day we will be lucky.” — The Guardian
Online Reporter