Jose Mourinho's Chelsea will not go unbeaten this season. However, they now face their toughest test yet - bouncing back from defeat, writes Matthew Stanger.
Sunday 7 December 2014 12:33, UK
"When you win a lot, you cannot forget why you win. You cannot think that you win just because you have a nice shirt or you are on a good run or you are in a lucky moment. When you think that, you are in trouble. You never can forget why you are winning matches and maybe we forgot."
Same fixture, same outcome, same sentiment. After Chelsea surrendered their 23-match unbeaten run at Newcastle, Jose Mourinho's warning from November 2013 came back to haunt him. On that occasion, the Blues blew a three-game winning streak with a 2-0 defeat. Saturday brought a similarly frustrating 90 minutes.
Now we have a title race on our hands. It is no wonder Mourinho has played down talk of his team being invincible as he pursues points and prizes. While the perception of Manchester City's form has been skewed by their relatively poor performances in Europe, Mourinho knows the champions are breathing down Chelsea's necks. Victory over Everton has left them only three points off the pace.
City's title bid was boosted by two contrasting results at Sunderland as they finally ended the Black Cats' curse with a 4-1 victory in midweek after Chelsea could only manage a 0-0 draw the previous Saturday. When it came to the Blues facing their own bogey side at St James' Park, they surprisingly came up short again. They have now lost on each of the last three trips to Newcastle; Mourinho has won just once in six visits.
With Nemanja Matic missing through suspension, Chelsea struggled to impose themselves. John Obi Mikel was neat and tidy as always - completing more accurate passes than anyone else on the pitch (95) - but compared to Mourinho's Serbian "giant", his influence was limited. Lining up against experienced scrappers Cheick Tiote and Jack Colback, the Blues were in a battle. Colback made more tackles (seven) than Mikel and Cesc Fabregas combined; being neat and tidy was not the most important requirement.
Despite Mourinho's pre-match claim that records don't bother him, his team's desperation in the closing stages was palpable. Steven Taylor's red card had reduced Newcastle to ten men but, rather than focus on careful approach play to exploit their advantage, the Blues circumvented creativity. The plan was to pump it into the mixer, with Chelsea making 31 crosses in total - 12 more than their average of 19 per game this season.
Suddenly Chelsea are fallible - vincible - offering a renewed sense of hope to their rivals. Remaining unbeaten would have ensured a place in history; how they react to this first defeat will now define their season.
Mourinho need only look to Arsenal's 'Invincibles' for a sign of what can happen when an unbeaten run is brought to an abrupt halt. After Manchester United's 2-0 victory at Old Trafford eventually punctured the Gunners' momentum in 2004, they won just one of the next five matches, drawing against struggling trio Southampton, West Brom, and Crystal Palace. A two-point lead at the top of the table quickly became a five-point deficit as Chelsea jumped into first place and remained there until the end of the season.
Mourinho will be wary of suffering a similar downturn in fortunes. Losing after so long can leave a lingering sense of uncertainty. As the manager said in the wake of defeat to Newcastle last season, you can never forget why you are winning matches. Chelsea have proved themselves to be the strongest team so far, but discovering they are not unbeatable brings a different test.
