Chelsea’s disastrous start to the defence of their Premier League campaign continued at Stoke City as the Potters ran out 1-0 winners.
That makes it seven defeats this term and three consecutive league losses for the first time in 16 years for the beleaguered Blues.
Marko Arnautovic's stunning finish proved the difference between the sides - but what did we learn from the game?
Mourinho was at the Britannia… sort of!
Jose Mourinho wasn’t allowed into the Britannia Stadium but he could easily have snuck in un-noticed given the number of lookalikes in attendance.
Many Chelsea supporters entered the ground wearing Mourinho masks in an amusing show of defiance as their manager served a one-match stadium ban.
One fan had even brought along a lifesize cardboard cutout of the two-time Champions League winner and was waving it about in the away end.
When he was quizzed on whether he will be entering the ground this weekend, the Special One remarked: “I don’t discuss. I told you, with Mourinho, funny stories are over. I have no plans. Maybe I sit on the street corner.
“Maybe I don’t even watch the game. I can’t control the game so what’s the point. It is not easy and you can imagine how I feel.”
While the Chelsea boss had a bad case of the blues after tonight’s 1-0 defeat , there was no signs of anguish on the faces of the dozens of Mourinho-ites in the ground as the masks showed broad smiles from the Portuguese.
Man with a plan?
There were conflicting reports over whether Mourinho could communicate with his coaching staff despite his stadium ban .
Initially, it appeared clear that he would not be able to speak to Steve Holland and co at the Britannia but a report in the Guardian last night suggested he would be permitted to speak with them during play.
There were suggestions from the Daily Mirror while the drama was unfolding that an object spotted in the dugout looked like a walkie-talkie.
Regardless, Mourinho was insistent on one thing in the lead up to this match: I’m in charge at all times and I will make decisions about substitutions.
The Portuguese said he had worked through ‘thousands’ of scenarios with his team this week on the training field.
And, sure enough, Oscar, Cesc Fabregas and Loic Remy all knew the drill as they began warming up immediately after Stoke broke the deadlock.
Mourinho’s script for this match wouldn’t have ended in a 1-0 loss though - that’s for sure!
Costa drought continues
Ray Wilkins this week urged Mourinho to drop Diego Costa as he no longer feels the striker is a threat to opposing defences.
It was hard to disagree with the former Blues assistant manager based on this performance.
Another blank for the Spanish international and that makes it six games without a goal for Costa and five of those performances have resulted in the Blues failing to secure victories.
Remy was thrown on towards the end and looked lively. He really should have had a penalty but leapfrogged an onrushing Jack Butland as he tried to stay on his feet.
There is no doubting Costa’s quality, on his day he is up there with the best strikers in world football, but he is going through a tough time at the moment and the Blues are severely in need of firepower.
Radamel Falcao is expected to be out of action for another few weeks with a muscular injury - not that fans are waiting with baited breath for the return of the Colombian.
Improvement from Hazard
Costa continues to struggle but Eden Hazard showed signs of improvement at Stoke.
He was dropped for the midweek clash with Kiev but was back in the starting XI today .
While he was unable to find a cutting edge, the Belgian was a real bundle of energy and tried absolutely everything to pick the Stoke City lock.
Speculation in recent weeks has suggested he has fallen out with Mourinho but that certainly doesn’t look the case on this performance.
The evidence is there. Hazard is working his way back to form.
Will that form come quick enough to save Mourinho? Only time will tell.
Ivanovic out of favour
Branislav Ivanovic was nowhere to be seen at Stoke despite returning to training this week and looks to have fallen out of favour.
The Serbian was pictured taking part in a session with the rest of the squad on Tuesday at Cobham as the Blues prepared for their Champions League game with Dynamo Kiev.
It was widely expected that he would return to the squad for Wednesday night’s win but didn’t make the cut.
Mourinho was quizzed on his fitness in Friday’s press conference and confirm the full-back was ready to play again after recovering from a hamstring injury that had kept him out for around a month.
There won’t be too many Chelsea fans disappointed to have seen him miss out at the Britannia following a string of poor performances from a defender who has been so reliable over the years.
He didn’t make the bench again for this one.
