The third season of Jose Mourinho's second spell in charge of Chelsea is
only 15 games old but already is in danger of completely imploding.
With just 11 points from their first 10 league games, Mourinho's title
defence looks to be over and on Tuesday night they crashed out of the Capital
One Cup, another piece of silverware won last year.
In fact, since the Chelsea boss criticised first-team doctor Eva Carneiro
after his side's first game of the season, sparking an unsavoury chain of
events leading to her departure, Chelsea have won just five of their 14 games,
and have lost an astonishing 50 per cent of their fixtures.
Sportsmail looks back through a timeline of where it has all gone wrong for
the Premier League champions...
August 8: Mourinho criticises Chelsea first-team doctor Eva Carneiro and
physiotherapist Jon Fearn for naivety in running on to the field to treat Eden
Hazard in the opening-day draw with Swansea.
The champions were already down to 10 men after Thibaut Courtois was dismissed,
and Mourinho attacked his medical team despite them being obliged to enter the
field of play once instructed to by the referee.
The row rumbles on for some time. Mourinho is cleared by the Football
Association of abusing Carneiro, who then subsequently leaves Chelsea.
August 16: Chelsea lose 3-0 at Manchester City, with captain John
Terry replaced at half-time with his side a Sergio Aguero goal down.
Vincent Kompany and Fernandinho add two more late in the game as Chelsea
fail to win either of their first two games for the first time in 17
years.
August 29: Mourinho's 100th Premier League home match results in only
a second loss as his side go down 2-1 to Crystal Palace.
Radamel Falcao scores his first goal for the club but
Palace immediately go down the other end and score through Joel Ward to beat
the champions.
September 12: The Blues lose 3-1 at Everton, Steven Naismith with a
hat-trick which exposes both Terry and his young central defensive partner Kurt
Zouma.
After five league games Chelsea have conceded at least twice in all of
them, and have just four points.
September 19: Diego Costa is banned retrospectively for a running feud with
Arsenal defenders Laurent Koscielny and Gabriel in Chelsea's 2-0 win.
Costa, a key part of last season's title win, had only scored a solitary
Premier League goal up to this point, but his manager is furious at losing 'an
important player' for three matches.
Arsene Wenger avoids censure afterwards for calling referee Mike Dean 'weak
and naive'. Mourinho turns his frustrations to Wenger and the FA.
He slams the FA for reducing Gabriel's ban, and admits: 'I don't know if my
squad can cope.'
September 19: Diego Costa is banned retrospectively for a running feud with
Arsenal defenders Laurent Koscielny and Gabriel in Chelsea's 2-0 win.
Costa, a key part of last season's title win, had only scored a solitary
Premier League goal up to this point, but his manager is furious at losing 'an
important player' for three matches.
Arsene Wenger avoids censure afterwards for calling referee Mike Dean 'weak
and naive'. Mourinho turns his frustrations to Wenger and the FA.
He slams the FA for reducing Gabriel's ban, and admits: 'I don't know if my
squad can cope.'
Septermber 29: On his return to his former club, Moruinho is beaten
2-1 by Porto in the Champions League.
Mourinho left out stars Eden Hazard and Nemanja Matic,
while Terry was kept on the bench, but it failed to shock his players into
action.
October 3: Following a fourth league defeat, 3-1 by Southampton,
Mourinho questions whether he will be sacked and subsequently receives the
first vote of confidence in a boss in the 12 years of Roman Abramovich's
ownership.
Having taken the lead, Chelsea were pegged back at Stamford Bridge before
Falcao was booked for diving early in the second half.
Mourinho was furious at the decision and after his side subsequently
conceded twice, he launched into an astonishing seven-minute rant on live TV.
He is hit with a £50,000 fine and suspended one-match
stadium ban for comments about referee Robert Madley, which an independent
panel judges, alleged bias.
October 15: The Portuguese maintains his attack on the FA, calls his
fine a 'disgrace' and says: 'I'm happy that I don't have an electronic tag.'
He also continued his feud with Wenger, highlighting what he perceives to
be a discrepancy in the way the two managers are treated.
October 17: Mourinho rounds on star player Eden Hazard after dropping
him to the bench for the 2-0 win over Aston Villa, demanding the Belgian
improve his defensive work rate.
The win, courtesy of a Brad Guzan mistake and an Alan Hutton own goal,
lifts the defending champions up to 11th in the table.
October 24: Chelsea lose again, 2-1 at West Ham, losing Nemanja Matic
to a first half red card and also having assistant first team coach Silvino
Louro sent to the stands.
Mourinho does not emerge on the touchline for the second half, having also
been sent off, apparently for a verbal attack on the official at half time.
The Chelsea boss refuses to talk to the media after his side's fifth league
defeat of the season - two more than in the entire previous campaign.
October 27: Hazard sees his penalty saved as the holders lose a shoot-out
at Stoke to crash out of the Capital One Cup, following a 1-1 draw after 120
minutes.
Chelsea had come from behind in stoppage time to force extra time, but
could not find a way through despite playing 30 minutes against 10 men.
The Portuguese said afterwards: 'My general situation is fantastic. I have
a day off tomorrow, a fantastic family.
'I can sleep well every night. I'm going to enjoy my day and Thursday. It
will be one more day like I have had in the last 15 years of my life - honest
and dedicated.'
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