Even Chelsea’s captain had to admit he had never seen anything like it before. For the player who has become the embodiment of the club’s golden era under the ownership of Roman Abramovich, the atmosphere during the priceless victory over Sunderland must have felt very strange indeed.
“The fans showed the loyalty they have for José Mourinho,” reflected John Terry after goals from Branislav Ivanovic, Pedro and Oscar eased some of the pressure on the reigning Premier League champions. “The memories he has brought to this club from 2004 and 2005 and last year, the fans will never forget that. There is obviously disappointment from a lot of them and rightly so because of what he has achieved at the club. We had to stand up and be counted.”
No matter where you looked at Stamford Bridge on Saturday, the shadow of “the individual” was never too far away. From the supporters queuing to have their picture taken sitting next to Mourinho in the squad photo that adorns the wall outside the ground to Michael Emenalo seated inconspicuously three rows behind Steve Holland – in charge for this match – it felt as if the seismic events of the last few days could spill into open mutiny before kick-off.
Spotting Emenalo, who had refused to refer to Mourinho by name when he lifted the lid on the “palpable discord” that had existed between the manager and his players, one fan unveiled a banner that urged the board to reinstate the Special One and sack the technical director – described as “the one who does nothing” – instead. He made a hasty retreat to the back of the stand when approached by a steward but there were plenty of other examples of open dissent dotted around the stadium.
Scoring two goals inside the first 13 minutes, first when Ivanovic headed home from a corner – greeted by an extravagant pump of the fist by Emenalo – and then Pedro’s smart finish after a mistake from Sebastián Coates, served only to heighten frustration in the stands. “Where were you when we were shit?” asked the fans. Given the vast improvement all over the pitch, led by a virtuoso performance in midfield from Oscar, they were entitled to wonder.
The Brazilian’s penalty three minutes following the break after Willian was felled by Costel Pantilimon was enough to make sure of the win, although the old jitters did return when Fabio Borini soon pulled one back for Sunderland. Had Jermain Defoe packed his shooting boots, it could have been a different story for Sam Allardyce’s relegation battlers.
Late on the substitutions of Chelsea’s Cesc Fàbregas and Diego Costa were greeted by a chorus of boos from some sections of the ground – Emenalo making a point of rising to his feet to applaud the players. But when Abramovich and the newly installed interim manager, Guus Hiddink, strode across the pitch to speak to the players in the dressing room after the match, Costa was already long gone.
“It’s been a tough few days for sure,” admitted Terry. “We spoke on Friday about staying together; all of us sticking together – not just today or tomorrow but over the next five or six months and getting ourselves back up the league table. Unfortunately the manager’s head is on the block, he loses his job and collectively we have to take responsibility for that, which we have done.”
That was a common theme among Chelsea’s players and staff. Holland – who will remain in his post as assistant along with Eddie Newton when Hiddink begins work later this week – admitted it had been a difficult week for everyone at the club, not least Abramovich, while Pedro acknowledged last week’s performance against Leicester, which eventually cost Mourinho his job, had been “shit”.
Sam Allardyce, the Sunderland manager, also got in on the act, having seen his side slump to a third successive defeat that has left them deep in the relegation mire once more. “I have to be honest I saw so many poor performances in the first half that I could have changed all the outfield players. But I haven’t got that option,” said Allardyce, who left his expensive summer signing Jeremain Lens out of his squad for “disciplinary reasons”, with reports that the Dutchman has been fined two weeks’ wages after refusing to take part in a post-match warm down last week.
But after a week when Terry was parted from the manager he described on social media as “the very best I have EVER worked with”, the final word had to go to him. “We’ve got strong characters, honestly it all comes down to results,” he said. “When you are losing games it is difficult to dig people out and pick each other up. After this result the dressing room is buzzing. It’s amazing what one win can do and how it can turn.” On that, at least, Mourinho would surely concur.
Man of the match Oscar (Chelsea)
