Amid the face masks, cut-out and chants reminding the world of the man who was not in attendance, there was a banner in the away end that focused on those who were, specifically the Chelsea players.
It was two together, in fact, one on top of the other, and they read: “Fight for the badge/Fight for us.” A basic and, some would say, desperate plea but for those who watched on as their team lost yet again, comfort could at least be taken from the sense that it had been fulfilled, and with it a belief that Chelsea’s slide towards the Championship can be halted.
That their season is being talked about in those terms may seem preposterous but the truth can no longer be denied – a team who cantered to the title six months ago are involved in a relegation scrap. They sit 16th after this defeat, only three points above the bottom three, and face Norwich City, who are one place and one point above them, after the international break, knowing another reverse could plunge Chelsea even closer to the dotted line.
The depth of Chelsea’s decline lies in the numbers: they have lost seven of their first 12 top-flight fixtures for the first time since the 1978–79 season – when, it should be noted, they were relegated – and suffered three successive league defeats for the first time since October 1999. This is also the first time José Mourinho has lost more than six league matches in a single campaign as a manager and, watching on from his hotel suite as Stoke City struck against his team, the Portuguese could have been forgiven for glancing over at the bedside telephone and wondering if a call was going to come from reception telling him a Russian gentleman carrying a P45 was waiting for him downstairs.
As things stand, Roman Abramovich has no plans to sack yet another manager and for Mourinho the task now is to try yet again to stop the rot. What was glaringly obvious from this match is that his players remain woefully short of confidence – but the fight is certainly there. It could be seen literally at times, for instance when Willian squared up to Marko Arnautovic midway through the second half, and shortly after the Austrian gave Stoke the lead with a superb volley. Or in the manner of their desire to salvage something from this contest, such as when Eden Hazard carried the ball from his own half into opposition territory with a late, driving run.
Chelsea did not give up, as was also the case in their 2-1 victory over Dynamo Kyiv on Wednesday, and from within the squad came the insistence that they have no intention of doing so in the weeks to come. “What is going well is that the team is together and everyone understands the situation we are in,” said Nemanja Matic.
“We are working hard to make the situation better but in this moment we are not having any luck. For me, the table is not realistic because Chelsea deserve more and we will try to recover points which we lost.”
What would almost certainly help that process is Mourinho picking a settled team. This season he has constantly altered his selections and while injuries have played their part, some of the tinkering has been unnecessary, bordering on panicked.
There was more of the same on Saturday, with Pedro and Hazard coming in for Cesc Fàbregas and Oscar.
As it turned out, both did well here, with Hazard looking at times back to his very best and Pedro producing arguably his most eye-catching display since arriving from Barcelona in August.
Willian was also impressive again, while in centre-midfield Ramires and Matic played with a level of aggression and control that has been severely lacking within the champions’ ranks this season.
Defensively, Chelsea also looked more solid, although at left-back Baba Rahman was given a torrid time by the outstanding Xherdan Shaqiri.
The 21-year-old has struggled ever since arriving from Augsburg in August and with Branislav Ivanovic back to full fitness, he could well find himself thrust out of first-team duties.
So the basis of a competitive Chelsea team is there, with the only major dilemma for Mourinho regarding what to do up front following another display from Diego Costa in which he spent more time trying to wind up the opposition than score against them. What was noticeable, however, was how well he linked up with Loïc Rémy after the Frenchman came on as a substitute, most notably supplying the excellent pass from which Rémy could, and arguably should, have earned an 84th-minute penalty, having hurdled Jack Butland’s challenge. Would it make sense for Mourinho to play the pair as a strike partnership? It is surely worth a shot for a team whose current top scorer is own goals.
Whatever the case, Mourinho needs to pick a settled side if Chelsea are going to stride out of the darkness. At least in the absence of their manager and a victory, they appeared to take a step in the right direction here.
For Stoke, this was a third match without loss and a second victory over Chelsea in the space of 11 days, with the team combining ruggedness in defence with skill and craft in attack. Little wonder, then, that their manager was in a state of satisfaction afterwards.
“The perception is that we’ve had a slow start [to the season] but in fairness we are 16 points to the good now and that equals our best start after 12 games in the Premier League,” said Mark Hughes. “So we’re not doing bad.”
Man of the match Xherdan Shaqiri (Stoke City)
