Mourinho: 'We don't need to change anything' after defeat

A loss after a long unbeaten run provokes a certain wailing and gnashing of teeth, especially among those of us who bought into the narrative that we might actually be able to go the whole season undefeated. But for Chelsea -- and particularly Jose Mourinho -- a loss was never entirely unexpected, and they're not going to overreact:

From the mental point of view the defeat at Newcastle doesn't have any effect on us. We are fine, we don't need a reaction. I always said a defeat would arrive and not by complacency. I'm more than happy with my players and situation. I accept defeat is a normal situation in a championship like the Premier League.

We don't need to change anything, we couldn't be in a better situation - top in the Premier League, top in the Champions League group and in the last eight of the Capital One Cup.

Source: Sky Sports.

Personally I'm always wary of the idea that a setback is meaningless, but I don't think that's what Mourinho is saying here. I hope and trust he has reviewed both the Newcastle loss and the draw and Sunderland to find out what went wrong. Losing is probably more instructive to a team than winning -- it gives you the opportunity to dissect your methods and improve them. But if he's done that and decided that we're still in fine shape just the way we are, fine.

According to the boss, there's no need for a reaction, because Chelsea just need to play like Chelsea to succeed, both on Wednesday and in the long run. And with the Blues in such strong position, who'd argue with him?