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Mourinho may lay the blame on a key decision or two (somewhat laughably) and a couple key defensive mistakes (not so laughably), but in the end, the only things that matter are the 18 games left in the Premier League season. Chelsea and Manchester City, dead even, just as they were before first kick on the weekend of August 16.
Two horse-race and the horses are clones pic.twitter.com/mhptf6VNAn
— Duncan Alexander (@oilysailor) January 1, 2015
Chelsea technically remain on top purely because C comes before M in the English alphabet, but if the season ended today, the two teams would have to contest a one-match playoff to decide the winner of the Premier League. As spectacular as that would be, we have 18 games to ensure an outright championship instead.
It's tempting to overreact to the ignominious, historic battering we received at White Hart Zero Point Lane on Thurs...Spursday. Most goals ever conceded by Chelsea under Mourinho. Just the fourth league win for Spurs in the last quarter century. Etc. Outside of Eden Hazard, no player had a good game and many of Jose's decisions were unconventional as well (using only two subs? Salah?).
As he likes to do, Mourinho spent much of the post-match setting up the Us vs. Them game, a game we're all quite familiar with. If the post-match interview questions were any indication, the articles and op-eds were half written already anyway at the final whistle, too. It's just how it goes. But amidst all that, Mourinho hinted that we're not about to panic just because of one result "out of context."
"The only thing we can do is to work and play well which we are doing all the time, and today we did again. We made defensive mistakes but when we had the ball we were always dangerous, we created and we had initiative."
"We are going to do exactly what we have been doing..."
Onwards and upwards!
P.S.: If you're waiting for Graham's match report ... well ... let's just take you to a live shot of WAGNH Towers: