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It's difficult to know what to make of the loss to Bradford, since the vast majority of Chelsea fans around the world couldn't see it. Sure, we know the basic shape of things -- getting a two-goal lead against a feisty, dangerous opponent and then merrily pissing it away for no apparent reason -- but unless you were at Stamford Bridge this afternoon the actual specifics are snatched, feverish dreams. All of which makes it difficult to come up with criticisms for the performance beyond 'hey, that should never happen, because it means that you were TERRIBLE'.
Anyway, here's the manager:
Jose Mourinho: 'I feel happy for Bradford despite my feeling for the game. And I also feel ashamed & my players should feel the same.' #CFC
— Chelsea FC (@ChelseaFC) January 24, 2015
Mourinho on what happened "What happened? Football. And it is beautiful" #CFC
— Ben Dinnery (@BenDinnery) January 24, 2015
Mourinho: "It is unacceptable to lose to a team from a lower league. If I was you I would be very critical with Chelsea manager & players."
— Dan Levene (@BluesChronicle) January 24, 2015
Since, as mentioned above, any criticism can only be of the vague, general sort ... here's mine: nobody playing today did well enough. Not the starters, not the subs. Bradford City aren't a joke, but if you're playing in the first team at Chelsea, you should be beating literally every team in the entire country at home. To say nothing of when you're 2-0 up.
If the players switched off, that's on Mourinho. Hell, if they weren't prepared to play, that's on Mourinho for selecting a weakened squad. Yes, this is a freak result and we shouldn't overreact to it, but at the same time it's also a shocking, shocking embarrassment -- the second, in fact, in 24 days. If it serves as a kick up the collective asses of manager and players, good.