Another loss for José Mourinho's Chelsea, this time against Liverpool in the EPL, and rumours regarding his sacking are now boiling up amid slashed odds for his sacking, and a club staff meeting in the Stamford Bridge pitch. Mourinho didn't have much to say right after the game, and he followed suit in face of a barrage of questions regarding the refereeing from the media in his post-match conference.
"What do you think [about Lucas' incident]? You are not punished by FA. I am punished if I tell. You are not punished."
"You are all intelligent guys. If you want to write, you write. Next press conference I will bring you nice glasses, maybe you see the game in a better way."
The manager also shared his feeling on his players, giving a glance of Chelsea's locker room following the loss while also defending his squad from the perceived lack of respect towards them:
"The players, they tried. You could feel the attitude. You could feel the desire and that the game was 50/50."
"The recognition of our work is just by getting results. We have some players that are really sad in the dressing room and I am full of respect for them but we see match after match that they are not getting the respect they deserve."
"I am really, really sorry with that lack of respect for professionals."
Philippe Coutinho's goal at stoppage time might have been the consequence of lack of concentration mixed with the bad luck we're finding throughout this season. It also represented a clear swing in the game's momentum in the second half and the loss was only a consequence of these events, according to Mourinho:
"There are things that are out of our hands. Two minutes' extra time, we concede the goal on two minutes 35 seconds.
"Then what happened in the second half everything is a consequence of some crucial moments. Moments that the stadium saw, the players more than see, the players felt it, from now, what happens is just a consequence."
As things continue to spiral, he still believes he won't get sacked by the club:
"No, I don't [think I'll be dismissed]. I go home, I go find a sad family."
"I will try to watch some of the rugby [World Cup final] and disconnect a little bit from this. Then I will start preparing the training session for tomorrow morning and the game for Wednesday [against Dynamo Kiev at home]."
-José Mourinho; Source: ESPN.co.uk
Even considering Chelsea's improved performances over the last few games, especially in the League Cup match against Stoke City last Tuesday, Mourinho's job is far from safe. With individual and collective mistakes becoming a routine in a team that only five months ago were English Premier League champions, his place at Chelsea's helm is justifiably at risk. I suppose we'll be have to pay close attention over the next few days...