Jose Mourinho must be wishing there was a rewind button on life, not more than one week ago everything seemed fine. One week later the defending champions are in tatters; annihilated at the hands of the title rivals, his first defeat to a top four side since his return two seasons ago.

It’s not the defeat but the manner of it which is a concern. The performance was very Un-Chelsea like, Very Un-Mourinho like. The team lacked organization, composure and had no game plan. Apart from the 20 odd minutes in the second half when they took control of the possession, Chelsea were chasing the game.

Asmir Begovic deputizing for the suspended Courtois was the best player on the pitch for Chelsea, standing in line to defend wave after wave of City attacks spearheaded by Kun Aguero. Man City kept on coming and finally reaped rewards of persistence late in the second half with goals from Kompany and Fernandinho.

Ivanovic, a shadow of a player we’re used to seeing

Ivanovic had a shocker for Chelsea, caught out of position time and time again. He was no match for Sterling’s pace and his marking was put to the sword by City’s front men. Just few months ago he was hailed as one of the best right backs in the country; this season maybe his twin brother showed up.  

 

Aging backline – JT singled out

Chelsea look defensively very fragile after just two games into the season. Captain John Terry was replaced by Mourinho for the first time in 177 games he has played under Mourinho, for tactical reasons as Chelsea played a highline and needed Kurt Zouma’s pace to counter Man City’s threat – but to no avail.

Lack of activity in the transfer market will haunt Chelsea

The crisis isn’t losing to Man City, it runs a lot deeper. The fact that Chelsea haven’t really been active in the transfer market is a huge worry even more so given the spending from all the title rivals.

The cracks were beginning to appear last season as Chelsea’s squad depth was exposed at the back end of last season but because Chelsea’s first XI was so good, any weakness was overlooked. Mourinho managed his players wisely to seal the title with a few games to go but it was evident this team needs reinforcements.

Mourinho forcing the board’s hands?

Chelsea have already signed Baba Rahman from FC Augsburg but still need defensive cover for Gary Cahill and John Terry. Chelsea not being able to reach an agreement for John Stones will be frustrating for Mourinho.

Mourinho’s substitution of JT at half time may have been his signal to the board that he needs players. Instead of taking off the badly struggling Cahill, he chose to take off the heart and soul of his backline. John Terry, one of Jose’s biggest allies wouldn’t like being scapegoated like he was yesterday and keeping him on his side will be Mourinho’s biggest test.

It’s speculative but he might just be playing with fire by trying to force the board’s hands into getting him a top class CB, possibly Stones. Classic Mourinho!

Fabregas, a big game problem

Chelsea needs defensive cover and a midfield enforcer someone who can dictate the play alongside Nemanja Matic. Cesc Fabregas is a brilliant player but Mourinho doesn’t seem to trust him in the big games and rightly so. Matic needs someone to share the burden of defensive duties in the pivot since Fabregas is brushed aside rather easily.

It may not be a crisis after-all but few would argue it isn’t looming. Chelsea are still the defending Champions, 5 points behind Manchester clubs with 36 games to play. Must be nice to have their sort of crisis, but given Chelsea’s miserable start to the season and Mourinho’s bust up with the club medics, one would imagine all is not right at SW6.

Mourinho, a self-proclaimed Chelsea fan, needs to raise his hand up and take the blame for what’s happening rather than playing the blame game and finding scapegoats. The season has only just begun, still a long way to go before the destination of this season’s title is decided. Chelsea need to act fast and address the issues if they are to be there or there about come May.