Jose Mourinho Must Use 'Disgrace' of Bradford Loss to Spur Chelsea to Success

LONDON — The quadruple is dead. Long live the dream.

Chelsea crashed out of the FA Cup on Saturday, losing 4-2 to League 1 Bradford City in dramatic circumstances.

From being 2-0 up, Jose Mourinho's side threw the game away in what will surely go down as one of the biggest upsets of recent times.

Chelsea's hopes of winning an unprecedented quadruple this season—the Premier League, Champions League, FA Cup and League Cup—went with it, and Mourinho was left to rue an inexcusable display from his players.

"In this moment, I feel happy for [Bradford City]," he said. "I could find in my bad feelings with the game and the result, I could find space to feel happy for them. I'm honest, I'm happy for them.

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"But by another side, I feel ashamed, and I think the players, they should feel exactly the same as I feel.

"[...] I repeat the words that I used yesterday in the press conference, in case if we lose, it's a disgrace. It's a disgrace. A sports disgrace, obviously, but it's a disgrace [...] It's unacceptable."

Nothing more to say there. It was.

Bradford outfought Chelsea here. This wasn't a game won on quality, it was won by a team that chased the victory more—the team that wanted it.

It's an age old cliche, but that's what it all came down to. A simple case of desire.

When the FA Cup throws up these David and Goliath clashes, it's exactly that which levels the playing field. The giant gets caught out by the ambition of the minnow and the unthinkable can happen.

The Bantams didn't lose their nerve when Chelsea looked to be cruising at 2-0 and, after pulling one back just before half-time, chased the win in the second period, getting exactly what their efforts deserved.

Chelsea were complacent; Bradford majestic.

What Chelsea can't afford now is for this result to impact their clash with Liverpool on Tuesday night.

Meeting Brendan Rodgers' side in the second leg of the Capital One Cup semi-final was going to be a meaty affair as it was, but now the importance of that game has been heightened significantly.

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"A person like myself and a club like Chelsea, that always respects the cups and understand the feeling and the meaning of the English cups, if we are out [of the FA Cup] obviously it will be nice to reach the final [of the Capital One Cup] and we are one victory away," the Chelsea manager responded.

Mourinho had made nine changes to his team ahead of the Bradford loss, and he needs to do the same again when Liverpool come to town.

He had eluded to it on Friday; now is the time when games start meaning something in the season. Defeats end the hopes of winning things and more than ever, mistakes must be avoided.

The Chelsea manager was asked if some of his players had played themselves out of contention for Liverpool, and he responded "no."

That's concerning if they haven't.

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One notion is that facing Liverpool gives them a chance to put things right, but it's the likes of Diego Costa, John Terry and the others missing against Bradford who will be given that chance.

Mourinho can't forget what happened against League 1 opponents. He rotated and used the depth of his squad, and when he needed those players, they didn't show up. They let him down, and massively.

When we talk in terms of using the Bradford game as a lesson, it's more a lesson of Mourinho knowing who he can trust to win Chelsea the matches that matter.

A concern will be how Chelsea reacted to Bradford's pressure. The visitors cranked it up after the interval, and rather than using their experience to null the threat, Chelsea got carried away and joined in the fun.

They lacked the craft to take the sting from Bradford's play, rushing themselves into mistakes and inviting the Bantams back onto them.

It became a cup classic because Chelsea allowed it to.

Where was the leadership? Where was the cool head in midfield slowing down the pace of the game, getting Chelsea back in control?

All those qualities and more were vacant.

Chelsea need to remember the lesson Bradford taught them. If they don't, we'll be talking in terms of a quadruple of failure.

Garry Hayes is Bleacher Report's lead Chelsea correspondent. All quotes were obtained firsthand unless otherwise noted. Follow him on Twitter @garryhayes