Jamie Carragher Leads Condemnation of Jose Mourinho and Chelsea After PSG Loss

Former Liverpool defender Jamie Carragher has branded Chelsea's players "disgraceful" after they rallied to get Zlatan Ibrahimovic sent off during Wednesday's Champions League loss to Paris Saint-Germain.

The Swedish striker was dismissed in the first half after a lunging tackle on Oscar, but admittedly, both players went in hard. A caution for both would have sufficed, but Chelsea players quickly hounded referee Bjorn Kuipers into making a snap judgement. 

Carragher is among the many who condemns such behaviour. The Sky Sports pundit pinpoints Jose Mourinho's influence in such a moment, reported by Alex Sharp of the MailOnline:

"

The reaction from the Chelsea players is disgraceful. It's something that is sad that is coming into the game. It comes from I think Jose Mourinho's teams, they have this reaction, it's not a one off.

[...] I always think with Mourinho’s teams that they will always be respected but they’ll never be loved because of situations like this. They take winning to another level that no other team or manager does that I’ve seen over the years.

"

Matt Dunham/Associated Press

Chelsea didn't grab the victory, however, conceding late in extra time to make it 2-2 on the night, with PSG advancing via away goals after a 3-3 aggregate score. Mourinho's side failed to make the man advantage pay off, playing laboured football that lacked creativity.

Zlatan's tackle, which saw him receive an early bath, can be seen below:

Liverpool defender Jose Enrique highlighted the side's influence in the Ibrahimovic decision:

While ex-Manchester United right-back Gary Neville labelled it "shrewd" play by Chelsea, per Sharp, his Sky Sports colleague Graeme Souness fell on Carragher's side:

"

In Jamie’s (Carragher) generation, when someone caught you, the last thing you wanted to show your opponent is that you’re injured, today it’s the exact opposite. If someone brushes you, you want to go down and get them in trouble. That’s how pathetic it is.

Thank goodness PSG stood up to that and leave here with great credit. They are the proper team.

"

The reaction of Ibrahimovic and pundit Mark Lawrenson was tweeted by BBC Sport:

Blues captain John Terry, who was one of the players surrounding the referee, defended his side's actions, per Matt Barlow of the MailOnline:

"

If I have to run 20, 30 yards, it doesn't look great but when you're standing back and seeing five or six of their players surrounding the ref, for me I think I support my team-mates. And once I go, four or five go with me. It doesn't look good at all but that's part of the game. We'll match it if people want to mix it, that's part of our game as well.

[...] Once they're charging the ref, the only thing we can do is respond. You can't as a group of players let them surround the ref, trying to get our players booked.

"

John Cross of the Mirror suggests Chelsea and Mourinho were rightfully beaten:

It was a strangely flat performance from Chelsea, who had a week to prepare for the second-leg tie. PSG made the pitch appear huge with their accurate passing and calmness in possession, making up for the loss of Ibrahimovic by keeping control of the ball. They didn't invite pressure by becoming overly compact and worked to their strengths even when it would have been easy to get overrun.

Matt Dunham/Associated Press

They were rightful winners in the end, an assessment Mourinho agrees with: "We didn't deserve to go through," said the Portuguese boss, per Matt Barlow of the Daily Mail. Both sides were extremely physical—quite often without the ball—with Diego Costa being involved in many of the night's talking points, highlighted by World Soccer Talk and Squawka:

Mourinho's side are struggling to receive positive press after the result, and indeed, the moment which saw Ibrahimovic dismissed.

Chelsea need to show immaculate behaviour in their final 11 Premier League games, as many onlookers will be itching to witness another showing of team peevishness.

A simple run to the Premier League title awaits if Chelsea can get back on track. Mourinho is a quality tactician, someone who has the ability to turn games in his side's favour on a weekly basis, but he needs to find a quick response after being humbled by Laurent Blanc's team.