Manchester City Defeat Shows the Title Is Already Gone for Chelsea
Jose Mourinho wasn't just summarising Chelsea's defeat to Manchester City, he was unintentionally playing clairvoyant.
Speaking to the Sky Sports cameras at the final whistle, the Chelsea boss was adamant his team had fallen victim to the proverbial game of two halves.
And in so doing he foretold how we can expect this season to pan out.
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"The best team in the first half won the game," Mourinho explained. "The best team in the second half was Chelsea, for sure. We had a difficult first half where they were the best team and we didn't create a lot. Our goalkeeper made a few important saves.
"In the second half, everything was different. If the one-nil was a doubtful result, at minute 70, 75, the three-nil is completely fake because at one-nil Chelsea was the best team.
"We had a big chance to equalise, they made a change because they felt the one-zero was in danger. They took one attacking player to put on a defensive player and it's exactly in that moment that we concede the second and third goal.
"[If Eden Hazard scored when one-on-one with Joe Hart] of course it's a different story."
Only it wasn't and it isn't going to be for 2015/16.
Ifs and buts aren't going to cut it for Chelsea. The reality is they were well beaten by a Manchester City team that looks to be on a mission to right their perceived wrongs from last season.
We're just over halfway through August, let alone close to the end of the month. There are 36 games still left to play, 273 days until the 2015/16 Premier League champions are crowned.
There's so much to play for, but right now we can already write off Chelsea's chances of retaining their title.
It's not because there's a five-point gap already between them and City. It's not because Chelsea are not good enough, either.
It's because Chelsea aren't ready to defend their title. And when they will be, it'll be too late.
We saw it at the Etihad Stadium on Sunday.
Whether or not Chelsea were the best team after the interval is based on opinions. Manuel Pellegrini will say no, Mourinho the opposite, yet what's certain is that Chelsea enjoyed their best period of this game in that time.
They attacked with more desire, looked more threatening and did much more than they had in the first half. It mattered for little, though, as they were left with too much to do and despite coming close, the game got away from them.
That's being generous.
City had shocked Chelsea within the first 30 seconds when Sergio Aguero should have put them ahead having beaten the offside trap only to shoot straight at Asmir Begovic.
That was an early warning as to what was coming, just as these opening two Premier League games have been for Chelsea's overall campaign.
There will come a point when they're back to their best this season, ruthlessly brushing teams aside at will. But right now their form and fitness are such that it's difficult to see where the next win is going to come from.
And when they do eventually hit form, the title would have since long pass them by.
Does Mourinho think City will be sat around waiting for them to make a fist of their title challenge? Will Arsenal and Manchester United be doing the same?
We all know the answer and for those doubting that, we need only look at the transfer market.
Where Chelsea have rested and waited, their major rivals have strengthened. And if we add Liverpool into the equation, it's clear how far the line of intent stretches.
Like the first 45 minutes at the Etihad, Chelsea have been sleeping and they're paying the ultimate price for that now.
Ahead of the City visit, Mourinho explained his approach to pre-season this year, conceding his players aren't fully fit after their late return to training.
In among the furore of the medical debate that threatened his pre-match briefing on Friday, the manager said it was wise to give his players a full month off to ensure they can last the season this year having struggled toward the end of the last campaign.
"This season, we tried to go in another direction [for pre-season]," he explained. "We had a slower start, a short pre-season. Clearly, we know what we are doing; clearly some bodies didn't react as well as we expected.
"This week was a fantastic week for us as it was another week of pre-season. There were no matches, just training Monday to Sunday. The next week will be the same, the next week will the same and the next week will be the same.
"We also know that the first four fixtures of the season are four matches with one week before. So in the end of this fourth match we are going to be in a good situation."
Chelsea won the Premier League after 35 games last season, so perhaps Mourinho thinks they only need 34 this time out as that's what it appears Chelsea have planned for.
If Chelsea aren't going to be fully fit and firing until the end of August, what else are we left to assume? It's as though the club has written off the first month of the campaign.
Right here and now, in "a good situation" Chelsea are not. It would have been painful for the traveling fans to witness the City loss, yet more than the scoreline, it was the manner in which they were turned over that will frustrate.
City looked imperious; it was as though they were the champions and Chelsea the plucky rival who couldn't match them.
Mourinho's team was bullied all over the pitch—a factor best shown in those second and third goals.
On each occasion, Branislav Ivanovic was at fault. His feeble attempt to challenge Vincent Kompany in the air saw the Belgian head past Begovic. It was then a weak, tired clearance the saw Ivanovic dispossessed by David Silva for Fernandinho to fire in the third.
Ivanovic looked like a man resigned to his fate, unable to fight a losing battle.
We've seen it before, of course. The City bullies aren't the only side to have done this against Chelsea. It happened in March against 10-man Paris Saint-Germain when the Blues' weaknesses were laid bare for the entire continent to see.
Laurent Blanc produced the formula to defeat Chelsea and it worked for City.
Chelsea haven't addressed the problems we saw at Stamford Bridge almost six months ago. They are still lightweight in midfield and when teams have the personnel, they can get at them and cause problems. Just like City.
With just a fortnight remaining in the transfer window, it's going to be a tough ask for Mourinho to get that part of his squad right.
Those problems aren't going away any time soon, neither is this issue of Chelsea's apparent fatigue and extended pre-season schedule.
It's why, among the many different factors, the title is already lost.
Chelsea have left themselves with too much to do. When they're ready, the rest will be out of sight.
Garry Hayes is Bleacher Report's lead Chelsea correspondent. All quotes were obtained firsthand unless otherwise noted. Follow him on Twitter @garryhayes
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