Jose Mourinho Comments on Manchester City Defeat, John Terry's Substitution

Jose Mourinho called Manchester City's emphatic 3-0 win over Chelsea "completely fake." He also defended his "tactical" decision to withdraw captain John Terry at half-time, per BBC Sport Online's Neil Johnston:

City ran riot thanks to goals from Sergio Aguero, skipper Vincent Kompany and Fernandinho. Yet Mourinho thought it was only during the first 45 minutes that his side were inferior, per 101 Great Goals:

While he won't find many takers not wearing Chelsea blue to endorse that argument, he was defiant about his decision to remove Terry at the break, according to Squawka:

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Jose Mourinho: "John Terry had no injury, I'm the one who gave him a chance at Chelsea." #CFC pic.twitter.com/lYCGnNOrp8

— Squawka News (@SquawkaNews) August 16, 2015"

Mourinho may be the boss, but a player as proud as Terry won't welcome being made the scapegoat so publicly. Yet the Chelsea gaffer insisted his decision to introduce young Frenchman Kurt Zouma was purely tactical, according to Duncan Castles of the Sunday Times:

Mourinho's reasoning is OK here. But why not start with Zouma if there's a concern about pace? Chelsea have already struggled with speed against both Arsenal and Swansea City earlier this season.

This wreaks of yet another transparent deflection tactic from Mourinho. Expect all the talk this week to be about Terry and his future rather than a Chelsea wobble that's beginning to look precariously close to a collapse.