'Betrayal' of Jose Mourinho Shows Chelsea Players Culpable in Club's Demise

KING POWER STADIUM, Leicester—Battle lines were drawn on Monday and they weren't between Chelsea and Leicester City.

Instead we saw Jose Mourinho publicly attack his players for a lack of application and "betrayal" of his methods in their 2-1 defeat against the Foxes.

Speaking to Sky Sports' Monday Night Football in the aftermath, the Chelsea boss explained: "One of my best qualities is that I can read the game and identify the strengths of the opponent and tell my players that.

"[It's a] big frustration to accept the goals [from Jamie Vardy and Riyad Mahrez] because my work was betrayed."

They were strong words that tell us Mourinho has seen enough from this squad that is failing beyond all comprehension.

Never before in English football have reigning champions defended their title so poorly; never before under Roman Abramovich's reign have Chelsea flirted with a relegation dogfight like they are now.

Chelsea are just one point above the drop zone. They've become easy to beat and the lack of desire shown from some players is a worrying sign they don't have the character to pull themselves up the table.

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Mourinho was already frustrated on TV and it continued in an astonishing post-match press conference.

"I worked for four days on this match," he said. "I prepared everything related to the opposition.

"I identified four movements where they score almost all of their goals. My players got all that information and training in the last three days. From the four types of situation I identified we conceded the first and the second goal.

"I think they listened and they are good enough, but the mistakes were there."

Chelsea's predicament doesn't rest solely on the manager's shoulders. The Stamford Bridge players have shown themselves they are equally—if not more so—culpable in this.

Eden Hazard being the prime example after he limped out of the Leicester game with a hip injury.

"He made the decision in a few seconds," Mourinho added. "When he came off he said he couldn't do it, a couple of seconds later he said he would try, and when he went back on two seconds later he immediately decided to go back off."

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Chelsea needed their best player on Monday, and Hazard cut the figure of a man who didn't want to be there fighting alongside his team-mates. Like he has been for much of the season, he was missing.

It's not the injury that's the concern but more the refusal to even attempt to run it off and play his way back into the game. To do that requires sacrifice and a willingness to push beyond physical capabilities.

It may well prove in the coming days that Hazard's injury is more serious than we first thought. He landed heavily when fouled by Vardy and received a prolonged spell of treatment.

Mourinho's point, however, is that the Belgian was too quick to write himself off. No sooner was he stepping back on to the pitch than Hazard was walking down the tunnel.

His body language, throwing his hand up in dismissal of the manager, was telling. Just like this performance was for Chelsea.

The slightest sign of a problem, Hazard disappeared. And that's exactly what happened with the rest of the Chelsea team.

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Reigning champions they may be, but Chelsea look inferior against almost every opponent they face.

We can point fingers at the manager for his role in this, but when he's preparing the players for three days and they still perform well below par, it's time they looked at themselves.

That was the message Mourinho was articulating when he suggested more of his team adopt a humble attitude.

"They have to look to the Leicester boys and feel that they are the stars, they are the top players," he said.

And he's right. This Chelsea team may well be packed full of World Cup winners, players who have lifted every trophy possible in the club game, but right now they appear far from it.

Chelsea's stars looked washed up against Leicester, despite a 30-minute spell at the end of the game when a change in formation and a more gung-ho approach pulled them back into contention.

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Of course, tactical decisions such as that are Mourinho's responsibility. Had Chelsea attacked Leicester like that from the off, it may well be a different story altogether, so the manager must share his portion of the blame.

If his players refuse to listen to his instructions, though, things are only going one way. 

That's the concern here—for Mourinho and Chelsea. Through sticking by the manager the way he has, Abramovich has shown he maintains the belief Mourinho is the right man for the job. But how long for?

Betrayal is a strong word. It suggests many things, namely that a mutiny is boiling away under the surface at Chelsea, and it's one that must be dealt with before the fallout is too much for the Blues to handle.

The manager is playing a dangerous game by speaking out against it in the media. Equally, so too are those players who "betrayed" Mourinho at the King Power Stadium.

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It's not just their reputations on the line at this moment, it's the immediate future of Chelsea. To allow personal feelings to come between creates damage that is beyond repair.

Chelsea have been here much too often in recent times, allowing player power to dictate the direction the club takes.

Mourinho is attempting to make a stand against that, and in doing so, it seems defeat away to Leicester was the beginning of the end.

Just what end is written in the Chelsea annals remains to be seen.

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