Crystal Palace 1-0 Chelsea: Terry own goal damages Blues’ title tilt

Chelsea’s Premier League title hopes suffered a major blow after John Terry’s 52nd-minute own goal condemned Jose Mourinho’s side to a 1-0 defeat at relegation-threatened Crystal Palace on Saturday.

The loss, Chelsea’s second successive away defeat, meant the league leaders were unable to increase the pressure on Manchester City and Liverpool, their nearest challengers.

For Palace, a first win in six games moved Tony Pulis’s side five points clear of the bottom three and improved their chances of avoiding an immediate return to the Championship.

Chelsea were unable to find a response after Terry had headed past Petr Cech from Joel Ward’s cross and Mourinho must now lift his side ahead of their Champions League quarter-final first leg at Paris Saint-Germain.

Mourinho had chosen to focus on the defeat at Aston Villa two weeks previously, and not last weekend’s comprehensive 6-0 defeat of Arsenal, in the build-up to this game, repeating his criticism of referee Chris Foy’s performance at Villa Park.

The Chelsea manager admitted that he feared the loss could prove costly to his side’s title hopes and acknowledged that they could not afford to slip up again against another team in the bottom half of the table.

Perhaps with one eye on the midweek trip to Paris, Mourinho made a switch to a 4-3-3 formation, employing David Luiz, Nemanja Matic and Frank Lampard in a three-man midfield.

The change appeared to unsettle the visitors and they struggled to find the fluency that marked the opening stages of the victories against Galatasaray and Arsenal that followed the loss at Villa.

Source: AFP