Mourinho: Chelsea were denied a clear penalty

Chelsea manager Jose Mourinho believes referee Mike Jones made a key mistake in failing to award his side a penalty in their shock 1-0 defeat to AFC Bournemouth at Stamford Bridge.

The Premier League champions have now lost eight times in 15 games this season after Glenn Murray’s late header gave the promoted side a famous victory on Saturday.

But Mourinho believes the crucial moment came midway through the second half, when Diego Costa’s cut-back was blocked at close-range by the arm of a sliding Simon Francis.

“The referee made an important mistake,” Mourinho said to Sky Sports.

“I think it is a clear penalty, I think it is a clear handball when the result was 0-0 – but that is part of the game.

“The period when our opponents only thought about defending and keeping a clean sheet to get a point was exactly when they scored their goal. It is a team who were defending and it was our best period.

“In the first half we were not aggressive enough. There were still a couple of shots and chances but in the second half we arrived in dangerous positions a lot of time with a lot of crosses from the right-hand side, especially from Branislav Ivanovic.

“Especially in the second half we did more than enough to create chances to win the game.”

Mourinho was also frustrated by what he perceived as Bournemouth’s time-wasting tactics in the closing stages of the match.

He continued: “Some people call it intelligence, others call it lack of fair play. They were stopping the play, calling for the medical department and drinking water like it is basketball time out.”