Betrayed by players – the men who failed Mourinho revealed

Jose Mourinho’s second reign at Chelsea is over, with many fans feeling he was massively let down by his players. We look at the five biggest form losses at Chelsea between this season and last.

From champions of England to 16th in the Premier League, there were clearly many ways of trying to explain Chelsea’s dramatic collapse under Mourinho this season.

For all the talk of a ‘palpable discord’ at Chelsea and claims that the Eva Carniero row was to blame, it’s abundantly clear that the biggest factor behind Mourinho’s demise was the under-performing players who simply let him down. Ultimately though, and which ever way you want to spin it, bad results and the under-performing stars were what ultimate proved his undoing.

Mourinho himself called it a “betrayal” and, using ratings from whoscored.com, we can reveal the five players who suffered the biggest form drops between this season and last.

5) John Terry

Last season’s average rating: 7.03.

This season’s average rating: 6.53

Form loss: .50

Blame it on his ageing limbs, or the fact that Mourinho managed to just get an extra golden year out of him last time around, the writing looked on the wall for Terry this season when he subbed at half-time of their 3-0 defeat at Manchester City in August. In defence of his form, Terry insisted recently that ‘his legs hadn’t gone and he was never quick’.

4) Branislav Ivanovic

Last season’s average rating: 7.25

This season’s average rating: 6.74

Form loss: .51

A square peg in a round hole, centre-half (by trade) Ivanovic found strong form over the previous three seasons by making the club’s right-back slot his very own. Some questionable form this season has seen the Serbian fall well off the pace and he’s found himself caught out on more than one occasion.

3) Diego Costa 

Last season’s average rating: 7.43

This season’s average rating: 6.91

Form loss: .52

Where do you start with this one? An avalanche of goals last season made Costa look like he was set for a golden career in the Premier League. But amid accusations of returning to pre-season overweight, his spat and subsequent ban following his fracas against Arsenal and then the petulant throwing of his bib in Mourinho’s direction at Tottenham has made this already a season to forget for the striker.

2) Cesc Fabregas

Last season’s average rating: 7.62

This season’s average rating: 7.03

Form loss: .59

A contender for Player of the Year last season before his form dropped off at the start of 2015, Fabregas’ loss of form is perhaps the most surprising of all Chelsea players. Struggling in the differing midfield positions that Mourinho gave the Spaniard, Fabregas was forced to come out and deny accusations that he was leading a player mutiny against his former manager.

1) Eden Hazard

Last season’s average rating: 7.96

This season’s average rating: 7.01

Form loss: .95

The reigning Player of the Year scored 19 times and assisted many last season, but this time around it’s a completely different story, with the Belgian yet to open his account for the campaign. Hazard admitted the he was struggling to inspire Chelsea back in September, and amid links to Real Madrid, the player’s dire season hit its nadir on Monday amid accusations in the Belgian media that he’d faked a hip injury at Leicester in a bid to boycott Mourinho.