Chelsea’s terrible season continued as they were beaten by Stoke City at the Britannia Stadium to increase the champions’ problems.
Marko Arnautovic’s second-half goal gave Stoke City a 1-0 victory over Chelsea to pile yet more pressure on the absent Jose Mourinho.
Chelsea boss Mourinho was not at the Britannia Stadium on Saturday as he served a one-match stadium ban following his sending off against West Ham, and there was little to cheer the Portuguese – reportedly watching on television from the team’s hotel – as his side fell to a result that marked his worst league run as a manager.
Defeat was the seventh in their first 12 Premier League matches for the Londoners – the first time any defending champions have struggled so badly, as well as a personal unwanted record number of defeats in a league season for Mourinho.
The last time Chelsea lost so many games so early in a top-flight campaign, 1978-79, they ended up being relegated – and although they will surely not suffer that same fate this term, they are now 16th in the table, just three points clear of the bottom three.
Arnautovic’s acrobatic goal ultimately proved the difference, as the Austrian forward scored with an excellent finish after 53 minutes.
Pedro shot against the post as Chelsea pushed for a leveller late on, but that was the closest they went to finding an equaliser.
