Mourinho crisis? Abramovich steps in after Chelsea defeat

Chelsea 1 Basle 2. Chelsea boss Jose Mourinho was left with egg on his face after his young side were humbled in the opening match of their Champions League campaign at Stamford Bridge, a result that prompted a visit to the dressing room from owner Roman Abramovich.
It was the first time the Blues had lost a home game in the group stages of the competition for ten years. They have now gone four games without a win. It is becoming impossible to ignore the fact that Mourinho's return has failed to live up to expectations. Last night many observers were at pains to point out that had Chelsea experienced their current bad run under former boss, Rafa Benitez, the fans would be calling for blood.
Oscar gave the home side the lead on the stroke of half-time, although his strike was Chelsea's first serious effort on target in the match. Basle came out fighting in the second period and Mohamed Salah equalised after 71 minutes. That prompted Mourinho to introduce Demba Ba for his Champions League debut, but it was the Swiss side that now carried more of a threat.

The visitors' winner duly arrived in the 82nd minute courtesy of a near post header from Marco Streller.
There were a few boos at full time and afterwards the Blues boss, who had described his players as "beautiful young eggs" before the match was forced to admit they had underperformed. But is it too early to talk of a crisis at Stamford Bridge?
BBC pundit Chris Waddle believes the Blues have some issues to address, as Chelsea's creative midfielders are not being allowed to roam free. "I've watched them this season and they seem a little rigid. It's like they're in a straitjacket," he says.
Others believe that what Chelsea need is a powerhouse centre forward like Didier Drogba, the jewel in Mourinho's original Blues side. "At times this season, for all their promisingly intricate approach work, Chelsea have resembled a brilliantly armoured cavalryman riding into battle waving a baguette," argues Barney Ronay in The Guardian.
The BBC points out that only one of Chelsea's seven goals this season has come from a recognised centre forward.
Talking on Sky Sports, Jamie Redknapp asked of Mourinho: "What is this guy up to?"
"I don't think Jose really knows what his best team is. When you play football it's about building relationships, be it centre backs, midfielders, wide men, front men; at the moment nobody can develop any relationships because they don't know who's going to play or what team it's going to be."
Mourinho's claims that his squad lacks maturity were exposed by the fact that the starting XI had an average age of almost 28 and the three players under the age of 23 cost a combined £65m and have 62 international caps between them, argues Matt Hughes in The Times Matt Hughes.
"The self-portrait of a neglected manager left to work with the youth team is as disingenuous — and transparent — as anything in his substantial catalogue of mind games," says Hughes. "The Portuguese is already making a play to be given more time."
Whether he gets it remains to be seen. The Daily Mail gleefully reports that Chelsea's trigger-happy owner Roman Abramovich was seen emerging from the dressing rooms after the post-match inquest. ·