LONDON, ENGLAND – OCTOBER 24: Jose Mourinho Manager of Chelsea high fives with West Ham United mascot Bubbles prior to the Barclays Premier League match between West Ham United and Chelsea at Boleyn Ground on October 24, 2015 in London, England. (Photo by Clive Rose/Getty Images)

Mourinho and Matic sent off as Chelsea melts down even more with West Ham loss

For neutral fans, the West Ham/Chelsea game was entertaining theater in a Shakespearean tragedy kind of way. West Ham beat Chelsea 2-1 but that was only a small part of what went on at the Boleyn Ground.

Even though Chelsea was dominating possession, West Ham got on the board first. Mauro Zarate scored the opening goal off the corner kick and put West Ham up 1-0 in the 17th minute. Then things went off the rails for Chelsea.

Chelsea appeared to have scored an equalizer with a great Cesc Fabregas shot but he was ruled offside. It certainly looked close live and the replay didn’t help much either. The replay made a case that Fabregas was onside and Chelsea had a goal taken away. Now I’m sure Adrian would have tried a bit harder and tried to save the shot if Fabregas was onside so it would’ve been tougher to convert but Chelsea very likely would have scored and been even on goals.

Then after the offside play, Chelsea thought they had scored again with a Kurt Zouma header but it was cleared off the line. Obviously it wasn’t a goal because the goal line technology sensor on the referees wrist didn’t go off but we didn’t realize how close it was to be a goal until we saw the photo. If the decision were up to humans, that would’ve been a goal so goal line technology comes through again.

Then right before the half, things really went on its head. Nemanja Matic, already on a yellow card, committed a foul and got his second yellow to be sent off. Players crowded around the ref, resulting in yellows to Diego Costa and Fabregas for dissent. One of Chelsea’s assistant coaches got sent off for leaving the technical area to argue and then during halftime, Jose Mourinho got sent off for trying to get into the referees locker room, which is a major no-no. He had to watch the rest of the game from a luxury box.

Despite things going against them and being a man down, Chelsea found a way to equalize and there was a glimpse of hope. Gary Cahill got himself on the right side of the corner kick and equalized in the 56th minute.

But whatever momentum Chelsea was picking up, that all went away once Andy Carroll came on and headed in the game winning goal for West Ham. Chelsea lost 2-1 and in a smart move, Mourinho refused to speak to the media after the game. The loss now puts Chelsea at 15th place and eight points outside the top four. We didn’t think it was going to get any worse for Chelsea and then this happened. At some point, things have to turn around for them. Don’t they?

About Phillip Bupp

Producer/editor of the Awful Announcing Podcast and Short and to the Point. News editor for The Comeback and Awful Announcing. Highlight consultant for Major League Soccer as well as a freelance writer for hire. Opinions are my own but feel free to agree with them. Follow me on Twitter and Instagram @phillipbupp

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