Chelsea let West Ham hold them to a 0-0 draw at Stamford Bridge. It was a great result for relegation threatened West Ham and an equally bad one for title challenging Chelsea, and the blame for the result falls on Chelsea's inability to finish — a recurring theme this season. But instead of calling out the players for their shortcomings or asking whether Chelsea will spend that Juan Mata money on a reliable striker, everyone was too busy being shocked! stunned! and galled! by Jose Mourinho's hypocritical post-match comments.
From Chelsea's official website:
"It is very difficult to play a match when only one team wants to play," said Mourinho after the 0-0 draw that keeps Chelsea third in the table.
"Football matches are about two teams playing but because West Ham needed points they came here the way they did.
"Is it acceptable? Maybe yes,' he added. 'I don't want to criticise too much because if I was in their position I don't know if I would do the same. But at the same time this is not football from the Premier League, the best league in the world, this football from the 19th Century.
"I am happy with my players. Especially in the second half the West Ham goalkeeper saved a lot but also other players without gloves, they saved a lot. They had five defenders who looked more goalkeepers than defenders."
"The only thing I could have brought more was a Black & Decker to destroy the wall," Mourinho added.
Of course, Jose Mourinho bemoaning someone else parking the bus is rich and it's impossible for him not to know that. He's been accused of perpetrating "anti-football" for years. Xavi accuses him of it on a near weekly basis. And West Ham's style of play clearly wasn't the problem for Chelsea. Despite their 19th Century football and wall that required power tools to break through it, Chelsea still had 39 shots (nine on target) to West Ham's one. Chelsea had plenty of opportunities to win, they just, once again, could not finish.
So Mourinho tried to put the focus on his colorful insults and West Ham's defensive strength ("They had five defenders who looked more [like] goalkeepers") instead of his players' failure to put away one of their many chances. When he said, "I don't want to criticize too much because if I was in their position I don't know if I would do the same," hints at some level of self-awareness, but that's easy to ignore when followed by his very next line.

Like the press and the public, who almost universally focused on Mourinho instead of his players, West Ham manager Sam Allardyce played into it because, well, he's the kind of guy who says things like "out-tactic-ed." From the Guardian:
Allardyce, who praised his team's resilience after recent poor form, could not contain his amusement when told of Mourinho's post-match outburst. "He can't take it, can he?" he said. "He can't take it because we've out-tactic-ed him, out-witted him. He just can't cope. He can tell me all he wants. I don't give a s***e, to be honest. I love to see Chelsea players moaning at the referee, trying to intimidate the officials, and José jumping up and down in his technical area. It's great to see."
This is far from the first time Mourinho has attempted diversions to protect his players, but it keeps working and it's why many of them are so devoted to him. Because he would rather have everyone laugh at him for something stupid and irrelevant than scrutinize them for their actual failings.
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Brooks Peck is the editor of Dirty Tackle on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him or follow on Twitter!
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