Mourinho as guilty as Mikel in Chelsea's first defeat

The 27-year-old Nigeria international has been scapegoated for the Blues' first loss of the season, quite unfairly so as his manager made decisions that were questionable

Chelsea ’s impressive unbeaten run in the Premier League ground to a juddering halt over the weekend. The scene was one which is likely the setting of Jose Mourinho ’s most fervid nightmares: St. James’ Park. While the Blues still sit top of the table and are still hot favourites for the title come May, they have now let slip five points in under a week.

Unsurprisingly, the post-mortem centred almost exclusively on one man: John Obi Mikel.

The Nigerian made his first Premier League start of the season in place of the suspended Nemanja Matic, and in the most simplistic analysis possible, has had to take the fall for the defeat.

Here’s what England great Alan Shearer had to say about it, speaking on BBC’s Match of the Day: “Chelsea didn't play that well. There is no doubt they missed Nemanja Matic. He has started every game for them this season but John Obi Mikel was in there against Newcastle and didn't do as well.

"In the build-up to Newcastle's second goal, Mikel dives in, Eden Hazard dives in. There is no-one sitting in front of the back four. That said it was a really committed Newcastle performance. They were really well organised and every player knew what job they had to do. It was a thoroughly-deserved win.”

First off, being a retired footballer, perhaps it should have occurred to Shearer that football involves two teams actively trying to win a game. Ergo, it is entirely possible to achieve a favourable result through no systemic shortcoming of the opposition. He does well to praise the Geordies’ performance; the Magpies were disciplined and played with heart and grit.

Of course, there is nothing particularly insightful in that summation – and since he is on the panel to provide ‘insight’ – he takes a dig at the easiest target available: Mikel.

Mikel | Does he deserve the criticism?

The stats, however, will show that the 27-year-old hardly stunk out the joint. He was the fourth highest-rated starter for the Blues, and his passing accuracy was a commendable 92 per cent. He also made three clearances and three interceptions, according to Squawka.

Shearer faults Mikel for the second goal, and while it is merited somewhat, it comes at a point in the match when the Blues are 1-0 down and chasing the game already.

Culpable? Yes. Sole reason Chelsea lost? Hardly.

Perhaps the problem was not Mikel’s performance in itself, which was excellent, but what was expected of him. The consensus among the Chelsea faithful on social media seemed to be that Mikel played his role well, but offered little going forward. Daily Mail columnist Jonny Singer also levelled this allegation in the aftermath of the game, claiming that “…Mikel’s role limited Chelsea.”

First off, this is not entirely true.

The Nigeria international completed three take-ons (bettered only by Eden Hazard), hardly representative of a timid presence in the middle of the park. He also completed the highest proportion of passes in the entire team.

Even allowing that the claim and general perception is accurate, it still makes little sense to blame Mikel for that. Mourinho is known for his meticulous preparations. If indeed Mikel offered “too little” going forward, you can rest assured it is because he was not tasked with the responsibility. As can be attested to by followers of the Nigerian national team, he is well able to contribute in attacking areas; many of his better showings for the Super Eagles recently have come when allowed to roam forward into space.

Evidence of 'foward-thinking' endeavour

This leaves a situation wherein the only legitimate accusation that can be levelled at Mikel is that he is not Matic.

Then again, we already knew that. So why expect him to morph into someone he is not, for one ‘night’ only? Very few teams, not even those with the resources Chelsea boast of, have enough to stockpile two or more players with a similar skill-set.

The previous weekend, Barcelona ambled to a 2-1 win over Valencia at the death, with Javier Mascherano at the base of midfield in the ‘Busquets’ role. This by no means is the Argentine a poor player; bar Lionel Messi, he was Argentina’s most valuable player at the World Cup over the summer. Teams are just set up to play a certain way, and it is impossible to simply plug and play in the absence of any one player, especially in a Blues team that has seen very little rotation to the starting line-up all season.

Therefore, if indeed Matic’s absence was the reason Chelsea’s unbeaten run came to an end, the buck stops at the table of the manager for failing to get the right balance in front of the defence. For assuming that he could insert a player with different strengths into the line-up and coast right along, Mourinho is the one on whom Shearer’s ‘expert’ eye should fall, not Mikel.