EPL Scores, Results & Highlights 2014: Chelsea Coach Jose Mourinho Angry With Conspiracies Against his Team as They Play Southampton to 1-1 Draw
Jose Mourinho has accused English Premier League (EPL) referees, coaches and English media of conspiring against his Chelsea team after playing to a 1-1 draw against Southampton on Sunday.
"There is a campaign against Chelsea. I don't know why there is this campaign and I do not care," said Mourinho after the match angry that the referees did not call a penalty after Chelsea midfielder Cesc Fabregas was booked for diving despite being hacked in the box.
Southampton scored first in the 17th minute when the Saints' Sadio Mane caught the defense napping and lobbed the ball over Chelsea keeper Thibaut Courtois to put his team up 1-0. Fabregas would help tie up the game after he found Eden Hazard open, who shook the defense off and blasted a shot past Southampton keeper Fraser Forster to tie the game 1-1.
Chelsea looked like they would take the lead in the 55th minute when Southampton left-back Matt Targett tripped Fabregas but, instead, the Spaniard was hit with a yellow card for flopping.
"Everybody knows it was a penalty," said Mourinho after the match. "The referee made a mistake, people make mistakes and he made a big mistake. He is a good referee and a good guy, he is young, he has years and years of football ahead of him but it is a big mistake."
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The draw allowed for Southampton to remain in fourth place in the EPL standings while Chelsea stays atop the leaderboard but failed to put any distance between themselves and second place Manchester City. Manchester City did themselves no favors after blowing a two goal lead over lowly Burnley FC, who is currently sitting in the relegation zone in 19th place in the standings.
George Boyd cut down Manchester City's lead to 2-1 in the 47th minute after Man City keeper Joe Hart failed to stop Boyd's shot that trickled past Hart. Striker Ashley Barnes would equalize the game after he drilled a free kick past Hart to tie the game 2-2.
"At half-time everybody would think the game was over but I always say it is never over until the last minute," said Manchester City coach Manuel Pellegrini. "Burnley's first goal was a mistake by the referee but once it goes to 2-2 we didn't have the legs to score."
Manchester City vs Burnley
Third-place Manchester United also failed to catch up to Chelsea and Manchester City after playing Tottenham Hotspur to a 0-0 draw. Tottenham keeper Hugo Lloris was a wall for his club making five saves managing to fend off shots by Radamel Falcao, Robin van Persie and Ashley Young to earn a point for his team.
"Lloris is one of the best goalkeepers in the world. It's not new for me. We know the quality from Hugo," said Tottenham coach Mauricio Pochettino.
Manchester United coach Louis van Gaal was annoyed about failing to earn more points knowing full well the importance of taking victories in games such as Sunday's match against Tottenham.
"When you can't win these types of matches when you're the better team, like we haven't against Aston Villa and Tottenham, it is very difficult to be champions at the end of the season," said van Gaal. "But I still think we can become champions because we are continuing to improve every week."
Arsenal managed to creep up into the top five to end 2014 with a road victory over West Ham United at Boleyn Ground. Santi Cazorla and Danny Welbeck put the Gunners ahead 2-0 in the first half before West Ham midfielder Cheikhou Kouyate cut the lead down to 2-1 in the 54th minute. But Kouyate's goal was not enough to prevent Arsenal from leapfroging the Hammers in the standings, with West Ham falling to sixth place.
"We just want to win the next game and be consistent in our performances," said Arsenal coach Arsene Wenger. "If you look at our recent results, we look to be more stable. We have a big game in front of us now against Southampton."
Results from the rest of Sunday's EPL action:
Aston Villa 0 - Sunderland 0
Stoke City 2 - West Bromwich Albion 0
Hull City 0 - Leicester City 1
Queens Park Rangers 0 - Crystal Palace 0
Newcastle 3 - Everton 2
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