Jose Mourinho is uncertain about finishing the league in the top 4

Aston Villa’s under-pressure manager Remi Garde is still awaiting his first win with the bottom club, who at least earned some comfort in a 1-1 draw at Southampton. Chelsea is approaching the midway point of the season an alarming 17 points behind surprise leader Leicester. There was a hint of offside as he nodded in at the post after Chelsea failed to deal with a corner, with Courtois flapping. Either way, there may not be a better question asked to Mourinho for the rest of the season than that one.

Fabregas floundering. One ball to Costa aside, the Spain playmaker again struggled to make a meaningful contribution. “I think they are considering a number of candidates”.

“Before this game it was realistic to think that our quality would take us out of this position, but maybe now we have to think about top six”, he told Sky Sports.

“The boys are gaining belief every week and I think it showed, ” Murray said after Bournemouth climbed a point outside the relegation zone.

Stoke’s Marko Arnautovic, right, celebrates with teamates after scoring his second goal against Manchester City during the English Premier League soccer match between Stoke City and Manchester City at the Britannia Stadium, Stoke on Trent, England, Saturday, Dec. 5, 2015. We created chances to win the game. “When it’s 0-0 after 80 minutes they were more nervous than us because we don’t expect anything out of these games really”. Time-out, stopping the game, asking for the medical department to go on, to have a drink like a minute out in basketball. “But they did very well”.

But Mourinho believes the crucial moment came midway through the second half, when Diego Costa’s cut-back was blocked at close-range by the arm of a sliding Simon Francis.

“I’m concerned and I was concerned before this game”.

Eddie Howe’s team started as they have done most times this season, for better or worse, with a full press on Chelsea that rattled the home side more than once and presented chances for Joshua King and Junior Stanislas. That’s not the problem.

Howe, in contrast, was understandably delighted.

“In this game we are playing with the same players in the last three games”, Pellegrini said, bemoaning injuries to Vincent Kompany, Yaya Toure and Sergio Aguero. ‘I was concerned before this game as I was not happy with the position, and so you can imagine now (how I feel) with this defeat at home.

“Either they do have faith in him, which is I think is eroding all the time, or they are not sure what to do in terms of a replacement”.