Chelsea v Liverpool: Jose Mourinho expects to avoid being given the sack despite new defeat

Chelsea manager Jose Mourinho believes he will avoid being given the sack despite suffering a 3-1 defeat in the Premier League game against Liverpool on Saturday (31 October). The manager, nevertheless, suggested that the referee decision not to send off Lucas earlier in the second half changed the game as it condemned Chelsea to their sixth defeat in the current Premier League.

Philippe Coutinho's brace and a late strike from Christian Benteke cancelled out Ramires' opening goal to give Liverpool the victory at Stamford Bridge, piling more pressure on to the Chelsea boss, giving him his sixth defeat in the first 11 games of the Premier League.

But asked if he thinks this is his last match, he replied: "No I don't."

"I will go home to find a sad family then I will try to watch some of the rugby and disconnect a little bit from this then I will start preparing the training session for tomorrow morning for Wednesday's game."

Mourinho fumed with the referee in the 68th minute of the game when, with the result still 1-1, Lucas committed a foul on Ramires in the middle of the park which could cost him the second yellow card – as the Brazil midfielder was already on a booking.

Asked about that Mourinho, said: "What do you think?' he replied. 'I'm punished if I tell you. You are not punished. What are you afraid of?' No. I'd like to listen more than being questioned."

"There are things that are out of our hands. The players tried. You could feel, and not just because we scored in the first couple of minutes, the attitude, desire. It was 50-50 despite the fact we were winning 1-0. There were two minutes of added time (in the first half) and we conceded the goal after two minutes and 35 seconds," he aded. "What happened in the second half was a consequence of crucial moments, moments that the stadium saw, and more than just see it, the players felt it. From then what happened was just a consequence."

The manager, meanwhile, also praised both the team performances and the fans. "I have no doubt. If you saw some individual performance below a normal level there were not many, a maximum of a couple. Even those ones suffered because they were not able to do more. The team is together," he said.

"I take comfort but what feeds me is not just the support of the fans, but the recognition of our work, and that is by getting results. I have some players really sad in the dressing room and I'm full of respect for them," he said. "We see match after match that as professionals they are not getting the respect they deserve. We are not going to have a great Saturday dinner, our families have the same feelings as us, and I'm really sorry about the lack of respect for professionals."