Paranoia rises as Mourinho goes in to bat for John Terry

West Brom 2 Chelsea 3: Jose Mourinho refused to blame Chelsea captain John Terry for his sending-off in the club’s narrow win over West Brom and instead the Paranoid One vowed to continue coaching his players to expect to be reduced to 10 men.

Chelsea looked set for a comfortable victory after debutant Pedro opened the scoring for the visitors and Diego Costa doubled their advantage. James Morrison reduced the deficit for the first time only for Cesar Azpilicueta to swiftly restore it - all inside the first half. Terry got his marching orders on 54 minutes and Morrison struck again, five minutes later, to set up an anxious finish for the Blues.

But Terry, who was hauled off at half-time last weekend due to a lack of pace, was not at fault for his dismissal, according to his manager, despite being outrun by Solomon Rondon and appearing to drag the striker down inside the box.