Mourinho defiant after Chelsea defeat

Alvaro Morata’s 55th-minute goal at Stamford Bridge was enough to give reigning champion Chelsea victory and leave United eight points behind in-form leader Manchester City. 

“We are second -- not fifth, sixth or seventh or eight,” Mourinho said after his third straight loss at Stamford Bridge since he became United manager.

“We have several teams in a more difficult position. Eight points is eight points. We went through a very difficult phase with important matches against Tottenham, Liverpool and Chelsea without important players.” 

He added: “The game was controlled by us and the game was controlled by them. We had chances and they had chances and with the first goal they were able to bring more people to defend. We tried to change the direction of our game, we created chances to equalise but we couldn’t.”