JOSE MOURINHO: CHELSEA OUT OF EPL TITLE RACE

José Mourinho has written off Chelsea's chances of regaining the Premier League title and publicly questioned his players' attitude and "mentality" after his side slipped to defeat at Crystal Palace.

John Terry's own goal proved decisive as Palace beat these opponents for the first time in the league in 24 years, with Chelsea's second successive away defeat handing the initiative firmly to Manchester City and Liverpool in the title race. City, however, failed to move to the top of the Premier League after Saturday's 1-1 draw against Arsenal.

"I think now we have lost any chance of finishing first," Mourinho said. "Now we depend too much on other results. Too much. When you depend a little it's possible, but when you depend a lot, I don't think it is.

"Six matches for us, and others with matches in hand … I know mathematically it's possible, but one thing is mathematics and another is reality. We are not [contenders]. I don't think it will happen: we depend too much on other results, and the other teams control what they need. I don't think we can win the league now.

"I know that Mr Foy's weekend [when the referee oversaw the loss at Aston Villa earlier this month] was an important weekend in this run, but today we threw away three points. We lost against a team who are difficult, but against a team who were better than us in terms of spirit and mentality. That's the last thing my teams are usually guilty of: normally, they don't lose because the opponents are stronger in terms of spirit."