Jose Mourinho Blasts Antonio Conte For 'Humiliating' Celebrations During Manchester United's Defeat At Chelsea

Jose Mourinho's return to Stamford Bridge began with hugs and ended in humiliation.

After enjoying an emotional embrace with his former Chelsea captain John Terry, Mourinho's Manchester United team were swamped by goals from Pedro, Gary Cahill, Eden Hazard and N'Golo Kante.

He was then involved in an unedifying touchline spat with Antonio Conte, who had been urging Chelsea fans to recognise his team's dominant performance. 

Italian TV reported Mourinho angrily said to his rival at the final whistle: 'You don't celebrate like that at 4-0, you can do it at 1-0, otherwise it's humiliating for us.'

Mourinho accused Conte of disrespect in a heated touchline rant. And the bad blood from Manchester United's 4-0 loss spilled over into the tunnel after the final whistle as a member of Mourinho's staff snubbed a handshake from Conte.

On his first return to Stamford Bridge since being sacked last December, the Old Trafford boss watched his side slump to a heavy defeat in front of the fans who used to adore him.

Mourinho could not keep a lid on his disappointment just moments after the end, approaching opposite number Conte and having what looked like an angry word in the Italian's ear.

It is understood Mourinho spoke to Conte in Italian, accusing him of humiliating United by trying to whip up the home support moments after N'golo Kante scored Chelsea's fourth goal. Italian TV reported that Mourinho had said: 'You do it at 1-0, not 4-0.'

 

Both managers insisted they wanted to keep the details of the spat private, but refused to deny that Mourinho was angered by Conte's touchline enthusiasm. And the Chelsea manager insisted he did not regret his antics, despite irking his predecessor.

'I was a player. I know what the feeling is like (to score). I only told the fans to applaud the team because the team deserved it,' said Conte. 

'There has always been respect for all, and naturally for Manchester United. Nothing happened. I did something absolutely normal. I didn't do anything to humiliate Mourinho.

'I think that, today, it was right to call our fans. In that moment I was listening only to the supporters of Manchester United at 4-0. So I called the fans to give the players a great clap after this kind of performance.

'The players, after a 4-0 win, deserved a great clap. It's very normal. We live with emotions. If you want to cut the emotions, we can stay at home and I will change jobs.'

Tensions between the two teams were clear to see in the tunnel when members of staff were embroiled in further verbal disputes.

Sources claim that a member of Mourinho's backroom team refused to shake Conte's hand after the final whistle, causing a row.