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Chelsea midfielder Cesc Fabregas has blasted those who reported he had led a dressing room mutiny against manager Jose Mourinho, stating that it was 'obviously a lie'.
The Spaniard was again on the bench as the Blues lost to Stoke City over the weekend, the second successive Premier League match he started on as a substitute.
The Blues have won just one of their last five matches in all competitions, an unconvincing 2-1 victory against Dynamo Kiev in the Champions League.
As pressure continues to mount on Mourinho, reports emerged earlier this month that the Portuguese had lost the dressing room, despite players publicly backing him.
Fabregas was said to be the ring-leader of a player mutiny, something he previously denied and has denied again in an interview in Spain, calling it "a lie" and admitting that his relationship is "good, as always".
"No. Mourinho trusts us and we trust him," Fabregas told Radio COPE when asked if the Chelsea manager would be sacked.
"Obviously it is a lie [that Fabregas led a mutiny against Mourinho]. I backed him in a very difficult time.
"My relationship with Mourinho is good, as always, but when things aren’t going well people are always looking for something."
The Spaniard also revealed that both he and Mourinho get "p***** off" when they lose.
"Those of us who have been most criticised are Hazard, Diego Costa and myself, but you get used to it," Fabregas added.
Show all 11 1 /11Chelsea player ratings vs Stoke City Chelsea player ratings vs Stoke City Asmir Begovic - 6 out of 10 Made a superb save to deny Johnson early on, but will feel he could have done more to keep Arnautovic’s superb volley out after getting a hand to the shot.
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Chelsea player ratings vs Stoke City Cesar Azpilicueta - 4 out of 10 After a relatively comfortable first half, the defender – playing once again at right-back – failed to mark Arnautovic closely enough before he scored.
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Chelsea player ratings vs Stoke City Kurt Zouma - 5 out of 10 Had the perfect chance to open the scoring for the visitors but went too early and was flagged as offside. However, after having a near-perfect first half in terms of his defensive work, he panicked while trying to clear Johnson’s cross out of Walters’ way, and it eventually fell to goalscorer Arnautovic.
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Chelsea player ratings vs Stoke City John Terry - 4 out of 10 Should have communicated better with Baba Rahman in the build-up to the opener after running out of position to try and track the run of Johnson – but ultimately failed to do so after he allowed the Stoke defender to get his cross in.
Chelsea player ratings vs Stoke City Baba Rahman - 4 out of 10 Lost the battle on the left flank with Shaqiri several times – getting a yellow card for a foul on the Stoke winger in the process – before failing to do enough to stop Johnson from getting his cross into the box in the build-up to the opener.
Chelsea player ratings vs Stoke City Nemanja Matic - 5 out of 10 Kept Bojan quiet in the first half, winning tackles and distributing the ball well although he did deliver one disappointing pass to no one as Chelsea looked to attack one final time in the first half. However, he struggled to keep a hold of Stoke’s attacking players in the second period.
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Chelsea player ratings vs Stoke City Ramires - 5 out of 10 Had two great chances to hand Chelsea the opener in the first half but poked his first wide before being denied by Butland with his second.
Chelsea player ratings vs Stoke City Eden Hazard - 6 out of 10 His pace caused Johnson several problems and the Belgian was important in driving Chelsea’s attacking plays forwards as well as setting up his teammates for chances although they couldn’t convert them.
Chelsea player ratings vs Stoke City Pedro - 6 out of 10 Linked up well with Willian and Hazard and ran riot across the width of pitch in the first half before being unlucky to hit the post as Chelsea trailed 1-0. Came off with 20 minutes to go but enjoyed a positive match on his return from injury.
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Chelsea player ratings vs Stoke City Willian - 6 out of 10 Was one of Chelsea’s better players at the Britannia Stadium – as he has been for the Blues all season – but saw his creative powers restricted when compared to against Dynamo Kiev after being played in the middle instead of the flank.
Chelsea player ratings vs Stoke City Diego Costa - 5 out of 10 Should have scored when he failed to stretch out in time to meet Hazard’s cross, while looking slightly unsure in front of goal during some of his other chances.
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"We’re not doing well in the league at the moment. Last year we lost four games all season and this season we have lost seven already.
"But Mourinho is a winner, when he loses he goes home p****d off like I do.
"The results at Chelsea aren’t what we would want and don’t reflect the level of our play.
"I feel good in myself, but when the results aren’t coming everything is negative and everything looks bad."
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