Chelsea 3 Manchester United 1: Jose Mourinho says United's title challenge is over, and for them it is now the fight to finish fourth

Blues manager recorded his milestone 100th Premier League victory

Jose Mourinho makes a gesture from the touchline during Chelsea's 3-1 win over Manchester United (GETTY IMAGES)

Chelsea manager Jose Mourinho says Manchester United's title race is all but over after seeing his side dominate the reigning Premier League champions in a 3-1 victory.

"It is hard [for them]," Mourinho said after claiming his 100th Premier League win in the victory over David Moyes's side. "They are 14 points behind Arsenal, 13 behind Manchester City and 12 from us. Maybe one team collapses but for three to collapse is difficult, so for them I think it is the fight to finish in the top four.

"They will do that with their pride and tradition and fight and hopefully they win against the other contenders because now we do not play against them in the league."

Mourinho also praised striker Samuel Eto'o after the Cameroonian doubled his Premier League goals tally with a clinical hat-trick.

"The second goal was the killer in the box I know from many years ago," Mourinho said. "It looks like Samuel Eto'o is coming back."

Chelsea captain John Terry applauded his side's display. "In the first 15 minutes they were on top but we didn't panic, kept our shape and hit them on the counter-attack," he said.

The Blues skipper added: "The other two [Arsenal and Manchester City] are looking very strong at the moment and it was important we kept in touch with them."

Manchester United manager David Moyes said his side "could only blame themselves" after a poor defensive performance.

"We did not defend well enough," Moyes said. "We did not do what was required in the crucial areas [of the pitch]."

But the under-fire United manager insisted his side had "played well in parts of the game", adding: "We did not deserve to be 2-0 down at half time."

And Moyes once again bemoaned the decisions against his side. He criticised referee Phil dowd for Nemanja Vidic's late dismissal, saying: "Vidic's for me is not a red card, it was a yellow card."

Further reading...

Match report: Eto'o's hat-trick creates more misery for Moyes

Five things we learnt from Stamford Bridge

Mourinho: It is the fight to finish fourth for United now

Player ratings from Stamford Bridge

Premier League Sunday - as it happened