Crystal Palace 1 Chelsea 0: We have blown it - Jose Mourinho concedes Premier League title

Chelsea sink to a shock, but deserved, defeat at Crystal Palace

A dejected John Terry reacts after opening the scoring with an own goal (Getty Images)

Jose Mourinho conceded the Premier League title last night after his Chelsea side lost a second successive away game, this time to the relegation strugglers Crystal Palace.

The Chelsea manager criticised some of his big-name players for “disappearing”, exonerating only the defence, including John Terry, whose own goal led to Palace’s 1-0 triumph. “Now we lose any chance of finishing first,” said Mourinho. “We depend too much on other results. It’s too much in six matches. Now we just have to try to finish in the best position we can.”

With Manchester City dropping two points at Arsenal, for whom Mathieu Flamini equalised to secure a 1-1 draw, the title chase took a distinctive shift in favour of Liverpool.

For the first time the Reds know that if they win their remaining seven games, starting on Sunday against Tottenham at Anfield, they will secure their first League title since 1990.

Victory against Spurs will put Liverpool top of he table for the first time this season, with Chelsea and Manchester City both still due to visit Anfield.

For once, Mourinho admitted his side had only themselves to blame, criticising their mental attitude in a lethargic performance and crediting the home team for theirs.

“Their spirit and desire was stronger, which makes me think they deserved to win,” he said.

“That disappoints me. It’s the kind of defeat for which we can only blame ourselves. We lost to a team better in spirit and mentality than us and my teams don’t normally lose because of that.”

Saturday's result at the Emirates Stadium eased some of the pressure on Arsenal manager Arsène Wenger. And Manchester United manager David Moyes also received a boost after watching his side beat Aston Villa 4-1 at Old Trafford, a game which saw a plane, trailing a ‘Moyes out’ banner fly over the ground.