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Jose Mourinho has hinted at an overhaul of his forward line this summer, in the wake of Saturday's shock 1-0 defeat at Crystal Palace.
Mourinho has repeatedly insisted this season that his players must learn to perform when the results really matter, unlike in the last two campaigns when Chelsea finished 25 and 14 points adrift of the Premier League champions, respectively.
Yet the 1-0 reverse at Selhurst Park, against a side fighting relegation, appears to have blunted the Blues' title aspirations, with Mourinho responding to the defeat by ruling his team out of the race.
With Liverpool now top by two points and Manchester City two points back in third place but with two games in hand, Chelsea's fate is certainly now well out of their hands.
Chelsea: The latest match picturesShow all 63 1 /63Chelsea: The latest match pictures Chelsea: The latest match pictures Cardiff 1 Chelsea 2 Chelsea teammates celebrate with Fernando Torres after his winning goal
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Chelsea: The latest match pictures Cardiff 1 Chelsea 2 Fernando Torres scores the Blue's second to complete the turn around
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Chelsea: The latest match pictures Cardiff 1 Chelsea 2 David Marshall fails to keep out Andre Schurrle's equaliser
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Chelsea: The latest match pictures Cardiff 1 Chelsea 2 Cardiff teammates celebrate after Craig Bellamy's opener
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Chelsea: The latest match pictures Cardiff 1 Chelsea 2 Craig Bellamy fires home the opening goal for the home side
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Chelsea: The latest match pictures Chelsea 0 Norwich 0 John Terry applauds the Chelsea crowd at the final whistle
Chelsea: The latest match pictures Chelsea 0 Norwich 0 John Terry competes with Johan Elmander for the ball
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Chelsea: The latest match pictures Chelsea 0 Norwich 0 Martin Olsson goes down in the penalty area under the challenge of John Terry
Chelsea: The latest match pictures Chelsea 0 Norwich 0 Jose Mourinho looks on from the touchline
Chelsea: The latest match pictures Chelsea 0 Norwich 0 Eden Hazard is challenged by Ryan Bennett in the penalty area
Chelsea: The latest match pictures Chelsea 0 Norwich 0 Branislav Ivanovic leads the protests after referee Neil Swarbrick turns down Chelsea penalty appeals
Chelsea: The latest match pictures Chelsea 0 Norwich 0 Gary Cahill blocks Robert Snodgrass' shot late in the game
Chelsea: The latest match pictures Chelsea 0 Norwich 0 Norwich manager Neil Adams acknowledges his players at the final whistle
Chelsea: The latest match pictures Chelsea 0 Norwich 0 The Norwich players gather in a huddle before kick-off
Chelsea: The latest match pictures Chelsea 1 Atletico Madrid 3 Jose Mourinho admitted he had been outsmarted by Diego Simeone
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Chelsea: The latest match pictures Chelsea 1 Atletico Madrid 3 Captain John Terry can't hold back the tears after Chelsea's Champions League semi-final exit
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Chelsea: The latest match pictures Chelsea 1 Atletico Madrid 3 Arda Turan celebrates after soring Madrid's third
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Chelsea: The latest match pictures Chelsea 1 Atletico Madrid 3 Diego Costa scores from the penalty spot
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Chelsea: The latest match pictures Chelsea 1 Atletico Madrid 3 Jose Mourinho looks on from the sidelines
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Chelsea: The latest match pictures Chelsea 1 Atletico Madrid 3 Fernando Torres celebrates scoring the opening goal with Cesar Azpilicueta
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Chelsea: The latest match pictures Chelsea 1 Atletico Madrid 3 Fernando Torres holds up his hands after scoring, showing respect to beloved former club
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Chelsea: The latest match pictures Liverpool 0 Chelsea 2 Willian has the simplest of finishes to make it 2-0 for Chelsea
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Chelsea: The latest match pictures Liverpool 0 Chelsea 2 Demba Ba celebrates his goal
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Chelsea: The latest match pictures Liverpool 0 Chelsea 2 Demba Ba scores for Chelsea after Steven Gerrard's slip
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Chelsea: The latest match pictures Liverpool 0 Chelsea 2 Steven Gerard and Jon Flanagan try to retrieve the ball from Jose Mourinho
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Chelsea: The latest match pictures Liverpool 0 Chelsea 2 Tomas Kalas, on his Premier League debut, tackles Raheen Sterling
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Chelsea: The latest match pictures Chelsea 1 Sunderland 2 Sunderland striker Fabio Borini, on loan from Liverpool, scores the winning goal from the penalty spot to hand Jose Mourinho his first Premier League defeat at home
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Chelsea: The latest match pictures Chelsea 1 Sunderland 2 Adam Johnson has a shot at goal
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Chelsea: The latest match pictures Chelsea 1 Sunderland 2 Connor Wickham wheels away after scoring the equaliser
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Chelsea: The latest match pictures Chelsea 1 Sunderland 2 Connor Wickham taps in from close range to level for the Black Cats after Mark Schwarzer spills a shot
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Chelsea: The latest match pictures Chelsea 1 Sunderland 2 Samuel Eto'o celebrate his goal
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Chelsea: The latest match pictures Chelsea 1 Sunderland 2 Samuel Eto'o fires past Vito Mannone to give Chelsea the lead
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Chelsea: The latest match pictures Chelsea 1 Sunderland 2 Ramires and Jack Colback battle for the ball
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Chelsea: The latest match pictures Swansea City 0 Chelsea 1 Jose Mourinho appeals for the final whistle
Chelsea: The latest match pictures Swansea City 0 Chelsea 1 John Terry applaud the travelling fans at the end of the match
Chelsea: The latest match pictures Swansea City 0 Chelsea 1 Samuel Eto'o's shot goes wide
Chelsea: The latest match pictures Chelsea 2 PSG 0 Jose Mourinho (second from right) celebrates with his players after Demba Ba (bottom left) scored the crucial second goal in the 2-0 win over PSG
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Chelsea: The latest match pictures Chelsea 2 PSG 0 Demba Ba scoops the ball into the roof of the net to send Chelsea through on away goals
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Chelsea: The latest match pictures Chelsea 2 PSG 0 Schurrle is congratulated after scoring Chelsea's first goal
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Chelsea: The latest match pictures Chelsea 2 PSG 0 Eden Hazard is taken off
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Chelsea: The latest match pictures Chelsea 2 PSG 0 Thiago Silva competes for the ball at Stamford Bridge
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Chelsea: The latest match pictures Chelsea 3 Stoke 0 Willian celebrates his goal as Chelsea run out easy winners
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Chelsea: The latest match pictures Chelsea 3 Stoke 0 Brazilian attacker Willian curls in Chelsea's third
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Chelsea: The latest match pictures Chelsea 3 Stoke 0 Frank Lampard celebrates after scoring the rebound from his saved penalty
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Chelsea: The latest match pictures Chelsea 3 Stoke 0 Frank Lampard scores the rebound after Asmir Begovic saves his penalty
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Chelsea: The latest match pictures Chelsea 3 Stoke 0 Andy Wilkinson brings down Mohamed Salah in the box and gives away a penalty
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Chelsea: The latest match pictures Chelsea 3 Stoke 0 The Egyptian winger Mohamed Salah celebrates his goal
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Chelsea: The latest match pictures Chelsea 3 Stoke 0 Mohamed Salah smashes home the Blues' opening goal
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Chelsea: The latest match pictures PSG 3 Chelsea 1 Salvatore Sirigu makes a clearance with Oscar bearing down in this Champions League quarter-final
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Chelsea: The latest match pictures PSG 3 Chelsea 1 Ezequiel Lavezzi celebrates after scoring the opener
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Chelsea: The latest match pictures PSG 3 Chelsea 1 Zlatan Ibrahimovic pictured during the first-leg victory for the French side
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Chelsea: The latest match pictures PSG 3 Chelsea 1 Petr Cech shows his frustration
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Chelsea: The latest match pictures PSG 3 Chelsea 1 Cesar Azpilicueta is challenged by Edinson Cavani
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Chelsea: The latest match pictures PSG 3 Chelsea 1 Eden Hazard scores from the spot to make the score 1-1
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Chelsea: The latest match pictures PSG 3 Chelsea 1 Javier Pastore (bottom left) is mobbed by his team-mates after his late strike made it 3-1
Chelsea: The latest match pictures Crystal Palace 1 Chelsea 0 John Terry walks off the pitch after his own goal gives Crystal Palace the points
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Chelsea: The latest match pictures Crystal Palace 1 Chelsea 0 Jose Mourinho tells off a Palace ball boy for time wasting
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Chelsea: The latest match pictures Crystal Palace 1 Chelsea 0 John Terry can't believe what he has done as his own goal puts Palace in front
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Chelsea: The latest match pictures Crystal Palace 1 Chelsea 0 John Terry heads into his own net
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Chelsea: The latest match pictures Crystal Palace 1 Chelsea 0 Nemanja Matic tackles Mile Jedinak
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Chelsea: The latest match pictures Chelsea 6 Arsenal 0 Arsene Wenger complains to the referee during an awful day on his 1000th game in charge of Arsenal
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Chelsea: The latest match pictures Chelsea 6 Arsenal 0 Mohamed Salah celebrates after scoring his first goal for Chelsea and his side's sixth on the day
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Chelsea: The latest match pictures Chelsea 6 Arsenal 0 Chelsea players celebrate as Tomas Rosicky looks away
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Mourinho has previously stated his wish to sign one or two players this summer to bolster his squad, with a goalscoring striker the priority in the wake of limited returns from Fernando Torres, Samuel Eto'o and Demba Ba this season.
Diego Costa of Atletico Madrid has long been linked with a move to Stamford Bridge, as have numerous others, and while Mourinho knows he must continue to develop the existing talent in the squad, he concedes new faces are inevitable.
"It's clear in everybody that Chelsea next year wants to bring a striker," said Mourinho, while remaining tight-lipped on the futures of Torres, Eto'o and Ba.
"It's also clear that we want to improve our players. I can't and I don't need to improve (Branislav) Ivanovic, (Gary) Cahill, John Terry.
"There are other guys I need to improve. I think we are doing that step by step, but it's not enough to be champions."
He suggested some Chelsea players were out of their comfort zone at Selhurst Park, just as they had been in losses at Everton, Newcastle and Stoke earlier in the season.
"The easiest thing to do is to play well, is to perform, when you are not playing for something big," Mourinho said.
"The difficult thing is to perform when you feel the heat. Because of that some (players) are big and some are not so big.
"I don't think it's courage. I think it's personality qualities.
"You have players for everything and you have other players that are in their habitat in some circumstances."
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