Jose
Mourinho takes charge of his 100th Premier League home game as Chelsea
manager against Crystal Palace on Saturday.
The 52-year-old, who returned to the club in 2013, is embarking on his sixth
full season as Chelsea boss with a home record that is unrivalled in the
Premier League era.
Stamford Bridge has been a fortress under Mourinho. In total, he has won 76,
drawn 22 and lost only one of 99 Premier League home games in the Chelsea
hot seat.
It started in fitting circumstances back in August 2004 when his first
competitive fixture as Chelsea boss ended in a 1-0 win over Manchester
United thanks to a goal from Eidur Gudjohnsen.
Mourinho maintained his unbeaten home record for the duration of his first
spell at the club. "Everybody knows Mourinho doesn't lose at Stamford
Bridge," he said three years after his departure in 2010. "My record is
unbeatable. It is amazing - we were so strong for such a long time."
Comparison
Indeed, Chelsea won 46 of their 60 Premier League home games under Mourinho
between 2004 and 2007, scoring 123 goals and only conceding 28 with a 76.7
per cent win ratio as they clinched two league titles.
An unbeaten record of 77 games was finally broken in April 2014, when bottom
club Sunderland claimed a shock 2-1 win at Stamford Bridge courtesy of Fabio
Borini's late penalty.
Despite that defeat, Mourinho's Premier League home record in his second
spell is actually marginally superior to his first. Chelsea are no longer
unbeaten on home turf and they have conceded goals at a higher rate of 0.56
per game compared to 0.47, but their win percentage is 76.9 per cent, making
for a remarkable average of 76.8 per cent across the two spells.
Best of the rest?
So how does Mourinho's home record compare to other Premier League bosses?
Mourinho has won 250 points in 99 games so far, and the stats show his tally
is the best by a considerable margin.
Even the legendary Sir Alex Ferguson lags behind. The former Manchester
United manager, who ranks second in the top 10, 'only' accrued 234 points in
his first 100 Premier League home games, tasting defeat on five more
occasions than Mourinho.
Rafael Benitez is third on 231 from his time at Liverpool, where he
developed a bitter rivalry with Mourinho before a brief stint as 'interim'
Chelsea manager in 2012/13.
Arsenal's Arsene Wenger, another of Mourinho's adversaries, comes fourth
with 226 points, while Liverpool legend Kenny Dalglish rounds off the top
five with 212 points from his first 100 Premier League home games as
Blackburn manager.
The rest of the top 10 is made up of Kevin Keegan (208 points), Gerard
Houllier (198), David O'Leary (192), David Moyes and Harry Redknapp (both
180).
Top stats
No player has featured in more of Mourinho's Premier League home games than
captain John Terry, who has played in 93 of the 99 matches in total.
The top scorer in those games is Didier Drogba with 35, while Frank Lampard,
another veteran of Mourinho's first spell, leads the assists charts with 23.
Chelsea's biggest Premier League home win under Mourinho is the 6-0
thrashing of Arsenal on Wenger's 1,000th game in charge in March 2014.
Mourinho has enjoyed more home wins over Newcastle than any other side
(five), and ironically former Chelsea player Mark Hughes is the manager to
have suffered the most Stamford Bridge defeats against Mourinho (five).
Foundation
Rock solid home form has been the foundation of Mourinho's success
throughout his managerial career. Remarkably, he has only lost four of 191
home Premier League, Seria A and La Liga games with Chelsea, Inter Milan and
Real Madrid combined.
Last season, Chelsea's home form was the bedrock of their Premier League
title triumph. The Blues won 15 of games in total at Stamford Bridge,
drawing the other four and conceding only eight goals in the process.
A shaky start to the season has seen them conceded seven goals in their
opening three games - including two in their opening day draw at home to
Swansea - but history suggests Mourinho will have them back to their
resilient best soon. Crystal Palace have a mountain to climb on Saturday...
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