Jamie Carragher has hit out at Jose Mourinho’s criticism of Newcastle United’s alleged time-wasting, insisting that the Chelsea boss is a “master” of the trade.
Mourinho complained that both ball boys and fans employed time-wasting tactics late on in the Blues’ 2-1 defeat at St James’ Park, telling reporters: “Things were happening that the referee cannot control.
“He cannot punish the ball boy that disappears, the people in the crowd that keep the ball or somebody that throws a second ball on to the pitch.”
But Carragher insists that Mourinho has no right to slam Alan Pardew’s side, having used a similar strategy during Chelsea’s 2-0 win over Liverpool at Anfield in April.
“Well maybe those ballboys were watching the game at Anfield last season when Jose Mourinho gave a masterclass in time-wasting,” Carragher joked on Sky Sports.
“We covered the game and we sort of agreed with it. It’s part of the game, it happens, they had six minutes of added time at the end, it was added on, and it’s part of the game. As I said, he’s the master at it.”
Chelsea remain three points clear at the top of the Premier League, despite suffering their first defeat of the season.