There’s a Jose, Terry rift - Gerrard

Steven Gerrard believes Jose Mourinho’s relationship with John Terry has deteriorated after the Chelsea captain.

|||

Steven Gerrard believes Jose Mourinho’s relationship with John Terry has deteriorated after the Chelsea captain was left on the bench for last night’s Champions League clash with Maccabi Tel Aviv.

Terry has struggled at the start of the season having been sent off against West Bromwich Albion and substituted at half-time against Manchester City.

And former Liverpool captain Gerrard suspects there is a rift between the Chelsea skipper and his manager.

Speaking during BT Sport’s live coverage of the match, Gerrard said: ‘There’s certainly a bit of friction behind the scenes because for me, you play John Terry week in, week out — he’s your captain.

‘He’s such an important figure in the dressing room and if Chelsea want to be successful this season, they need him in there.

‘Chelsea were champions three months ago, they were the best team in the Premier League, they had the PFA player of the year in Eden Hazard and Cesc Fabregas was on fire.

‘Something’s clearly happening behind the scenes that we’re not clued up on.

‘You can’t have that many problems in a team so quickly.’

Gerrard’s fellow pundit Rio Ferdinand added: ‘I would have thought John Terry would have started today, he’s their leader, he’s their captain and you need to get off to a good start.’

Branislav Ivanovic, Diego Costa and Nemanja Matic were also dropped for the Blues’ first Champions League tie of the season following the 3-1 defeat by Everton at Goodison Park last Saturday. - Daily Mail