IT IS NOT OFTEN THAT THE ENTIRE press box can look at a teamsheet before kick-off, scratch its collective head and say: “What on earth does he think he’s playing at?” And, what’s more, say it without fear of contradiction.

We certainly never expected to be able to say it with such certainty of a side prepared by José Mourinho, a coach who had won two Doubles and a treble in his previous three campaigns. He will have to settle for only one trophy this year — the championship, which is rather more than a consolation prize — but he should be cursing himself for losing Saturday’s FA Cup semi-final and costing Chelsea the chance of their greatest season.

Of course, Mourinho was not blaming himself, but then you guessed that already. Missed chances and decisions from Graham Poll that “smelt” were responsible. Certainly Joe Cole should have taken a compelling game into extra time, while the free kick that brought Liverpool’s opening goal for John Arne Riise, struck through a gap in the wall, arose from a harsh decision against John Terry.

Mourinho could also claim that Chelsea might so easily have overwhelmed Liverpool in the second half — and they would have gone on to win handsomely had they equalised — but that dominance only heightened the bewilderment at a first-half selection for which there is still no convincing explanation.

Initially affronted by the suggestion that his selection and tactics were to blame — “you can think what you want and write what you want”, he said — Mourinho finally came up with a reason for his wingless diamond. None of his wide men, he said, had been playing well enough to be picked.

Joe Cole? Disappointing form. Damien Duff? Out of sorts because of an Achilles tendon problem. Arjen Robben? Playing poorly after suspension, according to his manager. There was not even a place on the bench for Shaun Wright-Phillips.

He went on to explain that “if they are good, this type of player can win matches for you, but if they are not good they lose possession of the ball, the team loses balance and compactness”. As explanations go, it fell a long way short of satisfying the Chelsea fans who had watched the game transformed by the introduction of Robben, Duff and Cole; the latter pair only after Chelsea were trailing 2-0.

However unfortunate they were with that first goal — and, predictably, Rafael Benítez described it as “the only free kick the referee gives to us because 80 per cent went against us” — Chelsea were abject for the first hour. Michael Essien was lost at the tip of the diamond, Paulo Ferreira uncomfortable on the right of midfield and Hernán Crespo left wondering why he had been selected given that there was no service from the wings.

Their organisational unease, which forced Claude Makelele to abandon his central position in his desperation to fight fires elsewhere, was compounded by mistakes from Ferreira and William Gallas in the 53rd minute. Luis García was the beneficiary, running on to Gallas’s misdirected header and lifting a fantastic shot on the run over Carlo Cudicini.

Didier Drogba pulled a goal back in similar circumstances, capitalising on Riise’s poor defensive header and José Manuel Reina’s belated rush to clear, but another 20 minutes of sustained pressure created plenty of drama but no equaliser. Steven Gerrard and Jamie Carragher finished with cramp and exhaustion, although that may have had something to do with carrying Djibril Cissé, sent on to ease Liverpool’s problems but guilty of exacerbating them with as brainless a substitute’s performance as you will see.

Championship success, which can be secured with a point at home to Manchester United on Saturday, will still make this a fine season for Chelsea, but Saturday’s defeat left Mourinho with little choice other than to admit that his team had not progressed despite the additions of Wright-Phillips, Essien and Asier Del Horno at a cost of more than £50 million.

“I wouldn’t say we are better than last season, no,” he said. “To be better we have to be better psychologically and we didn’t improve psychologically. The motivation was bigger in the first season, the enthusiasm was bigger, the enjoyment from people not believing we could do it was bigger.

“This season was very easy from the beginning. By October or November the distance between us and the rest was very, very, very big. You need to be challenged from the beginning to feel pressure, to feel the need to improve, and we never felt that.

“You can say we are guilty because you shouldn’t need extra motivation but the exterior factor is very important and we didn’t get that. But the rest are improving, like we hope to do, so next season will be a big, big challenge for us.”

Before he departed, Mourinho could not help himself declaring that, when it comes to next season’s title race, Liverpool had “no chance” of finishing as champions. He may well be right — he so often is — but this was an afternoon when he dropped his mask of infallibility.

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