Knightmare - Chelsea crash as Zat strikes then Roman storms off

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Roman Abramovich's relationship with Jose Mourinho looked under strain again as the Russian stormed from his seat before the end of Chelsea's 2-0 loss at Aston Villa last night.

The Chelsea owner left the directors' box two minutes from time, apparently disgusted at seeing his side concede Gabriel Agbonlahor's late second goal, which followed a Zat Knight debut opener for the hosts.

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Off: Roman Abramovich walks out of Villa Park after Aston Villa's second goal

Abramovich paused only to shake the outstretched hand of former Villa chairman Doug Ellis but hardly broke stride as he headed away.

Chelsea officials later claimed he went into the away dressing room to console his players.

But his apparently furious demeanour raises new questions about his relationship with Mourinho, which almost reached breaking point last season.

Mourinho attempted to brush off Abramovich's abrupt exit, saying: "The owner leaves the stadium when he wants to leave. I went to see England versus Germany and I left early because of the traffic."

Abramovich is believed to be increasingly concerned at a lack of flair in Chelsea's play, despite Mourinho vowing to adopt a more attacking approach.

The Chelsea manager fought his corner after yesterday's defeat, insisting his side did not deserve to lose in the Premier League for the first time in 19 games.

His mood was not helped either by an as yet unspecified knee injury that forced Didier Drogba to hobble off.

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Goalden boys: Knight (left) celebrates his strike with Agbonlahor

"I think a point apiece should reflect what happened on the pitch," he said.

"I cannot say Villa didn't deserve anything. We had 10 corners, they had two. But we made a mistake."

When questioned whether the title race this season was going to be a tighter affair due to Liverpool's early-season form, he added: "I think it is going to be more normal this season that the big teams lose points."

Delighted Villa boss Martin O'Neill said: "I thought we were superb. We needed a result like that against one of the big teams to give us some belief. We've got a lot of talent in our team."

 

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