Chelsea suffered their third straight defeat in the English Premier League as they were beaten by hosts Stoke 0-1.
In Saturday’s match, the defending champions were without their under-fire manager Jose Mourinho who was banned from the stadium for his behaviour towards match officials in his side’s 1-2 defeat at West Ham in October, reported Xinhua news agency.
It was Chelsea’s seventh loss in 12 league matches, which left the Blues to drop to a lowly 16th place and Mourinho’s job in serious danger.
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Marko Arnautovic scored the winner in the 53rd minute with an acrobatic finish.
Elsewhere, West Ham United drew with Everton 1-1, Newcastle United climbed out of the relegation zone after beating Bournemouth 1-0, Sunderland lost 0-1 at home to Southampton, Norwich City defeated Swansea City 1-0.