Jody Morris responds on Twitter as Jose Mourinho claims he is ‘worried’ about Chelsea

Jose Mourinho has admitted he is still ‘worried’ watching former side Chelsea and how they will cope against the top teams – but his claims have been laughed off by Blues assistant Jody Morris.

Frank Lampard has led Chelsea to third in the Premier League table after a run of six successive wins, with their most recent coming against Crystal Palace on Saturday as they fielded their youngest ever starting XI.

Speaking to Sky Sports, Mourinho, who won the three league titles at Chelsea, dismissed suggestions of a top-two finish, highlighting their defensive frailties as reason for his concern.

“In the first weekend, I was worried (after they lost 4-0 to Manchester United),” he said. “I’m still worried with the big matches.

“I think fantastic work; the kids that are coming to the team are fitting amazingly well with the big players like Willian, Kante.

“I think it’s really, really great work by Frank. But they lost twice against United. They lost against Liverpool at home. They conceded four goals against Ajax.

“I’m very, very curious to see Chelsea in the next match at the Etihad [against Manchester City].

“I’m curious to see if they found that great [balance] between the great football they play and the pragmatism they must have to play the top teams, when they play the top teams.

“When they find that I think they have a great team for the future.

“I don’t believe in them to finish top two, but I believe very seriously that they’re going to find top four.”

However, Morris, who spent seven years as a player at Chelsea and became assistant manager to Lampard at the start of this season, did not seem overly concerned with what Mourinho had to say.

“Jose is still worried,” tweeted Morris, along with three ‘laughing face’ emojis.

Lampard, meanwhile, felt his young side passed another stern test against Palace on Saturday.

Second-half goals from Tammy Abraham and Christian Pulisic secured the Blues all three points at Stamford Bridge.

“Every game in the Premier League is hard, particularly against a team as organised as Palace,” said Lampard.

“In the first half we started well, then allowed our tempo to drop, but when we came out in the second half with the intent that we did, we won the game relatively comfortably – a nice, solid win with a clean sheet.

“We’ve had teams come here and be difficult to break down, it’s a test of not only how you unlock the door, but can you switch on to make sure you don’t get hit by the sucker punch?

“I was really delighted with the game management in a game like today. I got as much joy out of Kurt Zouma and Fikayo Tomori’s performances in defence, and the midfielders shielding in front of them, as I did our attacking play.”

Following the international break, Chelsea face a tough trip in their next match, when they face Man City, who beat them 6-0 the last time they met in the league.