John Terry subbed off for the FIRST time in the Premier League under Jose Mourinho as the Chelsea boss confirms it was tactical

John Terry substituted at half-time by Chelsea manager Jose Mourinho
It was the first time he’d been replaced by his boss in the Premier League
Terry was replaced by Frenchman Zurt Zouma for the second half
Mourinho confirmed that his decision was completely tactical

Adam Smith For Mailonline

Published:
16:45 GMT, 16 August 2015

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Updated:
18:49 GMT, 16 August 2015

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Chelsea captain John Terry was taken off at half-time for the first time under Jose Mourinho’s management in the Premier League, as his boss admitted it was a tactical decision.

The 34-year-old has been an ever present for the Portuguese manager but didn’t appear for the second half at the Etihad Stadium, as the Blues slipped to a disappointing 3-0 defeat to Manchester City.

The defender was replaced by Zurt Zouma and saw the impressive run under his loyal manager come to an end.

John Terry takes his place on the bench after being subbed off by Jose Mourinho on Sunday

It was the first time in the Premier League under his current manager that he’d been hauled off

JOHN TERRY FACT

John Terry had never been substituted off in the Premier League under Jose Mourinho before Sunday (177 starts, 90 mins 175 times and one red card).

Terry wasn’t hurt like his centre back partner Gary Cahill, who suffered facial injury following a clash with team-mate Asmir Begovic but he was still the one to make way.

But Mourinho confirmed that his decision to take off his captain was a tactical one, as he wanted a bit more pace to deal with Sergio Aguero.

He told Sky Sports: ‘No (Terry wasn’t injured), it was just a decision, I know that Zouma is the fastest defender we have in the squad and in that moment Man City is going to play counter attack and they are going to play long balls to Aguero.

‘Zouma is a different player to John and Cahill and was proven completely right, Zouma was in complete control.

The Chelsea captain has been an ever-present but was replaced by Frenchman Kurt Zouma

Mourinho made the bold decision after his side went into half-time 1-0 down at the Etihad Stadium

‘He’s [Terry] a player of my total trust, there is no doubt about it, with me he was never substituted but with other managers he was not even selected, he was not playing or people thought his career at Chelsea was over.

‘So if somebody has the free mind and are right to have these kind of decisions as a manager, I am the one because I am the one who gave him the chance to be what he is, which is a fantastic player and fantastic captain.

‘I left him out because tactically I have to make a change and when you make changes, sometimes you are right and sometimes you are wrong, I think I was proven right because we controlled the depth of the game and the counter attack.

‘The second goal is a corner where Kompany marker lost the duel with Kompany, and the third goal is a ball we have in control and one player loses it in a dangerous position. My decision was proven right and John is Chelsea captain for sure, John is a player with my entire confidence for sure.’