As Chelsea enter the most pivotal week of Jose Mourinho’s second stint with the club, Dan Levene looks at how a defeat could perversely be the best outcome for the club, but the worst for its manager.

If, as former Prime Minister Harold Wilson said, a week is a long time in politics, then a day is an age in football management. Even more so at Chelsea, where 90 minutes can often be an eternity for any coaching career.

This week, Chelsea have a series of potentially season-defining matters and Jose Mourinho's future could not be more in the balance. After the humiliation of home defeat to Bournemouth, the next seven days look set to lay out a pathway for the remainder of the season: with draws at home in the FA Cup, and in European club competitions as well as a trip to table-topping Leicester City in the Premier League.

But it is Wednesday night's visit to Stamford Bridge of Porto which is most crucial to the Blues' season – standing, as it does, between Chelsea and progression in the Champions League.

The permutations are many and complex. But the rule of thumb is pretty much this: win, and Chelsea top the group; lose, and they come third, and are bound for the Europa League.

That would result in a big slice of humble pie for Mourinho, who shortly after his reappointment as Chelsea boss in 2013 insisted he didn't want to win the Europa League, or even play in the competition.

Source: Eurosport