Gary Cahill, Eden Hazard and N’Golo Kante also all scored as the Blues went on to hand out a chastening defeat which bought an abrupt end to United’s six-match unbeaten run in all competitions.

The players, though, have a swift opportunity for redemption when rivals City head to Old Trafford, with a place in the quarter-finals of the EFL Cup at stake.

Tonight will be the second time City boss Pep Guardiola and Mourinho have faced one another since taking up residency in Manchester.

A swashbuckling display — despite a nervy debut for Claudio Bravo — saw City run out 2-1 victors at Old Trafford when the sides met in the Premier League last month, with the upcoming EFL Cup fourth-round encounter at the same venue offering both the chance to get things back on track.

Mourinho expects a reaction from his players, who are now five points behind the top four in seventh place.

“I would prefer to play (next) in the Premier League. It’s a bad feeling in the Premier League. With the combination of results the gap to the top is six points,” Mourinho said.

“We have had a very difficult period of matches. We lost points this week and, even in the match when we played phenomenal against Stoke, we lost points then. Now we need to win matches.

“I am not saying they are easy ones, but we have Burnley, we have Swansea, West Ham, Sunderland, Middlesbrough — matches that we need to win and the top four, the top five, they have to play between themselves like we did this week against Chelsea and Liverpool.

“They are going to lose points too, so we are in the run, but there is no way to hide because I think our faces speak by themselves.”

Mourinho added: “We are really, really sad, but again this is not for kids, this is for men and...we have to be men and work for the next one.”

The FA, meanwhile, are reviewing the observations of the United manager on his comments about Taylor, which were made in press conference ahead of the Anfield match.

During 2009, new rules were introduced by the governing body in an attempt to crack down on pre-match comments about officials which could be viewed as intimidatory or influential.

To add to Mourinho’s woes, defender Eric Bailly — forced off injured after 52 minutes at Stamford Bridge — expects to be sidelined for up to two months with a knee problem.

Mourinho spoke of his fear in the post-match press conference that Bailly had suffered serious knee ligament damage.

The Portuguese said his defender felt it was “really bad” and the Ivory Coast international has now confirmed he will be forced to sit out for around two months.

“I wanted to thank you for all the messages of support that I received since the injury,” he posted on his verified Facebook page.

“I hope to be able to play again for United and The Elephants before 2 months, God willing. Thanks for always being there!”

Bailly is reported to have suffered lateral knee ligament damage, with that initial time frame seeing him miss up to 13 matches should United progress past Manchester City in Wednesday’s EFL Cup tie.

The frantic festive period then follows before the Ivory Coast international heads to the African Nations Cup in early January.

Meanwhile, Guardiola has reasserted his faith in Sergio Aguero in an attempt to clear up any confusion over the prolific striker’s future at Manchester City.

Guardiola’s decision to leave Aguero out of his starting line-up to face Barcelona in the Champions League last week has been interpreted in some quarters as an indication of a lukewarm attitude towards the Argentinian.

But the City manager, who restored Aguero to the side in Sunday’s draw against Southampton, insisted then the 28-year-old was an important part of his plans and now he has underlined the point.

Aguero has scored 11 goals this season and 147 for the club since his arrival from Atletico Madrid in 2011.

Guardiola said: “I want to be clear again. I am so happy with Sergio and hopefully he can stay for a long time here. I want from deep in my heart he can stay here.

“He is a special player, he is a striker who scores millions of goals in his career. I know for strikers it depends on the moment, but we cannot forget how many goals he scores for us.”

Guardiola is refusing to budge in his dispute with Yaya Toure’s agent — despite wanting to recall the midfielder.

Guardiola has not picked Toure since his controversial representative, Dimitri Seluk, claimed his client had been “humiliated” by the decision to omit him from the Champions League squad in early September.

Guardiola has demanded an apology from Seluk but, with that not forthcoming, the Ivorian has been frozen out at the Etihad Stadium.

Guardiola said: “I would like to come with Yaya, believe me, I would like, but you know the situation.”