- Chelsea beat Maccabi Tel Aviv in their opening Champions League game
- Blue captain John Terry was one of several players dropped by the coach
- Steven Gerrard claimed Jose Mourinho has fallen out with the defender
- Portuguese has made the worst start of his league career this season
- Branislav Ivanovic, Diego Costa and Nemanja Matic were also dropped
Steven Gerrard believes Jose Mourinho’s relationship with John Terry has deteriorated after the Chelsea captain was benched for the Champions League victory over Maccabi Tel Aviv.
Terry has struggled at the start of the season having been sent off against West Brom and substituted at half-time against Manchester City.
And former Liverpool captain Gerrard suspects there is a rift between skipper and manager.
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John Terry on the bench after being dropped for Chelsea's Champions League tie against Maccabi Tel Aviv
Mourinho takes his seat in the Chelsea dugout while Terry smiles at his team-mate Costa while sat behind
Mourinho has cut an unhappy figure after enduring the worst start to a league season of his career
Former England captain and BT sport pundit Steven Gerrard (centre) suggested the pair have fallen out
Terry was one of several dropped, including Branislav Ivanovic (centre), Diego Costa and Nemanja Matic
Terry looks on while sat next to Spain international Costa on the Chelsea bench at Stamford Bridge
'There's certainly a bit of friction behind the scenes because for me, you play John Terry week in, week out, he's your captain,' he told BT Sport.
'He's such an important figure in the dressing room and if Chelsea want to be successful this season, they need him in there.
‘Chelsea were champions three months ago, they were the best team in the league, the PFA player of the year in Eden Hazard and Cesc Fabregas was on fire.
‘Something’s clearly happening behind the scene that we’re not clued up on. You can’t have that many problems in a XI so quickly.’
Terry speaks to his manager during training ahead of finding he would not play in the Champions League tie
Gerrard claims there is 'friction behind the scenes' between the Blues coach and captain
Rio Ferdinand added: 'I would have thought John Terry would have started today, he's their leader, he's their captain and you need to get off to a good start.'
But Mourinho later said: 'I like Steven [Gerrard]. I share SMS [text messages] with him. But he's wrong, [there are] no problems at all.'
Branislav Ivanovic, Diego Costa and Nemanja Matic were also dropped for the Blues' first Champions League tie of the new season following the 3-1 defeat by Everton last Saturday.
Chelsea ran out comfortable 4-0 winners against the Israeli side thanks to goals from Willian, Oscar, Diego Costa and Cesc Fabregas.
Terry trudges off after Chelsea slipped to their third defeat from their opening five Premier League games
The Blues captain sits in the stands after being taken off at half-time during the 3-1 defeat by Manchester City
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