A turning-point weekend. But not in the way Jose Mourinho envisaged.
While Manchester City dug deep to win with 10 men at Hull, Chelsea's Villa Park unravelling may prove to be every bit as costly as it appeared.
Mourinho admitted his players were muttering their conspiracy theories about referee Chris Foy all week, remembering his history of controversial decisions against them (see below).
While that was all part of the post-defeat smokescreen, it also shone a light on why Mourinho's players, by his own admission, lost control in the aftermath of Willian's harsh second yellow.
"I know about the past games," said Mourinho. "The players were speaking about it during the week.
"My philosophy is that I never care who the ref is, I don't want to know. And if for some reason I know the referee is Mr Anthony or Mr John, I always think that the referee is a good referee, I look, always, positive.
"But during the week the players were speaking about the situation and I think from now on, the next time we have Mr Foy, I have to work my people in a different way."
Asked if he would order his players not to discuss Foy in the case of a future appointment, Mourinho fuelled the suspicions of subterfuge as he replied: "But do they have a reason?
"Chelsea is normally a very composed team. Not just this season with me, but overall. The last time I remember something similar was in a match with QPR, at their stadium."
What followed was pure Mourinho.
Reminded that Foy had been in charge of that game, he answered: "I didn't know."
And that Foy had dismissed two Blues players that day - Jose Bosingwa and Didier Drogba - he added: "I didn't know. It's a coincidence....."
In truth, Foy had a poor game here and the key calls did go against Chelsea, but there was no doubt that Nemanja Matic handled before bundling in John Terry's flick before the break.
Joe Bennett was lucky to be only booked for bringing down Ramires - Foy adjudged Ron Vlaar was covering - while it appeared he had produced the card when Willian clashed with match-winner Fabian Delph before realising he had already booked the Brazilian.
Delph, though, suggested Foy had got both calls right.
"If it looks like a duck and quacks like a duck it usually is one," said the Villa man. "He's grabbed me and caught me and I've gone down. As for the other one, Ramires might have got a rush of blood to the head."
Certainly there could be no defence for Ramires - Mourinho did not attempt to offer one - even if his accusation that the substituted Gabby Agbonlahor had walked onto the pitch and "grabbed him around the neck" was not supported by video evidence.
Mourinho's subsequent intervention, coming back onto the pitch - having walked off once - after asking for a "time out" and being banished to the stands saw the Portuguese claiming: "I was angry but calm, completely in control. If I comment, I will be accused of bringing the game into disrepute.
"I went onto the pitch, as everybody did, with one single objective. For me, Paul (Lambert), my assistants and Paul's assistants it was to calm the situation.
"The result was done, there was no more story. Agbonlahor's aggression was a sad episode but I didn't even try to stop him. That's not my problem.
"I went to try to say one little comment to Mr Foy, to ask if he thinks it's allowed that one player jumps from the dugout to make an aggression on another player."
Referring to the possibility of now being fined: "If I have to give donations, I prefer to do it anonymously and to people who really need the money!"
The truth, though, was that Chelsea were poor throughout, their lack of cutting edge giving Villa increasing hope.
Delph's winner - the imagination deployed to convert Marc Albrighton's cross was truly brilliant - came with Branislav Ivanovic out of position and Christian Benteke and Delph might have scored more.
By the end, even before Ramires lost his head, Mourinho had opted for desperation, with Ivanovic thrown up front and Chelsea launching it.
Frustration and anger boiled over.
Now Mourinho admits he has to restore focus, and quickly, with Galatasaray in the Champions League looming on Tuesday night.
"I have to calm them down. I have no other choice," he accepted. "What can I do? I can do nothing about it."
Chelsea, though, have to rediscover their poise.
Brooding anger breeds mistakes. And mistakes cost titles.
Sir Chris Hoy turns off his phone...
Ref Chris Foy has sent off eight Chelsea players in 30 games - but given no opposition player their marching orders in any of those matches. Notable incidents include:
January 15, 2006: Sunderland (league) Arjen Robben gets a second yellow card for celebrating his match-winner with travelling Blues fans.
April 4, 2006: West Ham (league) Maniche sees red for a dreadful foul on Lionel Scaloni.
February 21, 2011: Fulham (League Cup) Alex sent off for a clear professional foul on Karim Frei.
October 23, 2011: QPR (league) Defeat overshadowed by John Terry's clash with Anton Ferdinand. Jose Bosingwa professional-foul red card was harsh, Drogba got a straight red for a shocker on Adel Taarabt.
February 23, 2013: Swansea (League Cup) Eden Hazard sees red for kicking a ball boy who lay on the ball. Terry and Frank Lampard went to apologise on Hazard's behalf.
March 14, 2013: Manchester City (FA Cup semi-final) Chelsea furious when Sergio Aguero escapes unpunished for two-footed horror lunge on David Luiz.
March 15, 2014: Aston Villa (league) Harsh red for Willian, but a blatant red for Ramires. Mourinho sent to the stands in resulting stramash.