Mourinho is adamant that Pochettino has been able to build an increasingly impressive team and blood young players because the spotlight has not been on him – unlike himself at Chelsea.
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“Nobody speaks about them as title contenders like they speak about City or United”.
“The game went in the direction we wanted to take, we had a very good period in the first half where we should score, and in the second half we had a couple of chances and one of them is a giant chance”.
“When I watch them play, it is not a surprise for me”, Mourinho said of Tottenham’s nascent title challenge.
“They have great conditions without the same pressure other clubs have to do magnificent work”.
Spurs are unbeaten in the league since the opening day, and Mourinho initially heaped praise on a manager he hugely respects in his “friend” Mauricio Pochettino – only to then offer the sting.
When pressed on if there was a problem with his striker, Mourinho again made light of the issue, suggesting Costa would have thrown something other than a bib if he wanted to hurt him. They are in the Europa League, in the group phase, and no one cares about that at this stage. “I will try and do the best job I can and get the best results I can with the players we have”. We have great facilities, so need to use them. They give conditions, without any kind of pressure, for the young players to develop in the team.
Chelsea head into this weekend’s game looking for a positive result to kick-start their season after a disastrous start to their title defence under Jose Mourinho. “That Champions League semi-final was at the end of the season when legs are a bit heavier than in November”.
If Chelsea and Porto draw and Kiev win, all three will finish level on points. It would also be another near-fatal blow to Chelsea’s own chances of finishing in the top four this season, and plunge the club back into crisis, so it is little wonder Mourinho is conspicuously amping up the mental tension for Tottenham’s players in his own way.
However, successive clean sheets in wins over Norwich City and Maccabi Tel Aviv have pleased Mourinho, who is certain they will be ready for another trip to north London, despite concerns over the fitness of captain Terry. “We either have a solution for everyone or no one”.
“When you play Saturday and then you play Tuesday, you are immediately in accumulation, you are already in overload”, Mourinho added.
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Costa has scored only four goals this season and seven in the past 10 months for Chelsea, but has still managed to upset opposition defenders countless times. You have to anticipate and read the game faster.
