Chelsea had to travel over 5,000 kilometers and back after their Tuesday Champions League match in Tel Aviv. “As a team, the best Chelsea”, he told BT Sport.
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Heung-Min Son and Dele Alli had hit the woodwork as Tottenham came on strong in the second half after a poor first 45 minutes, although Qarabag’s Dani Quintana twice forced Hugo Lloris into smart saves.
After winning their last two games, against Norwich City and Maccabi, Mourinho was asked if he felt his struggling champions, still 15th out of 20 in the table, had turned a corner.
Spurs’ unbeaten streak, since the opening-day loss at Manchester United, is their longest since a 14-match run between November 1984 and March 1985.
“We have a hard opponent, in this case Chelsea, who have two days more than us to prepare”.
Pochettino says he is happy to see big clubs take an interest in Kane but has laughed off the suggestion he could join Chelsea, claiming he wants to remain in north London.
“I think Diego is very privileged because he was the last one to be (put) on the bench”.
“We need more help from our country and the Premier League”.
We will be on top again like we always are and everyone will be fit again.
That meant Kurt Zouma and Gary Cahill were paired at the heart of the visitors’ defence, while Eden Hazard was pushed forward to fill the hole left by the brooding Costa. “Good stability, playing well, a very, very good team”.
“I am not saying Papy Djilobodji is ready because he did not have chances to play and his is a different situation, but Zouma and Cahill are both ready and if John doesn’t play, I go with them”. The positive result was the victory against Chelsea. We deserved more than we got.
“But I know the players and the managers have the ability to change this”.
Mourinho, the Chelsea manager, has also said he has no sympathy with Spurs over their gruelling fixture list ahead of tomorrow’s (Sunday’s) lunchtime clash at White Hart Lane.
“For us the result is not what we want, but the performance is good”.
“We don’t have to look for excuses”.
“When I watch them play it’s no surprise”, Mourinho said.
“He was very good with me when I was at Espanyol and he was at Real Madrid”.
Mourinho spoke approvingly of their form, saying a title challenge is within the means of Mauricio Pochettino?s side.
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“It is true we arrive maybe not in the best condition to compete in the right way but respect to our medical staff for what they do – they will work during the flight and (on Friday) we have a day off. On Saturday we will assess”.
