They now host the reeling defending champions Chelsea FC (4-8-3, 15 points) at the King Power Stadium on Monday, December 14 for a 2015-2016 Premier League season encounter.
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Chelsea are unlikely to finish in the top-four in the Premier League so a Champions League victory may be their only chance at European football at the highest level in 2016/17.
“It would be something magnificent, it would be something to impress the football world, but sometimes these things can happen and why not happen with them?”
In an added irony, the man who has taken Leicester to the head of the table, Claudio Ranieri, was sacked by Chelsea in 2004 to facilitate Mourinho’s arrival. I think we are going in a good direction in terms of the performance of individuals and team consistency – but obviously we need results.
“I have to be honest and say that I was miles away from believing that we could lose that match, but the reality is that some clubs are doing so well and some other clubs are not capable of doing what people are used to. And every club is miles away from what Leicester is doing”, Mourinho said.
Leicester now lead the EPL table with 32 points, two points ahead of Arsenal and five points ahead of Manchester City and Manchester United.
“We can get a run of four or five wins in a row and we can finish fourth”, he said. Last season you could go player-by-player and say unbelievable season, and this season it’s more hard. “While it is mathetmaticall possibly, we have to try”.
He remains convinced he will stay in charge after signing a four-year contract until June 2019 on the eve of the season.
Stating that his former club “means a lot” to him, the 64-year-old failed to hide his anticipation and excitement at the prospect of coming up against his ex-employers in his pre-match press conference.
“It’s not important who scores, it’s important that the team scores and that the team plays well”.
“I don’t see in Cesc any different than the team. It’s hard for a single player to play very well too”.
Marseille president Vincent Labrune reportedly dismissed the idea of the French club signing Mahrez when the player was suggested to him as a potential target in December 2014.
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“But on top of that, he has done it playing very much as a team player, so his contribution outside of the goals has been quite enormous”. But the way they played against Porto, they have to score goals. “When you start scoring and you carry on it gives you more confidence so maybe that has helped me”.
