Mourinho said the 28-year-old England global could succeed anywhere, although his direct style would be tested. Being here is the minimum we can give to our supporters.
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“What can I say more than obviously I feel very sorry for him.
The start of the season has not been good for me, not in how I have played nor in goals”, he said.
The Spaniard will be hoping to feature as he bids to help Chelsea return to winning ways in the Premier League after the disappointment of their 1-0 loss to Bournemouth at Stamford Bridge last Saturday.
The Blues, with Diego Costa starting in attack, enjoyed a flawless start when Ivan Marcano put through his own net after Iker Casillas had saved a shot from the Chelsea striker.
Chelsea can meet Paris Saint-Germain, PSV Eindhoven, Benfica, Juventus, Roma or Gent in the next round and Mourinho accepts that many clubs would gladly settle for a tie against the London club.
“When we were candidates, we lost two semi-finals with Real Madrid and Chelsea so let’s see – you never know”.
“The fans are being absolutely unbelievable with us”, said Mourinho.
Mourinho has come under increasing pressure of late, and on Friday it was reported that Real Madrid manager Florentino Perez wants to bring him back to the Bernabeu as manager in the summer, as per the Sun.
“If we are where we are it’s because we are under-performing and if Leicester is where they are, it’s because manager and players are doing magnificently well”.
“In the second half, he faced the goalkeeper on his own. Now he has the chance to win the only title that he hasn’t claimed yet, the Europea League”.
The Portuguese will be happier with his team’s form in Europe, where they have four wins, a draw and one defeat en route to the knockout stages and can take heart from an encouraging performance from striker Diego Costa.
He said: “It’s clear but what is also clear is his effort, commitment and great movement, which is something he hasn’t had in the last couple of months”.
“Yes there is a lack of confidence clearly, but not a lack of effort”.
“Mourinho is one of the best coaches in history”.
“Before we lost the last three points against Bournemouth, I was convinced of a great December for us, to go for fourth”.
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“We had three or four unsafe situations and an unlucky situation where the game changed completely”.
