Leicester’s 2-1 win over Chelsea on Monday night saw them return to the top of the Premier League, but boss Claudio Ranieri is still focused on avoiding relegation. He said the Italian’s command of English was poor.
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Chelsea midfielder Cesc Fabregas believes there could be a problem with pride at Stamford Bridge this season.
Already beset by reports that he is close to being axed by Chelsea owner Roman Abramovich, Mourinho hoped he had bought himself some breathing space after leading his side into the Champions League knockout stages last week. I felt that they really wanted me.
Eden Hazard collected both PFA Player of the Year and the Footballer of the Year award from the Football Writers’ Association but has been a shadow of his former self so far this season.
Speaking at a Facebook London event, he said: “We will all have to take responsibility”.
“We have these players and it’s with these players we have to go”.
Other than concern growing over results and relationships, The Daily Telegraph revealed on Saturday how extra pressure is being heaped on Mourinho’s shoulders by the success of players that have left under his management, including Romelu Lukaku, Kevin De Bruyne and Juan Cuadrado.
Mourinho said: “My board, I don’t think it’s right I go to them and say these players are not good”.
“So it it is a big frustration to accept the goals [Leicester scored] because my work was betrayed, if that is the right word”.
“I just want to help the team to win games and at the moment that’s working so I’ll have to keep going like this”.
Vardy’s opening goal for Leicester and there was internal dispute over exactly where the blame lay.
“But I have to say what they set out to do when Jose Mourinho came back was to have a long-term plan”. “Day by day in training, I have no complaints”. I identified four movements where Leicester score a lot of their goals and, in two of the four situations I identified, they scored their goals.
“At the moment, you wouldn’t be surprised if they finished third bottom”.
Mourinho heavily criticized the squad in his post-match interviews, pointing out that the players should be more humble in the face of their opponents. Goals from talismanic pair Jamie Vardy and Riyad Mahrez were enough to seal the points for the Foxes, with Loic Remy netting a consolation for the visitors.
The win sent Leicester back to the top of the table, two points clear of second-placed Arsenal.
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Mourinho has suggested that the top four is out of reach for the Blues now – but Fabregas does not want to think about where the Blues could possibly finish.
