Mourinho also has personal pride as well as vital points in the four-way race for three places in next season’s Champions League at stake due to a roaring rift with Conte.
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He was substituted early in Premier League defeats to Tottenham and Newcastle, and dropped in the win against Huddersfield. Chelsea have a full week to recover from this one, before returning to the City of Manchester to face the blue half next weekend.
Chelsea may reap the benefit of having 24 hours more recovery time from their Champions League exertions, having drawn 1-1 with Barcelona at Stamford Bridge on Tuesday.
Jose Mourinho and Paul Pogba are reportedly not seeing eye-to-eye at Manchester United, but it has now been claimed the Portuguese is harsh on the midfielder because he likes him.
Lukaku has failed to score in all 17 Premier League games involving Sunday’s opponents – including 10 league appearances made in a Chelsea shirt – but Mourinho is unconcerned.
“I do not expect to see many goals in what promises to be a tight tense affair – on and off the pitch”.
Mourinho spent two spells as manager of Chelsea between 2004 and 2015, winning three Premier League titles.
Mourinho had given every indication Pogba was in line to start at the Ramon Sanchez Pizjuan after recovering from illness, but the Frenchman was held back in reserve – Nemanja Matic, Ander Herrera and Scott McTominay starting instead.
“It’s always more hard to come on from the bench than to start”.
Former Chelsea boss Mourinho and Conte have not hidden their disdain for each other in a series of clashes in the press and on the touchline since Conte arrived at Stamford Bridge in 2016.
“We are both fighting for the top four, but it is always a big game, regardless of what’s at stake”. “For a match away to Sevilla we had a good percentage of the ball, and I think Paul had responsibility for that”. I think it is up to the player to make the manager trust him, it is as simple as that. If he stays out it will be better. “Pogba is showing at United he is a top player”.
“I don’t want to speak about it”.
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A goalless draw against Sevilla on Wednesday night means Manchester United should have a favourable chance of advancing in the Champions League when the round-of-16 tie heads to Old Trafford next month. “He is a very good manager, they are a fantastic team and that’s what is important for me”.
