Maccabi Tel Aviv were reduced to ten men in the 41st minute, making their task tougher, while the Blues lost John Terry to injury in the 72nd minute, Kurt Zouma replacing the Chelsea skipper.
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Chelsea manager, Jose Morurinho has admitted that his side deserved the massive victory against the Isreali side, Maccabi Tel-Aviv on Tuesday night in the UEFA champions league game.
“My medical department is really good. John is a special guy, with a special desire to recover”, Mourinho said.
Ramires didn’t make the matchday squad after hobbling off in training a day before the game, while captain John Terry injured his ankle during the match.
“Whether they be title contenders or not, we should focus on what they are doing and say they are doing amazingly well”, Mourinho said. “Ramires slid and had a muscular injury”.
“To Mr Scudamore’s words, I just laugh”, Mourinho said.
Chelsea are 2nd in the table, three points off leaders Porto and they can secure their place in the knock-out stages if they win in Israel and Kiev drop points against Porto.
“I think his best position is the position where, last season, he was the player of the season”, Mourinho told The Telegraph.
Had Porto been able to get a result at home against Dynamo Kiev, Chelsea would have qualified for the last 16 with this win.
“I need a calculator”, Mourinho continued.
“I reacted. He did too”.
“At half-time in the dressing room a few kisses and a few cuddles”.
Gary Cahill opened the scoring from close range after his initial header was saved, before Tal Ben Haim I was sent off for kicking Diego Costa just before half-time. “Maccabi have not been here for 11 years and we lack that experience but we can be proud of our players who showed character”.
The Premier League champions will travel to White Hart Lane and play Spurs this Sunday.
JOSE MOURINHO insists Chelsea can triumph in the Champions League – because it’s not always the favourites who win it. A hefty defeat at Stamford Bridge on match day one set the tone for them, and it seems the best they can do here is aim to frustrate.
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Incredibly, all six of his goals have come from free-kicks this campaign, and he has developed a superb method that has put him amongst the best strikers of a dead ball in Europe.
