Meanwhile, England global Cahill suffered a heavy knock to the nose later in the game after being punched by Barcelona goalkeeper Jordi Masip when the stopper tried to stop him from netting the equaliser in the 86 minute.
Advertisement
The Premier League champions face FA Cup winners Arsenal in The FA Community Shield, just one week before the new campaign kicks off for real.
Mourinho, however, has no long-term concerns over the 26-year-old’s fitness and says Loic Remy and Radamel Falcao will provide Costa with stiff competition during the season. It is not that they made big splashes in the transfer market, though they have upgraded at goalkeeper with the acquisition of Petr Cech from Chelsea.
Add that to the fact that Arsene Wenger has never beaten Jose Mourinho’s Chelsea and it’s easy to see why the Premier League champions are slight favourites.
Mourinho has resumed his sparring with Wenger after suggesting that adding up Arsenal’s spending in the last two years leads to a “surprise” – a claim the French coach denies.
Mourinho also said that the Community Shield matters more than a friendly but was less significant than a league game. The 29-year-old managed just four goals when on a similar deal at Manchester United last season, with the Red Devils unsurprisingly deciding against paying upwards of £40million to make his move from Monaco permanent.
Advertisement
Diego Costa was a key addition ahead of Chelsea’s title-winning season, but cover was lacking when the Spain striker’s fragile hamstrings flared up. “If I didn’t think that, it would mean we were standing still”, Wenger said, as reported by The Guardian. This has provided Jose Mourinho with the flawless opportunity to get his mind games underway nice and early, which is exactly what he has been trying to do. After what they accomplished in the pre-season, I’m not so sure. “We are not anxious that they might be fresher than us – they started 10 days before us – but we are competitors, we will want to win and it will probably be a great game”. We know we will be better and we are working very hard to be better. I think it’s more of the same. The match will serve as a precursor to the English Premier League season, where the two managers are expected to be in the running for the title.
