Although relieved to steer Chelsea through the group stage of the Champions League, Jose Mourinho believes his team will not be feared in the last 16 during this unexpectedly poor season for the club.
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United crashed out of the Champions League at the group stage on Tuesday when they suffered an embarrassing 3-2 defeat to Wolfsburg.
And the Portuguese says the win will give him and his players a lot of confidence ahead of upcoming domestic fixtures this month.
While the former Bayern Munich boss accepts there are certain games this season where he has failed to mastermind the results expected, he has pointed to the strengthening of the Premier League as proof that demanding constant victories is simply unrealistic.
“I have already won the Europa League with Ajax in my first season, and I was very proud of that. We are in that process, but when I say that, I know I will face criticism that “football is not a process” and things like that”. “When you’ve not played for a long time, it’s very hard for the player”, the Daily Mail quotes the 25-year-old as saying. “We’re focused on coming back to Manchester with three points and carrying on with the good run of results in the Premier League”.
“I was wrong, but the relationship with Mourinho is great, we get along very well”.
The Germany global was handed a three-game ban by the FA for violet conduct on Winston Reid during the goalless draw with West Ham United last weekend.
“One thing is when one thing doesn’t work, but when four or five players are not playing (well) it is more hard”.
“A team struggling so much like we are is not obviously a candidate to win the Champions League”, said Mourinho, twice a victor of the competition as a manager, as reported by skysports. Yes, clearly. But his attitude was very good and his movement was much better.
Iker Casillas is eager for Porto to win the Europa League and Real Madrid to claim the Champions League, with the goalkeeper targeting a possible Super Cup reunion. “When he did that he lost an important second and his last touch on the ball was not the best”.
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“When we were candidates with Real Madrid we lost two semi-finals, and we lost two semi-finals with Chelsea as well”.
