JOSE MOURINHO SAYS there is “no problem” between him and striker Diego Costa after the pair clashed during Chelsea‘s Champions League win over Maccabi Tel Aviv in Israel last night.
Advertisement
The win took Chelsea to top of Group G as FC Porto lost at home by two goals to nil to Dynamo Kyiv.
Historically, no team has ever managed to finish in the top five having accumulated just 11 points from the first 12 games of the season, but does that mean it’s all doom and gloom for Chelsea from here on in? Dor Peretz headed a Tal Ben Chaim cross over the bar, and Eli Dasa squandered a close-range shot.
Gary Cahill gave Chelsea a first half lead before former Blues centre-back Tal Ben Haim was dismissed for the hosts just before the break after kicking out at Costa.
Brazil midfielder Willian doubled The Blues’ lead with a sublime free kick after 73 minutes before Oscar added another four minutes later. I know if we lose we are going to Europa League [Chelsea could still qualify with a loss if Dynamo Kiev fail to beat Maccabi Tel-Aviv]. With a draw, I don’t know. We really needed to win this match.
The Blues return to Premier League action with an eagerly anticipated encounter away to Tottenham Hotspur on Sunday.
Substitute Kurt Zouma secured the victory in injury time with a header from a corner.
“We were too confident, we were waiting for the second goal to come. No doubt about the victory, but I think Maccabi deserved a bit more than that”, he said. “Yesterday we tried to protect everyone”.
“For John to leave the pitch with the result 1-0 I know already that he is in trouble”.
“I need a calculator”, he said. The young Serbian stopper displayed the best game of his short career in Israel, denying Chelsea’s players on several occasions. It is a complicated and tough competition for us. “We are not solid at the moment but we showed character”.
The surface quickly got even worse, with one large hole appearing near Mourinho’s technical area and what looked like several mole hills also being created by divots being taken out of the surface. “Yes, he can do much better, but again, yes, one goal is very important”, Mourinho said.
Advertisement
That was perhaps another message to Le Saux, who Mourinho earlier singled out for missing Chelsea’s UEFA Cup game with Hapoel Tel Aviv in 2001 along with five other players.
