Jose Mourinho : We got what we deserved

About the Game

‘We let the lead go but we played fantastic football with the ball from the first minute,’

‘When at half time it’s 2-2 and you want to win the game, the most important thing is to play how we did from the start, that’s what I told the players. There was no point analysing details and mistakes. We had to get back to playing the football we lost in the last 15 minutes of the first half.’

‘From the first minute of the second half we went back to quality football, creation and movement. Sooner or later the goal was going to arrive.’

‘In the second half we played, there was a difficult situation on the break when Thibaut had to make three saves in a few seconds. After that we created and tried everything, so I think we deserved it.’

‘If we didn’t win the game after the way we played we would have had the same feeling as Southampton. Today by winning we got what we deserved and it’s a good feeling.’

About Hull’s second goal
‘If we tell our goalkeeper every time he has a back pass to kick it in the stands the second goal wouldn’t happen but we don’t do that. He tried to play, lost the rebound, the defenders didn’t open a passing line to play from the back and it’s a goal. Everybody was unhappy. It was just a question of stability, emotional control and playing.’

About Diego Costa
‘It’s a hamstring injury. When a striker is playing, the team needs a goal to win the game and he says it’s over for him, it’s over. He tried to play the Champions League final with Atletico and was injured, he has that fragility, we know his hamstring is not a strong one. He works hard in the week to compensate for the weakness he has there but the injury can come. We have Remy and Drogba, we never cry about injured players so let’s move on.’

About Loic Remy Contribution
‘Every time he plays he’s there. He probably deserves more than what I’ve given him. Sometimes a coach can feel he owes something to a player and with Remy that’s the case. I think I owe him something, every time he plays he gives us a lot, I’m so happy for him because he deserves it.’

About the Competition
‘The title race should be over, in normal conditions Chelsea should have eight, ten or 12 more points than we have but football is unpredictable. The reality is that we have a six-point lead, the best situation we’ve had all season.  The maximum distance we had was eight points but at that point we had 20 matches to go. At this moment we have a six-point lead with one match in hand, which could help us or not. I’m pretty confident, I believe in my players, I believe we can do it but I know it’s difficult.’

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Jose Mourinho : In two months we can be champions

‘Confrontational leadership is when you are ready to provoke your players, create some conflict with the intention to bring the best out of them,’

‘At this moment I don’t need that with this group because things are going in the direction I want. I’m happy with everything.’

‘You can say we lost in the Champions League and we lost against Bradford, okay, but generally the way they work, the way they behave, their motivations, responsibilities, frustrations, the way they react to positive and negative moments, the absence of complacency, all of that is going well. I just need to be present, I don’t need to be a big leader or try to find different strategies.’

About Eden Hazard Critics in Last season

‘Maybe it was just his maturity and level of ambition arriving,’ said the Chelsea manager. ‘I don’t think it was me with that episode. For example, when he was named Young Player of the Year it was no big thing for him, he wasn’t particularly emotional because he doesn’t want to be the best young player, he wants to be the best player.

‘It was a natural evolution on his part, he wants to win titles, be the best, improve his game and score more goals. It was an accumulation of experiences and feelings. I still call him a kid but he’s a man, a main player. He can get better but he’s reached a fantastic level and a high level of stability.’

About 4 times draw in 6 matches

‘When you start well and score before the opponent it means the gameplan, team selection, tactics and attitude of the players was correct, so it’s better to start a game by scoring than not,’

‘Against Tottenham and West Ham we won the game, in other matches the opponent has equalised. At West Ham we tried everything to score more goals; [Aaron] Cresswell saved on the line, there was a fantastic save from a Ramires header, Eden and Ramires both had shots. Against Southampton we had a fantastic second half and could have scored more goals but we didn’t. It’s difficult, that’s football.’

About the League

‘Now we can work in a way we couldn’t when we were in all of the cups, with good training sessions, good exercises, preparing the team specifically for a certain game and analysing opponents with more time,’

‘I want to focus on that, there are two months to go and in two months we can be champions.’

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Mourinho : No time to cry. Move on, and look forward.

"They deserved to win,"

"When a team cannot defend two corners and concedes two goals from a corner a team doesn't deserve to win.

"We couldn't cope with the pressure of playing with one player more and playing at home. For me it was a surprise."

"For them it was easy with 10 men – defensive organisation, two lines of four, Cavani in attack, waiting for the right moment at a corner or from a mistake. Mentally they had nothing to lose. I know that feeling having played with 10 men in the Champions League."

"They were experienced, they were good. We deserved to be punished."

"I'm disappointed but I always try to be pragmatic. When the opposition was better than us the first feeling is that we deserved to lose."

"To analyse the situation is the next step. We need to react. We have a Premier League to win. I told that to the players. We lost a competition where even if we had won today we would have had many stages to get through and good teams to beat."

"We are in a good situation. It's not time to cry; it's also not time to laugh. It's time to analyse what happened."

"We must come here on Sunday to the same stadium, and the same players have to go on to the pitch and make one more step towards winning the Premier League, because if we win the Premier League and the Capital One Cup it's still a fantastic season for us."

"No time to cry. Move on, and look forward."

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Jose Mourinho : Let's move

‘The next game is the most important one,’
‘At the end of May, beginning of June, we don't go to Wembley to play the FA Cup final, that’s for sure. The FA Cup is finished for us. We don't go there even to play the FA Cup semi-final. It's over for us. To go there - and I think that should mean a lot to everyone - the last chance we have is this one, to play there in the Capital One Cup final.‘

‘We need to forget this one [Bradford] and start the next game in a different competition, and I know we are one victory away from playing a final.‘

‘It's the good thing about playing consecutive matches without many days in between. It's the good thing that, when you lose, you have to focus immediately on the next game. You don’t have a lot of time to be moaning or analysing what happened in the bad one. Let's move and let's think about the next one.’

About the Squad
‘I'm happy to go (until the end of the season with the same squad),’
‘This is Chelsea, always thinking and being proud of thinking about numbers and Financial Fair Play.‘

‘We cannot now go to the market and spend money. So I'm completely with the club. I share this idea, I share this profile. I don't think we are going to the market, unless somebody comes and makes a market which meets with us.’

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Jose Mourinho : We are happy with the players

‘Our desire is to keep the same squad which reflects we are happy with the players and the work we did in the summer to prepare the season, and the trust we have in the group,’

‘I like Schurrle and Salah and I need and I trust them. I can’t select the same 18 players every game and I can only start 11. Salah is not playing a lot, Schurrle is more than him, but they have played in every competition including the Champions League. I count on them and tomorrow both are selected to play.‘

‘The way Hazard and Willian are performing, with the stability of their performances in attack and defence and transition, unless I find a tactical system with three wingers it is difficult to be in front of them [for selection] because they are playing so well.’

‘We have a way of dealing with these little health problems,’
‘When somebody shows the first signs of something we say go home. We prefer to lose a player who is a little doubt than risk keeping him with the other players and then losing two, three or four as a consequence. Every little problem the player goes home and the doctors take care of him at home.’

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Jose Mourinho : Tonight It Was Fantastic Defensive Work

About the Game
‘It was a two-legged semi-final and now becomes a one-legged semi-final,’
‘The goals away are not important, so 0-0 is no good to us and 2-2 is no good to Liverpool. We have to win, they have to win. It’s a one-legged semi-final but obviously this time it will be played at Stamford Bridge.

‘Obviously Liverpool didn’t deserve to lose but I’m frustrated because we had lots of situations when we recovered the ball in a low block, facing a three-defender tactical system, with lots of space to counter attack. Eden, Willian and Diego were in great condition to attack spaces but we missed so many passes. We recovered the ball and then lost the ball, the exact opposite of what happened against Swansea. Then, we recovered the ball and made the right pass, the right choice.

‘Tonight it was fantastic defensive work, everybody was committed and organised, recovering the ball against good players, fast players, but when we recovered the ball we were not efficient with the transitions, so to score only one goal frustrates me.’

About Thibaut Courtois
‘The Premier League is full of top goalkeepers but we have the two best, so for me it was easy. To have both playing well and giving so much confidence to the team is good. I decide according to the profile of the game we are expecting. It’s fantastic for us to have these two goalkeepers. I think the three best keepers in the world are Petr, Courtois and Neuer.’

About the Cup
‘It’s fantastic the way big clubs like Chelsea and Liverpool treat this competition. In my clubs, I don’t accept the philosophy of one competition being more important than another. This is the most important, tomorrow the FA Cup becomes the most important. It was a proper semi-final, big prestige for the competition. We made a couple of changes but we tried to reach the final and in the next game we will do the same.’

About Wembley Final
‘Every Chelsea fan enjoys Wembley and we are one victory away from being there. I hope and I know they would like that. The last two League Cups Chelsea played were at Cardiff, Wembley is different.’

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Jose Mourinho : I Was Dreaming of (Claude) Makelele, Gerrard and (Frank) Lampard in Midfield

"He (Gerrard) is a historical player for Liverpool, a historical player for the Premier League and an opponent I have always admired and respected," Mourinho said.

"We did everything to try (to sign him) and it was almost there. I was dreaming of (Claude) Makelele, Gerrard and (Frank) Lampard in midfield.
"We were playing in a proper triangle without a number 10 and playing Maka in front of the defenders. Me, Mr Abramovich and (former Chelsea chief executive) Peter Kenyon at that time, we dreamed of that.
"His people were open to him joining a top side like Chelsea. But to me personally he never said he would come. Never.
"He (Gerrard) was always a red and I think the decision was right."

football365.com

Jose Mourinho : About Team Performance against Swansea

“The team played very well, solid defensively and in attack we were aggressive and took our chances,”
“It was a good performance. The team is playing with high quality, and we have a clear identity of playing.”

“It was difficult game for them to prepare without three players in one position - Shelvey, Ki and Britton. It’s an important position for them. When you don’t have these players, it’s a problem. They will react because they are a very good team.”

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